“What, in short, is the truth’s cash-value in experiential terms?”
– Psychologist William James on the uncertain advantage that truth holds over falsehood “in anyone’s actual life.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Many years ago I was taken to task in one of the online tarot forums for prizing accurate results in my divination. I was asked pointblank by an intuitively-inclined reader “Why are you so concerned with accuracy?” I don’t recall my specific response, but I’m sure it was along the lines of “What’s the point of trying to predict something if we don’t care whether we’re right?” In retrospect, I should have added “I’m sure it matters to our clients.”

When I decided in 2011 to leave psychological and spiritual divination behind and focus mainly on action-and-event-oriented tarot-reading (aka “fortune-telling,” which was what most seekers wanted), I recognized that there was no comprehensive worldwide database of successful prior results to explore, not even to the limited extent enjoyed by predictive astrology. I set my sights on trying to be as precise as possible in my oracular methods, which meant that I would travel a path that is more literal than mystical in my practice. My style of formal spread creation adheres to the same principle, and in fact my published book of spreads is titled The Literal Tarot. (See the “My Publications” link in the sidebar menu.)

The traditional wisdom supports this approach more convincingly than does resorting to speculative guesswork in the form of intuitive or psychic discernment. I have a long history of relying on my knowledge and experience to bolster my pursuit of practical conclusions, but I make sure my sitters understand that I’m not offering ironclad guarantees; instead, I’m describing potential outcomes couched in the language of tendencies and trends. Querents are uniquely positioned to make something happen (or conversely to prevent it from happening) as forecast by the cards, and I am well-situated to “hand them the ammunition and point them at the target.” When working together, our chances of hitting the “bulls-eye” are greatly improved.

I certainly don’t want clients hanging on my every word and banking on the infallibility of my observations. This is a recipe for failure on both of our accounts. I will speak the truth as I see it, but that doesn’t mean it will be “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” once it is filtered through the seeker’s more informed understanding of their own circumstances. In most cases they will still have choices to make and actions to take.

I will do my level best to offer full value, while clients must rise to the occasion and make their own commitment to adopt (or at least to seriously consider) the counsel obtained from the cards. If I make an honest effort but receive only skepticism and vacillation in return, I’m wasting my breath. Either we believe that tarot-reading is a valid form of prognostication and act accordingly or we don’t, and if you’re at all doubtful, don’t call me and I won’t call you.

I take this stuff seriously because I think it can help with problem-solving, decision-making, conflict-resolution and situational awareness if approached with an open mind and a list of more conventional solutions to try along with it (or that may have already been tried to no avail). The tarot is not a “magic potion” that will cure all ills, it is a tool for contemplating one’s subconscious awareness of what is going on “behind the scenes” that might benefit from being exposed to conscious scrutiny.

For this reason I also make it clear that the seeker “owns” the answer. Their initial inquiry conceives it; their interaction with the cards births it and their dedicated follow-through nurtures it to maturity. I’m just the metaphysical mid-wife who delivers it; my active involvement ends at the exit (as long as the client’s payment has cleared).