AUTHOR’S NOTE: It may seem that I’m constantly bashing intuitive guesswork when it is applied indiscriminately to interpretation of the tarot cards, but it’s not just a grumpy traditonalist’s private crusade. There is enough concern in the community over preferential bias in the form of subjective projection and speculative presumption to make it a worthwhile talking-point. While the principle of focused intention offers a viable alternative, my general view is that preconception, when it is more than an experimental theory, is the bane of comparative analysis; it can become an idee fixe that puts the reading on rails toward a desired destination.

To be honest, I love the inspired flash of insight as much as the next storyteller for the way it can enliven a narrative. Where I draw the line is at the unfocused fishing expedition that casts a wide net, hauling in as many “trash fish” as it does marketable ones, and the onerous task of sorting them out is not one I’m convinced every intuitive tarot reader accomplishes successfully.

During a face-to-face session they can be disabused of their errors in judgement by sitters who will most likely recognize BS when it is dumped on them (assuming I’m not giving them too much credit), but in a remote setting it can amount to unfiltered “spewing.” Ebeneezer Scrooge had pithy words for that, particularly when the client is paying for the privilege of being hornswoggled.

My usual response when I encounter the fantasies that mystical diviners often gin up is “Where’s the proof?” The tarot cards are supported by a wealth of established knowledge and wisdom that has accumulated over a couple of centuries of serious practice, but the hordes of novices who are currently swarming the landscape obviously don’t feel the need to absorb it and don’t seem to care. They are being told by more experienced practitioners to “Just do whatever you want, there is no ‘right way’ and it’s all good” (in other words, “join the free-for-all” as one of my online tarot correspondents, author Tony Willis, once dubbed it).

There is a definite prejudice among a broad swath of tarot readers that the cards should not be used to predict the future, which in their estimation is too fluid to sit still long enough for any such attempt to be reliable. When it isn’t based on lingering religious angst, it is typically delivered with the Jungian justification that the tarot is only good for promoting self-awareness and self-development. At this point in my long tarot journey, I’m not moved by either argument.

I have no problem with forecasting potential events and circumstances with the intent of helping a seeker come to grips with them via a timely “heads-up.” I see it as a reasonable approach to stimulating either the commitment to steer the likely future to a successful denouement if the augury is favorable, or the resolve to discourage it from materializing if it is unfavorable. Neither requires “buying the farm” in terms of unconditional belief, it’s simply a matter of “forewarned is forearmed” that should be taken under advisement along with more conventional forms of decision-making and problem-solving.

When predicting with the tarot cards, I mostly stay on my side of the fence in action-and-event-oriented territory, only occasionally crossing the line into the visionary realm of inspiration, imagination and ingenuity to steal a few morsels of unscripted discernment to buff up my analytical presentations. These are seldom the product of impressionistic supposition and I’m very careful to avoid projecting my own speculative guesses onto the reading no matter how educated I think they are.

I won’t presume to elevate these insights to the exalted level of intuition because they are grounded in the humble soil of human circumstance and I make no claims about their spiritual pedigree. I’ll leave that to the far-flung internet psychics who, after all, aren’t even reading the cards in the historical face-to-face manner, they are merely performing remote mind-reading with props. It may work well enough, but it ain’t tarot.