"I woke up in betweenA memory and a dream"- from You Don't Know How It Feels by Tom Petty When it comes to temporal bias in a tarot reading (i.e. the traditional "Past/Present/Future" sequence), it could be said that there is nothing more useless to the timing of events than a memory and nothing more … Continue reading “Present” Focus in Tarot Reading: Leveraging the Moment
Professional Tarot
Cut to Fit: Existential Advice in Four Elemental “Flavors”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: One problem with tarot spreads based on the four classical elements of Fire, Water, Air and Earth is that there is often a significant qualitative mismatch between the elemental position meanings and the nature of the cards that land in those positions, requiring vigorous mental gymnastics on the part of the reader to … Continue reading Cut to Fit: Existential Advice in Four Elemental “Flavors”
The Haunting: Residual Implications of Reversal
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a companion piece to my previous essay on reversed cards as indicators of introspection or introversion that explores another notion I picked up from Paul Fenton-Smith, who observed that the reversed 3 of Swords can imply being "haunted by past disappointments." Unlike the influence of an upright card, which will often … Continue reading The Haunting: Residual Implications of Reversal
Taboo Topics in Tarot Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: While searching for a subject to continue my streak of daily posts, I decided to revisit one that I've touched on before in a less-comprehensive way. Like many professional tarot readers, I shy away from answering direct questions about medical concerns, financial investments or legal maneuvers because of the risk that they will … Continue reading Taboo Topics in Tarot Reading
A “Body/Mind/Soul” Positional-Bias Matrix
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a compact tableau that proposes to identify the ideal positional alignment the seeker should maintain going into a looming "showdown with circumstances." It uses a pre-established set of "situational bias" cards that facilitates adopting a "forward," "reverse" or "neutral" posture toward one's approach to a potential conflict scenario or uncertain evolution. … Continue reading A “Body/Mind/Soul” Positional-Bias Matrix
Numerous Reversals as Trade-offs: Pyrrhic Victories and Strategic Retreats
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Encountering numerous reversed cards in a brief tarot reading can present a challenge that is difficult to resolve. In an otherwise favorable forecast they can mean willingly giving up just a little more than you get to achieve your goal (the "Pyrrhic victory"), while in a less fortunate augury the implication is that … Continue reading Numerous Reversals as Trade-offs: Pyrrhic Victories and Strategic Retreats
“A Worldwide Hoodoo” – Tarot and Romance
"I done called up a Gypsy woman on the telephoneGonna send out a worldwide hoodooThat'll be the very thing that'll suit youI'm going to see that you be back home in thirty days"- from Thirty Days by Chuck Berry AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's been said that nothing is certain in life except death and taxes. To … Continue reading “A Worldwide Hoodoo” – Tarot and Romance
Deck Preparation: Clearing and Neutralizing
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The subject of "randomizing" a tarot deck before pulling the specific cards for a reading is one that suffers from much misapprehension. The common belief is that the pre-deal shuffle by the client or the diviner accomplishes the intended dispersion, but it is more accurate to say that this step instead subconsciously arranges … Continue reading Deck Preparation: Clearing and Neutralizing
“On the Cheap:” A Tarot Trend
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I call myself a "professional tarot reader," and in fact there have been periods in my life when I've lived up to the calling. But I don't have to make a living at it now, which is a good thing given the fact that I won't succumb to the trend for ultra-cheap online … Continue reading “On the Cheap:” A Tarot Trend
Grooming the Significator
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The classic Celtic Cross spread requires the use of a court card to represent the person for whom the reading is being done (the querent, seeker or sitter) or any other card that is appropriate to the subject of the inquiry. This is the first card placed on the table, and all of … Continue reading Grooming the Significator
