I like to say that I "just read the cards," I don't try to discover or guess in advance what the sitter's motives, objectives or ambitions are because I really don't need to know. My practice of not wanting to hear the specific question at the start of a reading serves this approach quite well … Continue reading The Pragmatic Reading
Opinion
Thoughts on Face-to-Face Reading
In this age of instantaneous electronic communication, there are tarot readers who may never experience the stimulation (and, yes, the trepidation) of reading the cards for other people in a face-to-face setting. Usually it's a lack of confidence rather than limited opportunity that keeps them chained to remote situations where they never get to test … Continue reading Thoughts on Face-to-Face Reading
“Painting Testimonial Pictures” – Problem Cards and Pataphysics
I think we can all agree that the tarot excels at throwing us curve-balls during the practice of prediction. Usually it's in the form of a card in a reading that just won't fit the puzzle no matter how we turn it. Often it's a major - or "trump" card - that lands in the … Continue reading “Painting Testimonial Pictures” – Problem Cards and Pataphysics
Of Smoke and Mirrors
. . . but not the kind you're thinking. The more popular Facebook tarot pages are constantly awash in the sentiment - prevalent among the overwhelming majority of neophytes - that spiritual energy ("good" or "bad") can cling to the cards in some unexplained fashion, encouraging the practices of mystically infusing them with the former … Continue reading Of Smoke and Mirrors
Stretchable Positions
No, I'm not talking about yoga or the Kama Sutra. Yesterday on the Tarot Professionals Facebook page Marcus Katz mentioned the notion of adjusting the meanings of spread positions according to the cards that land in them. I wasn't able to look at his full explanation because it's on the paid part of the site, … Continue reading Stretchable Positions
Public vs. Private – A Matter of Ethics
I was recently asked whether the missing-person readings I do were requested by the families or loved ones of the missing individuals; the implication was that I might be flouting ethical standards if I don't first obtain the "green light." I decided when I started exploring them a couple of years ago that, because these … Continue reading Public vs. Private – A Matter of Ethics
A “Hanged-Man Moment”
I've been immersed lately in one of the more active Facebook tarot pages, where the question of reversed cards comes up with predictable frequency. New readers who don't use them wonder anxiously if they should, while more experienced diviners who do are confident that they are worthwhile (I've been one of the latter for almost … Continue reading A “Hanged-Man Moment”
“Gut” or “Gourd” – Your Choice
As I frequent larger Facebook tarot groups, I encounter advice for reading the cards that recommends to beginners "Just go with your gut, don't think about it," which seems to be book-ended by "There is no right or wrong way, so whatever feels right is "right for you." As a thinking person, I have some … Continue reading “Gut” or “Gourd” – Your Choice
Reversed Cards As Psychological Cues
I know I'm repeating myself here, but I draw few psychological inferences (not none, but certainly not many) from my tarot readings. I'm an "action-and-event" kind of guy, and would rather explore what could potentially happen in a situation and not what someone else "thinks or feels" might happen, since (putting it kindly) they may … Continue reading Reversed Cards As Psychological Cues
Much Ado About Nothing? – The Problem with Trump Cards in Prediction
Although I've been working up to it for a while, I recently decided to take a more measured stance regarding the significance of trump cards in my personal readings (but not in those for other people since I won't presume to tinker with their destiny; that's for them to decide upon seeing the cards). I've … Continue reading Much Ado About Nothing? – The Problem with Trump Cards in Prediction
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 