Choosing the Best Tarot Technique for the Worst Questions

I love teaching tarot classes. During a recent Zoom class, a question came up at the end of the class. It was the sort of question on which I could base an entire class, or at least a blog post. So, here goes.

The scenario is one with which we are all familiar. A tarot client has a specific yes or no question which will be immediately proven right or wrong. Rather than waiting for the pregnancy test, the job offer, the Xray, or whatever will provide the definitive answer, they want to hear right now from tarot what the answer will be.

The reader performs a comprehensive tarot spread like a Celtic Cross. Within the spread, and perhaps, most convincingly, in and near the ‘future’ or ‘outcome’ position, there are cards which we typically traditionally associate with the nature of the question. We see the Empress for a question about pregnancy. We see the Three of Pentacles for a question about a job. Based on the appearance of those cards in those positions, we give our answer. When the client gets the news from the official source, it turns out that what we thought we saw in the cards, and what we told the client, was wrong.

When this question was posed at the end of class, my thought was that Spirit does not always see things in the same linear way we do. For Spirit, the difference between being pregnant now, or in a month, or being hired now, or in two months, may be very negligible.

Perhaps Spirit is like a loving but stern parent who will direct us to the best source of answers for the question we have. Perhaps Spirit wants us to be patient.

In class we discussed ways to handle this kind of question, and ways to provide the answer in a broader scope. That was all we had time to do in class. There is so much more to unpack here.

The first consideration is about those kinds of questions. Why would a person want tarot to answer something when a mundane tool, or a little patience, would provide the best and most accurate answer?

Sometimes there is a good reason. Life can have a lot of moving parts. We need to sign the lease now if we are going to get the great apartment, but only need the apartment if we get the job. In a situation like that, tarot is the best tool to create a great strategy for managing those moving parts.

In the situation where there is no logical reason to use a mystical tool when a mundane tool is the better option, there is usually something more at play. The seeker wants to infuse a touch of the divine, of the spiritual and the mystical, into their situation. They may not have the vocabulary to ask a deep question about their circumstance, so they ask the most direct question on their mind. It is up to us, as readers, to break that question down and provide them with the mystical experience they seek, whether we can ferret out the exact answer they think they want, or not.

As we discussed in class, we find our flow in a tarot reading by implementing our energetic and spiritual resources, our knowledge of the cards, and proper technique.

As I thought about this question, I came to this clear realization.

When we are in a situation where we need to examine a definitive yes or no, a broad comprehensive spread like the Celtic Cross is not the best technique.

Over the years, I have developed a technique that I call “weighing the cards”. This technique is invaluable for answering specific yes/no questions.

My own experience has been that using yes/no spreads or activating certain cards to indicate a yes or no answer hasn’t been effective for me. The weighing the cards technique has worked wonders. Each reader is different. We all must find the technique that works for us. The important part is to know many techniques, so we can apply the best technique for the situation at hand.

Here is how weighing the cards works. Suppose the question is, “Will I get this job?”

I will pull one card for “You get this job”. I pull a second card for “You do not get this job”. I weigh the two cards against each other in the context of the question. Sometimes they both point to the affirmative or the negative. Sometimes there is a clear feel toward the no card, or the yes card.

 If they both seem neutral, or I cannot get a good feel, I will repeat the process, pulling cards, one in each pile, until a clear story emerges.

It is important to remember that, even in a situation where we might believe there is a clear yes or no answer, there might be other factors. You might be pregnant, but quickly miscarry. You might not be pregnant now but become pregnant quickly. You might get a job offer that is not what you expected and choose not to take it. You might get the job offer, but then get another offer which you take instead.

Sometimes I will use the weighing method and add a third card, or third pile of cards, which is, “something else happens”. This can help me see those complicated unexpected things.

Sometimes it is important to break a single question into many. “Am I pregnant?” might break into, “Will there be a baby soon?” “How will pregnancy go?” “What will be the challenges of motherhood?” “How will the father adjust?” “What will the baby be like?”

“Am I pregnant?” is best answered by a pregnancy test. The deeper questions that surround the concept of a new child can only be answered by divination. When we can pivot the question to the place where our tool shines, we can get better results.

When we need to attempt those yes or no questions, the using the right technique will give us the best chance for success. You may find, as I do, that the “weighing the cards” method is the right technique for you.

In divination with tarot or any tool, the more techniques we know, the more skillfully and accurately we can find our answers.

Tarot Reading: Say What You See and Assume Nothing

Even after more than twenty years of full time tarot reading, the cards in action still amaze me.

I had any interesting reading while providing tarot entertainment at a teen birthday party this weekend. (When they are too old for clowns and too young for strippers, hire a tarot reader!)

The trick to reading for people who are radically different that you in age, gender experience or culture is simple. You have to read from their perspective. For instance, the same romantic cards will appear to talk about the love life of a thirty-year-old or a thirteen-year-old. The reader has to recognize the difference between a grown-up Two of Cups experience and a young teen Two of Cups experience, and structure their interpretations accordingly.

Sometimes, though, the cards will appear in an improbable way.

This weekend, when reading for a person who was clearly too young to be employed, I saw issues about a current job.  Oddly, it didn’t appear to be a typical kid job like dog walking or lawn mowing, it looked like a lifelong career in which the child was already working. How could this be?

My sense of this was so strong I had no choice but to address it. I told her what I was seeing. Turns out, my young client was indeed employed as a child actor, and expected a life-long career in show business.  From there, I was able to give her an age-appropriate reading that truly addressed her unique set of issues.

This reminded me of two of the fundamental rules of professional tarot reading. First, as long as it isn’t hurtful or dangerous, say what you see without worrying about whether it makes sense, or whether it’s a long shot. You don’t have to understand the reading as long as the client does!

This second is this. Although we must make some demographic assumptions in order to read for a diverse group of people, we really can’t assume that anything is or is not true about a client. We must get the information that we receive from the cards, from intuition and from Spirit, without the filter of our assumptions.

Each time we go to the cards to read for others, we have the opportunity to learn something about tarot reading itself, and about ourselves.

I am your Grandmother's Tarot Reader

There are some talented professional tarot readers who use slogans to set themselves apart from the fortune-tellers of yesteryear, slogans like “not your grandmother’s tarot reader,” or “not your mother’s tarot reader.” These readers are gamely rising to the challenge of presenting tarot readings to a new generation; a generation raised on anime and video games where fantastic things happen on a screen and not so much in real life.

These readers are working to draw a line in the sand between fortune-telling and proactively manifesting a positive future, between readings that scare and readings that empower.

I’m a modern reader, too. I believe in proactivity as much as I believe in predictions. I believe in hard work much more than I believe in curses. But after more than twenty years in business, the fact is this.

I am your grandmother’s tarot reader. I also read for your mother. I predicted your birth before your mother had even met your father. And now I am reading for you at your Sweet Sixteen party.

Being a part of many families’ traditions and a guest in their homes was one of the things I loved about being a respected local psychic. It was something I worried I would lose as my business became more global.

What has really happened is I am truly available to every family member when they need me.  I read for your kids when they are in crisis at college. I read for your parents back home. Where ever in the world you are, we can have a reading at your convenience.

Reading for many generations in a family is enlightening and valuable. I can see the traits, both helpful and hurtful, that are inherited. I can facilitate communication between the generations. I can normalize something about the younger generation that the older generation just doesn’t understand.

When there is a loss in your family I grieve with you, but I can also help you stay in touch with your loved ones in Spirit.

I know the names of your dogs. I remember when you graduated college. I predicted the date of your birth.

I am your family’s tarot reader. I guess that makes me a bit older than I was when I started out. I’ve seen many changes in societal trends over the years. I’ve also seen what happens to older tarot readers who don’t keep current. I think these are some of the people younger readers try to distinguish themselves from when they claim to not be your grandmother’s reader.

Older readers are often entrenched in a less fluid reading style than are younger readers. Older readers often see the card interpretations as cast in stone rather than changed by context or intuition. Older readers may be somewhat dogmatic in terms of belief systems and tarot traditions. Older readers may not take the time to see how the world has changed and may not feel relatable to younger clients.

That’s probably why “not your grandmother’s tarot reader” is a thinkable slogan for younger readers. There is an inherent quality of ageism in this marketing message that makes me cringe a little. I hope most people appreciate the wisdom that experience brings. That I read for your grandmother makes me more capable to read for you, not less.

Some older readers are disconnected from modern reality, and some younger readers are unseasoned. I remember how hard I had to work, prior to having some wrinkles and graying hair, to gain the confidence of my clientele.

There is value to a youthful perspective. There is value to the wisdom that comes from age. A person who knows your family has a wise perspective for you, just as a person who is a complete stranger might have a helpful fresh perspective.

Basically, neither youth nor age really matter in the world of professional tarot. Both have their advantages and drawbacks. What matters is skill, talent and perspective. None of these are age-related.

I wonder what the “not your grandmother’s readers” plan to do when they, themselves, are grandmothers.  Rebranding and new slogans are sure to become priorities for them.

I am proud to be a multi-generational reader. I’m proud to read for your grandmother. I’m proud to read for your mother. And I’m proud to read for you. I’m here for the duration, so perhaps I’ll get a chance to read for your kids, too!