The Eyes Have It (The Nose Follows)

While reading Jonathan Dee's Fortune Telling Using Playing Cards, I came across a face-to-face reading technique that hadn't occurred to me before. I seldom look closely at my clients before or during a session because I want to avoid the impression  that I'm "cold-reading" them to gather clues that I can then pretend I got …

First Things First: Preliminary Courtesies

"We're all here just to have a little fun Fred'll play the fiddle, now we'll begun" (from "The Corn Won't Grow So Rock-and-Roll" by Goose Creek Symphony) Most face-to-face tarot readers have certain protocols and courtesies they go through between the time a sitter "sits" and the moment the diviner "starts the clock" on the …

“Oh, the Shame . . . “

I had a novel experience yesterday. I was bounced from a Facebook group for being too forthcoming with my knowledge. I won't name it, but it's a very popular tarot students' site. The convenient excuse was that I was promoting my divination business, but I never did. The real reason was that I didn't fit …

The Name of the Game

A question frequently asked by what we might call "journeyman" tarot readers is "How can I break into professional practice on a full-time basis?" In my case, I  backed into it part-time through the patronage of a metaphysical shop owner who, when she learned that I was a local diviner, invited me to work out …

The Land of 1,000 Chances

Some of you (but I'll bet not many) may remember the old Wilson Pickett song "The Land of 1,000 Dances." I'm stealing his song title, slightly modified, for this post to reflect the  observation that "There are no negative cards, only opportunities." So every card in a reading, no matter how dire it seems, always …

Musings on Another Year

I just renewed my WordPress subscription (or, more accurately, I allowed it be renewed) for another year. Thus begins my fourth year of running this blog, and I thought it would be a good time for a quick review. I've covered a lot of ground over the past 36 months, in 1,170 posts. Some of …

A Case for Positional Spreads

I'm more than a little bemused by people who say that using formal tarot spreads "inhibits their intuition." Seems to me they're too easily diverted from their goal by undue sensitivity to the mechanics of the art; a spread is nothing more than a convenient template that offers a reasonable place to start, like an …

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 …

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 …

To Monetize or Not

When I started writing this blog, and in fact when I decided to start calling myself a "professional diviner" again, my conscious intent was to not attempt making a lot of money at it. After all, I retired from business ten years ago and the last thing I want is another full-time job. I'm mostly …