This isn’t the first time I’ve shared thoughts on questions in tarot readings, but it’s been a while since I wrote about the subject.
And recently, I’ve had some good conversations with tarot clients and peers about the types of questions we can explore together. It’s been inspiring me to ruminate further, and to expand upon the topic.
Asking the right questions is something that, in my opinion, takes time to refine. And that doesn’t just extend to tarot readings.
The questions you ask yourself when you’re making a decision can help or hinder your path to clarity.
The questions you ask when you’re talking with other people can influence the quality of your connections to those around you.
The questions that pop into your head throughout the day can sway your future actions: “What if I did this? What if I try that?”
And of course, all of these questions can lead us in one way or another depending on how we approach them....
On Tuesday, March 7, Saturn entered the sign of Pisces for the first time since the mid-`90s: The planet of structure and limitation last swam through Pisces’ oceans from 1993 – 1996.
In pop astrology, it’s common to hear negative takes on Saturn’s influence. People dread their Saturn returns and worry that whatever area of life Saturn is touching upon will become a desiccated husk.
On one hand, it’s understandable as to why some might assume Saturn leads to worst-case scenarios. It is symbolized by the scythe, an instrument that cuts.
Saturn reminds that we reap what we’ve sown. It can be a time of great reward, but it can also be a time when we must address any sickly crops in our lives.
Are you tending to something that needs a different kind of nourishment? Are there weeds in your garden that are running wild?
Saturn helps you take control. It shows you where you can make choices to make deeper commitments, tie up loose ends, and build a...
All of a sudden it seems like everyone is talking about artificial intelligence, or A.I. Even in the tarot community.
Open A.I. apps like ChatGPT and PFP.AI are becoming increasingly popular with people who want to update their profile pictures with artistic renderings, or who want to outline quick blog posts or other marketing content.
A.I. didn’t just come out of nowhere, though. The term “artificial intelligence” was coined in 1955, three years after computer scientist Arthur Samuel developed the world’s first self-learning computer program, the Samuel Checkers-playing program.
In our modern day, social media companies like Facebook and Google use machine-learning to deliver ads to users. Facebook also uses it to monitor content and comments, although human reviewers still often make final judgment calls on flagged content.
Voice-activated tools like Apple’s Siri, Echo and Amazon’s Alexa and Echo also use artificial intelligence. Siri was...
You might have noticed that I’ve started a new online tarot community, Tarot Study Hall, to build connection and conversation around the art of tarot reading.
One of the things I’m encouraging Study Hall members to do is set goals for their tarot practices.
But why? What’s the point?
It feels so linear to set a goal: You see where you want to be in the future, and you start working towards it.
Goal setting makes sense in so many areas of our lives. People set goals for their careers, their finances, their health, and more.
But when it comes to goal setting and tarot, it can feel counter to what tarot is all about: Why not just let your intuition guide you on your journey? Why not just feel it out intuitively and organically?
Letting inspiration guide you can certainly be part of the tarot journey. But structure can help a lot, too. Especially if you’re feeling overwhelmed by how much there is to learn about tarot, or you’ve been studying for a while...
A common learning curve that tarot readers share is figuring out how to synthesize the information in their readings.
So many of us learn how to read tarot card by card. A popular piece of advice is to pull a card a day as a way to study each card organically. This can be a useful practice, and one that breaks down what can be an overwhelming 78-card deck into bite-sized actions.
But where card-a-day practitioners end up getting stuck is when they want to transition into bigger readings. That’s where they start to feel unsure about how to combine cards, or find the patterns between them.
Similarly, when we’re relying on guidebooks to build our interpretations, multi-card spreads can end up feeling clunky as we work through them one card at a time.
This can also happen when we’re not sure how many details to work into a reading. Confusing complexity for potency in tarot reading can become a huge block for readers.
You don’t need to layer your readings with a...
“Whenever I try to read my cards, I’m not sure how to tell whether my intuition is coming through, or if I’m just remembering something I read in my guidebook.”
This is a common refrain I’ve heard from aspiring tarot readers over the years.
I’ve talked about this elsewhere, but it doesn’t hurt to repeat it every now and then: I think that the assumption that every tarot reading has to feel like an intense psychic download is something that ends up blocking a lot of tarot readers from connecting with their cards.
Which is unfortunate when you think about it. So many of people are called to learn tarot specifically because they want to deepen their intuition and trust themselves more.
But once you’re putting tarot into practice, there can be a disconnect between you and your cards.
Maybe the messages don’t flow as easily as you expect them to.
Or maybe you’ve careful studied the little white book that came with your deck, but...
Since opening the doors to Tarot Study Hall, I’ve had a number of people reach out with questions about what it is, and – most importantly – whether it’s the right place for them to be.
Tarot Study Hall is not another online course: It’s an ongoing immersion into the art of tarot reading. It’s a place where you’re able to implement what you’re learning about tarot. It’s a place to ask questions and find mentorship and guidance that will help you grow.
One of my former students, Elle, first came to me for mentorship a few years ago. Elle was spending upwards of two hours a day studying tarot. She would binge every tarot podcast she could find and loved collecting tarot decks.
But for all the time she was spending with her cards, she never felt like she was getting any further as a tarot reader. As a result, all those beautiful decks Elle was collecting felt like they were taunting her. “I feel so guilty...
One of the main things I focus on when I’m reading and teaching tarot is the importance of the question:
What is the goal or the intention of the reading?
Early on, I was always taught to read tarot using spreads. So many guidebooks I came across recommended three-card spreads – such as past, present, future – or larger spreads like the Celtic Cross.
And as social media became a more common place for tarot lovers to share their passion for card reading, it’s easier than ever to access hundreds, if not thousands, of tarot spreads at this time, for all kinds of topics.
But when I started reading tarot for others, I often found tarot spreads to be too confining for the flow of conversation that often unfolded. For all of the spreads I’d studied, I didn’t feel adequately prepared for the wide range of questions that querents would pose.
The problem with spreads is that if you’re reading on a specific question, then the spread your using has to...
I’m excited to announce that the doors to Tarot Study Hall are officially open.
Tarot Study Hall is not another online course: It’s an ongoing immersion into the art of tarot reading.
As a member, you get access to monthly Q&A calls, live practice sessions, prompts, and more, all designed to give you the hands-on experience you need to start trusting yourself as a tarot reader.
Tarot Study Hall aims to be a safe space where you can practice, make mistakes, ask honest, open questions about tarot and – best of all – grow as a tarot reader.
Being a founding member means you are joining the beta launch of this membership. It’s an all new experience that will grow over time, and you will have the opportunity to shape the future of Tarot Study Hall for years to come.
If you’re looking for an opportunity to be nurtured and mentored in a community that is dedicated to the art and language of tarot, I’d love to see you...
I have a general rule I follow when I’m online:
I don’t argue with strangers.
Not that I don’t argue with friends or acquaintances, either. I know better on all fronts that social media doesn’t often lead to good things when people are in disagreement.
This isn’t to say I’m against dialogue. It’s just that quite often, when I see people arguing, they’re spending more time trying to change each other’s minds than they are trying to understand each other’s perspective.
I find the same thing happens in the tarot community. When I first started connecting with other tarot readers, I joined some Facebook groups to meet other readers and have a dedicated space to share about tarot.
But after a while, I started to feel like those groups were counterproductive to what I was seeking. So often, posts devolved into virtual shouting matches, just like so many other experiences on social media.
And very often, the arguments that I...
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