Tips on Reading for Skeptics

Tonight I read for an acquaintance named Bruce. Having never had a Tarot reading before, he seemed to get pretty excited about his results. Later in the evening he told me, ”I didn’t want to say anything before we got started, but I used to be a skeptic.”

…Used to be? Talk about flattering. o_O Having at that point answered three of his questions (and thoroughly), I asked what changed his mind. We chatted for a while, and I think I’ve boiled our conversation down to a few simple bullet points. Here’s what turned my skeptic into a believer:

Cutest Card of the Day Ever

I should have posted this yesterday in my little ramble, but I got in late and it slipped my mind.

I drove down to see my family last night. At one point my sister and I were cozied up on the sofa with their sweet little pup named Molly, pulling our cards of the day. Molly seemed to be taking a lively interest in the fanned deck in my hands, so I held them out for her to sniff.

“Do you want to pick a card, too?” I joked. To my surprise, she reached out her nose and nudged one decisively out of the deck, so – mostly for the giggle – I flipped it over.

Molly had chosen the Ten of Cups. Or as I like to call it, the Happy Home card.

I mean, Awwwwwwwwww!!

I have to tell Molly’s story for this to be as adorable to you as it was to us. My stepfather had been poking around his old house one afternoon and found a pitiful little puppy – far too young to be away from her mother – shivering and starving under a picnic table. So, of course, he brought her home, and my family nursed her back to health.

Molly is a very intelligent dog. She is very aware of the fact that this family is responsible for her rescue, and she obviously adores them for it. Molly is also sweet, shy, and affectionate, and tries so hard to please her human mom and dad. She’s the ultimate house dog, really.

A week or so after she was found

More recently, in the Christmas snow

My mother, watching all this from her recliner, asked, “So what does the Ten of Cups mean?”

I explained the card, and as I did so Mom’s hand flew up to her heart. “Aww, that’s perfect for Molly!”

Frickin’ adorable is what that is. :’)

No Coincidences Here!

Let me just say, today was so wonderfully full of Tarot. ♡

This morning began blearily enough, with my usual why-isn’t-it-the-weekend-yet drag into my 8 am class. I found myself in need of Ibuprofen and headed to the campus bookstore, where I bumped into one of my querents from last week’s student lounge ordeal.

“You!” she yelped cheerfully, grabbing my arm. “Could you read for me again soon? You would not believe what happened to me yesterday.”

For context purposes – as there are no names, here – I’ll give you the gist of her previous reading. Suffice to say that the cards did not like her boyfriend. At all. Her cards encouraged her to stand up for herself; the Five of Wands (conflict!) appeared in the “best outcome” position, and The Tower foreshadowed an event that would shake the foundation of her [otherwise healthy enough] relationship. I hate to tell a querent that the cards scream, “You’re going to go through a break up very soon!” …but they did. So I reluctantly passed the message on.

And they did. Break up, I mean. Among other things the cards predicted.

But back to today. Her previous reading also foreshadowed a new love interest coming into her life (as the Page of Cups, mind you), and today’s reading gave her the same outcome… with many of the same cards. As a matter of fact, her significator was – surprise – the Page of Cups. I absolutely love when that happens!

So anyway. As always, the public reading drew a small crowd, and I read for, well, everyone. There was one reading in particular that I would really like to blog about, but I’m presently off to bed, so we’ll leave that till morning. :)

Getting into Business Part 1: Creating an Image

I’m a graphic designer by trade. Graphic design is all about networking; it’s about making connections and promoting yourself as a desirable brand. You need an image. You need visibility. Marketing, marketing, marketing.

So in getting this thing off the ground, I’ve decided that it’s time to approach my Tarot querents with the professionalism with which I approach my graphic design clientele. It’s time for business cards. Time for promotional materials.

Really, I could not be more excited about this!

The Ultimate Cat Lady Tarot

I went for an innocent little browse on Llewellyn.com recently, and I discovered THE best deck ever. I don’t know if you all are aware, but I am a serious, hardcore, UBER cat lady… and what should I find but the Tarot of Pagan Cats!

…can we just talk about how utterly perfect this deck is for me? ♡

Gotta Read ‘Em All

I was reading for my stepsister recently. She’s a very inquisitive person, and I talked to her afterward about various aspects of the Tarot. I can’t remember how we got into the conversation, but I started explaining the concept of elemental dignities.

“Water and fire have a greater effect on one another than, say, water and earth,” I explained, “Because they’re opposites. Think of water as weakening fire. So think of cups as weakening wands. The elements interact in the Tarot just like they would in real life.”

“Oh!” she said (and here’s where it got hilarious) – “Like Pokemon!”

First, I burst out laughing. Then I thought about it.

…Actually, yes. Kind of like Pokemon. So we giggled about that for a minute, and then she found it – a Pokemon Tarot deck.

I mean, how cute is this? How useful it would be for regular Tarot work is debatable (I mean seriously, there’s a Jigglypuff on the Death card), but this would make a great gift, or a great deck for silly readings. Either way, I love it. :D

A Look at “Tarot for Beginners” by Barbara Moore

Today I’d like to take a look at Tarot for Beginners, by Barbara Moore. This was not my first Tarot book, but I wish it had been. It is the book I recommend to anyone and everyone interested in learning the Tarot!

One of the great things about Tarot for Beginners is that it starts from the very, very, very beginning of the reader’s Tarot journey. Moore writes, “Learning to read the cards has a lot in common with learning to read. First you learn the alphabet, then you put the ABCs together to create words; the words create sentences, and so on.” She goes on to compare developing your reading style to writing a beautiful poem. Then, she walks you through each phase.