I ran across this post describing 10 Questions Every Tarot Reader Must Answer from the Left-Hand Tarot (loving the name!) and thought it was brilliant. There are a lot of “10 Things You Should Know About … X” posts. When it comes to Tarot, there are several top 10 lists that are just plan out of place, IMO. So how about a conversation to get to know your reader?
Get To Know Your Reader
I answered his questions to give you a deeper insight into my history with Tarot, how I’ve educated myself, and my my style. It will also provide you with answers to questions you might have as someone coming to me for a reading like, how Tarot works, what’s my spiritual bent, am I foretelling the future, and if a reading will cost you anything. So let’s dive into the questions and find out a bit about what you and I are looking for, shall we? (I feel like we’re speed dating now)
Were you mentored, or were you self-taught?
I am self taught. I have sought my own information about Tarot as I learned what spoke to me about the art of Tarot as a tool to provide actionable advice. I had my first Tarot reading when I was in college. I was so impressed with the reader being able to recognize what was going on in my life without even knowing me that I was hooked. The deck I received about 10 years earlier came out of the closet.
Fortunately for me I lived in Portland, OR. Powell’s was a short hike from where I lived. So I went and spent a day in the metaphysical section. I found more cards than I could dream existed. I found books about Tarot that I scanned over and again for a sense of authority or resonance. I found and landed on Papus, Cowie, and a book of spreads. They helped me understand intuition, history, and how a layout works. Later I found Greer and Pollack and they took me deeper into exercises that fleshed out my understanding of the majors, court, and minors, symbolism, and style.
Today I still reference these books. It find new things to learn about the cards from them every time I comb through their wisdom. Now, I look for podcasts like Biddy Tarot and The Hermit’s Lamp.
Being self-taught also tends to be a recurring theme in my life. I think what I like about it is that it affords me the opportunity to try things I’m passionate about on my terms, determine what is a success or failure, and then achieve what’s next.
One thing I’ve learned from my time as a reader is that I love to be available to those who are affirming. Being a member of the LGBTQA community provides me access to several others who are in that space. So I focus my skill and art of reading into the LGBTQA community so that I may learn from and support my community.
Are you a psychic or a Tarot reader?
I am a tarot reader that has developed (and continues to) his intuition. I was part of an interesting discussion on this very subject. @TheTarotLady hosts #TarotRap on Twitter. She posed this question and there were very similarly themed answers. In my case: I believe that intuition is a response based on experience and prompt. Being psychic is, to me, being connected to another plane or universal vibration that the rest of us have yet to develop and experience. I’m pretty rooted in this plane.
Are your predictions accurate, and is accuracy important to you?
I am not a predictive reader. My style is to provide actionable advice based on the choices or decisions you have in front of you. I am a natural project manager, leader, and coach. I leverage those skills to help you achieve your desired outcome. So, actually, I’ve had more people respond that I have acknowledged their current situation and the path that they appear to be on than that I have predicted anything. To have someone say that what I am seeing in my interpretation of the cards resonates with them definitely makes me feel like I’m an accurate intuitive reader and that is important to me.
Here’s a case in point. I trust my intuition a lot. Recently I asked a client if their mother was the block in their desired outcome based on a series of experiences. She indicated that the traits I was describing were her father. So either I’m not 100% right (and who is?) all the time, or my intuition is right and we glossed over that her mother might be complicit in the block because she’s not supporting her daughter. Gaining her mother’s support would probably turn around the father and the situation. Time will tell. When I receive feedback after this type of “mistake,” I have always been told that my intuition was on point.
Is there anything you can’t predict in a reading?
I don’t think there is anything I can’t inuit in a reading. However, I’ll twist this a bit and say that there are things I see that I might choose to release to the querent very purposefully. In doing so they can grab the reigns and be empowered to drive their own life in a way they haven’t before or are currently.
I will say that timing in a reading is something I’m still receiving feedback on. I feel pretty confident in my sense of timing when performing a reading. But I haven’t received enough feedback to know if I’ve been as accurate as I’d like to be known.
Of course, I certainly can not predict your winning lottery numbers. Would that I could…
Do you use only Tarot, or are you multi-disciplinary?
I only use Tarot cards. I do not use pendulums, magick, spells, ouija, etc. I have used Lenormond and playing card (cartomancy) but they are not my go to and, I think, live in the world of cards similar to Tarot.
I do use multiple Tarot decks. I have a go to deck that I love, the Haindl Tarot deck. I use this deck for when I need to feel extremely comfortable, if I’m doing a reading of a spiritual nature, or because it happens to be on my person most of the time. I use The Wild Unknown when I need to feel inspired and/or connected to the Pacific Northwest (this means feeling comfortable, grounded, home, energized, free, accepted, and much more). I’ll use the Rider Wait or the Illuminati if the reading or querent calls for a comfort level from “standard” Tarot imagery.
Is the message in the cards, or in your head?
The cards provide the inspiration to create a connection between your intent as a querent and my interpretation of those symbols on the card as a reader.
Are you a priest or a fortune-teller?
Neither! I tend to be seen as a mentor, coach, leader, or manager.
Are you a fixer or a looker?
I think I’m both. I look into a current situation and describe the current circumstances. Once we’ve agreed that we’re on the same page (and this is important so we’re not having a discussion about two different things), I start providing actions to achieve the desired outcome or goal. In this part of the reading I provide a fix of sorts.
Do you read for free, or for fee?
I want you to have the experience of what it’s like to go through a sample reading with me before you choose to invest in our time together. So I can be found on periscope for quick mini-readings to try out my style. Other than that freebie, I read for a reasonable fee.
Is there anything you won’t predict in a reading?
I will never predict death, lottery numbers, the sex of your baby, etc. I’m not the type of reader to come to and ask, “Can you pull a few cards?” or “What do the cards say?” without coming with a prepared question, desired outcome, or goal. Please recognize that doesn’t exclude questions like discovering your life’s purpose or your track an university. Those are nearing desired outcome territory. We just need to finesse your question a bit. Contact me and we can settle on a question before you purchase a reading.
Wrap It Up Already
So, I hope this “get to know your reader” experience was enlightening. I hope I’ve provided a bit more insight into me and my practice. And I hope this gives you the information you need to decide you’d like to book a reading with me. If you need a bit more time, sign up for my mailing list (box to the right or below on your phone) and follow along for a bit or check me out on Periscope @comingouttarot.