Facing
the Querent
We were recently in an airport waiting lounge when Marcus received an e-mail on his BlackBerry. As a reward for partially funding a tarot documentary, he would be receiving a tarot reading from New York–based poet and tarot reader Enrique Enriquez. The reading arrived and he had time to look at it before we boarded the plane.
The first line of the reading was something akin to, “These are my words, but they are now not my words. Read them out aloud.” Since Marcus is reasonably fearless in public spaces, he began to read them out aloud, without knowing what was beyond his scroll button. It soon became obvious and clear that the reading did not apply to him at all, but rather to Tali. And as the lines progressed and Marcus read them out, it was as if Marcus was an oracle for words that were beyond our comprehension.
The hairs on the back of our necks went up, and Marcus was—for once—speechless. Not only did Enrique have no idea as to the circumstances when Marcus would receive his message, nor who else might be present, but he actually stated that all he does is read the images of the cards and everything else is down to the listener.17
The moral of this story is that even in the most modern of circumstances, the oracular tradition of tarot is not dead.
Our biggest step in reading tarot is reading it face to face with other people. In our previous chapters, we have seen how we can apply the symbols and context of the cards to real-life situations and how we can overcome the initial obstacles we may place in front of ourselves. We’ve also prepared ourselves for the questions we will be asked as a tarot reader. Now it’s time to explore in more depth the nuances of reading for other people, including how you can use tarot to uncover your own unique and distinctive oracular voice.
Different Decks with Different Voices
Tarot is a language composed of symbol and metaphor, which translates to real life. As such, it has diverse dialects and accents that make your reading style unique. Tarot is very much influenced by the diversity of communication, and how an individual tarot reader perceives and verbally expresses the images that are presented to him or her will vary. Not only that, but the deck used will also impact this communication.
There are up to a thousand tarot decks on the market at the time of writing, and the majority of these are lesser-known and published in the Asia-Pacific area. We are living in a time of abundance and choice. There is no better time to be a consumer of tarot, so be merry and feast on the cornucopia of decks available on the market.
We are often asked which is the best deck, or the top five decks, to purchase. This is a difficult question as one deck may suit you as a reader but not somebody else; art has personal, subjective appeal and mysticism is an even more personal path.
Let’s start with the standard, must-have staple of tarot decks, commonly called the Rider-Waite deck. The world of tarot has certainly moved on since the early 1980s when Rachel Pollack wrote of the difficulties of obtaining a copy of this deck in her book 78 Degrees of Wisdom. More accurately called the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, this is probably the best starter choice, since it set the stage for every seventy-eight card deck following it. A number of variations have been published, such as the Illuminated Tarot, which is a recolouring of the original, or the Smith-Waite Tarot Centennial Edition, featuring scans of the first edition deck, a century old. Furthermore, a whole host of “clone” decks incorporate the symbolism and images from this deck into their own original artwork; thus, if you are familiar with the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, you will be instantly familiar with all of its descendents.
The Thoth Tarot, published in 1942, is a deck that hums with power. It is known for its brutal honesty and unique Kabbalistic symbolism. It was conjured up by the infamous magician Aleister Crowley and designed by the artist Lady Frieda Harris using sacred geometry and occult principles. The original companion book, written by Crowley, is dense and poorly organized; however, there are a number of more helpful contemporary books and courses to guide you through the cards.
There are decks themed and tailored for every occasion and interest that will address your love of whim and whimsy, your longing to delve into the mysterious world of the sacred and the wonderful, and your ever-growing transformation in this remarkable existence we call life on earth. Here are a few other seventy-eight card decks that we find notable (and of use to beginners especially):
- The Robin Wood Tarot (featured in Anthony Louis’s Tarot
Plain and Simple book) - The Druidcraft Tarot (a Druidic/pagan deck)
- The Morgan-Greer Tarot (a friendly Waite-Smith clone)
- The Mythic Tarot (based on Greek myth)
- The Mystic Faerie Tarot (ideal for teenagers or discovering
the teenager within oneself)
We also have our preferred “oracle” decks, which do not follow the standard seventy-eight card pattern. We love the Philosopher’s Stone Fortune-Telling Deck, featuring stones in various symbolic illustrations, and the PsyCards, which are based on Carl Jung’s work and have cards clearly labeled yes, no, and never—very good for down-and-dirty readings where simple answers are required.
Watch Your Language
Now more than ever, modern language is changing. No two individuals use language in exactly the same way, since we are all influenced by factors such as where we live, our age, our background, our nationality, and especially the growth of the Internet, with the world quickly becoming a global village.
Therefore, in addition to regional differences in accent and vocabulary, we will also encounter different styles of communicating a reading that are very much influenced by the teaching style of a particular tarot teacher. How we think and (of course) how we feel comes through in a tarot reading. Some readers have a tarot voice that expresses more humour (when the context is appropriate, of course) when doing a reading; other readers may prefer to remain more serious.
The topic of context brings us to the importance of being sensitive to the personality of the querent and where he or she is at in life. This is something that comes up in many jobs where communication is a focal point. For instance, we have all met a hairdresser who does not know when to stop talking and just cut the hair! Sometimes, in communicating a reading, less can be more. As Umberto Eco said, “The truth is brief, the rest is merely commentary.”
Some research suggests that people find tarot troubling because they think it can “affect the mind” in some unspecified manner. This may be based on a general fear of being controlled; people may fear that their free will could be affected by an external force. Thus we have to take care, when we express what we see and feel through the cards, that our word choice and advice are not misinterpreted. For example, be wary of using the phrases “you should” or “you must”—and particularly “the cards tell me you should…”
Even in the case of what appears to us to be a clear-cut decision, it’s important to emphasize that the client has a choice to make and always has the final say. A slight change to a simple turn of phrase can make so much difference to how somebody receives the wisdom of the cards that you are sharing. Notice, too, when you deliver a reading, that you may switch “person” or point of view when speaking. You should try to be aware of the impact of “you can see that…” versus “we can see that…” or “I can see that…” Speaking in the first person—“I feel that the cards are telling me…”—is active and direct; it is a more confident and open voice, and less prone to misinterpretation.
Open Yourself to Inspiration
That precise moment in time when the reader and the querent have been brought together to be with the cards is a magical occurrence. It could even be said that every moment of our life has been leading up to this time, when we impart a message, through the cards, that is destined for the querent. This is true no matter what is said, and no matter how meaningful or how silly you may feel the message is—it has to be said.
It could be one word that resonates and gives you an instant rapport with your client, or you may feel you are burbling many words with no recognition of what you are saying at all. It may be that the querent is merely “taking delivery” of the message now, and it will be many weeks, months, or years until the reading finally makes sense to him or her.
Whatever the case, always go with your inspiration. Always try to find some new way of doing a spread or finding an answer for your client. You may discover that what you are doing has already been done somewhere else by someone else; years later you may even read about it in a book. However, it is important to experiment. Tarot reading is a surprisingly new tool in the long tradition of oracles and fortunetelling, so there is plenty of opportunity to make new discoveries and contribute to the emerging tradition.
There is a lot of the concept of the “long game” in tarot reading. All that is needed is to await the divine will to manifest the moment. To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
Keep It Professional
As a professional tarot reader, it’s your job to keep the reading on track. Keep keenly to the querent’s issue and the stated question. Try to avoid being drawn into conversations like whether the querent should alter the décor of her dining room. Remember that you are her reader and not her personal friend; you are also not her therapist. Avoid very personal talk, especially when you hear the “too much information!” alarm in your head. This can be more of a problem if you are reading regularly for the same person over time.
It is possible to remain friendly and professional, yet detached, through-
out your tarot card session.18 What you do not want is for querents to become dependent upon you, especially if they are going through a vulnerable time. If not handled sensitively, this could lead to complications, especially if you have to refuse doing further readings for them. It’s not unusual for tarot readers to be bombarded with requests for readings from the same querent who will not take no for an answer.
Keep It Real
Do not pretend to be something that you are not; the tarot calls out your authentic voice, face to face. Ground the reading in what you are looking at. When you flounder, always return to the content of the cards in front of you. If you are overwhelmed with detail, sit back and take in the whole picture of the reading. If you cannot see any detail, look more closely at one specific card. Use your skill of pinpointing to identify what’s most important in the reading. Incorporate everything that happens. If you say something “wrong,” go with it. You may be surprised where the resulting conversation may take you in that moment.
It’s also helpful to refer to your daily experience. For instance, if you work in a shop, use your experience dealing with daily tasks, like sorting clothes. All your life’s unique and rich experiences contribute to your readings. The most mundane of events can have significant import when used as a clear and accessible story for a deeper message, through the tarot.
Part of “keeping it real” is recognizing when it gets “unreal.” During a reading, you may enter into a trancelike state, even lightly. This is a result of your focused attention, your unconscious mind, and the dreamlike bridging of the cards’ symbols and metaphors. If you start to feel slightly strange, explore that feeling and follow it. Recognise and embrace your inner state.
First Impressions Last
Think carefully about the impression you want to give, and remember that old adage, “First impressions last.” The first time your querent lays eyes on you and your reading environment is a very special moment that cannot be undone or recreated. The first thing the querent will do is to weigh up you and your space. Is this a place that they feel safe and secure in? Do you look like a person they can trust? Think about how you want to market yourself. What sort of reader are you? Are you an intuitive reader with a mystical vibe about you? That’s okay; just be aware of the effect you have on others. There is no getting away from the fact that you are your own walking and talking advertisement.
Props and Regalia
Whilst there are many ways of laying out a table or a space for tarot, the ideal reading area should above all remain functional. There is little worse than a table crammed with crystals, candles, and statues that leave no room to properly lay out the cards.
Of course, many readers like to include favourite objects that give them a sense of connection to the divine, or personal items such as a photo. However, do not forget that these items will also be facing the client, so take into account their impact. You do not want to give a reading that consists of the other person wondering why you have a skull on the table, rather than concentrating on the reading itself.
We are also very much influenced by our senses, which in turn affect our first impressions. What does your environment smell like? There are various incense mixtures that are said to be conducive to the mystical experience, such as frankincense and myrrh, as well as sensual oils that are known to have a calming effect. Some tarot readers actually perfume their decks. Many specialist vendors can provide “divination” incense and scented oils.19 However, be aware that not all your clients will appreciate or can tolerate strong scents because of allergies or other health reasons. This is worth checking in advance.
If you know ahead of time the nature of the querent’s question, you can use scents that correspond with it. For example, if the question is about love, rose petal incense would be recommended. If the question is about spiritual purpose and development, choose frankincense, which corresponds with spiritual elevation.
Ritual and Rites
There are many grounding rituals, protection rituals, and other preparatory rituals for magical work, if you consider tarot reading such a work. If not, there is little need for ritual unless you require some boundaries to be created with the other person. If you choose to use a ritual, it is up to you whether you want the client to witness it.
We use a simple invocation taken from the work of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn:
I invoke thee, HRU, in the name of IAO, the great angel that is set over the operations of this secret wisdom, to lay your hands invisibly under these, my consecrated cards of art, that thereby we may obtain true knowledge of hidden things, to the glory of thy ineffable name.
We usually then “seal” the stacked deck by tracing with our finger a circle and a cross in the centre of it, representing the magical symbol of the rose and cross. We then tap it four times (for luck, perhaps, or perhaps to remind us that we are going to be reading in four different worlds) and present it to the client.
Sometimes we will say this invocation out loud; other times we will say it silently, which is okay so long as there is clear intention and a discernible change of state. We would like every reading to be considered a sacred moment, so we separate ourselves from mundane life with this invocation and small ritual.
Face-to-Face with the Client
The First Few Minutes
In the first few minutes of a reading, you are establishing the frame or context for what will take place in the reading session. This frame is an important point of the communication. As an example, if a reader said to you at the start of a reading, “There is nothing to be afraid of,” that would probably make you wonder if there actually was something to fear! So we should come up with a good introduction to our reading, framed in a positive manner, stating how we will go about the reading itself and what the other person can expect.
It may be a little difficult to know what to say. One way to approach this is to ask previous clients these questions: “How would you describe your reading with me to a friend? What was it like for you? Did anything surprise you? Should I have done anything differently?” When you have a few answers, you can confidently build a statement to offer at the start of your reading, such as:
Many of those who have sought my readings have been surprised by how humorous it can be, even while discussing serious issues. I think that you will also enjoy my way of weaving stories into readings, particularly as I tend to describe cards in terms of modern films. I am hoping that, like most of my clients, you’ll leave this reading not necessarily floating on a cloud, but certainly with a lot of new insight to help you move forward over the coming weeks.
You may be surprised by how your reading style appears to other people, which can be very different to the view from inside yourself. Get others to show you your own style, and then embrace it to present the cards’ message clearly.
What to Do When You Flounder:
The Four Levels Method
It happens to every reader some time—that panic-inducing moment when you don’t have a clue what to say during a reading. Here we offer a simple technique for overcoming this situation.
Kabbalah, as mentioned earlier, is a system of Jewish mysticism, and its Tree of Life diagram is familiar to most esoteric students. In this system, when one studies a sacred text, there are four levels of interpretation. These levels of interpretation also apply very well to tarot:
1. Peshet: Simple
2. Remez: Symbolic
3. Drosh: Extended
4. Sod: Secret
The first level is the simple description of the text: its length, number of words, any key appearance of particular words, and so forth. In tarot, this is the simple and literal description of a card. Try it with this card, starting sentences with “I see…”
5 of Wands
(The Universal Tarot)
Notice that you automatically tend to “drift up” a level to the interpretative or symbolic level. You might say, “I see five men arguing,” whereas what you actually see is only “five men holding sticks”—the “argument” is an interpretation of the literal images of the card.
So the next level is this symbolic one, where books of symbols can assist you, as well as any text written by the artist(s) and/or designer(s) of the deck. At this level we say, “On this card are five staves, symbols of the will or values of a person.”
The third level is “extended.” In Kabbalah, we would look at other sacred texts, make comparisons, and put the studied text into a wider context. In tarot, we do this when we say such things as “So it is like a war…” or “This reminds me of the story of ‘The Three Little Pigs.’” We’re putting the card into a wider context, or translating it into a metaphor to make it more understandable. We also do it when we extend our interpretative level to the other person’s life or our own, such as, “So in your life, this card represents those moments when you feel out of control or at a loss.”
We reach the fourth or top level when we have those magical moments of connection or insight, intuition or conscious realisation, and there is a certain sense of “fit” in the reading. This is that “aha!” moment, when we suddenly understand the above card in the context of the spread: “So what is really happening is that your previous failures have led you to develop a bad habit, entirely self-destructive, where you never complete anything.”
We have watched many hundreds of readers flounder at one time or another, and we know what happens: they almost always go up the levels of interpretation, usually straight to the symbolic. When they do so, often they fall back on clichés and sayings that don’t really mean much, such as, “So here we can see that, like in ‘The Three Little Pigs,’ the wolf is not able to use his breath to blow the stone house down…” and so on. This does not help the other person.
The best way to deal with a moment of confusion is to go straight back down the levels to the absolute literal. Face the card and let it face you; reestablish your connection on the most basic level. Simply describe what you are seeing in the card. Keep describing, keep talking, and you will find that your intuition begins to flow again. At some point, you will naturally start to rise back up the levels, and there will have been no break in your reading. Also you will have remained true to the cards.
Here is an example with the above card in a “future” position in a spread:
So … er … I am seeing these five men. They are bearing their staves. One man is looking away whilst the others are looking in other directions. The sky is white. The man looking away is perhaps the leader—ah—so I figure that one particular experience or value in your future is being turned away because of the blankness of your memory, you have forgotten something that is most important to you …
And off you go again, back up the levels. So always remember: when stuck, face the card.
Before we leave this section, notice that the first letters of the Hebrew words for the levels spell out PRDS. Since Hebrew has no vowels, this may not be obvious at first as a word; however, it is the word “pardes,” meaning “garden.” We are more familiar with it when pronounced and spelt “paradise.” So the Four Levels Method we showed you for tarot is actually the Kabbalah “Formula of Paradise” and is a way of opening the secrets of holy texts and reentering paradise. As our tarot is also, in a sense, a divine text, it is a key to that same garden.
The Final Few Minutes
When summing up your reading, we suggest that you allow five minutes for questions and discussion; however, do ensure that the five minutes is part of the measured time for the whole reading. Do not let the post-reading conversation drift into a long discussion where you have less control of the communication and may find yourself offering personal advice from your own viewpoint, whilst the other person is still in the “frame” of taking consultation.
You may also choose to ask clients to repeat back some of what they have gained from the reading, and check that they appear to understand what you have offered. Don’t forget to ask how they found the overall experience so you can weave this into your opening statement, as we looked at earlier.
At the conclusion of the reading, offer your business details for further contact (including a business card, if you use one), ask if they would consider recommending you to others, and leave them with a small parting blessing statement, such as ours: “May a full deck of possibilities be yours.”
Preparing for Questions
Outside of the Reading Itself
There are many questions you may be asked that are not part of the reading itself. Some will be questions about tarot, while others may be general questions about topics that people feel are associated with tarot. We have to prepare for these so we can face them with confidence. Here are some of the questions we are often asked at tarot conferences and workshops and by those coming to readings.
What Different Styles of Reading Are There?
This is an interesting question as it is rare to actually see other tarot readers reading in detail, or to have an explanation of their process. Marcus did this by having readings done for him over a period of two years in the late 1980s so he could experience multiple tarot readers and model their unconscious processes—a sort of mind-mapping of the reading process. Perhaps we could someday devise a questionnaire or list of observational points to slot readers neatly into a particular style.
There are no real, defined categories of reading styles, although there are plenty of reading methods—various spreads, the counting method, free-form reading, and so on. We offer here a very general typing of styles, to which you may wish to add your own:
- Absolutely Predictive: These are the readings that make statements such as “On Wednesday, a man named Ian and
two friends will come calling for you with a legal offer.” - Absolutely Empowering: These are the readings wherein the reader shifts much or all engagement with the cards to the querent: “What do you see here in the Three of Wands?”
- Absolutely Psychic: Here the cards are used merely as a prop to psychic talent, so whilst the cards may be laid out, the reader might suddenly say, “I am getting the image of three men having an argument; it may be about you and something legal.”
- Absolutely Scientific: Here the cards are read in a purely systematic style: “This card, the Three of Wands, corresponds
with Binah in the world of Atziluth, so it means in this position that there will be a new formation of three things in a matter of values or law.”
In our experience, we’ve found that most readers are not “absolutely” any one style, and overlap several if not all of the above categories. Some few readers also have their own unique style, such as Enrique Enriquez, whom we’ve dubbed “Absolutely Poetic.”
There is perhaps also the style of “Absolutely Oracular,” where the reader is totally inspired by the Divine. In the times of the ancient Greek oracles, this would be seen as a message directly from the gods and goddesses themselves, usually passed to the oracle through the god of divination, Apollo. Such messages are considerably more rare these days, although as discussed earlier, intuition may be seen as being divinely inspired.
What Should You Say if Someone Asks How
Tarot Works, and Whether It Is Simply Random?
By the time you complete this book, you should have already prepared an “elevator pitch” (a stock answer) for the most frequent questions asked of tarot readers, such as this one (also see chapter 10). There is no one definitive answer; however, you can prepare your own personal reply along the lines of a metaphor. Marcus uses this:
Imagine that there is a pool of water into which every stone—every event, in time and space—is thrown. As the ripples of those stones interact, they create an almost infinite interference pattern. It is known from holography that if you flash-froze the water at any given moment, you could work out the location of all the stones from any segment of the ripples. Now imagine that the tarot reading is one of the stones, or an intersection of the ripples of every moment of your life and every possible moment of your life in the future. Because not only are all the stones dropped at once, every infinite combination of stones is also dropped in that moment—this is how the tarot works.
On the other hand, you can use a purely psychological model, such as, “The tarot works by providing images, in which our subconscious mind can perceive possibilities that may not have been apparent to our conscious mind.”
How Does One Explain
Psychic Perception or Intuition?
Again, you should have an elevator pitch prepared for this one, as you will be asked it often enough! We tend to think of intuition as “knowledge without knowing”—however, the topic has to be something about which do you have knowledge! For instance, a garage mechanic cannot intuit anything when faced with a complex cooking recipe, whereas a cook can intuit just the right thing to do to save a dish in danger, without knowing exactly why she has reached a particular decision. Similarly, a good tarot reader, with broad knowledge and experience, can intuit something in a reading without being able to tell how he has reached that conclusion.
Some people are naturally born with or develop (through strong early family experiences or traumatic events, for example) intuition about other people. When applied to tarot reading, this intuition can be a very powerful adjunct to their reading, so long as it is clear that the intuition has come from personal experience rather than anything in the cards. This, of course, is difficult if not impossible to separate, which is why the original question about intuition is difficult. You might want to do some brief research into what science says about psychic abilities and form your own conclusions.
As you have seen in this chapter, there is no truly prescriptive way of reading tarot. We would be better served to find our own voice rather than trying to attain some perfect “one true way” of reading—one that simply does not exist. The cards have been around for many hundreds of years and their variations have hardly been touched; there are many secret combinations, chords, and rhymes to be sung from the deck and you are instrumental in sharing that song with others.