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How do Tarot readers do what they do?

I read Tarot at an in-person event for the first time since March 2020 over the weekend. I have been saying no to live events and parties and I intend to continue that into the new year, but I just couldn’t turn this one down. It was at a gorgeous resort overlooking a lake in Muskoka, outdoors, all the participants had to be double-vaxxed and rapid tested that day. They put me up for the night so it meant I could combine (totally fun) work with a mini-break with my sweetheart.

I wore a mask for the entire three hour duration. I sat across the table from a constant stream of people, one after the other, with only my eyes and my voice to make a connection and to express my empathy, respect, humor, and the message from the cards.

I was amazed, the mask didn’t seem to make any difference at all.

I was on fire, by the way.

At one point in the evening the person I was reading for sat quietly and just looked at me. This was after the quick reading I gave them (I never reveal what goes on during a reading, it all goes in the vault). They said to me, “How did you do that? What do Tarot readers DO?”.

I asked them if they meant how do Tarot cards work, but they went on to say that they had had many Tarot readings from different people, and only two readers (me being one of them) got it right. They asked me how could I tell them all about their life, just like that, even though they made a point of giving me nothing to work with. They asked if I was reading them, or reading the cards, or both, or what. They said they have a healthy scepticism around the cards but…

I thought about it for a moment. I said that I don’t break it down like that, it all flows together. The reading flows from them, from me, and from the source that the cards helps us to tap into. It’s a conversation, a co-creation. And, I said that as an experienced reader who has loved the cards for most of my life, I understand the symbolism and the system of the Tarot, but I also allow my intuition to weave the story that needs to be told at the moment. I then I try to tell that story in a way that makes sense to the person I’m reading for.

They took that in, thanked me, and went back to the party.

That was something. That’s why I read the cards.

They are beautiful, they connect people, they help people be seen and see themselves and remind us that life is epic.

It doesn’t matter where you’re reading for someone, whether that’s surrounded by a nature and a rising full moon, online with Zoom, in a private office, at a noisy event, in your home, the magic is created by you, the reader, and the cards.

And, of course, that something else.

A Tarot reading may give you reassurance and the story that you’re hoping for. And, it may not. But in my experience the cards always give you something useful, whether that is practical answers, healing, inspiration, or closure. Even a ten minute Tarot reading at a party can give the universe the opportunity to send you what you need, when you’re open to it.

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