My Outlook on the Tarot

Having amassed over 1400 different tarot and divination decks (no, that was not a typo—1486, to be exact), I have continuously used the Rider/Waite/Smith deck for my 30+ years of reading the cards. Now that doesn't mean I've used the same deck; when the deck gets worn, I replace it, but I have used the design of Arthur Edward Waite and the artwork of Pamela Colman Smith for all this time.

The Waite/Smith deck speaks to me and is one of the most influential decks of all time; that deck has influenced hundreds of other decks in symbolism and style. I like the clean, clear images that Pamela drew to depict each card. But tarot is really a matter of preference. With so many decks available, people are free to find a deck that really resonates for them, even if it takes a while to find this deck.

When doing a reading, it is important for me to feel relaxed in order for the messages to become really clear to me. When I have read cards under pressure, which doesn't happen often, I have found it more difficult for me to see the flow of the cards.

I like to put querent at ease by telling them that "Some of the cards may look worse then they are. Don't get alarmed, unless I get alarmed. If I start screaming, we are in trouble." That always makes people smile.

Remember that a reading is a roadmap of what is in store in the future. But like most things in life, this roadmap is not etched in stone. I tell people that if they continue along the way they are going, then these things will probably happen. But we all have free will, and can change the difficult things and help them to become easier, as well as delaying the "good" things by not putting any effort into what needs to be done to help facilitate the happy event. A reading is a way of preparing for the future—as the old saying goes "Forewarned is forearmed."