As part of my birthday festivities, I got some friends to come along and help me set up a free tarot reading table in Davis Square. On a Sunday afternoon, this area has a reasonable amount of foot traffic. Yet, unlike the Harvard Square pedestrians, the people here do not have to be as much on their guard to fend off street vendors, panhandlers, and performance artists, so it seemed like a receptive place for doing some readings. This was a lot of fun, and it was cool to find out that all you need is a sign and a laid-back vibe to attract passers-by to a free tarot reading. If any of you would like a reading at a distance, post a comment with the topic or question you'd like to address, and I'll reply with a reading. (I am not promising to make any of the predictions come true, though.)

For my readings, I used the same deck and simple card layout described in my SF0 novel. (Osho Zen deck, with four cards representing (1) the overview of the issue, (2) a known strength or ally, (3) an unknown or unexpected obstacle, (4) and the way forward. I have the subject draw each card, and I do not take card orientation into account.

1. How will things go with my efforts to import frozen microsheep semen into the US and breed up a herd? (For a friend)
The situation: No-thingness. This shows that currently, the situation is all potential and no actual. Like the moment before the Big Bang, everything is yet to happen.
Your strength: Slowing down. The picture here is that if you take your time, everything you need is already in your possession. Like the turtle who carried his home with him, you already have the resources you need to make this project happen. Additionally, this undertaking, which will take a long time to accomplish, will be even more fulfilling and an experience because you'll spend a lot of time making it happen.
An obstacle: Consciousness. The picture here is of a large organization, like the USDA, which is looking at the big picture. Your efforts are tiny, and they will not consider your desires.
The way forward: Conditioning. This card is about society's expectations, and the power you can have once you realize that you don't have to be like everyone else. However, the picture of a herd of sheep here probably refers specifically to your goal of creating a herd of microsheep. Like the lion in the picture, you will enjoy the sheep but you will not be one of the sheep.

2. About work. (For a stranger)
The situation: The rebel. This card is about following your own way rather than doing what is expected. The torch of knowledge here is from one's own heart. The chains of convention are broken, and the eagle of freedom shows that you can fly anywhere. When considering your work, you may be facing an issue of whether to follow your instincts or do what other people want you to.
Your ally: Ice-olation. This card shows that although people are often walled off from each other, when they use their emotions, it is like tears melting the ice. You may want to use an emotional connection to get through a wall holding your back.
An enemy: Comparison. This picture is of an oak tree and a bamboo. Both are beautiful and great plants, but yet someone could say about the bamboo, it is not as big and shady as the oak tree. And they could say the oak isn't as flexible as bamboo. But that is the wrong way to look at the world. Regarding your work, a danger might be that someone is comparing you to another, or that you are comparing two things, when really each should be appreciated for their own qualities.
The way forward: Suppression. This is a little bit of a warning. It shows that when issues, desires, or feelings are pushed down and ignored, they eventually make cracks that undermine the foundation of happiness and life. So, you will want to bring these possible problems up sooner rather than waiting until they fester.


3. About our planned group vacation next year, tentative destination Turkey. (For a friend)
The situation: Consciousness. This trip could change the way you see the world and could lead to different awareness.
Your strength: Experiencing. This card is not about experiences, which are counted and recorded, but rather about experiencing. Experiencing is being in the moment, instead of taking a picture of a place, you like to really be there in the moment, which is a good way to travel.
An obstacle: Politics. The thing which may derail these travel plans is that political problems could make Turkey unsafe.
The way forward: Morality. This card is about the rules and regulations that come from outside, from religion or people telling you what to do. It is a precaution that if you visit religious sites, you need to be aware of any expectations and be careful not to offend believers.

4. About finding a new apartment. (For a stranger)
The situation: Flowering. The time is ripe, and events have been building up to this situation.
Your ally: The lovers. This card isn't just about romantic connections, but also the deeper meeting of the minds that people can experience. When considering where to live, you may want to think about friends that you really connect with, and see if that influences your decision.
An obstacle: No-thingness. Currently, there aren't any obstacles in your way. Problems could develop, but there's nothing stopping you from what you want to do.
The way forward: Success. You can find a place to live that you're happy with, and where you can have parties and feel good about.

5. About my job search. (For a friend)
The situation: Ice-olation. Your current situation with being unemployed is resulting in fewer connections with people than you should have. But also, this is emphasizing that you can take advantage of emotional connections with other people during your job search.
Your strength: Abundance. Sometimes someone who has few material possessions can be generous and giving, feeling abundance, while someone who has everything worries about not having enough. When you're interviewing, you should keep in mind the point of view that you are not asking them to give you a job, you are offering to share your hard work, talent, and wisdom for their business. The attitude that you having something to give is something to keep in mind.
Your weakness: Celebration. You want to be careful not to count your chickens before they hatch, and to keep any kinds of celebrations you have during this period pretty simple and inexpensive.
The way forward: Transformation. This next job has the potential to change how you and other people see you. You may be doing something different or you may be working in a similar field as before, but yet something important will change. This next job, or even the process of getting this next job, could be very powerful for you.

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Bunny Dragon had his own deck, and did three readings for friends.

I used a 5-card layout: Context, The Past, The Present, The Future (aka Suggested Action), and The Unexpected / Things You May Have Forgotten To Consider. I don't have as good a memory on what cards came up.

1. Is the US messing up our foreign policy and giving up international influence?
Context: The Skeptic
The Past: Perseverance
The Present: The Child, reversed
The Future: Water
The Unexpected: Fortune, reversed

This was a fairly straightforward reading: in the past, we had good diplomacy, but now we're acting like idiots; in the future, we need to be like water and conform to the shape that we're contained in -- i.e., recognize and react to the reality we are living in, not the reality we wish we were in, and for all that, things are not especially looking good for us.

*cough* Not that I'm a liberal living in Massachusetts, no no no no no..... yes. ;)

2. How should I go about getting my shit together?
Context: Timing
The Past: Opportunity, reversed
The Present: The Architect, reversed
The Future: Fire
The Unexpected: Dark

This was also fairly straightforward: the problem here is the timing of decision-making. In the past, there were missed opportunities ("I can name several names" was the remark), and the reversed Architect is about either making the wrong plans, or making plans for the wrong things -- i.e., recognize what your true priorities are, not just simply the flashiest priorities or the easiest-to-solve priorities. The future holds passion, and don't be afraid of the unknown. And hopefully, there'll be passion-making in the darkness in the future. ;)

3. I'm having trouble deciding what to do with getting a job or going to grad school.
Context: The Beyond
The Past: Perseverance
The Present: Dark, reversed
The Future: Light
The Unexpected: The Carpenter, reversed

The Beyond was the Context here. The Beyond is the natural opposite of The World: The World is the physical here-and-now. The Beyond is where the future comes from and the past goes to. The noble aspirations we hold come from The Beyond, and it is up to us to live up to them here in The World.

The Carpenter is the natural opposite of The Architect: the Architect comes up with ideas, and reversed, is a daydreamer, or is planning for the wrong thing. The Carpenter is the builder, who actually goes out there and does stuff; reversed, is building without a plan, without foresight.

Ultimately this came down to: "Wait, stop. Have you stopped? No, you haven't, I'll wait. Okay, you've stopped. Now. What do you *want*? What makes you happy? Nevermind what you think you should be doing, as espoused by the Gospel according to Your Mom, Your Friends, Your Dog, And Everybody Else. What do *you* want?"

Light also has a meaning of looking through a window (you can't see it on the card, but it's a drawing of a sun-bathed window). In this case, the glimpse she has of the future is a pretty good one: she just needs to focus on what she really wants, and stop flailing about in the darkness of the present.










For the curious, I made this for a LARP I was in, in which my character had come from a nomadic desert tradition. The full deck is available as a series of PDFs:
Air, The Carpenter, The Architect, The Child, The Bazaar, Consequences, The Beyond, Dark
Desire, Fortune, Earth, The Friend, The Expedition, The Gathering, Fire, Harmony
The Hero, The Messenger, Light, Opportunity, The Lover, Perseverance, The Merchant, Reflection
The Ruler, Timing, The Scholar, The Unexpected, Separation, Water, The Skeptic, The World

If anyone knows how to do wax coating ala playing cards, I'd love to know the process, as I'd like to have a durable set of these. I tried laminating, but it just feels all wrong.