Words and Pictures

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I believe I’ve found the perfect aphorism to describe the art of tarot reading. It was in a 1989 short story by science-fiction writer Bruce Sterling, of all places.

According to a quote in the story, “underground” (an old cultural buzzword) cartoonist R. Crumb (he of Fritz the Cat fame although you may remember him more for the Keep On Truckin’ icon) allegedly said in talking about comic-strip art: “You can do anything with words and pictures.” My own experience with the tarot cards has been exactly that. The art lies in finding just the right words to translate the story encoded in a series of random pictures that at first glance seem to exhibit no common thread. In astrology this talent is known as the “art of synthesis” (in fact, that’s the title of a book by early 20th-Century astrologer Alan Leo, also known as How to Judge a Nativity, Part 2), and it applies equally to the practice of cartomancy.

In the world of tarot, the application of this skill is fluid and impressionistic, often inspired by free-association from the images, and not the “Lego-block” drill it can become when compiling astrological factors (although the best chart delineations are highly nuanced affairs that require a keen eye for thematic reinforcement). Only in the practice of Lenormand reading does it become a similarly literal exercise in correlating key concepts. However, while tarot may thrive on the impromptu insight, it also benefits from a broad and deep accumulation of precedent that should not be overlooked. All it takes to tap into it is the desire and dedication to become more than a dabbler in metaphysical symbolism.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m partial to the face-to-face tarot session. I prefer to look my clients in the eyes as I deliver the message, ideally finding that look of dawning comprehension that tells me I’ve hit the mark, but even a gaze of utter mystification will galvanize me to greater effort in rendering the puzzling scenes on the cards into meaningful insights. Although there is a commonly-held belief that subliminal communication between reader and querent draws on a vast, unconscious ocean of shared wisdom with no private hoard of information to be pried out through direct dialogue, I have my doubts.

We may be “all One” in spirit but I hesitate to accept that we are all that transparent in revealing our personal take on reality. I fail to see see how far-flung quests for truth can penetrate the depths of a seeker’s intimate subconscious self-awareness with any degree of precision. About their only advantage is that they allow all the time needed to groom the wording and get it “just right,” spontaneity be damned! But when I think about it, writing down my thoughts is far more tedious and exhausting than speaking them directly into an eagerly-attentive ear.

Tarot readers are performance artists at heart although the lines they deliver aren’t scripted and must be ad-libbed from their repository of acquired knowledge and experience, then ingeniously — and often intuitively — tailored to fit the story in the cards. Coming up with these cogent observations on-the-fly, typically in the form of narrative tropes like anecdotes, analogies and metaphors, offers the greatest challenge and the most gratification when plying the oracular craft. It tests the reader’s mettle as a compelling raconteur and a master of mystical and analytical explication.

In a pinch it can be tempting to default to spouting rote keyword platitudes, but the impulse must be suppressed. Better the fresh, off-the-cuff gambit that might evoke the hoped-for “Aha!” reaction than the hackneyed, tip-of-the-tongue cliche that falls on deaf ears. However, all bets are off when a more likely scenario eludes our ability to frame it but we must still keep on talking (after all, a protracted silence can be the “kiss of death” when trying to convince a dubious sitter of one’s credibility). If pushed to it we can always resort to a circuitous account that revisits earlier observations for further discussion, at least until we regain our creative mojo and can move on.

So where does that leave the wholly intuitive, psychic diviner who uses the cards mainly as a springboard for their unstructured epiphanies? As just that: practicing clairvoyants, not professional tarot readers. It does a disservice to the legitimate student of the tarot to assume that these freestyle parvenus are on an equal footing with serious practitioners who make a determined effort to absorb, personalize and deliver the traditional canon within the broader framework of their general interpretation. My impression is that the online upstarts of the last ten years are seeking social-media “influencer” stardom and a fast buck more than they are committed to the gritty work of helping people with stubborn personal problems.

Theirs is the world of airy fantasies ( Yes, you will find your twin flame; Yes, your ex will come back; Yes, you will get that coveted new job; etc), not the conflicted environment the average seeker inhabits. They trade in affirmation and confirmation, giving short shrift to reality if it doesn’t fit their optimistic agenda. They may have convinced themselves otherwise, but I’ve seen enough YouTube nonsense to know what is really going on, and it ain’t pretty. Unfortunately, it is also being lapped up by gullible novices who can’t detach themselves from their “cult of personality” fixation long enough to read a tarot book.

Originally published at http://parsifalswheeldivination.wordpress.com on February 17, 2024.