Once upon a time there was a psychology prof who handed out astrological 'readings' to his students, ostensibly based on their sun-signs, and asked for comments. OMGDZ, so right on! was the response from everyone, and he would have had a class full of *believers* had he not then got them to compare with each other: Everyone had the same reading. Leo, Pisces, Scorpio, whatever – all of them sensitive souls, often misunderstood, deeply spiritual, blah blah.

How this relates to Tarot (IMO) is that everyone has the same few concerns: Love/relationships, jobs/finance, children, health. Only the details vary. But here's the thing: Most Tarot readings are fairly vague. “Oh-oh, looks like an ending of something and beginning of something new.” Most people looking for a reading are in some kind of WTF space. If everything's going well and you're feeling good, it doesn't occur to you to seek out a reader.

Okay – exception. There are people who go for frequent readings. A reader is 'supposed' to tell these people to cool their jets – Tarot gets annoyed if, in effect, you reject the reading and keep coming back for a new and improved version. What happens (and here I'm slipping over into my other, non-rational/rationalizing mind) is Tarot starts acting like the kinda maliciously mischievous thingie that inhabits ouija boards, and will give messed-up messages or stubbornly produce the same cards over and over.

I also morally disapprove of readers who charge money. Money corrupts – no matter how careful you are. I was disturbed when someone I know mentioned that she had customers who came every week for a reading (not to mention the undeclared income). Money or no money, that's bad news.  But the $ meant the reader wasn't going to discourage her regulars. I had a first-hand view of a 'channeller' this same person took me too – a customer asked the supposedly tranced-out guy whether she should tie up her dog or let it run loose! There are people out there with great dark depths of dependency who should not be enabled. (It gave me an inkling of how stupid gurus manage to collect a following, something that had puzzled me.)

Anyway, so you get your reading about your concerns. Either you 'know' what the reader is referring to and colour inside the lines yourself, or you and the reader get into a little psychic dance. There is something called Cold Reading, whereby the reader picks up clues from your reactions. You may think you're maintaining a poker face, but you ain't. A good body-reader with lots of experience can pin down your concerns pretty quick. And, as above, there aren't that many to choose from!

The most blatant cold reading I ever got was from The Witch of Plum Hollow, who used to read for one of our prime ministers, Mackenzie King (a well-known nut, who also 'read' for himself in the patterns of his shaving cream and other activities it's just as well the voting public didn't know about). My friend and I drove out to her lair in the woods, and I remember "the witch" looking at the cards and asking if I was worried about my health. Well, no, I said. Oh, now she could see – it was my job. I shook my head. Well then, my love life...husband?  Okay, yes.  It was as crude as that (which didn't give me any faith in whatever it was she had to say...which I've now forgotten, it being half a century ago).

Oftentimes cold reading is not deliberate – the reader actually thinks she's divining the details. It's then a mutual illusion.

For a related reason, I don't like reading for people I know well.  A friend of mine talks and talks ('talks out') her concerns whenever she sees me, so already I have TMI, and it's hard not to interpret her cards accordingly.

This relates to why it's hard to read for yourself – (a) you know everything, and (b) you know the outcome you want. Much better to get from a stranger.

So, at least theoretically, I'm saying that any random layout of the cards would probably make for a helpful reading.

Add to this the human tendency (often pointed out by debunkers) to remember the hits, or apparent hits, or seize on possible hit, and discount all the stuff that didn't apply.

And add one more thing: People love to hear about themselves, and a Tarot reading is half an hour or more of someone totally concentrating on you-you-you.

And, of course, the little buzz of getting secret information, or to glimpse behind the scenes – akin to insider trading or something. I discourage this when I do readings. I tell people that the cards are only a mirror, and they reflect the past, present and TENDENCIES leading to possible future outcomes. If you like those tendencies or outcomes, go for it. If you don't like 'em, you can consciously take a different path.

THIS POST HAS COME TO YOU COURTESY OF MY LEFT BRAIN. My right brain has a different take. See follow-up post.