The New York cards

There are some cards I think of as more typically New York than other places, that I see more here than I have previously – of course it might be a more second millennium kind of card too, as I have been reading here for the past 10 years.  My next few posts will be about these cards.

I’ll start with the Seven of Cups.

7 cups, Rider Waite deck

The seven of cups is about having choice,  but instead of feeling empowered,  “I have all these options!” the drawer feels overwhelmed,  “I have all these options but can only chose one…”  and there are consequences,  seen and otherwise, of each choice.  So now I stand paralyzed (or crouch if you are looking at the beautiful card below!)  not knowing which cup to select,  which cup to let go of. 

I find that New York in particular has this obsession with keeping options open.  But what I tell people is that after a while, making no decision becomes its own decision, and some of these cups will naturally disappear if they are not chosen. Some may go for a short time, some may go forever, that is life.  But choosing a cup, finding a direction, even if it not the ultimate direction but merely a side path, gives  life energy. 

7 of cups,  Klimpt deck

People often say to me that they don’t want to have regrets.  I think standing paralyzed and not choosing creates a regret of its own. So my other answer is that regrets are not cancer (unless we make them so.)  Regrets are risks that don’t pay off in the short term in the way that we had hoped.  And even if they make it to the long term (I will always regret not buying New York real estate when we arrived in 2002!) it doesn't mean that we should not act.  It just means that we lived and learnt.

7 of cups,  urban tarot deck

So these Seven of cups remind us to make a choice and live with it, and if it doesn't pan out the way we had hoped, then we will course correct and make another one… 

How Often Can I come and see you?

After a successful tarot reading, people often ask when they can come and see me again.  I usually say at least 3 -4 months,  otherwise the cards won’t have changed enough.

One of my regulars wanted to see me after about 2 months,  having a work situation she wanted to talk about.    Her last reading was July 31st,  she called me in October…  I make a post card summary of the cards for you to take home,  and take take a photograph of it for my notes, and her last reading was still on my phone.

So I had to laugh when I saw the cards.  Statistically, someone once explained to me how difficult and rare it was to get the same card in exactly the same spot, but the math got so complex I just accepted that it was very rare.  She had two identical duplicates (same card, same spot) and one similar (same card, different spot.) The very first card of her reading was exactly the same as the very first card of her last reading - Chariot Reversed.  (she does not feel like she is in the driver's seat)   And her near future card – still the Emperor. And she had one more duplicate, Lovers, but it was not in exactly the same position. 

I told her I was going to write about this.  She still in the same space and still drawing the same cards (but once she gets past the Emperor, things are getting better for her!) 

Skeptics sometimes say to me, but anyone could draw those cards, and I say no, only you are going to draw those particular cards…

So if you see me too soon, the cards won’t have shifted enough.  I often see my regulars once or twice a year, more if something serious or stressful is going on. But you can’t go to a tarot reading once a month – the cards will just repeat themselves – which at least will serve to increase your faith in them! 

The reason I have such faith in the cards is that I see this kind of magic all the time… 




These gorgeous tarot cards are from the Steampunk deck

My reality

Pajama Diaries 

This made me laugh,  because it's true!  One of the reasons I love tarot readings is that I am clear and focused then,  and don't get distracted.  But when I am not reading...  those magic portals have their effect! 

Phone Readings

I frequently get people calling from all over the place, asking me if I can phone readings.  I’m really sorry, and I have tried in the past, but I don’t get anything from the cards if you haven’t shuffled them. 

I read the cards, and I need you to move them around, so that your energy infuses them. Otherwise, it’s all just mud for me.  I really trust the cards and if they and I ever disagree, I give their voice far more weight – I’m just a person, but the cards – I’ve seen them be accurate far too many times to doubt them!

So if you would like a reading with me, we have to meet face to face, so you can shuffle the cards.

One thing I have tried successfully for clients who have moved away is skype readings.  If they want to continue reading with me, I get them to buy their own deck, and then we do a skype reading, with me looking at the cards that they have dealt.  That can work very well too. 

Linked In data

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how OK Cupid had used its enormous cache of information to analyze dating trends.   This week, LinkedIn put out its own data analysis of resumes and college degrees to see which colleges got people into which jobs – something that has solid real world data and so is enormously interesting.  I often do readings for people looking to change jobs or careers.  Having worked at a dating agency and in recruitment, I know well the tension of these ‘interview’ situations, and find having more facts at your fingertips always helps.