And a little witchcraft.

This is how I personally do readings when I’m being fancy. I’m not saying your way is wrong.

INTRODUCE yourself. “Hi, nice to meet you! Thank you for letting me read for you today!”

DISCLAIM if you need to do this in order to feel comfortable. “Just as a reminder, this reading, as with all readings, should be taken in context of your personal experiences and with a grain of salt.”

RESTATE their question, especially if you had to slightly alter the wording to fit your method of divination. “I am reading for the question, ‘what will my love life be like next month?‘”

INTRODUCE your reading. “Today I drew for you three cards…” “Today I cast these fives stones…” etc.

NARRATE your interpretations. “The Lovers card means you will have a healthy and fruitful romantic life in the upcoming month!”

DESCRIBE what about your tools helped draw you to this interpretation. This adds an extra layer of depth to any reading. “I was especially drawn to how the Lovers are holding hands, with a dove over them.” “I noted the close proximity of the Fehu rune to the Isa rune, which…”

SUPPORT your reading with the holy trinity: Intuition, Appearance, and Book Knowledge. Allow your intuition to flow forth and unite your spread in to a coherent narrative. Read the spread as it lies before you. Research extra textbook meanings to ensure nothing is missed.

Like… if you open a coffee shop and run it for a while and it makes you happy but then stuff gets too expensive and stressful and you want to do something else so you close it, it’s a “failed” business. If you write a book or two, then decide that you don’t actually want to keep doing that, you’re a “failed” writer. If you marry someone, and that marriage is good for a while, and then stops working and you get divorced, it’s a “failed” marriage.

The only acceptable “win condition” is “you keep doing that thing forever”. A friendship that lasts for a few years but then its time is done and you move on is considered less valuable or not a “real” friendship. A hobby that you do for a while and then are done with is a “phase” - or, alternatively, a “pity” that you don’t do that thing any more. A fandom is “dying” because people have had a lot of fun with it but are now moving on to other things.

Are you or a loved one among the many people who have difficulty sleeping? This tea recipe of mine may help!

-ingredients-

• 1 part Chamomile

• 1 part Mugwort

• 2 parts Lemon Balm

• 1/2 part Lavender

Steep in hot water for 15 minutes, strain, then enjoy about an hour before bed as you wind down to prepare for sleep! This blend brings feelings of euphoria and helps you to deeply relax. The Mugwort in this blend can also help you to remember your dreams as well as increase how vivid they are.

As for the Imposter Syndrome:

I’m gunna make some Pop culture references so hang tight with me okay?

Tarot cards and memorization is a lot like when we were young and trying to learn about all 150 Pokemon from the anime. There’s a LOT OF THEM! One thing the Anime did to try and make it easier to learn them all was make a fun Rap about it that aired at the end of each episode. They would do 10-15 each episode and then instructed you to put all the rest of the days together to know each one. 

Repetition is easy. It gets you acquainted with them on a base level. So you can see and recognize each at face value when they show up in an episode. 

Seeing and knowing the Pokemon is great! Doesn’t make you a master but its still a start! Travelling around the world to catch them all means Researching where you can find them, What their weaknesses are, And the final part: Catching them and getting them logged in your pokedex where you can ALWAYS refer back to for all of that information. 

NOW: Does it make you a bad trainer to now have every single route’s pokemon memorized? No! It’s a REFERENCE! It’s there to help fill in those gaps so you’re not wasting your time trying to re-go through the information on your own when there’s 150 of them. Like Ash with his pokedex, even if he’s seen a pokemon before he STILL pulls out his pokedex to get tidbits of trivia and information about the pokemon! 

That’s you! You’re Ash Ketchum! Your Tarot Cards are your Pokemon! Sure you can have them all memorized on sight, but when it comes to the nitty gritty it’s not feasible to expect everyone and their mom to know the intimate details of every single card! Hence why you need the Tarot Equivalent of a Pokedex. That might be the Book that came with the cards, That might be your Grimoire you’ve written them all in yourself.