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TAROT NEWS
Jackson Square, August 31, 2005. The city was dying; the Square was still dry, but to no avail. New Orleans readers, and all other Tarot readers, had failed to predict the Big One. While scientists had correctly predicted it, nobody listened to them of course.
TAROT'S FAILURE TO PREDICT THE BIG ONES
Industry Promotes Psycho-Babble In Lieu of Saving Countless Lives by Correctly Predicting Disasters

Published February 19, 2007

As this young millennium has made abundantly clear, when it comes to Tarot readers, or any other alleged psychics or seers, actually producing some worthwhile predictions, like warning people about 9/11, or the Christmas 2004 tsunami, or the devastation of Hurricane Katrina—which wiped out America's premiere Tarot venue—the readers are busy elsewhere. Or, they have no ability to correctly predict the Big Ones.

So afraid is the Tarot industry of discussing these issues, they have created a bit of spinology to shield themselves from the suggestion they are frauds. They have dismissed the notion that what they call "predictive" Tarot is a real or legitimate use of the cards, preferring instead to discuss legitimacy only with respect to psychological applications of Tarot, an alleged aid to what they call "counseling".

Back in 1997, in the first World Tarot Congress, the "opening ceremony" was entitled Psychological vs Predictive Tarot Readings, as if the latter had nothing to do with psychology and the former was piously in conflict with making predictions. (Continue Article)
Who are they? Where are they? How can they possibly know all this?—Jem
Card of the Week (in politics, culture, devolution)

This week's card, Thoth Ten of Disks (Wealth)

So, I had figured we would go to the week in review section of the New York Times and poke around headlines or article text hoping to find some word or topic we could twist into a reading, but hey, it's Tarot, right? And the cards have their own ideas about topicality. I drew this card, Ten of Disks, which is about Britney-esque spiritual death cum material excess (meaning not merely "wealth" but that quality, or the appearance of it, in the hands of self-destructive nincompoops). I hit the NYT website and see this ridiculous, depressing, deplorably amusing (yet topical) headline front and center: "Debtors Search for Discipline Through Blogs". Oh wow, does this mean they are blogging their masochistic intimacies for the pleasure of paying sadists and thus getting themselves out of debt? Well, kind of, although not in the healthy way that idea implies. In this case, the masochism comes in the form of debt junkies who pretend that blogging about their lust for insolvency is a way to force upon themselves the discipline not to spend beyond their means. Of course, if that sort of thing worked, then all the sex addicts who have ruled supreme on the web for most of its existence, would have all entered blog monasteries, and that sure hasn't happened. No, for the same reason people don't actually see any good reason to stop wanting to have lots and lots of profligate sex, who the hell really wants to have to live within their piss-poor plebeian financial means? Hell that's what the credit cards are for, so you can pretend you're far better off than you really are, and so that you can be burdened with a lifetime of insufferable debt, the traditional escape from which, bankruptcy, has been nicely culled from the choices of the poor by the Republican sadists who are perfectly happy to aid the pain-pleasuring of the masochistic mobs who blue-pill their futures away while creating WEALTH for their rich masters. Sic Sit Vobis!
Updated February 19, 2007
MORE TAROT NEWS

In Merced, California, yet another Tarot-flavored scam was reported. Actually, this one is quite traditional, and has little to do with Tarot, except as a prop to enhance the (psychic) authority of the scam artist. The scam involves money cleansing, which not the same thing as money laundering, but as you can see money is pretty damned dirty stuff—always in need of a good wash. And so this con involves a victim seeking help from an alleged Tarot reader, who tells the mark his financial future is wrecked because of "cursed money". The latter cannot simply be exchanged at the bank for uncursed money, but must be handed over to the con artist for "cleansing". Of course, this is not a simple operation, and the gullible accursed one must leave his money overnight with the thoughtful reader. Invariably, the reader has an overnight crisis develop, causing him to pack up and flee with all the mark's money and with no forwarding address nor even a thank-you-stupid note left for his unwilling benefactor.

The Merced Sun-Star wraps up their story with the following advice: "Anyone who has been victimized by the Tarot card or any other scam should call the police department." We might add to this that anyone who thinks he has been victimized by a Tarot card should call a psychiatrist, but if he could afford one of those he probably wouldn't have been seeking out a Tarot reader in the first place. Also, some things in life are just hard-wired and should not therefore be subject to the regulations of pious do-gooders.—February 19, 2007

Just when it looked like the Indians were going to take over Tarot reading from the West, the Chinese have started initiating their college students into the old European art of cartomancy. China Daily reports: "Experts believe a main reason of this phenomenon is because [students] are under huge pressures of finding jobs after graduation".

Chinese fortunetellers work at rock-bottom rates: $1-$2.50 a reading. Wet blanket Li Wei, a Chinese university spokesman, complains: "Students should trust themselves when facing employment pressures [not fortunetellers]."

Of course it is probably more the unemployment pressures that are driving the Chinese kids to fortunetellers.—February 19, 2007

The Jamaica-Gleaner tells us about anxious Venezuelans who sought out various occult prognosticators, including Tarot card readers, to provide some insight about the outcome of the presidential elections. Readers were naturally reticent to take any dangerous stands, and Hugo Chávez easily won re-election.—February 19, 2007

Finns question the need of a society of skeptics in their country, as they ask "is there really a need for this kind of scientific watchdog in such a rational country as Finland?" Nevertheless, Skepsis Ry seeks to hold Tarot seers and other claimants of metaphysical powers accountable scientifically. Anyone noting the prevalence of "death metal" bands in Finland might instead question the need of a skeptics society in a place cold enough to freeze reindeer. Who cares whether you're skeptical when your extremities have fallen off from frostbite, and your brain is so offended by your lousy choice of birthplace, it fills your mind with powerful images of dark and malevolent death gods? On the good side, these guys have made something out of the dilemma. "Are you dead yet?" Dig that crazy "hatewear" dude!—February 19, 2007

Kasamba, a website devoted not merely to providing search results, but allegedly expert advice from all kinds of people claiming to possess—uhm, expertise—of course has a section devoted to Tarot "experts". The vast majority seem to be women peddling "accurate" answers. Honestly, if they were ALL doing that, they'd be packed away in some dark hole in the White House trying to straighten out George Bush's cosmic mess of a dictatorship. Anyway, what have you got to lose? Actually, in some cases hundreds of dollars. But Kasamba has some guarantees in place to assure, at least in most cases, your satisfaction. Of course exactly what that means in a Tarot reading is often utterly detached from a client getting an "accurate" or truthful interpretation of the cards.—February 19, 2007
Best Psychic Scam Headline

The Daily Telegraph in Sydney, Australia, reporting yet another psychic-scam-artist story (Australia sounds like easy pickin's), shines up the rotten apple with a lurid (and oxymoronic) headline—

Short psychic at large
Munich Court Rules Occult Services "Impossible"
Orders Refund to Dissatisfied "Potion" Customer

Deutsche-Welle reports:"A jilted lover decided to use supernatural means to get her man back. But when the love potion she bought from a witch didn't work, she demanded her money back."

After paying 1000 euros for an alleged "love potion" to get her man back, which spell was a dud, a German woman went to court to force the potion provider, described as a "witch", to give her back her money. The Munich judges decided that a love potion was an "objectively impossible service," and dismissed the whole notion of the credibility of magick spells, saying they are "not suitable for influencing people from a distance."

Deutsche-Welle wonders if this ruling "sets a dangerous precedent". And they question whether Germany may be beset by mobs of litigating losers, seeking to blame their problems on their hocus-pocus provider.

So far in the USA, there is no universal or federal legislation actually holding Tarot readers, for example, accountable for the claims made in their readings. But with everybody suing everybody for pretty much everything—let's face it, you'd gladly sue God if you could subpoena his useless ass, wouldn't you?—it is only a matter of time before "psychics" are held liable for their misses, and their hits.—February 19, 2007

A few months ago it was Halloween of course, and as always happens in the runup to that day (viewed as something of a witchy Christmas by civilians) newspapers are inspired to do their yearly "get to know the local witch" pieces, which are odd mixtures of multicultural feelgood combined with the snide superiority of a skeptic autopsying a freak show.

Case in point: the San Francisco Chronicle's pre-Halloween interview with "pagan priestess", Lunaea Weatherstone, described as a long-time Tarot student and teacher, and a follower of "Earth-based spirituality with a goddess focus." Weatherstone is definitely on the fluffly ("intuitive") side of things when it comes to Tarot, and her interviewer, David Ian Miller (described as having a "far-flung career in journalism"), had prepared himself to wax skeptically about her Tarot beliefs and practices.

Seldom have I seen a MSM reporter actually manage an informed question about Tarot, but Miller queried the following (sounding like a prosecutor angling a witness into a hopeless corner):"My understanding is that the tarot originated in 15th-century Italy, as a game, and wasn't used for divination until the 1700s.Is that the history as you know it?"

After years of Tarot historians hammering away at those few basic points, even some of the MSM are getting it. But clearly, though Weatherstone was not bold enough to flatly refute these facts, or we might say these authoritative views (since the factual basis of the divination claim is questionable), she was uncomfortable affirming them too enthusiastically: "That's history as I know it. But we really do not know. It wasn't documented."

When Miller, upon hearing the shocking admission from Weatherstone that "sometimes the Death card is the Death card", reminded her about Freud's adage "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar", she launched into an essay about how "there were a lot of tarot readers who, before 9/11, got the Tower card". She claims: "it's not a typical card that comes up."

Actually, it is just as typical, in terms of its frequency in spreads, as any other card that comes up. What Weatherstone really admits is that of all these allegedly rare Tower appearances, none of them inspired a reader to see the giant cigar that was dangling from the Hellmouth of their near future. Instead, she says, they saw "big changes" only in local and personal terms.

There are always many ironies in these kinds of articles, not the least of which comes at the end when Weatherstone says "The cards are just pieces of paper that are printed by U.S. Games. The seriousness that you bring to the way that you work with them is the magic." Of course, the critics of her opinion and use of Tarot might say they are also quite serious, whether or not they buy into "the magic".—February 19, 2007
©2007 by J. Karlin, all rights reserved