About BTsite Tarot

The art of Tarot uses a 78 card deck with two major groupings – the Minor and Major Arcana. Each tarot reader interprets them generally in the same way, but with a lot of nuance. I discuss some of my own nuances here, but not all. To learn more about my particular approach to tarot as an empath, visit my What’s an Empath page.

Why I do “cold tarot readings”

My readings are done cold so I don’t bring any bias to them. That means you don’t reveal the issue or situation to me before I do the reading. I’ll ask you to concentrate on something “around which you would like greater clarity”.

I ask you to keep your issue to yourself at first because I think there is great value in “cold readings”. It keeps me open-minded and I get a clearer sense of the patterns, relationships and forces at work without introducing my own bias.

While I shuffle the deck, I will ask you to use your mind to frame the issue you want to explore with intent. Visualize exactly what it is about the issue you find unclear, and imagine how you would like it to change.

Some examples of things you might think about while I shuffle:

My current relationship seems to be stalled. What caused that? If I decide to let it go, how can I best manage my feelings of loss?
My daughter and I argue all the time. Why? How can my daughter and I just get along better?
I am not getting the recognition I feel I deserve at work. What is at the root of my inability to move forward in my career? What can I do to change the situation?
I’ve always been bad at managing money. Why? How can I do better, and in the meantime, how can I best handle my financial pressures?
I am having doubts about the religion I was raised in. Why? How can I feel more comfortable with my spirituality?
I can’t seem to stop thinking about my old girlfriend. Why? What can I do to move past this?
I hate my job. I’d rather be a musician but worry that it’s unrealistic to expect to be able to support myself. How can I find greater satisfaction in life?
I get along well with everyone at work except one particular co-worker. Why am I having so much trouble with him and what can I do about it?

After the reading, you may reveal your issue to me if you choose to. Things to consider:

The Hybrid Insight: If you choose to reveal your issue after the initial layout, I am typically able to glean much deeper, highly specific insights by cross-referencing your real-world situation with the raw patterns pulled from the cold reading.
The Formula: Cold Reading (First) + Revealed Situation (After) = Purer, Highly Detailed Insights.
Complete Privacy is Fine: If you prefer to keep your issue entirely to yourself for the whole call, that is perfectly fine. A significant number of my clients choose to never reveal their underlying issue, yet they still report that their phone reading was incredibly accurate and valuable.
Targeted Questions: Without ever revealing the exact details of your situation, you can freely ask questions about specific cards or phrases I used that sparked your intuition. The depth of the call is entirely up to you.

The Tarot Deck

I work with two very different tarot decks:

The Neuzeit Tarot (also known as the New Age Tarot) is a trippy, surrealist deck created by Swiss painter Walter Wegmüller, published by AGM Müller in 1982, and now out of print.
The Deviant Moon Tarot is inspired by childhood dreams, and features moon-faced characters created by manipulating photographs of 18th century tombstones. It’s images are surreal and set against industrialized backgrounds.

I learned on the Neuzeit deck and it’s very dear to me. However, I misplaced it for quite some time and began working with the Deviant Moon deck some years ago. Recently, I recovered my Neuzeit deck and now use them both in my practice.

The two are extremely different. The Neuzeit deck is bright and whimsical while the Deviant Moon deck is dark and macabre. I ask my clients to choose the deck I will use during our readings. They have all the same cards, of course, but completely different styles. Working with your choice of deck puts “more of you” into the reading.

The Minor Arcana

The suits of the Minor Arcana correspond to the four elements: Earth, Wind/Water, Air and Fire

Pentacles, or Disks (earth) – the material realm, ie: finances, career, health

Cups (wind/water) – the emotional and spiritual realm

Swords (air) – intellect and communication

Wands (fire) – primal forces and creative energy

Each suit has 10 “pips” – numbered one through ten, and four “court cards” – Page, Knight, King and Queen.

Pips represent the development of each particular element, with Aces representing early onsets and tens representing full manifestation.

Court cards represent people, personalities and where each is in their personal growth. I see court cards as people in your life that influence the situation you seek insight into.

I think of the appearance of Minor Arcana cards as signals that your situation requires specific attention to “worldy”, “earthly” or “terrestrial” details.

The Major Arcana

There are 22 Major Acana cards from zero (the Fool) to XXI (the World). They represent life’s major spiritual lessons, karmic influences, and big archetypal themes on your life journey.

I think of the Fool as a toddler, pleased with himself because he has just learned to walk, but is about to bump his head on the coffee table. I think of the World as a sign that you have already moved through all the 22 stages of spiritual or karmic lessons with regard to your particular issue. The Major Arcana cards between the Fool and the World speak to your ability to:

Produce results
Achieve authority
Trust your instincts
Embrace change
Balance tradition and conformity
Be ok with things beyond your control
Learn to make harmonious choices
Maintain hope, and
Sit well with joy, to name a few.

I see the appearance of Major Arcana cards in readings as “higher energy at work”.

What is “higher energy” at work?

You may interpret “higher energy” as God, Krishna, The Devine, or aspects of Reincarnation. I don’t make such distinctions. Upon interpreting a Major Arcana card, you may hear me refer to “the Universe”, i.e., “the Universe is asking you to trust your intuition” or, “the Universe wants you to examine your ability to accept change,” or “the Universe wants you to pay attention to life’s illusions.”

I believe that asking for and sitting through a Tarot reading “suspends your disbelief” in a way that opens yourself up to your subconscious mind. I’m not sure I believe in “higher energy” at work per se. But I do want you to suspend your disbelieve. I do believe that when you do, you “transmit” more information to me. Because I am an empath, a person who directly feels the emotional states of others, I will get a better read on your emotions if you suspend your disbelief. In other words, if you become more open-minded.

What is the suspension of disbelief?

We all know the feeling of rolling a pair of dice and saying, “C’mon seven!” as if some external force – or our own mental energy – can make that roll a seven. Even if we are atheists or have zero confidence in our mind’s ability to affect physical change, we suspend our disbelief and hope something other than the physical composition of the die and the force we exert upon it will bring up a seven.

When we open our mind to the possibility of outside influences – even if for an instant – we “transmit” emotional states that empaths, like myself, can detect more clearly.

Choose your reading experience

For 15 minute sessions, I use 5 or 7 card spreads depending on the issue you’d like to learn more about. You will tell me if you’d like to glean insight into a relationship, your career, or some other aspect of your life – but you won’t tell me anything more specific than that.

I do “cold readings” to avoid the introduction of my own bias. After the reading, if you choose to reveal your issue to me, we can explore further, but you don’t have to. Please refer to “What to expect” on my BTsite Tarot main page to learn more about precisely how your reading will go.

If you want to gain insight into a relationship:

Love or Relationship Spread (5 Cards): Explores your energy, your partner’s energy, the core connection, the main challenge, and potential outcomes.

Card 1: Your Energy. This represents your current feelings, mindset, and what you are consciously or subconsciously bringing into the relationship right now.

Card 2: Their Energy. This reveals your partner’s current emotional state, their attitude toward you, and what they are bringing to the table.

Card 3: The Connection. This looks at the core bond between you. It highlights the central theme, current vibe, or shared purpose of your relationship at this moment.

Card 4: The Challenge. This exposes the main obstacle, hidden friction, or miscommunication you are currently facing as a couple.

Card 5: The Potential Outcome. This shows the projected direction the relationship is heading over the next few months if things continue on their current path.

If you want to gain insight into your career:

Career Cross (5 Cards): Clarifies your professional situation, current obstacles, hidden strengths, next action, and final result.

Card 1: Your Current State. This represents where you stand professionally right now—your current mindset, your job satisfaction, or the energy dominating your workday.
Card 2: The Obstacle. This crosses your current state to reveal your immediate challenge. It highlights what is blocking your progress, whether it is an external issue (like a difficult boss) or an internal struggle (like burnout or imposter syndrome).
Card 3: Hidden Strength. This shows an asset, skill, or resource you might be overlooking. It tells you what tool you already possess that can help you overcome your current challenge.
Card 4: The Next Action. This provides direct advice. It outlines the very next practical or mindset step you need to take to move past the obstacle and steer your career in the right direction.
Card 5: The Final Result. This reveals the projected outcome of your situation over the next few months if you follow the advice of the “Next Action” card.

If you want to gain insight into another aspect of your life besides relationships and career:

Horseshoe Spread (7 Cards): A highly versatile layout that provides a panoramic view of a main issue or situation if you don’t want to focus on relationships or career. Moves through past influences, present reality, hidden factors, advice, and the ultimate outcome.

Card 1: The Past. This represents previous events, choices, or emotional baggage that directly shaped or triggered your current situation.
Card 2: The Present. This captures your current reality—your immediate environment, feelings, and the energy surrounding you right now.
Card 3: Hidden Factors. This reveals what you can’t see. It highlights underlying problems, secrets, unexpected opportunities, or subconscious fears you might be ignoring.
Card 4: The Obstacle (or You). This represents the core challenge you must face, or your current attitude and mindset toward the problem.
Card 5: External Influences. This shows the energy of the people and environment around you. It reveals how friends, family, coworkers, or outside events are helping or hindering you.
Card 6: Best Course of Action. This is the tarot’s direct advice. It outlines the specific strategy, mindset shift, or physical action you should take to resolve the issue.
Card 7: The Ultimate Outcome. This shows the logical conclusion of the situation if you apply the advice in Card 6 and continue on your current path.

For 30 and 45 minute sessions, I use a 10 card spread.

The Grand, or Celtic Cross:

Card 1: The Key Issue. This represents the central theme, current energy, or core situation surrounding the area where you seek clarity.
Card 2: Challenges or Obstacles. This card crosses your path directly, highlighting the immediate hurdles, friction points, or blockages you face with regard to the key issue.
Card 3: Recent Triggers. This reveals the immediate past, showing the actions, choices, or events that recently transpired and directly led to your current situation.
Card 4: Immediate Direction. This maps the short-term trajectory, indicating where the situation is potentially headed in the near future if forces remain on their current path.
Card 5: Deep Foundations. This uncovers your deep history, ancestral roots, or long-standing subconscious programming that continues to silently influence your current situation.
Card 6: True Intentions. This isolates your main goal, conscious focus, or what you are actively trying to achieve or resolve with regard to the issue.
Card 7: The Crux. This reveals your internal state of mind—the raw, unfiltered truth of how you are personally perceiving or reacting to the entire situation.
Card 8: Environmental Factors. This highlights the current external environment, reflecting the family dynamics, workplace culture, or social forces influencing the situation from the outside.
Card 9: Subconscious Drivers. This exposes your underlying hopes and fears, revealing the deep-seated emotional expectations that are quietly influencing your perspective.
Card 10: The Ultimate Horizon. This shows the long-term resolution—the best possible outcome and strategic pathway forward if you successfully navigate and overcome the core challenge.

For 45 minute sessions, I begin with the Grand Cross. Often times (but not always) I have time for another 5 to 7 card spread for diving deeper into a more specific aspect of the issue.

After the initial reading, if you reveal to me what your issue is, we can select the Love or Relationship Spread, the Career Cross, or the Horseshoe Spread which ever is appropriate. If you don’t choose to reveal your issue to me, I’ll use the Horseshoe Spread.