The Notebook on Tarot for Good

The Reader You Choose Matters Too

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 11:07:42 -0400

I’m standing in the front lobby of Anam Cara, a wellness center in Burlington, MA, in the gap between my first two readings. My first group has just stepped out of my room. Donna, who runs the place and who invited me to do this open house, is there chatting with my next appointment. All of us in the lobby sing together regularly with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, a group that mostly only sees each other when rehearsing for a concert series, so it’s rare that any of us cross paths away from the stage. For a few minutes, in the middle of an open house, a group of people who usually only see each other under stage lights are standing together, catching up.

Who Stops When Others Keep Walking

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 07:05:00 -0400

The man walks past the table, stops a few strides beyond it, then turns around. “What the hell? Let me try this.”

Wayne drives a truck for a living now. Before that, he managed a team of three hundred people, a job he calls stressful in a slightly wistful yet angry tone that screams “good riddance.” He tells me he does a lot of thinking out on long hauls. When he has to come up with a question to put to a stranger and a deck of cards, he comes up with this doozy: “Am I a good person?” The question startles me, and he notices. “I told you I do a lot of thinking.”

Perched and Waiting

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 21:57:20 -0400

It's 8am on our cruise ship and the deck is nearly empty. A few other early birds have finished breakfast and are wandering around looking for some morning entertainment. But me? I've got a small table cover down, tarot cards spread out, a notebook open to a blank page, and a previously printed page reading FREE TAROT READINGS in a plexiglass sign holder.

The Questions and the Cards Rhyme

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 10:18:39 -0400

I look across the coffee table, where I’ve laid out my cloth to create the space, and give the seeker across from me a conspiratorial wink. “Now I need you to ask a question,” I say. “What do you want to know about? What do you want to ask yourself?”

The Question You Didn't Bring

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 08:29:00 -0400

We're in a private room. The seeker sits across from me as I prepare a space. She nods along as I walk her through my reading process: the more introspective and non-predictive style, what happens in what order, and the kinds of questions I can help answer. At this, she pauses. "I didn't even know I needed to have a question," she says.

Synchronicity: When the Cards Know Things They Shouldn't

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 06:54:00 -0400

"Wow... so that's the second time I've drawn this Seven of Swords reversed this evening. That suggests there's something sneaky or underhanded that's been going on but that it's being exposed. Maybe this means something to you...?"

The Deck Doesn't Know You. That's the Point.

Sun, 14 Jun 2026 12:53:53 -0400

There's a debate that runs quietly underneath almost every tarot reading. On one side: the believers, who hold that the cards you draw are guided by the universe, by fate, by something beyond the shuffle. On the other: the skeptics, who are pretty sure it's just cardboard and coincidence.

"Are You Free?" Readings at the Church Fair

Sun, 31 May 2026 21:49:59 -0400

The scene before me: a folding table adorned with a gold tablecloth, a blue runner, two battery-operated candles, a donation jar, my notebook, and one of my tarot decks. Purple lights strung overhead by the helpful crew at Aldersgate United Methodist Church cast the whole interior in a soft glow. My matching purple, constellation-covered tie adds a little flair to my dress blacks. Colored streamers cover the doorway to this repurposed closet. Above the entrance, a sign reads Foley the Fantastic to match the circus fair theme. (While I appreciated the organizers' compliment, these readings aren't really about me... but I played along.) Outside the streamers, the church's fundraiser runs: food booths, a cakewalk, the sound of a community doing what communities do.

The Reading Is Free. The Donation Is Up to You.

Sun, 24 May 2026 07:46:00 -0400

Here's an awkward question I get asked sometimes: "So how much do you charge?"

The honest answer is: it depends on the context. For friends, family, and coworkers who are curious, I don't ask for anything — though a few have chosen to donate anyway, which is genuinely touching. For fundraisers and events, I use a suggested donation schedule. You can find those details on the Services page.

Deep Roots, Open Branches

Sun, 10 May 2026 07:14:00 -0400

The seeker leans across the table.

"What I really want to know," she muses, "is what I'm supposed to do now."

Empty nest. Open calendar. Time and intention in abundance — but no direction. It's one of the most human questions there is, and it needs exactly the right tool to answer it.

The Skeleton in the Room

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 07:13:00 -0400

There is a scene in the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die where the villain's personal tarot reader ("Solitaire") is asked if she foresees Death in the cards. (She draws the Lovers instead: predicting Bond was on his way.) It's a small moment, but it captures how tarot cards are perceived from popular culture: the Death card is shorthand for doom (as shown later in the movie). It's the scary one. The one that makes people gasp at parties.

The Global API: Jung, Archetypes, and the Tarot Interface

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:21:16 -0400

When first introduced to Tarot, most see it as fortune cookies and horoscopes on steroids. (I confess, I was no different.) After all, how can 78 pieces of cardboard have messages any more accurate than mass-printed slips of paper or vague predictions made for 1/12 of the population? But the fascinating thing about Tarot is how it can trigger some profound insights as well as some spooky "hits" when it's eerily accurate. How does it do that?

The Couch vs The Cards

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 20:58:07 -0400

When you hit a wall in your professional or personal life, your first instinct is usually to reach for a familiar tool. You might talk it through with a trusted friend to get some perspective, or spend time journaling to vent your frustrations. If your issue is rooted in long-term mental health or past patterns, you may seek a therapist. If you are looking for a strategic partner to help you navigate a major career shift, you might hire an executive coach for a months-long engagement.

The Allure of the Oracle

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 07:42:00 -0400

There is a certain comfort in the idea of an all-knowing oracle. At some point, all of us find ourselves staring at a crossroads in our lives, wishing for definitive guidance. So we ask the heavens for a sign. We peek at that horoscope, or Magic 8 Ball, or fortune cookie, and daydream about cosmic forces sending us a message. Maybe that mystical fortune teller can spoil the ending for us. It is a deeply human desire to have an authority figure tell us exactly what to do.

My Tarot Logbook: Lessons from a Terrible Chess Player

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 16:34:42 -0400

When I decided to transition from reading tarot as a personal hobby to offering sessions for others, I knew I needed to level up my process. Part of that evolution involved a simple physical purchase: a royal blue notebook with gold trim that matched the tablecloth I use for my readings.

What to expect during a reading

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 21:21:07 -0400

Recently, I’ve had people seeking a reading who had the same basic questions before we even began the session: So... what do I do? Do I tell you my question out loud? How does this actually work? For many, the only exposure to tarot is via tropes of crystal balls and dark velvet curtains.

Why this site? Why now?

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 19:46:14 -0500

My origin story explains how I got hooked on Tarot, but there isn't an obvious straight line from "reading for friends" to "launching a charity-driven practice." Let's connect the dots.

It was mid-February and I was gathering up all the financial info to do our taxes. My wife and I noted that while we did donate to some charities and raised donations for other causes... well, we didn't give as much as we wished we had. At the same time, it's hard to make space for those donations when you are keeping up with tuition payments, working in the volatile hi-tech industry, and taking a few surprise hits for car repairs all while trying to maintain a stable life in an unstable world. (No need for your tiny violins; this is a "first-world problem," for sure. Every day I recognize the position of privilege I'm in. I am grateful for the support of family who made this life possible.)

Origin Story

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:20:21 -0500

“My tarot card person had to cancel does anyone know how to read tarot cards”

It was October, 2025, and I had no idea this call for help would launch a new hobby for me.