Woo-Thang Clan
11/2/25: I spent the last two days reading tarot for charity at the Santa Fe Dia de Los Muertos festival. I read for 3.5 hours straight on the first day and 7.5 hours straight on the second day. And, well, I learned some shit.
Day one I didn’t have solid system down. I’ve been taught to clear the deck after each reading and to set an intention before each reading. Being the skeptical bitch that I am I didn’t really see the point in all that sass. Not to say I didn’t do it, but I wasn’t really consistent about it. To clear the deck I’ve settled on tapping it firmly on the table three times. To set the intention I say the Serenity Prayer. I’ve always loved it and it literally lowers my blood pressure as I speak it out loud. Buuuuut…..I was really inconsistent about it the first day. I was tired after the 3.5 hours and I definitely felt my energy lagging.
Day two, on the advice of one of my teachers, Luigi, from Tarot Mystic Academy, I was consistent about opening, closing, and setting an intention for the readings. However, because the readings were coming so fast, literally one after another, after another, I ended up blending the openings with the closings. For instance, as I was shuffling the deck I would be tapping it on the table whilst simultaneously asking the new client to take some deep breaths and center themselves.
Despite this, I think the practice did help and I was able to keep my energy up for almost the entire time. The last few readings I was really flagging, and I felt I didn’t give my best. But I also think they were difficult readings with difficult questions. I had an aspirant to the Jesuit priesthood who was wondering about whether he would be accepted. And every card I pulled was just horrible. 10 of Swords, 3 of Swords, The Devil. I was trying to put a positive spin on things…..but, how, for the love of the Jesuit Christ!?!?
And my second to last reading was a pair of brothers who had been waiting for about 2 hours for a reading. I was really exhausted at this point and wanted to honor the time they had put in to get a reading. But they were asking impossible questions! What should I do for my career? Where should I live (in the entire world)? Will I get married? I know some readers answer these types of questions, but this is not how I feel tarot works. I tried my best and did get to some good insights. The career question pulled a lot of wands, and I really got the sense he needed to follow his passions, that if he did so, and put in the work he would be successful. But he doesn’t know what he’s passionate about.
For the marriage question I pulled some cards and relayed that he needed to open himself up to things he normally wouldn’t and that he had a tendency to turn down options for minor reasons. So, I guess it worked out in the end. But the messages felt like I was pulling them out of molasses. Next time I do this I’m going to have another reader with me so that we can trade off.
And today I feel like I was hit with an emotional Mack truck. I’m profoundly fatigued and have been on the verge of tears all day. I’m irritable and short-tempered. It reminds me of when I was a baby nurse and had a gunshot victim bleed out on the CT scan table. We were pumping him so full of saline that he bled clear. Then a lovely woman with a history of colon cancer came in complaining of a urinary tract infection. When I palpated her abdomen, it was obvious it was just full of cancer. The next day I was so sad and was wondering to my friend why that was. She said to me, “Naomi, these are called emotions. And this is what happens to us when people experience sad things.” A bit of a revelation that.
And a bit of a revelation this. I think I truly believed that doing readings for others would not emotionally effect me. Being the skeptic that I am, I though all the stuff about “releasing the energy” was more woeful woo. I believed that other people believed in it. Maybe I thought they were creating their own realities. Don’t we all? Anywhoo, I’m appropriately chastised and have learned the error of my ways. Today is full-on self-care day. Nothing but relaxation, hot baths, tea, and tears (and the blog, gotta write, right?).
On to some of the readings: I had some really good ones. I can’t really remember any of the specifics as I probably did about 100 readings yesterday. But I had one where a woman who had lost her husband recently was moved to tears by the reading. Many where people felt the cards told them just what they wanted to hear. Some where tarot gave them the push to step outside their comfort zones. Some where we were able to laugh out loud at what the tarot cards seemed to say (your 80 year old mother needs to take a lover…..you need to let yo titties out…..make more love to your wife, on a schedule!).
What I love about reading tarot for others is the connecting. These bridges you build into the inner worlds of others. That someone will sit down with you and tell you about the years-long estrangement from their children. Their fear of the current political climate and their desire to leave the country. The loss of their husband, their fears of infertility, their job woes and their heartbreaks. It’s such a beautiful, delicate vulnerability. Such an honor and a privilege to be allowed in, just a little bit.
But it absolutely has an effect to take all that in. Now that I know better, I can do better (thanks Ms. Angelou). Mark Twain once said that “The road to wisdom is paved with excess.” I used to wonder about that. Thinking that the road to wisdom is surely paved with moderation. But now I know, from living excessively in MANY areas of my life, that it is through doing too much that we truly internalize the wisdom of pacing ourselves.
As a final note, I thought I’d share this one spread I pulled for a client. Unfortunately, I don’t even remember the question. The Hanged Man at the top of spread is from the bottom of the deck, which I pull as a foundational card to the question. 9 Majors out of an 11 card spread!!!!
The statistical likelihood of that is about 0.0014%. According to Chat AI. Which I think is bullshit. I think the actual likelihood is closer to 1%. Which would make sense because I did about 100 readings and this was one of them.
Crazy-ass Tarot Spread. 9 Majors out of 11 cards!!!