by Jan

Who doesn’t want to know what the future holds, or maybe just how to get through the present a little easier? At craftygal HQ, we have been wondering just what's in the cards for us of late. So we decided to ask the experts. Do join us on the porch for a visit with Tarot readers Dave Mabelis and Melissa Powell.

Before we have our readings, Dave and Melissa set out several different decks of cards. Melissa explains that Tarot cards have been a tool used for divination since the fourteenth century. Some of the decks they have brought have the familiar suits of Cups, Swords, Rods, and Pentacles, while other, more modern decks use different symbolism. Some decks have words describing each card's meaning like "cruelty," "peace," or "aloneness"; other decks are more cryptic to the untrained eye. Dave explains that the illustrative styles and symbolism of the decks varies depending on interpretation and tradition. The two friends don’t usually use each other’s decks for readings. "It’s like your favorite t-shirt," Melissa explains, suggesting that the cards become imbued with the reader's energies. We examine the different decks, trying to select one that speaks to us. Charles and Taryn settle on a larger, modern deck with striking illustrations, while a deck depicting Funkadelic-era tribes of cat people intrigues me.

Dave shows us that some card readers use a little trick to get a jump-start on their subjects. They’ll lay out several different decks, but rather than letting their subjects look through them, they’ll have just one card turned up on top of the deck. If a subject chooses the deck with a top card depicting lovers embracing rather than the deck with the disturbing bandaged head turned up on top, the reader has a clue as to what the subject is interested in before they even get started with the reading.

Dave has been reading cards for less than a year. He was interested in the Tarot, and after he met Melissa, who has been reading for twelve years, she gave him his first deck. Melissa received her first deck as a gift as well. She explains, "It’s a good thing to be invited in by someone who knows how to read. It’s good to have a teacher." At first Dave dove into the book that came with his Tarot deck, but Melissa advised him not to worry about studying up. He gave her a reading two weeks after he got the deck, "and apparently it went well," he says.

"I don’t consider myself psychic," says Dave, "I interpret energy." Melissa, meanwhile, offers a wider range of psychic services, including Reiki healing, mediumship, and aura reading. While Dave and Melissa are honest and up-front about what they do, we wonder about some of the other folks who claim to have powers of divination.

"What about Miss Cleo," asks Charles? "She is so totally fake. Do people get misconceptions?"

"When you’re gonna go see a psychic [or a card reader]" says Melissa, "it’s good to start out with the minimum [length] 10-15 minutes because you want to test them out. With Miss Cleo, a huge red flag is that everything she says is negative. She’s using fear to draw people in."

Melissa goes on to explain her view of card readings. "What we’re doing is basically like therapy." While the shop where she and Dave reads has a sign with the usual disclaimer that the readings are for entertainment purposes only, it’s preceded by the statement "While we believe they are effective..." It’s obvious that Melissa and Dave believe in what they are doing and are ethical in their practices. They both read cards only in their spare time. "When you try to make a living of it, rather than sharing a gift," Melissa explains, "it can turn to a greed and money focus."

We wonder if our tarot readers have ever had troublesome subjects, or even been disturbed by what they’ve seen in someone’s future. While they admit that on occasion they have seen things they would rather not have, Dave says the more frustrating thing occurs when "some people don’t want to hear what you’re telling them." Sometimes the cards pick up on affairs or other secrets, and the subject denies these elements until the reading has progressed for some time.

We’re ready for our readings, and we settle down one at a time. Melissa reads for Taryn and I, while Dave reads for Charles. We shuffle the cards and think of our most pressing concerns. Melissa’s methods follow a pattern, and she lays out cards according to past, present, future and so on. Dave’s style is more free form--he lets the cards lead the reading as the energy moves. When we finish, we are all surprised and enlightened by what the cards reveal. While I won’t share the individual truths and predictions we receive, I’ll leave you with a thought from Charles that sums up our experience. "It was so right, it was freaky!"

scraps | fridge | porch | table | stump | travels | us | archives

© 2001 craftygal.com. All rights reserved.