You have questions! Here are answers!
Who are you?
I’m Aja, I’m a writer and internet person! You can talk to me on Twitter or Tumblr (here is my tarot Tumblr), and you can see my messy portfolio here. You can also email me at thesevenlines at gmail dot com.
How long have you been reading tarot?
I started reading tarot in 2008 and have been doing readings for friends and acquaintances ever since.
What do you mean by “intuitive tarot”?
Reading tarot intuitively is a very common practice among tarot fans. Viewing tarot primarily as an intuitive tool, rather than a divinatory one, means you use the cards and your interpretations of them to create meanings and assessments from within yourself. Rather than asking for outside guidance, intuitive tarot reading emphasizes using your own judgment and experiences to help direct you in the future.
What’s the point?
Tarot contains huge stores of knowledge as well as tremendous artistic and cultural value, both because of its longstanding traditions and because it’s built around storytelling archetypes that have existed for centuries. I think there’s a lot of value in thinking about how your story is linked through the cards to the stories of all the people across the centuries who’ve read and interpreted the cards themselves and built up this deep tradition based on our common understanding and wisdom.
How do you read tarot this way?
I use the traditional interpretations of the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot decks. Instead of interpreting the cards as divinatory messages, I instead think about them as a collection of archetypes we can all draw wisdom and insight from. I portray every card reading as telling a certain story; the querent can decide what parts of the story speak to them.
For the Tarot de Marseilles, I use the traditional interpretations of the Major Arcana, combined with numerology, as is tradition for this deck.
For Lenormand decks, which are traditionally meant to be used as fortune-telling cards, I find the best approach is to view them as a type of brainstorming exercise for intuitive thinking. They can be extremely challenging to read intuitively, and that’s what makes them exciting.
What ways can you use tarot as an intuitive tool?
Ways I’ve used the tarot for myself and other people include:
- readings for myself and others
- readings for fictional characters
- spreads for thinking about plot and narrative story trajectories
- card pulls and spreads to inspire poetry
- card pulls for meditation
- readings to be used in a narrative — e.g. you have a character who’s doing a tarot reading for another character. I can help you figure out what that spread should look like.
- gorgeous artwork to inspire you narratively and creatively
Do you offer readings?
I do! I offer:
- 1–2 card readings for free.
- 3-card readings for $5
- Full spreads for fictional characters and/or plots for $15.
Can I pick my own deck for the reading?
Yep! You can see my list of decks right here.
How do I ask you for a reading?
Shoot me an email or DM me on Tumblr or Twitter. Make sure to state when you do that you understand I don’t view tarot as a fortune-telling tool.
What if I want a whole spread for myself (not a fictional character)?
If you want a reading with a spread larger than 3 cards, holler at me and let’s talk about it.
How do you conduct readings?
I can do readings in one of three ways:
- In-person if you’re in NYC!
- In real time via Skype, Slack, Discord, or Twitter/Tumblr DM if you’d prefer that
- By sending you photographs of your reading and an emailed interpretation. (I can also post this to Tumblr if you send me a Tumblr DM instead.)
Can I see readings you’ve done before?
Yep! A lot of my readings are on my tarot tumblr and my other tumblr.