Talkin' Tarot With Marcia McCord

Talkin’ Tarot With is a monthly feature designed to introduce my readers to different tarot readers from our wonderfully diverse community! Each month, I’ll be asking various tarot readers 3 questions about their tarot philosophy and style, plus pointing you to their websites and blogs so that you can learn more about them! I like to hand pick tarot readers that I feel are talented and interesting.

It’s no secret that I am a bit obsessive over anything Victorian (especially cats in Victorian garb!). So it’s also no surprise that I’m also a fan of Marcia McCord’s tarot decks! Marcia has self-published four Tarot decks and two Lenormand decks (I recently grabbed the Dust Bunny Lenormand after attending Mary Greer’s lecture at SF BATS). Each deck features artwork gathered from antique postcards and trade cards (similar to a business card but without contact info – trade cards were used for advertising a business or service).

Marcia isn’t just a deck creator, she’s also a writer, blogger, editor and teacher as well as a regular columnist for Timeless Spirit Magazine. She is also one of the warmest, kindest people you’ll ever meet. I like to think of her as a “big ole hug”.

Get a load of how she describes herself in this little blurb: “She started reading regular playing cards as a child and as she puts it, “Nobody stopped me.” She lives just outside San Francisco with her husband, her six cats and one very patient cocker spaniel.”

How can you not love someone who puts that in her bio?

Get to know Marcia (and grab her decks if they are still available:)

http://marciamccordtarotreader.blogspot.com

Twitter: @MarciaMcCord
Facebook: Marcia McCord

Check out her answers to my questions below:

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1. What is your philosophy about tarot reading?

Marcia: I love it! Seriously, I guess I would be hard-pressed to say I have a philosophy at all because that makes it sound like I’m trying to convince someone that my way is the Right Way. I don’t know that there is The Right Way. I am convinced there is Your Own Right Way. For me, using Tarot as a tool is like wearing my 3-D glasses when looking into the abyss; Tarot makes things clearer. It helps me connect. Tarot is an entire course in humanities and arts, psychology and even science. In a way, the Hermit takes his lamp, looks into his soul and finds everyone else there with him! The Tarot isn’t the Hermit; it’s the lamp. For me Tarot is more than the view within, too. I have had too many experiences of predictive–OK, eeek, let’s say it–“fortune telling” readings. How do you explain that? How do you reconcile that with free will? And yet, I do think that combination of things is in play, String Theory and all. Tarot is my fog light in the miasma. It helps me see through the soup of chaos.

2. How do you feel a client might get the most out of a reading with you?

Marcia: We often comment that no one comes to a Tarot reader because they are having a great life, their job is great, their romantic life is great, their kids are perfect and their health is tip-top. Yes, people come to us because they want relief from a problem, even if the problem is that they don’t know what they can’t see. If their issue is anything from curiosity to a crisis, I feel they will get the most benefit from a reading if they are willing to open their minds to a new perspective, alternative solutions. If they can listen, especially to themselves, they will benefit. If they come in saying no to everything that comes up, they won’t. I also have to note that the people who come back wanting a reading for the same thing, hoping for a different answer because they didn’t like the previous readings, are bound to be disappointed again. Nothing breaks my heart like seeing people who are trying to read for themselves drawing cards over and over again with the same question. That’s a panic attack; that’s not a Tarot reading.

3. What is your best piece of advice for an aspiring tarot reader?

Marcia: Get out that deck of cards that speaks to you and read! Sure, read books, especially the ones we tell you are the good ones. But more than that, do what Dan Pelletier tells people; put the books away. Read the cards, not the book. Practice the understanding of combinations of cards and the energy they give each other, the differences or the “Delta” between cards. How does energy change from one card to another? How is the energy of the Page of Swords different from the King of Cups? Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you find yourself stuck on a particular card, consider the fact that you personally have an issue with that energy! One long-time reader I know tried to tell me that the Hierophant was “always bad.” And I have to say, without naming names, Hogwash. The Hierophant is a sticking point for her, not for everyone who gets a reading for her. Make sure you can tell the difference between yourself and the client. It’s not about you, period. Even if you are having trouble with a reading, struggling with it, you probably ARE doing it right because you are learning that energy and bringing something new to the reading. Struggle! It’s how we all learn, readers and clients. And never, ever think you will stop learning; if you do, that’s when you are no longer any good at it. Best wishes!

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Sending a some big cyber love to Marcia for taking a moment to chat with me! Get a reading from her and grab her decks at: Marcia McCord

Blessings!

Theresa