“They’ve gone to plaid!” — Barf (John Candy) to Lone Star (Bill Pullman) as Spaceballs One overshoots their interstellar Winnebago in Mel Brook’s Star Wars parody, Spaceballs.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: An author I’m presently re-reading holds the opinion that sticking with one or two definitions for a tarot card is “lazy” when a wide range of meanings is possible in any situation, and it can result in what he describes as “under-interpretation” that can fail to identify important issues. Having spent a good deal of time learning the Lenormand system over the last few years, I have a different perspective on that score. Lenormand thrives on a narrow range of ideas that are then merged into combinations, and tarot readers could learn much from adopting that approach.

For the tarot novice, picking up a small number of keywords for a card and building on that vocabulary over time is an ideal way to acquire skill with interpretation; I think of it as “training wheels.” Even now, after 50+ years of reading the cards, I have a fairly small inventory of descriptive “triggers” or “memory-joggers” that will kick in immediately upon recognizing a card when it pops up in a spread. This prevents me from starting out completely tongue-tied when the card doesn’t instantly mesh with the overall pattern. I may not voice this initial impression because it could seem that I’m underestimating the scope of the matter, but it is my “safety net” going into any reading.

I have little to fear from harmful “under-interpretation” because the dialogue with my sitter will flesh out the narrative as necessary, so there is no need to unilaterally drive home my insights with a swarm of words. A slight nudge here or there will get them talking, which makes my job easier. I start the ball rolling and then exit “monologue mode” as soon as I can and open up the floor to “mutual discovery.” This is one of the joys of face-to-face divination.

However, the threat of over-analyzing in the interest of ever-greater comprehension is a different concern. Having too many competing definitions crowding our mind and hijacking our observations can promote what I call “throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.” This extravagance can scramble our output to the point of client befuddlement (“Oh, no, he’s gone to plaid!”), and I would rather err on the side of economy than indulge in overstatement. At some point a rambling presentation will begin wandering all over the map and never come to a concise conclusion. The risk is even greater with online reading because we have plenty of time to succumb to “diarrhea of the keyboard.”

Forbearance is a virtue that is readily mastered when reading “on-the-clock” in public settings because a 15-or-20-minute session doesn’t allow for much elaboration. Having achieved it, I now bring the same level of concise clarity to my more expansive spreads like the Celtic Cross. Most clients don’t want their life-story parroted back at them; they already know who they are and where they’ve been, they’re just after the “lowdown” on upcoming events and circumstances. While it can be tempting to show off our wisdom and erudition, that’s not why I read the cards professionally and I don’t feel compelled to embroider every point I make unless a curious querent coaxes more detail out of me. Then all bets are off.