Tarot Reflections
April 2017

A Tarot Look at Money: Ethical concerns & Framing Questions for Best Results
By Lalia Wilson



Money is one of the big three questions most readers get from their clients, friends, and even themselves. But for best results, here are some factors that will improve your readings.

Let's start with some ethical issues. I recommend that you only do readings for the perspective of the person in front of you (or on the phone, or who has written you). So, if Sally is in front of you and asks a question about her money situation, go ahead and read it. If Sally asks about her brother's money situation, no matter how noble her motives, this is not something you should be ethically addressing. In this situation, ask Sally how she benefits, or loses, from her brother's finances. Then appropriately rephrase the question as "How will Sally feel secure, or resolved, or comfortable, with her responsibilities towards her brother?" Another approach to this question would be to phrase the question as "How can I (Sally) help improve my brother's financial situation?" This is difficult for many readers and clients to understand, however, it is a technique that is more likely to give useable results and to be ethically clean. This same way of reframing questions applies equally to the client's spouse, (1) lover, children, minor children, in-laws, and so forth. Let’s look at some examples of useable questions:

“How will I feel about my child’s financial maturity?”

“How can I assist my in-laws in financially preparing for their old age?”

“How can I stop worrying about my spouse’s financial dealings?”

You can see the trend here. The question needs to relate back to the person sitting in front of you. He or she is the client. Also, you will get the easiest answers if the question explores the issue rather than has a yes or no answer.

Now, could you read the question indirectly? Yes. There are several reasons not to.

This is ethically questionable.

The tarot may give you a “nonsense” kind of answer.

The client may wish the other harm, and you may be inadvertently harming the third party.

Overall, it's best to avoid these problems altogether. If your client does not want to work with you on this, you are better off not working with them.

Now, let’s look at some practical issues. Probably the most frequent issue I have encountered with money questions are situations where the client really wants his/her own financial success but phrases the question as something like, “Will the Stock Market (2) go up?” (3)Undoubtedly, their real concern is "Will I prosper from the market in the next three to six months?” Why is this important? Because people make money from shrewd investments whether the market goes up or down. Your client's success probably does not depend upon the broader market, but instead on particular stocks or bonds or other investment vehicles. These may or may not move with the market as a whole. Also, even knowing that a given stock will rise 50% in six months (I'd love to see a spread that would say this), a person with little financial acumen can still blow it. (4) Always have the question relate directly to the client! Here are some examples of good financial questions for readings:

“How will I feel about my investment portfolio by the end of summer?”

“What’s the best solution to paying my bills this month?”

“How can I teach my children financial responsibility?”

“What strategy will help me be financially okay after the divorce?”

“What is my best financial move right now?”

Each tarot fan will have a favorite spread or spreads to answer questions. I tend to favor single card, or three card spreads, and then asking multiple questions to refine the answer. However, a lot of financial questions can be responded to easily by using a "choice" spread. You ask the question in two forms and compare the answers. To me, this is the best way to address questions like, "Should I take job A or job B?" or, "Is investing in X better than Y?" These work for many financial questions and seem to be more helpful than other options.

This is plenty to work with for this month. I wish you caution as well as good results with your financial readings. In the future, we will look at the two other most asked questions: Health Issues and Finding Love.


(1) Anyone you are reading for is a “client,” for whom you have a responsibility; this applies even if they are not paying you, or are a friend.

(2) Real Estate Market, Commodities Market, or Foreign Exchange Markets…

(3) Unless you are also a financial advisor, be very careful about giving investment advice to clients.

(4) “Bulls make money, bears make money, pigs get slaughtered” is an old Wall Street saying that warns investors against excessive greed.