Tarot takes the tech route

CHENNAI: Do I have your permission to read for you,’ echoes a soothing voice from the other side of my laptop screen. In these uncertain times, I decided I could do with some advice. So I turned to the good old tarot cards, and this was the voice of Divya Srinivasan, a yoga teacher-cum-tarot reader. Only this time, the tarot-reading session had moved online. 

Chanting her prayers, Divya shuffles a deck of tarot cards and picks one from the lot in response to my question. She connects with her energies and gives me a reading, describing the possibilities based on the symbols that the cards bear. After some intent listening and reassuring answers, she takes me through a guided meditation to instil hope and confidence to sail through the tough times.  Divya is seeing her clients virtually throughout the lockdown, actively posting tarot card pictures and the respective readings for each one on her Instagram page. “With the pandemic and prolonged lockdown, there’s been an increase in the number of one-on-one healing sessions I conduct every day.

I’m used to taking online sessions for my international clients. So there wasn’t a big difference. However, the touch-and-feel experience and in-person contact is something they’ve been missing the most,” says Divya who takes around three sessions a day, for three hours each. Hoping to give her clients a modicum of clarity, Divya assures them that it’s the presence of the healer that’s important and not the accessories such as crystals or gems. “I’ve tried to recreate the ambience for my clients. There are a few tarot-related books on the backdrop and nothing distracting to the eyes.

I try to modulate my voice when needed. Luckily, I managed to get giant-sized cards with legible letters so that clients can see the pictures and symbols clearly. This might be the way forward and we will have to compromise on a few things,” she says. ‘How will this current global crisis affect my children and their upbringing?’, ‘What is the worst thing that my family and I need to prepare for?’ ‘How will we be able to manage the next few years? When should we start focusing on our business?’ — have been the oft-asked questions. “Clients tend to get insecure and neurotic under uncertain circumstances like these. They seek solace in talking to me. All they need is emotional support and comfort.

Not only do men and women in the 30s and 40s seek my guidance but even college students and young adults. I reiterate the same thing — I cannot predict the turnout of events but can only share my spiritual perspectives,” says Divya. Sharing her experience, Beenu, one of Divya’s clients, says, “I’ve been attending these sessions for the past year. Most of Divya’s readings are precise. She does not spoon-feed you with answers rather lets you introspect. After moving to online sessions, I was wondering if the readings would be effective since tarot involves tapping the energy and personal contact. Except for the technical glitches, nothing much has changed. We’ve been experiencing emotional ups and downs because of the collective energy of the people around us. These sessions help me sail through.” For details, mail to sacredspaces.divya@gmail.com, or visit Instagram page: Sacred Spaces with Divya

Online classes
“I’m also conducting one-on-one training sessions. All you need is access to tarot deck. The classes are meditative, introspective, and therapeutic just like the process. They require rigorous training, homework, research, and practice on oneself and others. Once the lockdown is revoked, I’m planning to give certificates to those that attended the classes,” explains Divya who is working on resource and reference books for tarot reading.