The Tarot Cat

Hi! My name is Stephen McCabe and I began reading tarot for myself in 2005 shortly after my Dad died. Like many thousands of people all over the world, I found that the powerful symbolism in tarot really helped me get through some of my darkest days, and I want it to help you too.

 

How Do I Work?

In the cards I see human experience, nature-connection and powerful symbolism. I use a range of reading styles inspired by both the French school of tarot - the Tarot de Marseille - and the English Waite-Smith tradition. Very often, one-card readings—read in detail—can reveal more than several cards with less detail. I love one-card readings!

 

My readings aim to be empowering. Person-centred practice, when used in counselling, puts the client in charge and trusts that you know what is best for you. I blend this principle with traditional tarot meanings and my own personal, nature-based approach to tarot. I read from a Buddhist perspective and my readings will often aim to connect you with Nature (although I don't know exactly how until the cards appear!). I make no apologies for having this motive from the outset. Nature is so good for us (and we can be good for Nature, too).

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Like a growing number of tarot readers, I find the gender stereotyping in some traditional tarot ‘meanings’ both alienating and incorrect.  Many tarot cards capture what we (as a society) consider to be 'masculine' and 'feminine' traits, but these traits apply to all of us. By acknowledging this, my readings aim not only to be more inclusive for LGBT+ people, and women, but to be quite simply more accurate for everyone! 

 

I’m open to every single theory on why tarot works. I even embrace the supposedly sceptical idea that tarot may be 'merely' a game of chance, a psychological mind-bend. Who cares why the tarot works so powerfully? It works, and that's all that matters.

 

What Issues Do I Work With?

You can have a deep important issue you’d like to explore, an important decision you need to make or you might simply want to explore your life creatively while things are feeling a bit mundane. Relationships, career, creative projects, identity, a sense of feeling 'stuck' - all kinds of stumbling blocks can be looked at through the tarot. Tarot is also fantastic for helping artists and writers with creative blocks and I very much welcome these kinds of questions!  My ethics are really important to me and, like most tarot readers, there are some questions that I feel are not suitable for the cards. If I can't read ethically and with care, then I won't read at all! 

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Although I no longer provide standard tarot readings, I incorporate my passion for tarot into my work as an ecotherapist and a counsellor. Please explore my websites if you are interested in blending tarot with nature and wellbeing. 

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