Tarot and men....

A week or two ago I went to a sort of paranormal confention (Paraview). As per usual most of the stands were Tarot readers and Mediums.

Thinking back of it later that evening I realized that 90% of the consultants there were female. Intruiged I searched through fora and internet sites and reached the conclusion that this was the case almost everywhere.

Now off course I have always seen that the female populous was somewhat larger, but when actually consiously looking at it the ratio seems to be the closest to 80/20.

So, is Tarot or divination as a whole a woman thing? Is the conservative concept of women being in touch with their spiritual side simply true, are men to "blunt" to grasp the finer concepts of divination? Or has the macho cult of men simply decided that reading cards is a girly thing with all it's touchy feely subjects.

Your observation looks most certainly accurate. I never gave it much thought myself, being a man and all I'm prone to not thinking. A good number of my clients get readings from me because they like my advertising and "...to get a man's perspective." I've been told that male readers are indeed rare.

Perhaps the reason this is so can best be explained in Tarot symbolism. The cup is female, it receives information. The sword is masculine and it invokes (creates) information. The Pentacle and Wand (evoking) follow suit. These intuitive art professions require a talent or skill in receiving information.

Although the battle of the sexes has lent to some false belief systems in the world (such as male egos are more fragile than female's), it has given us an arsenal of accurate observations about the differences in the sexes. This may not sound politically correct (and I know it isn't 100% true for every guy), but men don't usually have very good listening skills. In fact, my search for male tarot readers has shown a tendency for male readers to also be trained in various professions that require being taught listening skills.

Something that is interesting about the differences in the sexes is that my real life male friends and my real life female friends respond very differently when they learn that I am a professional tarot reader. My female friends are usually very interested in the Tarot aspect. They dig into me for information about how I got into it, and does it really work or not. My male friends, first off, tend toward correcting my language - to them, I'm a "consultant" as opposed to a "reader." (How interesting that a simple word like that can change their comfort level.) And then they tend to focus on the bread winning aspect of my profession - does it work in paying the bills, how did I manage to put everything together to allow me to do this? In short, the females tend right away to accept it as a reasonable expectation that one could actually call themselves a "professional tarot reader" and the males tend right away to assume it's a minor hobby at best.

Nocturnal Lure said:

Now off course I have always seen that the female populous was somewhat larger, but when actually consiously looking at it the ratio seems to be the closest to 80/20.

So, is Tarot or divination as a whole a woman thing? Is the conservative concept of women being in touch with their spiritual side simply true, are men to "blunt" to grasp the finer concepts of divination? Or has the macho cult of men simply decided that reading cards is a girly thing with all it's touchy feely subjects.

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I agree with Baccus93's observations.
men outside the walls established/organized religion are expected to have "real" jobs and be bread winners.

Tarot is one of the few options open to women as a spiritual discipline/practice that does not restrict/curtail their abilities/potential.
that's probably why there are more female readers than male.

The dominant religions of the world (especially for the orthodoxy) are still for the most part, male dominated. The leaders, teachers, scholars, mystics of those traditions are male. They are bastions of misogyny. they are very much a part of the macho cult of men.
spirituality is not looked upon as a "girly" thing in their eyes and neither is tarot reading. in our society, tarot reading (for men) simply isn't looked upon as an appropriately ambitious undertaking that confers status.

I would state that on average men and women both actively express spiritually equally. However like most things men express it differently than women and vice versus. A man would probably be more comfortable talking about his life and the "sh#@" he has to deal at Poker Night with a card deck rather than having a Tarot reader about his "issues".

Baccus93 said:

In short, the females tend right away to accept it as a reasonable expectation that one could actually call themselves a "professional tarot reader" and the males tend right away to assume it's a minor hobby at best.

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That's because divination as a whole has very low credibility in Western culture. It wasn't always the case. In the old days, men were diviners - Roman augurs, astrologers, etc. And in cultures where divination is seen as important (like Africa), diviners are often men - and they do very well in their careers (the principle you set out being exactly the same!).

But the funny thing about card divination (playing cards or tarot), is that it's always been a woman-dominated area. Not so the esoteric tarot, but fortune-telling or card reading. This is possibly one reason it has low credibility and respectability - patriarchal thinking tended to believe that any calling outside the home pursued by women was lightweight at best, and suspect at worst.

I don't know about all the philosophical meanings, but I find I have a harder time reading men. IMHO I think males tend to *block* themselves because they have to keep their image and ego in check, just in case a male friend catches them!? Women, on the other hand, are open to having their cards read and I rarely have a problem (even though my fear of failure turns up for both genders).

If you look at the tarot suites themselves, you will find the male energies are Swords and Wands and the female energies are Cups and Disks. Swords and Wands are more interested in intellect, rationality, independence, self-actualization, etc. They are lonely suites if I must say so myself. They produce through figuring things out themselves, breaking away and beating the odds, etc. I have taken some philosophy classes in my arguments have been tested over and over again--major premise, minor premise, conclusion!--and I will agree divination doesn't make a very strong case--not a very valid or sound case at least.

Men tend to shy away from things that are not scientifically or consciously aware, because their world is frequently one of creating against the odds. Male energy is energy that emerges from the Universal flow to establish new things--language, civilization, etc. Men can also shy away from reaching for help, as we all know from the loneliness and deception of the Swords suite or the stark responsibility of the 10 of Wands. Also, if I ever have to live through another "just ask for directions!" argument, I will probably have to shoot myself in the head.

Women are more attuned to the 'way things are.' Women are attuned to cycles--menstrual cycle, pregnancy, etc.--and are more willing to let things take their course--even if they have pills for that now. If anything, women are more accepting of external circumstances because women are subjected to more biological/genetic responsibilities than men--every woman has had to deal with getting a period when they wanted it the least. Women tend to have a sense of the 'bigger machine'--things working outside of their control. As a result, women tend to be a little more intuitive or spiritual than men.

Women tend to be more communal as well--especially in Western cultures. Women not only carry other humans inside of them from time to time; they also give birth to those humans, get biologically attached to them due to hormones generated by childbirth, buy frilly dresses for them (or plastic trucks), cook them their favorite dinners, nag at them to cut their hair, etc. Women have a greater tendency to reach out for help as well, so if they get lost on the road, they will probably stop for directions a good 45 minutes before their male counterpart does.

This is all generalization of course. The four suites exist in every individual and their particular balance is different in every case. Women can be as masculine in thought and action as men; just like how men can be as feminine. All men are attuned to the Universal cycle to some degree. All men have the potential to be just as attuned as a woman, or even more so. It's just a question of what 1) culture approves of and 2) what they do to develop their inner femininity.

With danger of generalization....thinking out loud

I am glad to be one of the few exceptions to the rule, being a male reader (though not in a professional sense, at least not enough to pay the bills).

The funny thing is that when I think of the usually more direct way of thinking many men seem to have (I lack it), I would say that the analytical mindset would be a pro. Often in discussion men tend to "cut away the nonsense" which would give interesting readings at times... I always get sidetracked way too much. Being a straight male with a female mindset (at times) can be tough, hahaha.

What I see in the reactions is that one of the prominent reasons might be the problem men might have with taking Tarot/ Divination seriously. Even though my own experiences are a bit different, my "clients" are usually male I do believe that it is one of the main reasons. I must admit that often with male clients I introduce my way of reading in a more scientific framework, explaining a bit about Jungian archetypes and how the cards are used to force new perspectives rather then channel the divine. So I myself am also guilty of translating the Tarot to male-acceptable terms.

Perhaps if there were more decks featuring sports, cars and naked women there would be more male readers hahahaha.

Nocturnal Lure said:

I must admit that often with male clients I introduce my way of reading in a more scientific framework, explaining a bit about Jungian archetypes and how the cards are used to force new perspectives rather then channel the divine.

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Wouldn't that also be related to the fact that on average, men have higher education levels? I would explain tarot that way to my female friends as well. But then of course we live in a rational and scientific culture where a higher education implies that you're taught to think that way, regardless of your gender.

Mariana said:

Wouldn't that also be related to the fact that on average, men have higher education levels? I would explain tarot that way to my female friends as well. But then of course we live in a rational and scientific culture where a higher education implies that you're taught to think that way, regardless of your gender.

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That might be the case, though oddly enough some of the female readers I read for actually came from the psychiatric/ psychological corner and they were eager to look beyond the theory and were more interested the content of the reading. Males as far as I can tell want a thorough explanation of the workings or possible workings of the card before gatting a reading, no matter what the education level.

Another thing that crossed my mind while reading your reply is that most of my female "regulars" are highly educated women, often in the scientific field (chemistry, medicine and psychiatry). So I do agree that your theory is at least plausible and at best likely, my practical examples do tell me otherwise, but that might very well be "just me". Maybe the female mind is more open to thinking "out of the box".