YouandTheTarot

  A very sad card in the tarot is the Five of Cups - called the Spilled Milk card. The body language captures that human tragedy of regret.  Over and over I hear from clients for tarot readings how they wish they could turn back the clock to their college years. They would have invested less in chasing high grades and put more in launching a business right there in college. Oh, they have no illusions about being able back then to have produced an end result like Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook.  As most of us know, while in the dorm at Harvard Zuckerberg picked up on a gap: Students needed a way to communicate with each other internally. My clients have a hunch that they too could have figured out where the gap was in student life or in the big world out there.  Since they had no intention of going on to professional programs such in law, medicine or business, there was no need for all those As. And now here they are: scared white collar employees who could be lopped off...

  Three mysticism shops closed down. And a fourth seems to be have slow traffic. That's a major development in this small Southeastern city of 45,000 in Arizona. My cousin in a large East Coast city reports that two of the psychic centers near him seem goners. And, to my inner businessperson, that's a sign that the recession is here. How I'm not only hanging on but thriving providing tarot readings is that my brand is: no-nonsense. The tone is compassionate. But the content is pragmatic. No, I don't deliver a toxic dose of empathy.  For example, those out of work need income. My edict: Grab work, whatever brings in money. Then you go on from there. I am committed to the old-fashioned wisdom of Nothing gets you work like having work.  In addition, I bill what you can afford. I recognize that for many of you a tarot session is the clarity you need.  How do I read the energy in the economy? Not good. The downturn will worsen. UPDATE: Another type of recession indicator ...

My immigrant family came to the New Country because it was the land of opportunity. Embedded in that positioning was this: It was up to you to go out and make things happen. Not ambitious enough? You wound up on public assistance and was shamed. That same early 20th century value system dominates right now. That's even amidst: Wage deflation, which The Wall Street Journal documents isn't pretty. Extreme employment insecurity. If you're fortunate enough to laid another job, Indeed reports that'll take about five months. And, see above, the new job will probably pay less than your previous one. For the over-50, Pro Publica has been telling us for years that only one in 10 of you will earn comparable compensation of the job you were pushed out of. The great unknowns associated with generative AI. Already in the legal sector, chair of elite law firm Paul Weiss Brad Karp has gone on record indicating that Gen AI could eliminate the jobs of junior lawyers. The low hanging f...

  In the tarot, which dates back to at least the 14th century, The Lovers is a major card. The nuances of navigating romantic relationships have been a compelling concern for humanity for a  long time. At least until recently. In a very long-form essay The Wall Street Journal reflects on what might become known as The End of Dating. The reality is that more than 50% of females between 18 and 40 are single. And more of them have thrown in the towel on seeking out a romantic relationship. Here's a snapshot of what's trending: "For young women especially, who tout ... off-the-market status on TikTok and other social media, the focus has shifted toward self-improvement, friendship and the ability to find happiness on their own. Surveys show a decline in teenage relationships, and Gen Z is having less sex than previous generations, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." That means that many business sectors associated with any aspect of ro...

A brutal lesson: Don't use references to literature in tarot readings. When I alluded to "The Great Gatsby" with a woman in her 30s, there was a glaze-over.  Lost to me was a communications tool I had invested so much in learning about. Back in the days when there was blind faith in higher education I matriculated for a Ph.D. in literature and linguistics. Essentially, that has become an overall liability. Of course, I have plenty of company in this pain of losing what had defined so much of us.  Those erudite management consultants no longer have a market for theory. Prospects demand concrete solutions they can implement quickly. Hold the bulked-up slide decks.  Also, less and less marketable is old tech. That is, pre generative AI. Scroll through professional anonymous network Blind and it's a journey through the corridor of employment insecurity. Federal civil service is no longer respected. And, once progressive law firms such as Paul Weiss are going through an id...

The Trump administration's Executive Order, predictably, has delivered a negative impact to the business of law firm Paul Weiss. According to iconoclast conservative Steve Bannon that's exactly the administration's intention.   On the Real America's Voice's War Room Bannon said : " ... he's [Donald Trump] going to put those law firms out of business. Let me repeat this. There's major law firms ... what we are trying to do is put you out of business and bankrupt you. Just so you understand it." Today, reports Bloomberg Law News : "An executive [Steven Schwartz] facing federal bribery charges fired his lawyers [Ted Wells and Roberto Finzi] at Paul Weiss days after President Donald Trump targeted the firm in an executive order." The case, filed by the Department of Justice, is "USA v Colburn, et al." Allegedly Schwartz, when a former senior official at Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, made a "pay off" in India relatin...