The Tarot Room – Georgianna

Harford County Seal

Despite protests last week, fortune-telling is now legal in Harford County, Maryland.

At a meeting this past Tuesday, council voted 6-1 to approve a bill which repeals the 31-year ban on psychic businesses.

But it limits where they can be located to the B-2 and B-3 business zones.

The vote was delayed until this week after protests last week by some residents opposed to fortune-telling.

Protesters disagreed with the recent Maryland High Court decision which ruled that bans against fortune-telling are unconstitutional limits to free speech.

Though there was little, if any, support for fortune-telling among council members, they felt they had no alternative but to vote as they did.

According to Bryna Zumer of the Aegis, Councilman Guthrie, who introduced the bill, explained it this way,

“A ‘no’ vote on this bill would mean you approve fortune-telling anywhere in this county. The worst thing about that is if one went next door to you…that would be grandfathered and you couldn’t get it out of there.”

Councilman Joe Wood, the only councillor to vote no on the bill, disagreed. He felt that any vote to repeal fortune-telling was wrong, and shouldn’t be supported.

Another councilman, Jim McMahan described it as the best of two evils.

Though he compared Tarot readers to ‘snake-oil salesmen’, he felt that keeping their ‘mystical occupations’ in the open was better than nothing.

Before the new legislation becomes official, it still has to go to County Executive David Craig for his approval.

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Harford County, Maryland

A bill to repeal Harford County, Maryland’s 31-year old ban on fortune-telling has been delayed due to protests by some residents who want to keep psychic businesses illegal.

Last year, Maryland’s High Court ruled that bans on fortune-telling businesses were unconstitutional.

Since they can’t be shut down outright, Harford County councilman, Dion Guthrie, wants to at least control where they’re allowed to operate.

To that end, he sponsored a bill that would overturn the old ban, but restrict such establishments to the B-2 and B-3 business zoning districts.

These businesses would have to be located at least 1,000 feet from a school, another similar business or a place of worship, and would need special permission from the Board of Appeals.

He’s also considering setting age restrictions on those who can visit fortune-tellers, and maybe restricting such businesses, alongside adult bookstores, exclusively to the B-3 zone.

For some residents though, that’s not enough. They don’t want fortune-telling anywhere in the county, regardless of what the State High Court determined.

According to The Aegis, in his presentation to Council, Allan Gorman, a senior pastor at Harford Community Church, quoted bible verses in opposition to mediumship and fortune-telling.

‘When you, as the authorities of the land, allow for a spiritual opening for dark forces to come into our community, they will come,’ he said. ‘The effects will be permanent until another authority steps in and says no to that.’

John Mallamo, of Bel Air was concerned that there was no qualifications for readers, or requirement that they prove their accuracy.

And James Zachary, an elder with Breath of God Christian Fellowship felt the Maryland court decision was wrong and that fortune-telling is a bad legacy for the Council to leave behind.

Though no one seemed to come out in support of fortune-telling, not everyone felt it was a danger to the community.

Pete Gutwald, director of the county’s planning and zoning department, described it as a personal service that could be practiced in a residential zone.

And Nancy Giorno, the county’s deputy attorney, felt that unlike the case with adult bookstores, there are no proven secondary effects associated with fortune-telling businesses.

The issue remains unresolved.

Council decided to delay their decision and put the question off for another time.

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Romanian Coat of Arms

Romanian witches and fortune-tellers have won their battle. At least for now.

This past Tuesday, 249 Romanian deputies rejected a bill which would have forced fortune-tellers, or witchcraft practitioners, to pay a fine or go to jail if their predictions were wrong.

Ten deputies supported the new legislation, while six abstained.

The bill, which passed the Senate last month, would also have required receipts to be provided to all customers, and have prohibited such businesses from being located near churches or schools.

Politicians who brought the legislation forward claimed they were looking to regulate occult practices and trying to prevent ‘the devastating effects of witchcraft’. Others disagreed.

Some commentators felt the move was nothing more than a governmental diversion tactic meant to avoid focus on bigger problems faced by the country.

Earlier this year, new legislation requiring fortune-tellers to pay taxes incensed many Romanian witches, leading some to dump poison mandrake into the Danube in an attempt to hex the government.

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The City of Lindsay, California is looking into changing its existing zoning ordinances for sexually-oriented businesses and fortune-tellers.

Council would like there to be a 1,000-foot buffer between churches, parks and schools, and sexually-oriented businesses.

They’d also like these businesses to be at least 500 feet away from residential areas.

Lumped into almost the same category as strip clubs and adult bookstores, are fortune-tellers and tattoo artists.

Council intends to regulate where they can and cannot operate, and are calling for a 500-foot buffer around churches, schools, parks and residential areas.

Before going forward, Mayor Ed Murray wants to see a map showing what areas would be included and excluded as possible locations for such establishments.

City staff are drawing one up for him now.

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Flag of Wisconsin

In the last segment of Tarot Views the News, we looked at some themes surrounding the situation in Egypt.

This time round, we’ll bring it back to North America and explore a few concepts highlighted by the ongoing protests in the state of Wisconsin.

This is not a predictive reading, but rather a look at the following terms from a Tarot perspective:

What is a Labor Union?
What is Compromise?
What is Leadership?
What is Social Justice?

When I asked, ‘what is a Labor Union?” the card I got was the 2 of Swords.

2 of Swords

This card reflects two distinct viewpoints, the resolution of which comes through intelligent, serious communication.

Emotional issues are to be kept at bay, while carefully considering all sides of a situation.

At it’s best, a Labor Union is a balance of sorts, an attempt to make the parties in a labor for wage transaction equal and fair.

Labor unions are meant to discourage power imbalances.

2 of Cups

I pulled the 2 of Cups for ‘what is Compromise?

This card is typically interpreted romantically, but in this context I think it’s pointing to the sacrifices we’re willing to make when we’re coming from a place of mutual respect.

Compromise is the understanding that other people matter too.

The caduceus above the two figures seems especially significant to our question.

It’s an ancient symbol of commerce and negotiation. Compromise is evenhanded exchange and reciprocity between two parties.

#20 Judgement

The card I pulled for ‘what is Leadership?’ was #20, Judgment.

Families rise from grey coffins, heeding the call of the Archangel Gabriel.

Leadership is clear vision and a call to action. Like the flaming angel in the card, a leader inspires and uplifts.

Leadership sees past the confines of what is now, and takes us beyond, to a better place.

#3 The Empress

And finally, when I asked, ‘what is Social Justice?’ I got #3, the Empress.

Social Justice is love, like that of a mother for her children. It is nurturing, creative, and compassionate.

The Empress is concerned with what is real, that which is experienced by our five senses.

She wants these experiences to be shared by all of her children. And if they suffer, she does too.

Social Justice is bountiful and abundant. There is enough for everyone.
It is love and respect for all creatures of the world.

There’s an interesting progression in these cards. If we look at the 20 as being 2 + 0, equaling 2, we have three 2s followed by a 3.

Could that mean that Labour Union/Compromise/Leadership progresses into Social Justice?

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Meridian, Mississippi

The city of Meridian, Mississippi is taking steps to lift a ban on fortune telling and palmistry businesses.

According to the Meridian Star, the law presently states that,

“It shall be unlawful for any person within the corporate limits of the city to carry on the business of telling fortunes or to carry on the trade, business or profession of phrenology, clairvoyance, palmistry or other business of like kind or nature in which the future of any person is foretold or attempted to be foretold.”

Questions about the constitutionality of this prohibition have come into question, leading City Council this past week to ask its attorney to draw up an order to rescind it.

Similar laws have recently been struck down in Michigan, Georgia and Maryland.

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Guy Ritchie's London house occupied by squatters

Guy Ritchie’s intended new home has suddenly become an unintended temporary Tarot school.

In addition to Tarot, the squatters that moved in on Monday night also plan to teach classes on house occupation and using public transport for free.

The group that calls itself, The Really Free School, realize that they’ll be thrown out of the $9.6 million mansion soon.

But until they are, they’re using Ritchie’s house as a pop-up free school, offering workshops, debates and film screenings.

In their own words, “Our time in this building is short, we have the next couple of weeks to zhumba, zhumba, zhumba.”

The police went to the recently renovated property near London’s West End, but were unable to evict the squatters.

According to British law, a person can claim a right to stay in an empty property as long as they don’t break and enter. At least until they’re formally evicted by the owner.

I expect they’ll be leaving soon.

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Romania

Just yesterday I wrote about fortune-tellers under pressure in Malawi. Today it’s Romania that’s back in the news . . .

On January 1st the Romanian Parliament declared fortune-telling a legal profession.

It seemed like good news at the time. At least for those witches who didn’t mind paying taxes.

A few people though, didn’t like the new proposal. In fact, they threatened to curse the legislators who were going to pass it.

The law went through anyway. In retaliation, some witches dumped poison mandrake into the Danube in an attempt to hex the government.

But magic can be a tricky business. It can come back at you if you’re not careful. Maybe that’s what’s happening in this case.

Not only are Romanian witches now expected to be licensed and pay taxes, but politicians are debating a draft bill which would also require them to be judged on their predictive accuracy.

What’s more, they might be fined or even jailed if their readings are wrong.

The new bill would also require receipts to be provided to all customers, and fortune-telling would not be permitted near churches or schools.

Opponents of the proposal say it’s a ruse to deflect public attention from Romania’s many problems.

“The government doesn’t have real solutions, so it invents problems,” political commentator, Stelian Tanase told the AP.

The bill passed in the Senate last week, but still has to be approved by a financial and labor committee, as well as by the Chamber of Deputies.

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Fortune-telling and farting could soon be illegal in Malawi.

New laws proposed by Malawian President Bingu wa Matharika’s administration would outlaw fortune-telling and passing gas.

Also up for new sanctions would be challenging someone to a duel, writing or speaking in a way aimed at hurting someone’s religious feelings, or fouling water.

The administration claims Malawi needs the new laws in order to protect women’s modesty and mold responsible and disciplined citizens.

Opposition leader John Tembo opposed the proposed laws. He feels they’d be bad for democracy and create a kangaroo court.

I tend to agree.

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Egypt has been the big news these last few weeks so I thought I’d pull a few cards about the situation.

This is not meant to be a predictive reading, but rather a brief exploration of some of the key themes.

Though Egypt is dealing with these issues right now, they’re not alone. Every nation faces them at one time or another.

•What is legitimate government?
•What is legitimate protest?
•What is revolution?
•What is democracy?

Using the Rider Waite Smith deck I started with the first question, ‘What is legitimate government?’ I got the 5 of Swords.

5 of Swords

It’s pretty straight-forward according to my deck. Legitimacy in government is determined by who controls the arms.

I’m reminded of what my first year political science professor taught us in the very first class. Politics is about the control of power. If you defeat the other side, you’re in charge.

King of Pentacles

I pulled the King of Pentacles when I asked, ‘What is legitimate protest?’

This is a serious king not prone to wild histrionics or extremism. At his best, he’s concerned with stability, material prosperity and the general well being of his subjects.

I think this king is telling us that when a leader no longer provides access to these fundamentals, there is a legitimate right for his or her people to protest.

#17 The Star

When I asked ‘What is revolution?’ I got #17, the Star.

Revolution is eternal hope and optimism. Anything is possible. There’s reason to dream, to have faith that it can be better than it is today.

This is a major card and suggests a certain inevitability. Revolution is something that once begun is determined to finish.

The Star card is preceded by the Devil and Tower and followed by the Moon, Sun and Judgment. Revolution takes place after tyranny and collapse, but comes before disillusion, revelation and ascension.

4 of Pentacles

The final question was, ‘What is democracy?’ The card I got was the 4 of Pentacles.

In the Thoth deck, the key word for this card is ‘power’. Like a functioning democracy, it’s a receptive power, defensive and protected, but accessible.

Looking at the RWS version of the card it seems that the king is protecting his wealth, and that the city is literally behind him.

Democracy is the stewardship of a community’s wealth, with the support of its citizenry.

Interesting cards. Interesting times.

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