In this interview I am once again joined by Dr Ben Joffe, anthropologist, occultist, and scholar practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism.

Dr Joffe leads a deep dive into the topic of divination, explores its underlying mechanisms and practical methods, and compares different cultural understandings of the practice.

Dr Joffe details his understanding of the tarot as a scholar and reader, shares his advice for those who wish to learn the system, and reveals how to use tarot for information gathering, sorcery, and magickal workings.

Dr Joffe also reflects on his own journey as a tarot reader, addresses criticisms that tarot and other psychic methods are exploitative, and considers the uneasy relationship between divination and licensed counselling.

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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep320-divination-tarot-dr-ben-joffe

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro

02:12 - What is divination?

06:08 - Synchronicity and randomness

09:37 - Dependent origination

14:34 - Ben’s extensive study of divination

22:13 - Mechanistic vs intuitive

29:17 - Scrying and establishing parameters

34:56 - Childhood divination

39:59 - What should divination mean for the client?

41:50 - Addiction to divination

43:50 - Cold reading and choosing a question

48:45 - Ben’s recounts his own history as a diviner

01:20:43 - Structure of the tarot

01:27:16 - How to read tarot

01:48:38 - Tarot reading mistakes

01:53:46 - Tibetan butter lamp divination

01:57:11 - Collaboration vs cold reading

02:02:10 - Studying the history of tarot

02:06:58 - 6 reasons to engage with tarot

02:09:22 - Critique of modern, inclusive decks

02:12:43 - Bad omens and gatekeeping

02:20:17 - Is tarot exploitative pseudo-counselling?

02:47:23 - Why not just become a counsellor?

02:54:19 - Is tarot over-psychologised?

02:55:25 - Ben reflects on his recurring clients

03:01:11 - The power of the right question

03:07:39 - Shaman and tarot reader as therapy-adjacent

03:13:18 - Does clairvoyance actually have value?

03:16:16 - Caution about taking life advice from Buddhist lamas

03:21:44 - Wild West of Tiktok diviners

03:22:49 - Anti-divination laws

03:29:14 - Tibetan and Buddhist divination

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Previous episodes with Dr Ben Joffe:

- https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=joffe

To find out more about Dr Ben Joffe, visit:

- https://perfumedskull.com/

- http://www.skypressbooks.com/

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For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- https://www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James