Before you sit down
Madam Moira's Guide
Madam Moira is a tarot simulator — a free online reading you sit through rather than a fortune that is told to you. Nothing here predicts your future. The cards, your question and your own description of the image are used as a mirror, so that what you already suspect has somewhere to be said out loud. This page explains the ritual step by step, what the deeper reading is, and what makes a question worth asking.
What this simulator is — and is not
It is a reflection tool dressed in the old clothes of a reading room: a random draw from a painted deck, a classical arcanum behind each card, and a reader who asks you questions instead of handing down verdicts.
It is not divination, prophecy, medical advice, legal advice or financial advice. I will not tell you whether he loves you, whether you will be hired, or when anything will happen. If a reading ever sounds like prophecy, read it again as a description of where you are standing now.
The reading, step by step
I
The dark room, and the light you choose
You arrive in an unlit parlour. Somewhere in the dark there is a candle, a hearth, a crystal ball, a hurricane lantern and a mosaic lamp. Whichever you kindle stays lit for your visit — and it decides the voice I speak in. The candle is gentle, the hearth is plain and warm, the crystal is cool and distant, the lantern is direct, the mosaic is many-coloured and playful. The same card, read by two different lights, does not sound the same.
II
Sound and smoke
I will offer you music and incense. Both are optional; both are only there to slow you down. You can silence or wake the music at any point from the speaker in the corner of the room.
III
The breath
A short breathing meditation with your flame — breathe in as the light swells, out as it dims. This is not decoration. This is where your question is meant to find you. Most people arrive with a vague unease; a minute of breathing usually turns it into a sentence.
IV
Your question
Then I ask what brings you to my table, and you write one real question. Plain words are enough. Open questions — how, what, why — always read better than yes-or-no. Ask about yourself rather than about someone else's private life; the cards answer the person sitting at the table.
V
The draw
The cards rise from the smoke and you choose one. The draw is random — nothing is arranged in advance, and no answer is written before you pick. Each card in this deck is an abstract painting rather than a literal scene, and it is bound to a classical arcanum you can read about on the shelf of cards.
VI
What you see in it
Before I say anything, I ask what you see in the image. This is the part people underestimate. What you notice in an ambiguous painting is yours, not the card's — and it is woven into the reading you receive. Two people drawing the same card get two different readings, because they described two different things.
VII
The reading
You receive two paragraphs: the first on what the card traditionally carries in relation to your question, the second on what your own description reveals. Then a short echo — a line worth keeping — and a reflection question addressed to you.
VIII
Your answer, and the closing
Answer the reflection question in your own words and I will give you one last reflection on what you said. Then the cards rest. You may return the next day for a new reading, save your readings to an account, or step through to the deeper spread.
The deeper reading — past, present, future
One reading a day is free. When you want to go further, there is the deeper spread: the classical three-card layout of past, present and future, laid one card at a time.
It begins the same way — light, sound, breath, your question — and then unfolds slowly. You draw the card of the past and describe it, and I answer with a short reflection. Then the present. Then the future, which in this house means the direction you are currently walking in, not a fixed fate. Only then do I weave all three together with your question into a single longer reading, close with an echo and a reflection question, and answer what you say back.
The deeper reading is available as a single one-off, or with a monthly subscription for unlimited deeper spreads and saved readings. You can see the current prices on the pricing page. With an account, every reading you receive is kept in your calendar so you can return to it and see whether it aged well.
How to ask a good question
- Ask open questions — how, what, why — not yes or no.
- Ask about yourself and your own part in the situation.
- One question at a time. A crowded question gets a crowded answer.
- Avoid asking for dates, verdicts, or another person's private thoughts.
- If nothing comes, borrow one of the questions below. Borrowed questions work.
Tarot questions you can ask
To know yourself better
For when the unease has no name yet.
- How can I become more self-aware?
- What aspects of myself am I not seeing?
- How can I become more in touch with my emotions?
- Why do I react the way that I do to certain situations?
- What is my biggest fear?
- What are my strengths and weaknesses?
- How can I improve my relationships with others?
- What is holding me back from reaching my potential?
- Am I living an authentic life?
- If I were to die tomorrow, what would be my biggest regret?
To empower yourself
For when you know the direction but not the first step.
- How can I take control of my life?
- What steps do I need to take to reach my goals?
- What is preventing me from achieving success?
- How can I overcome my fears and doubts?
- How can I develop more self-confidence?
- What risks am I afraid to take?
- Why am I not reaching my full potential?
- What is the meaning and purpose of my life?
- How can I find happiness and fulfillment?
- How can I make a positive difference in the world?
About your love life
Ask about your own part in it — that is the part you can move.
- What can I do to improve my current relationship?
- How can I attract more love into my life?
- What qualities should I look for in a partner?
- How can I become more open to love?
- What is causing tension in my current relationship?
About career and money
For crossroads, stagnation and the fear of choosing wrong.
- What steps can I take to improve my career prospects?
- Should I stay in my current job or look for something else?
- What can I do to manifest more abundance in my life?
- How can I get out of my current financial rut?
- What is causing my current financial struggles?
About health and well-being
Not a diagnosis — a mirror for how you are treating yourself.
- What steps can I take to improve my health?
- How could I show my body more love and respect?
- How can I achieve a better work/life balance?
- How can I reduce stress in my life?
- What can I do to feel happier and more fulfilled?
About your spiritual life
For the questions that have no practical answer, only a direction.
- What is my higher purpose?
- What can I do to connect with my spirituality?
- How can I be of service to others?
- What does my spiritual practice look like?
- How can I create more space in my life for my spirituality?
Then read the cards themselves
Each painted card answers to a classical arcanum, with its upright and reversed meanings written out on the shelf of cards. Read them before or after your reading — never instead of describing what you see. Your own eye is the better oracle.