Perspectives in Place: Tarot Cards & Real Estate Appraisals have more in common than you think

Anja Ivica, an old friend of mine who also happens to be a tarot card reader, laid out three cards in front of me. 

Justice (upright). 

Temperance (reversed).

The Magician (upright).

The question that I had asked her?

“Will my husband and I need to buy a new home one day?”

I also ask another colleague of mine, Bradley Elliott, the very same question. Elliott is currently a valuation associate / AACI candidate with a well-known real estate investment management company. 

At first glance, Anja and Bradley would appear to have nothing in common. She deals with horoscopes. He deals with market data. In what world would these two schools of thought ever intersect?

They’re both meant as tools

“A lot of people say tarot is a fortune-telling tool”, comments Anja. “For me, I consider it more of a decision-making tool.” 

When it comes to tarot card readings, while the question you ask the cards is important, what might be of equal significance is how you ask it. 

“Ask the same question, but a few different ways”, she adds. “Whatever that may be, whatever questions around it, ask them, because the cards are going to tell you what you need to hear.”

Appraisal reports are also seen as a valuable decision-making tool in the real estate industry. A fair market value assessment of a property can provide the context needed for major decisions such as sales + purchases, financing and tax + insurance. Like tarot cards, how you ask the question regarding a property’s value will help determine the valuation models that an appraiser might use to reach their conclusion. 

They’re both methodical in their approach

“An appraiser is effectively an analyst - data, legal contracts, policy - to then derive a specific real estate value for a residential or commercial property”, says Elliott. 

There are a number of approaches a real estate appraiser can use to reach their valuation decision: direct comparison, cost, and income, to name a few. But no matter which one is being used, being “Reasonable + Supportable” is the strategic equation Elliott uses when it comes to his work; he strongly believes it is the foundation of conducting ethical appraisals.

Tarot card readings, on the other hand, might appear chaotic and random at first glance. Anja, when starting the reading, shuffles the deck in a manner akin to a dealer at a blackjack table. But there’s a focus in her eye, a precision in her movement, that compelled me to ask, “So what exactly are you doing here?”

She explains that there are two specific formulas that she typically uses in her readings: a three-card spread, or a five-card spread.

“I like the three-card spread because it can be interpreted multiple different ways”, she adds. “It can be: past, present, future. Or: problem solution, outcome.”

The cards themselves are also more systematic than their ethereal artwork makes them appear:

“So there's a 1 to 10 on the suits and then, depending on your deck”, Anja continues. “And then the major arcana cards and minor arcana cards are completely separate from the suits.”

They’re both objective

The tarot cards don’t lie - and neither do the appraisals.

For Elliott, his aim is simple: to act in compliance with his legal and ethical requirements, while also acting as a reliable independent third party voice.

“My goal here is to make sure that the argument presented to whoever you're giving it to is clear enough that they're going to have minimal questions”, he says.

For Anja, she sometimes gets clients who reach out looking for very specific, pre-conceived outcomes with a tarot card reading. She regaled me in detail with a story about a young woman who asked for multiple readings over the course of a few months about her romantic partner at the time. The cards showed her that this partner wasn’t going to last. Every. Single. Time. 

But even in the face of this clear evidence, the woman continued to interpret the cards in a way that fit her narrative. Let’s just say that her and that partner are no longer together.

This sentiment is also one that Elliott knows all too well in the world of real estate appraisal.

“When they are maybe pushing for a particular outcome, the best choice here is to be objective”, he adds.

They’re both more about the present than the future

While people might idealize the notion that the future can be predicted - whether through a tarot card reading or by projecting future real estate values - the reality is, the future is fairly fluid and subjective.

“I think everyone wants to predict the future”, says Anja. “But the tricky part about that is that the future is not set in stone…. Tarot will basically give you a blueprint and tell you these are your options and it's up to you to make that decision.”

Despite tarot cards and real estate appraisals being more similar than I originally thought, I still wasn’t sure about the answer to my original question. 

So to look to the future, I took a step back into the past. 

Robin Will and I first met back in 2016, when we both worked together at, of all places, a real estate appraisal firm. Our lives have taken different paths since then. Mine, as a marketer. Hers? A tarot card reader and teacher at The Oracle in West Vancouver.

The Oracle uses its shop space in multiple capacities. It is a space of service, providing psychic readings and serving as a community gathering space. It is also a retail space, selling items like spiritual books and eclectic home decor. Olywn, originally from Yellowknife, attended UBC with a focus on religious studies before taking ownership of the shop. They’ve been a great source of inspiration to Robin since she started working there. Olywn described what they look for in staff that join their team:

“For the psychic readers, I like people who are well grounded, socially grounded, they have life experience and common sense in terms of how society works, how people work in general”, they explain. “And then to apply their psychic abilities, they have to be integrated with that in order to connect with their clients.” 

Robin naturally fit this bill, skillfully combining her spiritual energy with her practical lived experiences. Like Anja, she approaches her work as a reader with a level of methodical thoughtfulness - much like Bradley approaches his appraisal reports. 

“There is a very wide spectrum of people who come in - every age, every orientation, every background, every wealth bracket,” she adds. “Whatever preconceived notion you might have, you have to leave that way far away from me during a reading.”

After all this though, I’m still not sure how to answer my original question of “Will my husband and I need to buy a new home one day?”

Maybe I’m missing the point. Yes, I can get a tarot card reading. Yes, I could read an appraisal report. But at the end of it all, it’s up to me to decide what my future will be.