Consider the Querent
Tags intuition, perception, basic concepts
It's a very interesting question whether one should cold-read one's querent when performing a reading. Some might say that it's a little like cheating, because the cards themselves ought to tell the whole story. To me, there is a very fine line between cold reading and second sight; perhaps it is simply a matter of degrees.
Personally, I disagree. I think that as fortune tellers, we should bring all of our minds to bear on what we are doing, and make use of all of the talents god gave us, including the ability to read people or any other form of ESP we might possess.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that any of the tricks that would allow you to look like you're giving a good reading probably make for a good reading. It might seem like cheating to ask the querent what a card means to him, but in my opinion it's the best way sometimes to get a straightforward answer.
Early forms of divination, such as throwing Yarrow stalks or placing a turtle bone in the fire to see how it cracks -- these methods worked for the ancients. They could not have worked unless the diviners had extensive understanding of the situation at hand. In this way, a diviner acts as much as an advisor or therapist to the querent as a fortune teller.
If you can read anything from the palms of your client's hand or the soles of his shoes to perform a good reading, do it ? that's what I say. Better value for the client, right?