Retirement planning through sortilege

I feel stupid writing this, but that's probably good for me, isn't it?

One of my big topics during this time is to figure out what the hell to do next. (See, e.g., the 6-word slogan I've out on my masthead: So what do I do now?) In line with this concern, I've started learning to cast simple tarot readings, using the instructions that John Michael Greer posts here. Do I believe that the tarot tells the future? Probably I have to answer with Niels Bohr and say, "Of course not …."

But I will add that Wife seemed to have a pretty good success rate reading Tarot back when we were together, or at any rate when she was still in her stride as a self-confident witch. I don't know if she still reads today, or with what level of success.

Anyway, one of the big questions I've been concerned with lately is whether to invest the money that I have collected in my 401(K) account from work with the financial advisors that I first mentioned here. And the answers I've gotten have been, … well, … not encouraging.

For these questions I've been using a variant method, not quite the one Greer explains in his post that I reference above. This is a method that Wife taught me years ago. 

1. Think of a yes/no question while you shuffle the cards.
2. Turn over the first three cards.
3. Count each upright card as a "Yes," and each reversed card as a "No." Majority wins.
4. If you want more commentary on what it's going to look like, read the cards themselves.

Over the last couple of days, I have asked these questions in several different ways.

• Can I trust XYZ with my money? Answer: No. (8 of Cups reversed, Sun reversed, King of Wands upright. But I flipped the cards as I turned them over, which normally I don't do. Does that matter? Should I count the reversed cards as upright and vice versa?) 
• Will XYZ treat my money dishonestly? Answer: No. (10 of Pentacles reversed, 8 of Swords reversed, 2 of Wands upright.)
• Will someone else handle my money better than XYZ? Answer: Yes. (Magician, Hermit, Page of Pentacles, all upright. I assume the Hermit there means "Keep looking," but how in the hell am I supposed to find a magician to invest my retirement account with?)

Finally this afternoon I tried a different way to word it: Are XYZ the right people to invest my money with? And the answer came up like this:

Strictly speaking, I suppose that's a Yes, isn't it, because two cards are upright and only one is reversed. But it doesn't look like encouraging commentary. The way I read this, it's telling me:

• Eight of Swords: I'm only choosing them because I feel like I don't have any other choice. And it's true that I haven't been interviewing anybody else, but that's because up till now all their answers to all my questions have sounded really reasonable. And when I look them up on the SEC website there are no outstanding complaints against them.
• Queen of Swords reversed: I'm at risk from some kind of deceit. Either that or an older woman will be badly disposed towards me. (But XYZ is a small firm and all the analysts are men. This couldn't mean Wife, could it?)
• Five of Wands: And there's a risk of family fights if I go ahead. Family fights? That's how Wife always read the 5 of Wands. But I can't really imagine why choosing this investment advisor over that one would cause family fights. How is that possible? On the other hand the little booklet packed in with the cards says, "Imitation, as, for example, sham fight, but also the strenuous competition and struggle of the search after riches and fortune. In this sense it connects with the battle of life. Hence some attributions say that it is a card of gold, gain, opulence." I suppose gain and opulence sound nice -- certainly a lot better than family fights. Hmm.

The thing is, I can see using the Tarot to focus your thinking about a subject, to help you frame a question, or to inspire you to look at aspects of a topic you had hitherto ignored. But when all the visible evidence says that XYZ firm look honest and competent, when the contract requires them to act as fiduciaries and has safeguards built in to prevent bad behavior, and when the cards still look ambiguous or depressing -- at that point isn't it just magical thinking to reject what's visible to your eyes because of invisible hints? People have been ruined by magical thinking. Knowing that hasn't stopped me from indulging in it throughout this transition (see, e.g., here and here) but I try to keep it reined in.

Oh well. I'll make a decision some day soon.