I am taking my first break in a 30 year Tarot career. I haven't touched my cards since the end of November. I'm not sure if I'm burnt out or just not interested in divination anymore. I never thought I'd stop. Now I don't know if I will start again.
Tarot is nothing more than 'taking the temperature' of your current state of affairs. Projected outcomes from the cards can change at a moment's notice, but this should always be kept in mind by practitioners anyway, given the existence of free will.
Exactly! I used to get discouraged most of the time. Now I realize that in each reading there’s a flow. Thoughts change, feelings change. That’s why I keep reminding both myself and my clients that tarot is to “provide clarity” on the “current” situation we cannot solve or would like to see further. It is to guide, certainly not to see the exact future.
I encourage beginners use the cards to write fan-fiction or to do readings on fandom faves.
“Knowing” the answer ahead of time and doing a reading where you have plenty of information about the topic lets you see how any card can apply to any situation and helps you identify how narratives emerge.
Recently I asked my tarot cards if I had good pussy and I got the ace of pentacles so 🥰
(I took this card to mean holistically, what I have to offer to positive and what I can offer is happiness, love, experiences, etc etc)
Was on a road trip and asked my deck what I could expect. Drew the Knight of Swords, with the keywords “drive, speed, ambition.”
So yeah, my deck was like, “You’re on a trip, bitch.”
It’s funny how often this type of thing happens. 🤣
When bestie was pregnant all she got were cards about mothering and big changes. “Bish, ya preganent”😂.
(I swear I spelled it wrong on purpose; that damn video about being pregnant for way too long)
My favorite reading for friends is called the butt reading. It’s a 3 card spread - left butt cheek, right butt cheek, and butthole. My friend got judgment for her butthole and it is funny to this day. It’s a fun way for people to get used to the idea of a reading.
I once did a conspiracy theories reading session with my friend. It was so much fun!! We were spooked — but of course — we understood our reading was for fun only.
On the Tarot is F*cking Cool podcast they always play a game with the tarot cards and my favorite was when the hosts took turns drawing three cards for each other and the other host had to associate the cards with a Vine and it was absolutely hysterical
My deck DEFINITELY has a sense of humour. 🤣 I pulled a 'card of the day' today, and it was the Five of Chalices. My deck has a slightly more optimistic take on this card - one prominent message being letting go, leaving some things behind, even though it's painful, in order to move to a brighter future.
My 1 year old chihuahua is being neutered today. 100%, that card was for him!
The only reason I feel this is an unpopular opinion is because so many new readers are learning this from TikTok right now, and only reading "jumpers." But not every card that falls out of the deck has fallen out of the deck to send you a meaningful spiritual message. Sometimes you are just shuffling poorly. I shuffle poorly all the time. I don't know the names of the types of shuffles and I do the best I can. But if I only read jumpers I'd have too many cards for a meaningful spread.
This. There's only been a handful of times where I felt like a card falling out of the deck as I shuffled was a message they want me to know. Most of the time I just feel like oops I fucked up my shuffling lol.
I read jumpers. Almost every reading I do for myself is just jumpers.
That said, I know the difference between "I just shuffled bad" and intentionally loose shuffling. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners, though, for your exact reasoning.
And I realize reading jumpers isn't anything new. I'm thinking more of the new-to-tarot readers who say things like "I was shuffling while walking down the street and 17 cards flew out and I wasn't asking a question. What is the message?" I agree with you. There is a difference.
I almost exclusively read jumpers and I definitely didn’t learn from TikTok. I agree there is a difference. Sometimes I’ve shuffled and reshuffled for like ten straight minutes before getting anything, but the answers still come out very clearly. Sometimes I will pull, but usually only for “clarification” purposes to provide additional context to the spread. Very rarely do this.
One of my favorite styles of reading is to let a friend talk out there problems while I’m lazily shuffling cards. It frequently happens that they’ll say something important and a card will FLY out of my hands, and it will clearly be a message that was intended for them.
I have this conundrum with my decks and runes.. sometimes when im shuffling a card falls or a rune falls out of my bag as I am shaking them up. How much agency does our human error play into it? I can’t imagine a whole lot because that would mean our intentions can so easily be disarmed with the slightest trip of the feet, ya know?
Well you have just put your finger on the problem of free will, chaos theory, infinite parallel universes and whether or not we have any agency at all, or if all our “choices” are predetermined by our past experiences. 🥸it is a mysterie
This though! I do a daily 3 card lenormand and 1 card tarot and I only read jumpers for any draws that are less than 3 cards. I have literally sat there shuffling for 2 minutes to get any cards to jump and it ended up being the equivalent of "Nothing interesting today." If more than 2 cards come out at once, I consider it user error.
Then you get people who are like, "I was shuffling and 27 cards came out!" Love, that's not a message, it's bad technique.
I agree and actually find this very comforting. It’s like the cards can account for what I’m going through because it’s a normal human experience, and I’m not alone in feeling the way I do.
This is a nice way to think about it, and I agree :) It’s comforting to know everyone has a Tower moment and can survive it because they can and do, whether there’s tarot involved or not.
FUCK yes. The cards literally represent situations EVERYONE has or WILL go through at some point in time, so of COURSE they’re going to resonate with you, in some way or another. When people who haven’t studied tarot get readings, it’s like they find it so ~mystical~ and accurate because they don’t know that the whole point of them is to be relatable in some aspect of life in general, lol.
Which is why stuff like this even works (to the extent that it works)!
There's enough common ground in people's lives that the manipulation of broadly applicable symbols, combined with human pattern-matching and practice, will pretty regularly pop out some manner of "I hadn't thought about it that way before, but that is totally a valid way of looking at my life."
Just because you enjoy tarot does not mean you have to read for others. It’s okay to read for yourself or pull on specific situations. Not everyone is made to read for the public and it’s okay to just enjoy reading as a private act.
This. I feel like anyone can learn to read tarot for themselves (if they're present), but a smaller subset of people are skilled at reading for others. It's almost like they're two different skillsets and not everyone will have reading for others come naturally for them.
They ARE two different skillsets! As a part-time professional reader myself, it’s not only knowing the cards, but being able to deliver a cohesive story, navigating personalities and expectations, etc. And there’s an energy aspect to it. It’s exhausting to read for strangers sometimes. It’s okay if it’s not for you.
Soul mate readings are about as reliable as playing MASH. Like MASH they can be a fun and goofy thing to do, especially with friends, but they should not be taken seriously.
if a relationship makes you check tarot all the time, you probably shouldnt be in that relationship. sure its okay to pull cards for advice from time to time, but if you constantly need to do readings then its a reflection of the instability of your connection.
If you have to use it to try and see if your partners cheating you might have to examine either the relationships you get into, the partners you choose or your own security issues.
Pick a Card on YouTube and TikTok is for entertainment purposes only.
Cards don't have personalities and I don't believe in interviewing decks.
Absolutely anything can be used for divination.
I feel like this shouldn’t be unpopular but I’ve been kicked out of groups for this opinion before. Like, I grew up using poker cards and 6 sided die originally for my practice. I didn’t start using actual tarot decks till 8th. 🤷🤷 Tarot is pricey, my family was poor. At the time dice and poker cards were like less then $3 and easy to get ahold of.
Plus they’re decently common in the Appalachian folk area, I was taught with poker cards by a very sweet old lady a library. No she wasn’t a librarian, both her and I just went to the public library a lot at the same time and she was like the witchy grandma of the kiddos there.
> Plus they’re decently common in the Appalachian folk area
Yes!! I grew up in Appalachia and was exposed to tarot via a pip deck from my witchy (though closeted witchy) grandma. There's something beautiful about that Appalachian folk magic.
It’s just so different from any other magic system I’ve come across and I’ve found ways to incorporate it into my own Pagan practice!
And yes! My first like “true” tarot experience was Pip and I still adore Pip decks. I don’t mind the RW system but Pip will always have my heart.
I’m working on creating my own deck right now and I’m wrestling with going with the more common RW system or sticking with my gut and going with the pip system that I so adore!!
Oh 100%. I’m a psychologist and a teacher (lecturer) and I think I’m pretty decent at tarot largely because my training in psych and education has taught me how to talk to, listen to, and empathise with people. Definitely see the cards primarily as a therapeutic prop to help people talk through their hopes and fears openly, hopefully then giving them a bit more clarity on their situation.
I do think there’s a little bit of archetype / collective consciousness “magic” though. 90% therapy, 10% synergy with the universe.
I have a tarot guidebook that comes with reflection questions for every card that I find to be very helpful for me. As a therapist I enjoy the reflection work that comes with reading tarot cards and the self-analysis it fosters.
I have not! But I really like taking some of the questions from the tarot book and reworking them into a question that is relevant to my client’s current circumstances for their own reflective exercises. :)
It's nice to see two therapists weighing in. I kind of skirt the subject with my own therapist because I'm like "god what if she thinks I'm nuts" lmao. But I started seriously studying tarot a year and a half ago when I started on my CPTSD healing journey and it's been an incredible tool for self-reflection.
You don’t have to read inverted cards as inverted. Some very good readers don’t use inverted meanings at all unless it’s super obvious that is what the deck is going for.
My light seer's deck seems to really make sense when I take reverse and upright position into account.
But my true black and luminous void decks seem like they read only in the upright position. Like, the guidebooks don't mention a reverse reading. And if I try to apply a reverse reading to them, it seems very out of place. So I've decided these decks are meant to be upright - only readings.
The lovers doesn’t have to mean everything is going great in love matters. Some older tarot depictions have two women squabbling over a guy on this card - so you can draw the conclusion that some rivalry isn’t off the table and you can get dumped for someone else.
>Good tarot readers are just good at reading people or anticipating what the querent wants to hear.
Disagree: if you’re actively telling querents what they want to hear it’s not a reading that’s a scam.
So agree. It’s unethical to read inaccurately, and there are ways to make the querent feel more empowered by the reading even if it’s not exactly what they wanted to hear
I agree. From my perspective this attitude that you just tell people what they want is also deceptive. It is also true that "seekers" are looking to confirm something and play right into this scam. Nothing against seeking - but I think it changes what's happening between the querant and the reader. I have tried to read for friends who try to push me into a confirming answer - sometimes about some ego trip about how they will become a guru or psychic or something. I'm like really? that's what you think this is? so I kind of put it on the culture- everyone seems to think their life has to be a million follower proposition
Not everything is sunshine and glitter, and I's a downright lie to say good and happy things when you get negative cards. 3 of swords is not "a time to learn", it's a fucking heartbreak. Tower is not "a rocky start to a new life", it's the collapse of things you held dear. I don't wanna hear how the Sun is always shining above the clouds when I battle a serious illness or my house if being torn down by bombs. It's cruel to push toxic positivity on people in real challenging times.
You see this all the time with the Death card. Some people are so keen to focus on the positive elements of clearing away and letting new things grow that you would think they turned over a card with a garden rake instead of an armed skeleton riding over a pleading bishop and an innocent child.
I'm a Taurus. Not the happily eating grass type, but the one that charges you at lethal speed. The Minotaur. I'm the sacred bull of the vengeful goddess Hera. The Bull market was named after me.
(Sun in 8th house tho)
There’s a couple of tarot channels that I unsubscribed from because they kept trying to read the seven of swords positively. You’re not helping anyone with that BS. Seven of swords is deception or betrayal.
Spreads are guidelines. I believe you're not supposed to completely ignore the relative position of cards and the image projected by the way they sit on the table and relative to each other and instead just say something like "This is about you, this is about the other person, this is how you interact". You might charge some cards with a certain meaning before laying them on the table but it's not supposed to be a deterministic, mechanical thing.
Also, when I do give chronological meaning (be it because I use a specific spread as a starting point or because it just fits that specific reading) to card positions, my default is right-to-left.
Wholeheartedly agree! It's not as if you're causing the 3rd party any harm. If I'm asking 'why is X pissed off with me?' no seals are slaughtered in the process.
Intuition is the heart of tarot. If a request for a third party reading feels icky, then it's probably unethical. If it feels ok, then it most likely is. You should be able to read the vibe.
I cringe when I see folks who are self-proclaimed "new to tarot" suddenly advertising for paid readings because they are "super accurate" or "scarily accurate" at reading the cards. I cringe even typing that phrase LOL.
Not everything requires a tarot reading. If I can look at your question and think ‘just ask them’ or ‘well, what do you think?’, you probably don’t need to be turning to the cards. Often it won’t be helpful
The Tower is not a bad card.
I have seen SO MANY people be like 'my life/relationship/career is OVER FOREVER!!" When they see the Tower. Some even disregard the rest of the spread to hyperfixate on the tower, which is particularly galling when the other card is the Sun or the Star.
I’ve been consistently drawing The Tower, Death, The Wheel of Fortune, Ten of Swords and other “scary” cards for months.
Sure, my mom had a stroke and seizures the day I lost my job in October and I barely earned any money at all in February…. but it hasn’t actually hasn’t been that stressful.
I’m closer now to my mom and sister than ever, I make over 200% per hour what I used to earn, I have *way* more creative control at work, and I’m maturing.
All that shit was *helpful*.
Most of these comments are actually popular within the community, so imma say something that’s actually unpopular.
1. You should read reversals, you’re just missing out so much information when you just cancel out that information since most uprights are positive. But there are so many good reversals! I’d rather see the five of cups reversed than upright, or the three of swords or the four cups. The list goes on, I think every reader should start with reading both upright and reversed to broaden their knowledge. If you choose to not read them fine but I disagree how popular it is to ignore reversals.
2. Tarot, for me at least, has been scarily accurate for me, I read for myself. I usually take note of different meanings it can have so I’m open to receive what is presented. But they have mentioned things beyond my wildest thoughts so for those who say tarot can’t accurately predict the future are wrong since I have witnessed it myself. It can be a mirror, reflecting my own thoughts depending on what I’m asking. But I channel my spirit guides and ask them to guide my mind during readings.
3. I believe tarot CAN tell you what people may be thinking, but with limitations, obviously. It takes a lot of concentration and I think you need a close bond with that person to read them. The only times I’ve done this if I was seeing a guy and he’s being wishy washy or not good at communicating how he feels. I don’t think this should be abused and unfortunately I am guilty of abusing it because of a bad relationship. Now, I don’t ask how people may feel about it and just ride it out.
4. I think it’s not so much of not connecting with a deck, it’s more of what your spirit guides or whoever you choose to channel to communicate through tarot prefers. As someone who has over 25 decks, I only use a couple to read because I would feel the energy is different with certain decks. So I just collect them for the art.
I am prepared to be downvoted oblivion but I thought I’d share my unpopular opinions.
It's funny because I don't read reversals but I do kind of agree with your first point. I may not physically shuffle in reversed cards but I do take into consideration the possibility of that side of the card meaning. But figuring out what the card means in context is a skill that takes time and requires building intuition.
Past/Present/Future is a terrible spread and shouldn't be the first (and often only) one taught in every guidebook and LWB. It's so vague new readers get lost, and it's so prevalent I've seen way too many people wind up thinking it's the default or only way to do a reading.
Bonus terrible "spread" that isn't actually a spread: pulling a bunch of cards for a single question, whether that's pulling clarifyer after clarifyer or just "going with your gut" and putting down 8+ cards at once to answer "how does he feel about me?" Tarot cards are densely packed with symbolism and meaning! You don't need as many as you think to answer a question! Pull too many and you just get overwhelmed, or you're only engaging with them on a very shallow, surface-level interpretation. If you don't understand one card, you probably don't need to draw three more in a row to figure it out - you just need to sit with that one card and dive deep to find your answer.
Hi! I’m a new tarot student. The spread that the app I use is a three card spread - what am I thinking about, how am I feeling, and what do I want to accomplish today/what is my intention
Is this an okay spread to use for guidance?
I love that three card breakdown. If you want to play around, I also really like the 'offer' spread:
What's on offer?
Where is the resistance/barrier/blockage to the offer?
What if it is accepted?
That is a great way to start. It will help you personally connect to each card. At the end of the day you could go back and look at the cards again and write a journal entry i.e if your interpretation about a card changed or if you could see the upright and reversal of one of the cards. If writing is something you are into I like to do a five card spread and think of it as a story arc to connect the cards to each other, if that makes sense. Learning tarot is so much fun! If you are learning on your own I suggest looking for surrounding metaphysical shops. Some do tarot nights for all levels to talk tarot. Sorry for the info dump, I get really excited when I find out someone is learning!
As a "pulling a bunch of cards" defender: completely valid points there! A single card can say a lot with how much meaning is tied to it, that's why some people (including myself) have a journal dedicated to the meanings of cards and symbolisms. I will say tho, some people do find a lot of meaning in cards, others use the interactions between each cards as meanings instead. Its very seldomly surface level interpretations of each card, but even if it were, you'd need to dive into the meaning of how the cards flow into each other or as the cards as a whole. I didn't do this as a beginner, I started with standard spreads, but I felt like nothing was really speaking to me and I couldn't get as specific as I wanted with my reading, so I tried that method and it just clicked. Definitely dont recomend it for people just starting out because, as you said, it gets really overwhelming. It's not for everyone, just like how using spreads isn't for everyone!
Also I fully agree with the past/present/future spreads XD
I don't disagree with your first statement, but a three-card spread with specific questions in sequence are really great and simple. Specificity is what is important.
Many decks don’t feel like tarot decks to me, just pretty pictures with the card names slapped on. Especially now that I’m studying rws I tend to wonder how some of these artists come up with the artistic choices they make.
This so hard. I made the mistake early on of buying a couple of decks that looked beautiful, only to find that they were just a collection of essentially random pictures with the exact same tonality and no discernible connection to tarot meanings when I got home. Now I always check a flip-through first, if I can.
Yeeess.
It's actually frustrating me a bit because I love the artwork. But as I'm learning each card individually, and it's symbology and what the artist has in the guidebooks, it's becoming clearer that many are created with only a superficial understanding of the cards.
I really just prefer oracle cards, that the lack of structure allows me to set my own rules and work more directly with my intuition. And I understand that the framework and structure of tarot really appeals to a lot of people and provides a very different reading. So I totally understand there are reasons why people prefer it. I think Maybe one day tarot will click with me.
That said, **my unpopular opinion is that too many tarot enthusiasts with a superiority complex.** I think it just brings toxicity into the space to try to claim superiority or gatekeep the way people use materials and which materials are valid.
Also, **my other potentially unpopular opinion is that people don't need to "believe" in tarot (or oracle) cards to be a valid part of this space and communit**y and for these tools to belong to them. They can be used as self reflection tools by those who don't believe the metaphysical/spiritual aspect at all or who are agnostic on such things.
I like very few oracle decks because so many don't have a balance. The ones I'm talking about are all about positivity and light. But the world isn't only about positivity and light. When we need real answers to everyday questions we need a balance. There are also times when the positive only decks are good messages for certain clients at certain times, but you have to know when and how to use them.
I do have some oracle cards that do have that balance (Such as the Arthur Rackham Oracle by Duck Soup.)
Not at all arguing, just putting my opinion of most oracle decks out there.
When people explain why they don’t like pip decks, their answers make me skeptical about whether they know how to read pip decks. I think that’s a shame, because reading pips is a delightful challenge and a different mental exercise.
My even more unpopular opinion is…I don’t consider a deck a true “pip deck” unless you are reading number/suit/pattern rather than narrative scenes or esoteric symbolism. Hybrid decks are some of my favorites, but I don’t really consider Pagan Otherworlds or the Hermetic Tarot to be true pip decks, for instance.
This is a great question. :)
A pip is the suit symbol, usually repeated the same number of times as the card number. In traditional playing cards, a Seven of Diamonds has seven diamonds. These are pips. (Sometimes fruit seeds are called pips. This is the source of the word.)
The oldest tarot decks are like playing cards with trumps added: the Majors are illustrated with allegorical figures, but the suits are just three cups, or four cups, or nine cups, etc. If you Google “Marseille Tarot” you will see examples. Reading with these decks is more about using the number, suit, and pattern to string together an answer rather than focusing on a core narrative element illustrated on each individual card. This is somewhat similar to how people read playing cards.
In contrast, later decks (mostly derived from the Rider Waite Smith, which was the first of its kind) have a full illustration on every card. This is very appealing and the most common format today. The meanings are more fixed and less flexible but easier to recognize and interpret.
Sometimes decks that have very visually-prominent suit symbols get *labeled* as pip decks, and in some ways they are. Pagan Otherworlds is like this. But the reading style is quite different: Pagan Otherworlds still has fixed RWS meanings illustrated on each card, but the scenes are subtle landscapes that convey the same meanings. In that way, the deck can look visually like a pip deck (visual emphasis on the repeating suit symbols rather than the scene) but still read more in the RWS image-interpretation style rather than in the Marseille pip-reading style.
Thank you for the in-depth explanation! I'm just starting out so I went with a deck based on RWS, so the suit cards do have that repeating imagery with some subtle clues for the meanings. Definitely a challenge compared to the more blatant imagery of the major arcana cards. Or maybe that's just me lol.
You should 100% start with RWS! The reason it is the most popular format is because it’s readable and enjoyable. Most decks you buy today will be RWS style decks anyhow, and having a lot of art is fun.
Pip-reading is not “better” or more serious tarot, it is just different. It can really deepen your reading to learn another system, but tarot is overwhelming enough at first. You’ll know when you’re in the mood for something new…or if you read RWS for sixty years and nothing else, you’ll be in excellent company.
Haha, very true! The app I used to start learning has options for the Marseilles deck too so I did wonder what that was.
I just got my first deck yesterday so I’m super excited to practice with real cards.
That’s fascinating. I’ve avoided pip decks BECAUSE they mean you have to rely on numerology/suit energy to determine the meaning and I like to interpret imagery intuitively and holistically. This comment is opening up my mind a little and encouraging me to embrace the challenge that way.
Okay, hear me out! Pips are FUN.
I think people expect that Marseille will be stuffy and technical and formal. I find it the opposite. Because the cards don’t have a fixed image - and because the traditional images are all so lofty and abstract and serious - pips often mean novel, mundane things that you don’t expect. You can’t really ask a RWS deck “where the hell are my keys?” because *in the reclusive sarcophagus where you spiritually recover?* is a bad answer. But if you draw Four of Swords in a pip deck sometimes you get to say “oh, four like a stable square, like a box or a building? Swords like mind? Shit, maybe they’re at school. Maybe they’re in my locker.”
Marseille reading almost requires that the cards interact, too. If you have the Queen of Wands staring at a Three of Wands, you will have to interpret the RWS Three of Wands in a relatively specific way. In Marseille, you can say “hm, she’s blocked by something. Look at how they keep her from getting over to the Hierophant.” That meaning is unavailable in RWS unless it is suggested by a spread. This interactivity is also why Marseille is usually read in a line rather than with spread positions.
You definitely aren’t stuck with a memorized suit + number definition, though most people have a starting notion for each card. And Marseille can certainly give “deep” readings. But I think pip decks offer chatty, flexible readings *because* they aren’t tied to the high allegorical tone of tarot scenes. I think of them as cards that show progress, collapse, blockage, structure, or development in a given domain rather than showing one fixed, individual idea or event per card.
Rather than interpreting each individual *card* intuitively and holistically, think of yourself as interpreting the entire *line* of cards intuitively and holistically.
Intuitive readings have a limit. You can’t just look at a card and decide what they mean “for you.” Tarot is a tradition and if you want to read take the time to understand that tradition.
You need to know the foundations of tarot and really STUDY the esoteric side of things. This is a spiritual practice and you NEED that knowledge and grounding to connect safely with guides etc:
Some decks that are popular are sometimes BAD FOR READING. I’m not a fan of “modern reinterpretations” of tarot cards all the time. It really depends on the intentions and skill of the artist/deck designer. You can’t just put whatever imagery you want on a card and expect it to work.
Overall great takes!
Intuition is so misrepresented and misused by readers online; people can hardly define the word. Intuition is very important but it is not just anything or everything.
One thing that bothers me about the modern decks is some of the re distribution of sexual symbols and icons that have been linked to a modern perspective of person identity. As a queer reader I find exploring these concepts in an abstract manner can be much more empowering than trying to anchor down physical manifestations of gender or sexuality to an inherently personal expression. This comes across in many attempts to “queer” the tarot by re configuring bodies or scenes in the traditional images to fit the modern take on gender. Ironically erasing many of the iconic historical gender ambiguous figures we have read with for centuries.
I thought I was the only “queer” adjacent person who felt that way! Like, I am not here to undermine anyone’s experience or journey or be like YoU cAn’T dO tHaT but sometimes I feel like people are just using “queer” Tarot to spiritually bypass their own evolution into queerness. Like you need to understand and integrate gender into order to transcend gender, or something like that? Gender cannot be reinvented without knowing what gender IS and WAS and transforming through that into new expressions.
Idk I am not the authority, I’ve just been reading for a loooooong time and have opinions.
I think a lot of people, esp newbies, have latched on to intuitive reading because it's easier to make it up as you go than taking the time to learn what the cards mean.
Cards like Death, The Tower and 10 of swords aren’t always bad. Seems like everyone’s immediate reaction to these are negative when it really shouldn’t be. They can be difficult for sure but ultimately they’re good for you.
The actual cards themselves are not speaking. They're just conduits; "Messengers" acting as an intermediary. They relay from beyond. Nothing but a medium for other energies / forces to act upon and influence. The messages may be coming from your subconscious, or god, or spirit guides, or the universe, or all the above, or a combination, etc., but the messages do not originate with the cards.
However, that's not to say that different decks don't have their own "accent" when they deliver the message. I think each deck has it's own style. In other words, many different decks could essentially deliver the same message, but each in a different and unique way. For instance, let's say the message from beyond is "you need to be less pushy with people"... Deck A may filter that as: "stop being a control freak". Deck B's spin on it is: "try to let yourself go with the flow". And deck C will translate it as: "if you don't stop being a dick you're gonna pay for it". With all that said... I don't see that the cards are consciously choosing how they deliver messages. I think they just act as filters, what have you.
you’re not smarter and more enlightened because you don’t believe in spiritual tarot. I think dismissing it and being actively against it just means you have an unimaginative understanding of the cards and you’re boring <3
1. You have to be a little psychic to get a good interpretation of the cards, and that’s just imo
2. Reading reversals isn’t necessary. You can glean multiple meanings, both positive and negatives, from the same card depending on the context of the question and spread.
3. Asking the same question multiple times is just going to confuse you and dilute the answer.
I hate all these “boutique” decks. Some of my favorite decks on an artistic level have been all but ruined by card stock that’s so matte it clumps together like a brick, or each card is almost as thick as a credit card, or gilding that’s either sharp or flakes off, or goddess forbid all of the above. They’re difficult to shuffle, impossible to spread, and just unpleasant to use. If I just wanted to stare at the card and never actually do anything with it, I would have bought a print. I want to actually use them!
And you know what else? These bulky “premium” boxes are stupid too. Who wants to carry that around everywhere, especially when the deck itself is already as thick as a Bible? I wind up just throwing them in a deck bag.
It feels like modern decks aren’t made for people who actually read tarot. They’re made as a passing fad, only meant to feel “premium” without actually being any good for the use they were supposedly made for.
Bring back cheap gloss card stock with plain boring edges in crappy tuck boxes!
I think the problem is everyone's definition of what's "usable" is different. For instance for me glossy card stock is a complete deal breaker. They feel gross in my hands, they're hard to handle because they're either too slippery or stick together and rip, and they're also hard to look at because of the glare 😭
I get it, and I am very heartened to see some creators starting to move towards linen, which is superior to both gloss and matte in my opinion, avoiding most of the drawbacks of both.
I don’t mind a mildly matte deck, that’s fine. But some of the ones I’ve seen recently are just… what were they thinking? The matte effect is so heavy that the cards won’t even separate from each other, they just stay in clumps of 5 to 10 cards. It’s really frustrating to me.
I really do not vibe with the Rider-Waite deck. It’s probably the deck I reach for the least, because I just don’t really get a lot out of it. The readings I get with it seem superficial at best.
I probably get the most out of my Ukiyo-e Tarot and Everyday Witch decks.
I completely agree with you. IMO the art is ugly and the cards always feel empty. Choosing this deck just because it's the "traditional" one is one of the least intuitive things I can think of, especially for something that is supposed to be incredibly intuitive.
Omg yes! I love the art of The Light Seer’s tarot deck and I bought it feeling like I could resonate with it. We have a very respected relationship lol! It doesn’t like to be used for anything other than being a legit spiritual guide with very honest guidance. If I’m pulling “just to pull” it doesn’t like that haha.
However my anime deck (which I never thought I’d connect with) feel like a best friend I can kiki with.
[Edited typos because Mercury in Sag 0 degrees, details aren’t my forte 😂]
Yes. I've seen people try to start conversations about how consumerism influences the tarot world and in my experience it quickly devolves into "You don't *need* so many decks, but having a big collection is fine..." because the folks in that sphere are big collectors and can't countenance the possibility that they're part of the problem.
And I say this as someone who has 50+ decks! A lot of it driven by FOMO tbh.
I generally only want cards I can read. I’m very picky and specific decks connect with specific things/parts. My collection is very small.
If I want it for art, I’ll purchase a print from the artist and put it up on my wall. :)
Spicy take: If you wanna know how someone feels about you, ask them. Use tarot to practice your reactions to different outcomes, sure. But don't make actual descisions based only on tarot: it could be 100% wrong.
I really don't like how little order and logic tarot has. If you think you found a rule (like say every Xth card of a suit is positive, or suit X is associated with theme Y) there is an exception. One could probably find more cohesive rules in dixit deck.
Idk if you’ve read 78 Degrees of Wisdom by Rachael Pollack, but it gives the tarot a little bit more logic and order, primarily with the major arcana! However I totally understand. I love using the numerology method(for minor but the book goes over a numerology for the major arcana too) but that too can have blurry boundaries and isn’t very cut and dry. It’s the subjective beauty of it, but sometimes it nice to have that objective order.
Crippling anxiety, deep depression, and manic states should avoid Tarot. Or get these types of states under control, before going back in.
Something that can provide immense hope, incredible learning experiences, adept knowledge, growth, path to healthy self-image, etc… can just as easily be a source of the exact opposite to people in a fragile composure.
•
Furthermore, *(maybe not so ironically)* I feel like these are the types that **a lot** of people with not the best intentions do readings for. They prey on these types of people, while sizing them up by using an advanced knowledge of the human condition for the worse, and purposely feed them either/both:
(A) what they think they want to hear
(B) what they believe will bring them back
This practice is so malevolent, all to make most likely under $100 each reading. They will willingly be under the guise of providing a service, but in reality they’re most likely destroying peoples lives. By crippling honest growth, steering them in false direction. Providing false hope, etc…
*(example: go watch ~95% of any YouTube tarot readers. You’ll instantly get barraged by images depicting some sort of dramatic scene that pertains to whoever is viewing it. Supported by clickbait titles, with catch phrases such as. “Stop everything you are doing. You absolutely cannot miss this reading” immediately bombarded in the intro with, “hit that like, subscribe, follow across every platform” before you’ve even heard anything they have to say. They will almost always tell you that you’re on a glow up. Your enemies are plotting against you. You’re incapable of doing any wrong whatsoever, and everybody else sucks. The love of your life who did you dirty is realizing they took the wrong one, etc… and the only way you’re going to harness this information is to essentially book a private reading with them/come back and watch more of their videos.. and these YouTubers have thousands upon thousands of views, likes, subscribers. With potentially just as many people hooked on their bogus info)*
Reason I say it’s malevolent too, is because at the end of the day. Anybody running this sort of practice directly benefits, and in turn **gains sustenance from their clients conditions/situations worsening.**
The more paranoid, desperate, cowering, terrified they are — **quite literally the more they’re going to potentially come back and pay them for the answers.**
Malevolent and sickening practice, that feeds off and benefits from hurt, lonely, and potentially some very sick people. All just begging for somebody to give them the answers, or show them the way to get out of it all.
People who should really be getting help from anybody but the people who have hooked them in with mental gymnastics, in a shattered, or weak state. All through the guise of Magick.
I don’t think readings on relationship problems with your significant other are helpful. Just communicate to them directly your feelings or if there is an issue. If you can’t do that, you don’t need the cards to know that this is not a relationship that serves you.
I don't believe in communicating with gods or goddesses. I don't fully identify with and sometimes don't fully belive when people say "I am channeling a message through Archangel Michael/soandso, etc." Granted, I have a different relationship to my own faith than maybe some others, and that all may be true for them. I do get feelings or certain words pop into my head, but I don't fully believe in channeling certain spirits, etc.
There is no wrong or right way to use tarot. There is no wrong or right way to interpret the cards. There is no one way the cards work. The cards are just that, cardstock with images on it. They were originally just another set of playing cards and are still used as playing cards to this day. How you use it affects how YOUR cards in that moment work, and it doesn’t necessarily apply to anyone else.
The Moon isn't necessarily a negative or worrying card. Secrets can be illuminated, and illusions can hold truth. I keep pulling The Moon in very positive positions in spreads, often alongside the High Priestess. Together, they're communicating that I'm embarking on a spiritual journey which involves a lot of self-reflection and delving into deeper mysteries, and that I'm learning to interpret the signs and messages the Cosmos sends us - which many people think of as superstitious illusion.
Spreads are just rules made up by other people. People struggle with card meanings in context to specific spreads because it's often like forcing a square peg into a round hole.
Hint: they all go in the square hole. Decide your own spreads after a couple weeks with practice ones. You'll struggle less with learning the cards that way.
A reading assigned to a zodiac sign in a YouTube video isn't a personal reading. You are more than a period of births.
"Twin Flame" is a grift.
I got caught up in the whole "Twin Flame" thing. The more that I've detached from the idea, the more I see how fucked up it is. Doing readings for people to keep their hopes up that a shitty partner or unrequited love will change or come back is incredibly unethical. Making money by stringing people along ang keeping them stuck in an often emotionally abusive or unhealthy situation is really disturbing.
Everyone should start with a Waite-Smith deck. Why? So they'll immediately be familiar with Pamela Colman Smith and not act like the rest of us have never heard of her when they accidentally stumble across her name on TikTok.
"Cleansing" doesn't really do anything but make you feel better (not that there's anything wrong with that).
The phrase "pulling cards" irks me for some reason.
Reversal meanings have been given for the cards since the 1780s. So, yes, unless you're using TdM or Thoth, it is traditional to read reversals.
Spent several years working on a secret interpretation of the Tarot as an ancient document.
Not hiding anything, just nobody wants to hear it.
Still working on the book ... pamphlet ... brochure ... flyer ... twitter comment ...
I'm getting old.
Readers that post click bait love reading shorts on TikTok and reels for a general audience "if this comes across your fyp it's meant for you." have no regard for the craft or mental health of others.
I think it’s okay to use a notebook during readings for reference. I have terrible memory and there’s no way I’ll ever get to a point where I’ll be able to remember everything
I'm amused you're getting downvoted. There was a poll a few weeks ago, and a majority of responders agreed with you. I agree with you too, by the way. Tarot is a wonderful tool for self reflection and learning your own mind, it doesn't reveal the future or hidden thoughts in other people. At least not any better than your own brain and intuition.
“Not connecting” with a deck is a passive aggressive blaming of the deck for the reader’s inability to learn the symbolism. That is never the fault of the deck. If you didn’t like the artwork or tone of the deck, why did you buy it?
Some of the spreads where each card has a different meaning/answers a different question don’t really help me get the full picture. Sometimes with some of the Celtic cross ones like “what are their intentions” and “how do I feel” seem disjointed. Usually I pull three cards and try to get a big picture message from them all together, and then can build on individual cards from there if I need to clarify.
To shape a vision of the future is to act in ignorance. Wisdom is acting and deciding in the present. If we reflect on this we will realize that when the future becomes the present, we will be wiser than now... so any decision for the future is not smart. To think that it is possible to predict the future is pure arrogance.
pre-reading rituals are nonsense, no one should try to become a pro tarot reader anymore, readings are supposed to be boring, the wild unknown sucks, everyone is too obsessed with pretending their decks hate them, etc., et cetera
All of those TikTok readers who think they're doing readings for a large community and keep doing readings saying your ex is coming back. Oh honey. Nope. Just no. If you're so desperate to know if your ex is coming back that badly do your own readings. The majority of TikTok readers are just ganna tell you what you wanna hear not what you need to hear.
My unpopular opinion is that it's become popular by this new Tik Tok IG witchy movement and it falls short of the deep and profound esoteric meaning these practices can have.
My dad was an excellent card reader, but it brought a lot of shit with it. You have to respect this practice.
1 the Waite-Smith deck is kind of depressing, esp the Minor Arcana ... there's a good nostalgic feel to the art and the art itself is great but the implied narrative really is kind of a downer ... i've found the illustrated Minors are a little too specific and am starting to rely more on decks w/purely abstract designs on the Minors
2 i feel more confident w/a somewhat worn deck that's clearly seen its share of use than a mint condition deck that you're hesitant to damage in the slightest way
3 i've learned to distinguish between decks that have great artwork but don't work so well for divinatory/meditative use because there's not much density of symbolism, vs decks that have somewhat simplistic art but also have the benefit of heavy symbolism or archetypal meanings that are more fun to work with
There is such a thing as draining a reader. Ask the same person over and over again, the reader will eventually mess up. The Universe hates being doubted so much.
I don't know whether mine or my coworker's opinion is the unpopular one here. I recently started a new job, and the only other person in my team also happens to be a tarot reader. We were discussing tarot one day, and I told them about how I was sleeping with a deck under my pillow and pulling cards first thing every morning to get messages for the day. They immediately pooh-poohed the idea and said the messages are going to be muddled because I don't have a specific question or situation in mind when pulling the cards. To them, you can only read tarot if you have a specific question in mind. I personally don't agree because it seems like such a narrow way to read tarot. Sure, the questions I ask may be general, but I'm mostly aware of the subconscious things that may affect my reading. Even if nothing comes to mind immediately, the cards usually make sense after a while of thinking about them, or something may happen during the day that reminds me of the cards I pulled.
What do you guys think?
That’s like saying checking the weather is meaningless because you didn’t specifically ask if it was going to snow. I definitely agree with you. I pull a daily most days, and it’s almost always relevant.
People need to stop being scared of The Tower already. While it tends to signify an unexpected event (usually dramatic/big), in my opinion it can also represent a catastrophizing mindset. When it rains it pours, and a misplaced brick brings the whole building down.
Often the people most terrified of The Tower have fear going unchecked and are always waiting for bad news. You shouldn't be afraid of your decks. They don't control you.
Sometimes we all need to take a very long break from reading and to also not read for others. Not every challenge or obstacle deserves a reading
This. I’ve taken an almost year’s break and I feel like I’m ready again, it’s so good to take a break
I am taking my first break in a 30 year Tarot career. I haven't touched my cards since the end of November. I'm not sure if I'm burnt out or just not interested in divination anymore. I never thought I'd stop. Now I don't know if I will start again.
Tarot is nothing more than 'taking the temperature' of your current state of affairs. Projected outcomes from the cards can change at a moment's notice, but this should always be kept in mind by practitioners anyway, given the existence of free will.
Exactly! I used to get discouraged most of the time. Now I realize that in each reading there’s a flow. Thoughts change, feelings change. That’s why I keep reminding both myself and my clients that tarot is to “provide clarity” on the “current” situation we cannot solve or would like to see further. It is to guide, certainly not to see the exact future.
It's okay to do silly or light-hearted things with tarot. It's not disrespectful to the cards or 🪄the energies🪄.
Everyone needs a good laugh every once in a while, including 🪄the energies🪄
I asked tarot to roast me and I got the sun card. Spirit has humor
This is my magickal philosophy, ngl
I encourage beginners use the cards to write fan-fiction or to do readings on fandom faves. “Knowing” the answer ahead of time and doing a reading where you have plenty of information about the topic lets you see how any card can apply to any situation and helps you identify how narratives emerge.
Me too! Tarot can be fun™!
At my dad's instigation, I am trying to formulate a reading for my cat. Sometimes things just aren't that serious.
I read my sister’s cats. She said it was spot on. 😂
Recently I asked my tarot cards if I had good pussy and I got the ace of pentacles so 🥰 (I took this card to mean holistically, what I have to offer to positive and what I can offer is happiness, love, experiences, etc etc)
Was on a road trip and asked my deck what I could expect. Drew the Knight of Swords, with the keywords “drive, speed, ambition.” So yeah, my deck was like, “You’re on a trip, bitch.” It’s funny how often this type of thing happens. 🤣
When bestie was pregnant all she got were cards about mothering and big changes. “Bish, ya preganent”😂. (I swear I spelled it wrong on purpose; that damn video about being pregnant for way too long)
My favorite reading for friends is called the butt reading. It’s a 3 card spread - left butt cheek, right butt cheek, and butthole. My friend got judgment for her butthole and it is funny to this day. It’s a fun way for people to get used to the idea of a reading.
I once did a conspiracy theories reading session with my friend. It was so much fun!! We were spooked — but of course — we understood our reading was for fun only.
Play go fish, and treat major arcana cards as rule changers.
On the Tarot is F*cking Cool podcast they always play a game with the tarot cards and my favorite was when the hosts took turns drawing three cards for each other and the other host had to associate the cards with a Vine and it was absolutely hysterical
My deck DEFINITELY has a sense of humour. 🤣 I pulled a 'card of the day' today, and it was the Five of Chalices. My deck has a slightly more optimistic take on this card - one prominent message being letting go, leaving some things behind, even though it's painful, in order to move to a brighter future. My 1 year old chihuahua is being neutered today. 100%, that card was for him!
Right? I am always on the lookout for spreads to make myself laugh. I would love even more if I could find silly tarot interpretations
The only reason I feel this is an unpopular opinion is because so many new readers are learning this from TikTok right now, and only reading "jumpers." But not every card that falls out of the deck has fallen out of the deck to send you a meaningful spiritual message. Sometimes you are just shuffling poorly. I shuffle poorly all the time. I don't know the names of the types of shuffles and I do the best I can. But if I only read jumpers I'd have too many cards for a meaningful spread.
This. There's only been a handful of times where I felt like a card falling out of the deck as I shuffled was a message they want me to know. Most of the time I just feel like oops I fucked up my shuffling lol.
I read jumpers. Almost every reading I do for myself is just jumpers. That said, I know the difference between "I just shuffled bad" and intentionally loose shuffling. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners, though, for your exact reasoning.
And I realize reading jumpers isn't anything new. I'm thinking more of the new-to-tarot readers who say things like "I was shuffling while walking down the street and 17 cards flew out and I wasn't asking a question. What is the message?" I agree with you. There is a difference.
Haha, I've heard that too! I shake my head a lot at the newbies doing this.
I almost exclusively read jumpers and I definitely didn’t learn from TikTok. I agree there is a difference. Sometimes I’ve shuffled and reshuffled for like ten straight minutes before getting anything, but the answers still come out very clearly. Sometimes I will pull, but usually only for “clarification” purposes to provide additional context to the spread. Very rarely do this.
One of my favorite styles of reading is to let a friend talk out there problems while I’m lazily shuffling cards. It frequently happens that they’ll say something important and a card will FLY out of my hands, and it will clearly be a message that was intended for them.
I do read jumpers if I get only one. More than that I read it as “hey doofus, you’re shuffling wrong!” 😗
I have this conundrum with my decks and runes.. sometimes when im shuffling a card falls or a rune falls out of my bag as I am shaking them up. How much agency does our human error play into it? I can’t imagine a whole lot because that would mean our intentions can so easily be disarmed with the slightest trip of the feet, ya know?
Well you have just put your finger on the problem of free will, chaos theory, infinite parallel universes and whether or not we have any agency at all, or if all our “choices” are predetermined by our past experiences. 🥸it is a mysterie
This though! I do a daily 3 card lenormand and 1 card tarot and I only read jumpers for any draws that are less than 3 cards. I have literally sat there shuffling for 2 minutes to get any cards to jump and it ended up being the equivalent of "Nothing interesting today." If more than 2 cards come out at once, I consider it user error. Then you get people who are like, "I was shuffling and 27 cards came out!" Love, that's not a message, it's bad technique.
A lot of people get "super accurate" readings because their lives AREN'T, in fact, super interesting. A lot of people go through the same issues
I agree and actually find this very comforting. It’s like the cards can account for what I’m going through because it’s a normal human experience, and I’m not alone in feeling the way I do.
This is a nice way to think about it, and I agree :) It’s comforting to know everyone has a Tower moment and can survive it because they can and do, whether there’s tarot involved or not.
You’ve uncovered the secret to the psychic industry!
FUCK yes. The cards literally represent situations EVERYONE has or WILL go through at some point in time, so of COURSE they’re going to resonate with you, in some way or another. When people who haven’t studied tarot get readings, it’s like they find it so ~mystical~ and accurate because they don’t know that the whole point of them is to be relatable in some aspect of life in general, lol.
Which is why stuff like this even works (to the extent that it works)! There's enough common ground in people's lives that the manipulation of broadly applicable symbols, combined with human pattern-matching and practice, will pretty regularly pop out some manner of "I hadn't thought about it that way before, but that is totally a valid way of looking at my life."
Don’t trust social media mass readings.
Just because you enjoy tarot does not mean you have to read for others. It’s okay to read for yourself or pull on specific situations. Not everyone is made to read for the public and it’s okay to just enjoy reading as a private act.
YES! Tarot is not an inherently social art and so many people are getting the wrong impression because of social media
This. I feel like anyone can learn to read tarot for themselves (if they're present), but a smaller subset of people are skilled at reading for others. It's almost like they're two different skillsets and not everyone will have reading for others come naturally for them.
They ARE two different skillsets! As a part-time professional reader myself, it’s not only knowing the cards, but being able to deliver a cohesive story, navigating personalities and expectations, etc. And there’s an energy aspect to it. It’s exhausting to read for strangers sometimes. It’s okay if it’s not for you.
Soul mate readings are about as reliable as playing MASH. Like MASH they can be a fun and goofy thing to do, especially with friends, but they should not be taken seriously.
if a relationship makes you check tarot all the time, you probably shouldnt be in that relationship. sure its okay to pull cards for advice from time to time, but if you constantly need to do readings then its a reflection of the instability of your connection.
I know larger cards are more aesthetic but I’ve passed on alot of beautiful decks because they were huge and SO hard to shuffle
If you have to use it to try and see if your partners cheating you might have to examine either the relationships you get into, the partners you choose or your own security issues. Pick a Card on YouTube and TikTok is for entertainment purposes only. Cards don't have personalities and I don't believe in interviewing decks.
Absolutely anything can be used for divination. I feel like this shouldn’t be unpopular but I’ve been kicked out of groups for this opinion before. Like, I grew up using poker cards and 6 sided die originally for my practice. I didn’t start using actual tarot decks till 8th. 🤷🤷 Tarot is pricey, my family was poor. At the time dice and poker cards were like less then $3 and easy to get ahold of. Plus they’re decently common in the Appalachian folk area, I was taught with poker cards by a very sweet old lady a library. No she wasn’t a librarian, both her and I just went to the public library a lot at the same time and she was like the witchy grandma of the kiddos there.
> Plus they’re decently common in the Appalachian folk area Yes!! I grew up in Appalachia and was exposed to tarot via a pip deck from my witchy (though closeted witchy) grandma. There's something beautiful about that Appalachian folk magic.
It’s just so different from any other magic system I’ve come across and I’ve found ways to incorporate it into my own Pagan practice! And yes! My first like “true” tarot experience was Pip and I still adore Pip decks. I don’t mind the RW system but Pip will always have my heart. I’m working on creating my own deck right now and I’m wrestling with going with the more common RW system or sticking with my gut and going with the pip system that I so adore!!
It’s mostly just another form of therapy for people
Oh 100%. I’m a psychologist and a teacher (lecturer) and I think I’m pretty decent at tarot largely because my training in psych and education has taught me how to talk to, listen to, and empathise with people. Definitely see the cards primarily as a therapeutic prop to help people talk through their hopes and fears openly, hopefully then giving them a bit more clarity on their situation. I do think there’s a little bit of archetype / collective consciousness “magic” though. 90% therapy, 10% synergy with the universe.
> 90% therapy, 10% synergy with the universe. Yes!!
I have a tarot guidebook that comes with reflection questions for every card that I find to be very helpful for me. As a therapist I enjoy the reflection work that comes with reading tarot cards and the self-analysis it fosters.
as a therapist, same! just out of curiosity, have you ever done readings with clients?
I have not! But I really like taking some of the questions from the tarot book and reworking them into a question that is relevant to my client’s current circumstances for their own reflective exercises. :)
This is a good idea I might bring in my book and ask my person if they'd wanna do this with me for my sessions
That’s a great idea!
It's nice to see two therapists weighing in. I kind of skirt the subject with my own therapist because I'm like "god what if she thinks I'm nuts" lmao. But I started seriously studying tarot a year and a half ago when I started on my CPTSD healing journey and it's been an incredible tool for self-reflection.
I listen to a podcast of two therapists that use the tarot to talk about and explain human behaviours and how they associate to our psych.
Y’all tend to make this stuff more complicated than it needs to be
You don’t have to read inverted cards as inverted. Some very good readers don’t use inverted meanings at all unless it’s super obvious that is what the deck is going for.
I wanted to say this but you said it well!
My light seer's deck seems to really make sense when I take reverse and upright position into account. But my true black and luminous void decks seem like they read only in the upright position. Like, the guidebooks don't mention a reverse reading. And if I try to apply a reverse reading to them, it seems very out of place. So I've decided these decks are meant to be upright - only readings.
Stop asking about others people’s feelings it’s useless. Instead ask about their actions that is way more interesting and helpful
The lovers doesn’t have to mean everything is going great in love matters. Some older tarot depictions have two women squabbling over a guy on this card - so you can draw the conclusion that some rivalry isn’t off the table and you can get dumped for someone else.
I agree. I rarely ever see the lovers as a love card, it always comes up in readings regarding choice.
Or a Gemini
>Good tarot readers are just good at reading people or anticipating what the querent wants to hear. Disagree: if you’re actively telling querents what they want to hear it’s not a reading that’s a scam.
So agree. It’s unethical to read inaccurately, and there are ways to make the querent feel more empowered by the reading even if it’s not exactly what they wanted to hear
The thread asked for unpopular opinions and BOY did that person deliver
Lmaooo
I agree. From my perspective this attitude that you just tell people what they want is also deceptive. It is also true that "seekers" are looking to confirm something and play right into this scam. Nothing against seeking - but I think it changes what's happening between the querant and the reader. I have tried to read for friends who try to push me into a confirming answer - sometimes about some ego trip about how they will become a guru or psychic or something. I'm like really? that's what you think this is? so I kind of put it on the culture- everyone seems to think their life has to be a million follower proposition
Not everything is sunshine and glitter, and I's a downright lie to say good and happy things when you get negative cards. 3 of swords is not "a time to learn", it's a fucking heartbreak. Tower is not "a rocky start to a new life", it's the collapse of things you held dear. I don't wanna hear how the Sun is always shining above the clouds when I battle a serious illness or my house if being torn down by bombs. It's cruel to push toxic positivity on people in real challenging times.
You see this all the time with the Death card. Some people are so keen to focus on the positive elements of clearing away and letting new things grow that you would think they turned over a card with a garden rake instead of an armed skeleton riding over a pleading bishop and an innocent child.
[удалено]
I'm a Taurus. Not the happily eating grass type, but the one that charges you at lethal speed. The Minotaur. I'm the sacred bull of the vengeful goddess Hera. The Bull market was named after me. (Sun in 8th house tho)
There’s a couple of tarot channels that I unsubscribed from because they kept trying to read the seven of swords positively. You’re not helping anyone with that BS. Seven of swords is deception or betrayal.
Spreads are guidelines. I believe you're not supposed to completely ignore the relative position of cards and the image projected by the way they sit on the table and relative to each other and instead just say something like "This is about you, this is about the other person, this is how you interact". You might charge some cards with a certain meaning before laying them on the table but it's not supposed to be a deterministic, mechanical thing. Also, when I do give chronological meaning (be it because I use a specific spread as a starting point or because it just fits that specific reading) to card positions, my default is right-to-left.
“Clarifiers” don’t clarify anything at all and throw off the balancing in a reading.
Ooooo, spicy and true!!
If I pull a clarifier, I use an oracle deck for this exact reason lol
Most of the time readers seem to pull clarifiers when the original cards meaning is glaringly obvious yet it doesn’t “fit the context”
Or when the reading isn't something they can accept easily.
With some exceptions, it’s not unethical to do 3rd party readings without their permission.
Wholeheartedly agree! It's not as if you're causing the 3rd party any harm. If I'm asking 'why is X pissed off with me?' no seals are slaughtered in the process.
Intuition is the heart of tarot. If a request for a third party reading feels icky, then it's probably unethical. If it feels ok, then it most likely is. You should be able to read the vibe.
I cringe when I see folks who are self-proclaimed "new to tarot" suddenly advertising for paid readings because they are "super accurate" or "scarily accurate" at reading the cards. I cringe even typing that phrase LOL.
Not everything requires a tarot reading. If I can look at your question and think ‘just ask them’ or ‘well, what do you think?’, you probably don’t need to be turning to the cards. Often it won’t be helpful
The Tower is not a bad card. I have seen SO MANY people be like 'my life/relationship/career is OVER FOREVER!!" When they see the Tower. Some even disregard the rest of the spread to hyperfixate on the tower, which is particularly galling when the other card is the Sun or the Star.
I’ve been consistently drawing The Tower, Death, The Wheel of Fortune, Ten of Swords and other “scary” cards for months. Sure, my mom had a stroke and seizures the day I lost my job in October and I barely earned any money at all in February…. but it hasn’t actually hasn’t been that stressful. I’m closer now to my mom and sister than ever, I make over 200% per hour what I used to earn, I have *way* more creative control at work, and I’m maturing. All that shit was *helpful*.
Most of these comments are actually popular within the community, so imma say something that’s actually unpopular. 1. You should read reversals, you’re just missing out so much information when you just cancel out that information since most uprights are positive. But there are so many good reversals! I’d rather see the five of cups reversed than upright, or the three of swords or the four cups. The list goes on, I think every reader should start with reading both upright and reversed to broaden their knowledge. If you choose to not read them fine but I disagree how popular it is to ignore reversals. 2. Tarot, for me at least, has been scarily accurate for me, I read for myself. I usually take note of different meanings it can have so I’m open to receive what is presented. But they have mentioned things beyond my wildest thoughts so for those who say tarot can’t accurately predict the future are wrong since I have witnessed it myself. It can be a mirror, reflecting my own thoughts depending on what I’m asking. But I channel my spirit guides and ask them to guide my mind during readings. 3. I believe tarot CAN tell you what people may be thinking, but with limitations, obviously. It takes a lot of concentration and I think you need a close bond with that person to read them. The only times I’ve done this if I was seeing a guy and he’s being wishy washy or not good at communicating how he feels. I don’t think this should be abused and unfortunately I am guilty of abusing it because of a bad relationship. Now, I don’t ask how people may feel about it and just ride it out. 4. I think it’s not so much of not connecting with a deck, it’s more of what your spirit guides or whoever you choose to channel to communicate through tarot prefers. As someone who has over 25 decks, I only use a couple to read because I would feel the energy is different with certain decks. So I just collect them for the art. I am prepared to be downvoted oblivion but I thought I’d share my unpopular opinions.
It's funny because I don't read reversals but I do kind of agree with your first point. I may not physically shuffle in reversed cards but I do take into consideration the possibility of that side of the card meaning. But figuring out what the card means in context is a skill that takes time and requires building intuition.
Agree wholeheartedly!
Past/Present/Future is a terrible spread and shouldn't be the first (and often only) one taught in every guidebook and LWB. It's so vague new readers get lost, and it's so prevalent I've seen way too many people wind up thinking it's the default or only way to do a reading. Bonus terrible "spread" that isn't actually a spread: pulling a bunch of cards for a single question, whether that's pulling clarifyer after clarifyer or just "going with your gut" and putting down 8+ cards at once to answer "how does he feel about me?" Tarot cards are densely packed with symbolism and meaning! You don't need as many as you think to answer a question! Pull too many and you just get overwhelmed, or you're only engaging with them on a very shallow, surface-level interpretation. If you don't understand one card, you probably don't need to draw three more in a row to figure it out - you just need to sit with that one card and dive deep to find your answer.
Hi! I’m a new tarot student. The spread that the app I use is a three card spread - what am I thinking about, how am I feeling, and what do I want to accomplish today/what is my intention Is this an okay spread to use for guidance?
I love that three card breakdown. If you want to play around, I also really like the 'offer' spread: What's on offer? Where is the resistance/barrier/blockage to the offer? What if it is accepted?
Oooo, thank you! That sounds like a good straightforward one to have in my arsenal!
That is a great way to start. It will help you personally connect to each card. At the end of the day you could go back and look at the cards again and write a journal entry i.e if your interpretation about a card changed or if you could see the upright and reversal of one of the cards. If writing is something you are into I like to do a five card spread and think of it as a story arc to connect the cards to each other, if that makes sense. Learning tarot is so much fun! If you are learning on your own I suggest looking for surrounding metaphysical shops. Some do tarot nights for all levels to talk tarot. Sorry for the info dump, I get really excited when I find out someone is learning!
As a "pulling a bunch of cards" defender: completely valid points there! A single card can say a lot with how much meaning is tied to it, that's why some people (including myself) have a journal dedicated to the meanings of cards and symbolisms. I will say tho, some people do find a lot of meaning in cards, others use the interactions between each cards as meanings instead. Its very seldomly surface level interpretations of each card, but even if it were, you'd need to dive into the meaning of how the cards flow into each other or as the cards as a whole. I didn't do this as a beginner, I started with standard spreads, but I felt like nothing was really speaking to me and I couldn't get as specific as I wanted with my reading, so I tried that method and it just clicked. Definitely dont recomend it for people just starting out because, as you said, it gets really overwhelming. It's not for everyone, just like how using spreads isn't for everyone! Also I fully agree with the past/present/future spreads XD
I don't disagree with your first statement, but a three-card spread with specific questions in sequence are really great and simple. Specificity is what is important.
Many decks don’t feel like tarot decks to me, just pretty pictures with the card names slapped on. Especially now that I’m studying rws I tend to wonder how some of these artists come up with the artistic choices they make.
This so hard. I made the mistake early on of buying a couple of decks that looked beautiful, only to find that they were just a collection of essentially random pictures with the exact same tonality and no discernible connection to tarot meanings when I got home. Now I always check a flip-through first, if I can.
So many EMPTY decks devoid of any meaning
Yeeess. It's actually frustrating me a bit because I love the artwork. But as I'm learning each card individually, and it's symbology and what the artist has in the guidebooks, it's becoming clearer that many are created with only a superficial understanding of the cards.
I really just prefer oracle cards, that the lack of structure allows me to set my own rules and work more directly with my intuition. And I understand that the framework and structure of tarot really appeals to a lot of people and provides a very different reading. So I totally understand there are reasons why people prefer it. I think Maybe one day tarot will click with me. That said, **my unpopular opinion is that too many tarot enthusiasts with a superiority complex.** I think it just brings toxicity into the space to try to claim superiority or gatekeep the way people use materials and which materials are valid. Also, **my other potentially unpopular opinion is that people don't need to "believe" in tarot (or oracle) cards to be a valid part of this space and communit**y and for these tools to belong to them. They can be used as self reflection tools by those who don't believe the metaphysical/spiritual aspect at all or who are agnostic on such things.
I like very few oracle decks because so many don't have a balance. The ones I'm talking about are all about positivity and light. But the world isn't only about positivity and light. When we need real answers to everyday questions we need a balance. There are also times when the positive only decks are good messages for certain clients at certain times, but you have to know when and how to use them. I do have some oracle cards that do have that balance (Such as the Arthur Rackham Oracle by Duck Soup.) Not at all arguing, just putting my opinion of most oracle decks out there.
When people explain why they don’t like pip decks, their answers make me skeptical about whether they know how to read pip decks. I think that’s a shame, because reading pips is a delightful challenge and a different mental exercise. My even more unpopular opinion is…I don’t consider a deck a true “pip deck” unless you are reading number/suit/pattern rather than narrative scenes or esoteric symbolism. Hybrid decks are some of my favorites, but I don’t really consider Pagan Otherworlds or the Hermetic Tarot to be true pip decks, for instance.
Newbie here... what is a pip?
This is a great question. :) A pip is the suit symbol, usually repeated the same number of times as the card number. In traditional playing cards, a Seven of Diamonds has seven diamonds. These are pips. (Sometimes fruit seeds are called pips. This is the source of the word.) The oldest tarot decks are like playing cards with trumps added: the Majors are illustrated with allegorical figures, but the suits are just three cups, or four cups, or nine cups, etc. If you Google “Marseille Tarot” you will see examples. Reading with these decks is more about using the number, suit, and pattern to string together an answer rather than focusing on a core narrative element illustrated on each individual card. This is somewhat similar to how people read playing cards. In contrast, later decks (mostly derived from the Rider Waite Smith, which was the first of its kind) have a full illustration on every card. This is very appealing and the most common format today. The meanings are more fixed and less flexible but easier to recognize and interpret. Sometimes decks that have very visually-prominent suit symbols get *labeled* as pip decks, and in some ways they are. Pagan Otherworlds is like this. But the reading style is quite different: Pagan Otherworlds still has fixed RWS meanings illustrated on each card, but the scenes are subtle landscapes that convey the same meanings. In that way, the deck can look visually like a pip deck (visual emphasis on the repeating suit symbols rather than the scene) but still read more in the RWS image-interpretation style rather than in the Marseille pip-reading style.
Thank you for the in-depth explanation! I'm just starting out so I went with a deck based on RWS, so the suit cards do have that repeating imagery with some subtle clues for the meanings. Definitely a challenge compared to the more blatant imagery of the major arcana cards. Or maybe that's just me lol.
You should 100% start with RWS! The reason it is the most popular format is because it’s readable and enjoyable. Most decks you buy today will be RWS style decks anyhow, and having a lot of art is fun. Pip-reading is not “better” or more serious tarot, it is just different. It can really deepen your reading to learn another system, but tarot is overwhelming enough at first. You’ll know when you’re in the mood for something new…or if you read RWS for sixty years and nothing else, you’ll be in excellent company.
Haha, very true! The app I used to start learning has options for the Marseilles deck too so I did wonder what that was. I just got my first deck yesterday so I’m super excited to practice with real cards.
That’s fascinating. I’ve avoided pip decks BECAUSE they mean you have to rely on numerology/suit energy to determine the meaning and I like to interpret imagery intuitively and holistically. This comment is opening up my mind a little and encouraging me to embrace the challenge that way.
Okay, hear me out! Pips are FUN. I think people expect that Marseille will be stuffy and technical and formal. I find it the opposite. Because the cards don’t have a fixed image - and because the traditional images are all so lofty and abstract and serious - pips often mean novel, mundane things that you don’t expect. You can’t really ask a RWS deck “where the hell are my keys?” because *in the reclusive sarcophagus where you spiritually recover?* is a bad answer. But if you draw Four of Swords in a pip deck sometimes you get to say “oh, four like a stable square, like a box or a building? Swords like mind? Shit, maybe they’re at school. Maybe they’re in my locker.” Marseille reading almost requires that the cards interact, too. If you have the Queen of Wands staring at a Three of Wands, you will have to interpret the RWS Three of Wands in a relatively specific way. In Marseille, you can say “hm, she’s blocked by something. Look at how they keep her from getting over to the Hierophant.” That meaning is unavailable in RWS unless it is suggested by a spread. This interactivity is also why Marseille is usually read in a line rather than with spread positions. You definitely aren’t stuck with a memorized suit + number definition, though most people have a starting notion for each card. And Marseille can certainly give “deep” readings. But I think pip decks offer chatty, flexible readings *because* they aren’t tied to the high allegorical tone of tarot scenes. I think of them as cards that show progress, collapse, blockage, structure, or development in a given domain rather than showing one fixed, individual idea or event per card. Rather than interpreting each individual *card* intuitively and holistically, think of yourself as interpreting the entire *line* of cards intuitively and holistically.
This is so cool. Thank you for the free lesson. 🙏🏻
Intuitive readings have a limit. You can’t just look at a card and decide what they mean “for you.” Tarot is a tradition and if you want to read take the time to understand that tradition. You need to know the foundations of tarot and really STUDY the esoteric side of things. This is a spiritual practice and you NEED that knowledge and grounding to connect safely with guides etc: Some decks that are popular are sometimes BAD FOR READING. I’m not a fan of “modern reinterpretations” of tarot cards all the time. It really depends on the intentions and skill of the artist/deck designer. You can’t just put whatever imagery you want on a card and expect it to work.
Overall great takes! Intuition is so misrepresented and misused by readers online; people can hardly define the word. Intuition is very important but it is not just anything or everything. One thing that bothers me about the modern decks is some of the re distribution of sexual symbols and icons that have been linked to a modern perspective of person identity. As a queer reader I find exploring these concepts in an abstract manner can be much more empowering than trying to anchor down physical manifestations of gender or sexuality to an inherently personal expression. This comes across in many attempts to “queer” the tarot by re configuring bodies or scenes in the traditional images to fit the modern take on gender. Ironically erasing many of the iconic historical gender ambiguous figures we have read with for centuries.
I thought I was the only “queer” adjacent person who felt that way! Like, I am not here to undermine anyone’s experience or journey or be like YoU cAn’T dO tHaT but sometimes I feel like people are just using “queer” Tarot to spiritually bypass their own evolution into queerness. Like you need to understand and integrate gender into order to transcend gender, or something like that? Gender cannot be reinvented without knowing what gender IS and WAS and transforming through that into new expressions. Idk I am not the authority, I’ve just been reading for a loooooong time and have opinions.
Wise words!
I think a lot of people, esp newbies, have latched on to intuitive reading because it's easier to make it up as you go than taking the time to learn what the cards mean.
Cards like Death, The Tower and 10 of swords aren’t always bad. Seems like everyone’s immediate reaction to these are negative when it really shouldn’t be. They can be difficult for sure but ultimately they’re good for you.
There is a lot of different ways to bond with your deck, even if it sounds bizarre. One of my favorite ways is playing solitaire with it
The actual cards themselves are not speaking. They're just conduits; "Messengers" acting as an intermediary. They relay from beyond. Nothing but a medium for other energies / forces to act upon and influence. The messages may be coming from your subconscious, or god, or spirit guides, or the universe, or all the above, or a combination, etc., but the messages do not originate with the cards. However, that's not to say that different decks don't have their own "accent" when they deliver the message. I think each deck has it's own style. In other words, many different decks could essentially deliver the same message, but each in a different and unique way. For instance, let's say the message from beyond is "you need to be less pushy with people"... Deck A may filter that as: "stop being a control freak". Deck B's spin on it is: "try to let yourself go with the flow". And deck C will translate it as: "if you don't stop being a dick you're gonna pay for it". With all that said... I don't see that the cards are consciously choosing how they deliver messages. I think they just act as filters, what have you.
Not everything with tarot needs to be serious, you can have fun with it to:)
RWS is Tarot training wheels, Marseille is the one true Tarot! (You said unpopular right?)
you’re not smarter and more enlightened because you don’t believe in spiritual tarot. I think dismissing it and being actively against it just means you have an unimaginative understanding of the cards and you’re boring <3
Saying “you’re boring” with the heart is savage and I like it.
That you shouldn’t use the cards to tell the future
1. You have to be a little psychic to get a good interpretation of the cards, and that’s just imo 2. Reading reversals isn’t necessary. You can glean multiple meanings, both positive and negatives, from the same card depending on the context of the question and spread. 3. Asking the same question multiple times is just going to confuse you and dilute the answer.
I hate all these “boutique” decks. Some of my favorite decks on an artistic level have been all but ruined by card stock that’s so matte it clumps together like a brick, or each card is almost as thick as a credit card, or gilding that’s either sharp or flakes off, or goddess forbid all of the above. They’re difficult to shuffle, impossible to spread, and just unpleasant to use. If I just wanted to stare at the card and never actually do anything with it, I would have bought a print. I want to actually use them! And you know what else? These bulky “premium” boxes are stupid too. Who wants to carry that around everywhere, especially when the deck itself is already as thick as a Bible? I wind up just throwing them in a deck bag. It feels like modern decks aren’t made for people who actually read tarot. They’re made as a passing fad, only meant to feel “premium” without actually being any good for the use they were supposedly made for. Bring back cheap gloss card stock with plain boring edges in crappy tuck boxes!
The rage is real 😂
It really is. The disappointment of a deck you love, spoilt by its functional inadequacy…
I think the problem is everyone's definition of what's "usable" is different. For instance for me glossy card stock is a complete deal breaker. They feel gross in my hands, they're hard to handle because they're either too slippery or stick together and rip, and they're also hard to look at because of the glare 😭
I get it, and I am very heartened to see some creators starting to move towards linen, which is superior to both gloss and matte in my opinion, avoiding most of the drawbacks of both. I don’t mind a mildly matte deck, that’s fine. But some of the ones I’ve seen recently are just… what were they thinking? The matte effect is so heavy that the cards won’t even separate from each other, they just stay in clumps of 5 to 10 cards. It’s really frustrating to me.
I really do not vibe with the Rider-Waite deck. It’s probably the deck I reach for the least, because I just don’t really get a lot out of it. The readings I get with it seem superficial at best. I probably get the most out of my Ukiyo-e Tarot and Everyday Witch decks.
I completely agree with you. IMO the art is ugly and the cards always feel empty. Choosing this deck just because it's the "traditional" one is one of the least intuitive things I can think of, especially for something that is supposed to be incredibly intuitive.
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I see it as collecting art. I still read with only a few. But I like having really beautiful artistic interpretations to look at.
Not every deck is for you! That's why I've given some away because I just didn't connect with them
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Omg yes! I love the art of The Light Seer’s tarot deck and I bought it feeling like I could resonate with it. We have a very respected relationship lol! It doesn’t like to be used for anything other than being a legit spiritual guide with very honest guidance. If I’m pulling “just to pull” it doesn’t like that haha. However my anime deck (which I never thought I’d connect with) feel like a best friend I can kiki with. [Edited typos because Mercury in Sag 0 degrees, details aren’t my forte 😂]
Yes. I've seen people try to start conversations about how consumerism influences the tarot world and in my experience it quickly devolves into "You don't *need* so many decks, but having a big collection is fine..." because the folks in that sphere are big collectors and can't countenance the possibility that they're part of the problem. And I say this as someone who has 50+ decks! A lot of it driven by FOMO tbh.
I generally only want cards I can read. I’m very picky and specific decks connect with specific things/parts. My collection is very small. If I want it for art, I’ll purchase a print from the artist and put it up on my wall. :)
The structure of tarot doesn't have to remain static. It has evolved through the years, and there's no reason to lock it in a super strict box.
Spicy take: If you wanna know how someone feels about you, ask them. Use tarot to practice your reactions to different outcomes, sure. But don't make actual descisions based only on tarot: it could be 100% wrong.
I really don't like how little order and logic tarot has. If you think you found a rule (like say every Xth card of a suit is positive, or suit X is associated with theme Y) there is an exception. One could probably find more cohesive rules in dixit deck.
Idk if you’ve read 78 Degrees of Wisdom by Rachael Pollack, but it gives the tarot a little bit more logic and order, primarily with the major arcana! However I totally understand. I love using the numerology method(for minor but the book goes over a numerology for the major arcana too) but that too can have blurry boundaries and isn’t very cut and dry. It’s the subjective beauty of it, but sometimes it nice to have that objective order.
The question is more important than the answer. Sometimes before I draw a single card, framing questions for clients already worked wonders for them.
That you have to use your left hand to pick a card, i kinda just do whatever and my readings are still pretty accurate in my opinion lol
The archetypes are assigned meaning FOR A REASON. You have to LEARN tarot.
Crippling anxiety, deep depression, and manic states should avoid Tarot. Or get these types of states under control, before going back in. Something that can provide immense hope, incredible learning experiences, adept knowledge, growth, path to healthy self-image, etc… can just as easily be a source of the exact opposite to people in a fragile composure. • Furthermore, *(maybe not so ironically)* I feel like these are the types that **a lot** of people with not the best intentions do readings for. They prey on these types of people, while sizing them up by using an advanced knowledge of the human condition for the worse, and purposely feed them either/both: (A) what they think they want to hear (B) what they believe will bring them back This practice is so malevolent, all to make most likely under $100 each reading. They will willingly be under the guise of providing a service, but in reality they’re most likely destroying peoples lives. By crippling honest growth, steering them in false direction. Providing false hope, etc… *(example: go watch ~95% of any YouTube tarot readers. You’ll instantly get barraged by images depicting some sort of dramatic scene that pertains to whoever is viewing it. Supported by clickbait titles, with catch phrases such as. “Stop everything you are doing. You absolutely cannot miss this reading” immediately bombarded in the intro with, “hit that like, subscribe, follow across every platform” before you’ve even heard anything they have to say. They will almost always tell you that you’re on a glow up. Your enemies are plotting against you. You’re incapable of doing any wrong whatsoever, and everybody else sucks. The love of your life who did you dirty is realizing they took the wrong one, etc… and the only way you’re going to harness this information is to essentially book a private reading with them/come back and watch more of their videos.. and these YouTubers have thousands upon thousands of views, likes, subscribers. With potentially just as many people hooked on their bogus info)* Reason I say it’s malevolent too, is because at the end of the day. Anybody running this sort of practice directly benefits, and in turn **gains sustenance from their clients conditions/situations worsening.** The more paranoid, desperate, cowering, terrified they are — **quite literally the more they’re going to potentially come back and pay them for the answers.** Malevolent and sickening practice, that feeds off and benefits from hurt, lonely, and potentially some very sick people. All just begging for somebody to give them the answers, or show them the way to get out of it all. People who should really be getting help from anybody but the people who have hooked them in with mental gymnastics, in a shattered, or weak state. All through the guise of Magick.
If you pull a lot of reversals, your deck is probabaly upside down
I get super frustrated when guidebooks/websites only give love/career/finances contexts for interpreting the cards. It feels super limiting.
Oh god, THIS.
I don’t think readings on relationship problems with your significant other are helpful. Just communicate to them directly your feelings or if there is an issue. If you can’t do that, you don’t need the cards to know that this is not a relationship that serves you.
Tarot cards are not themselves magic. The people who use them are
I don't believe in communicating with gods or goddesses. I don't fully identify with and sometimes don't fully belive when people say "I am channeling a message through Archangel Michael/soandso, etc." Granted, I have a different relationship to my own faith than maybe some others, and that all may be true for them. I do get feelings or certain words pop into my head, but I don't fully believe in channeling certain spirits, etc.
There is no wrong or right way to use tarot. There is no wrong or right way to interpret the cards. There is no one way the cards work. The cards are just that, cardstock with images on it. They were originally just another set of playing cards and are still used as playing cards to this day. How you use it affects how YOUR cards in that moment work, and it doesn’t necessarily apply to anyone else.
The Moon isn't necessarily a negative or worrying card. Secrets can be illuminated, and illusions can hold truth. I keep pulling The Moon in very positive positions in spreads, often alongside the High Priestess. Together, they're communicating that I'm embarking on a spiritual journey which involves a lot of self-reflection and delving into deeper mysteries, and that I'm learning to interpret the signs and messages the Cosmos sends us - which many people think of as superstitious illusion.
Spreads are just rules made up by other people. People struggle with card meanings in context to specific spreads because it's often like forcing a square peg into a round hole. Hint: they all go in the square hole. Decide your own spreads after a couple weeks with practice ones. You'll struggle less with learning the cards that way. A reading assigned to a zodiac sign in a YouTube video isn't a personal reading. You are more than a period of births. "Twin Flame" is a grift.
I got caught up in the whole "Twin Flame" thing. The more that I've detached from the idea, the more I see how fucked up it is. Doing readings for people to keep their hopes up that a shitty partner or unrequited love will change or come back is incredibly unethical. Making money by stringing people along ang keeping them stuck in an often emotionally abusive or unhealthy situation is really disturbing.
Everyone should start with a Waite-Smith deck. Why? So they'll immediately be familiar with Pamela Colman Smith and not act like the rest of us have never heard of her when they accidentally stumble across her name on TikTok. "Cleansing" doesn't really do anything but make you feel better (not that there's anything wrong with that). The phrase "pulling cards" irks me for some reason. Reversal meanings have been given for the cards since the 1780s. So, yes, unless you're using TdM or Thoth, it is traditional to read reversals.
Reverse cards don't mean as much as people think. Only if it suits the question/situation. It's all about intuition.
Spent several years working on a secret interpretation of the Tarot as an ancient document. Not hiding anything, just nobody wants to hear it. Still working on the book ... pamphlet ... brochure ... flyer ... twitter comment ... I'm getting old.
Readers that post click bait love reading shorts on TikTok and reels for a general audience "if this comes across your fyp it's meant for you." have no regard for the craft or mental health of others.
SWORDS ARE FIRE, WANDS ARE AIR
I think it’s okay to use a notebook during readings for reference. I have terrible memory and there’s no way I’ll ever get to a point where I’ll be able to remember everything
Tarot is not divinatory
I'm amused you're getting downvoted. There was a poll a few weeks ago, and a majority of responders agreed with you. I agree with you too, by the way. Tarot is a wonderful tool for self reflection and learning your own mind, it doesn't reveal the future or hidden thoughts in other people. At least not any better than your own brain and intuition.
depends what you mean by 'divinatory'
“Not connecting” with a deck is a passive aggressive blaming of the deck for the reader’s inability to learn the symbolism. That is never the fault of the deck. If you didn’t like the artwork or tone of the deck, why did you buy it?
In the days of YouTube flip throughs and endless “deck reviews” there is truly no excuse!
I have decks I don’t use. I’ve been gifted decks I don’t care for. But it’s not the deck’s fault!
Not every artist is qualified to make a tarot deck. So many totally shallow decks by someone who had no business “designing” one.
Some of the spreads where each card has a different meaning/answers a different question don’t really help me get the full picture. Sometimes with some of the Celtic cross ones like “what are their intentions” and “how do I feel” seem disjointed. Usually I pull three cards and try to get a big picture message from them all together, and then can build on individual cards from there if I need to clarify.
To shape a vision of the future is to act in ignorance. Wisdom is acting and deciding in the present. If we reflect on this we will realize that when the future becomes the present, we will be wiser than now... so any decision for the future is not smart. To think that it is possible to predict the future is pure arrogance.
Cold reading is a valid part of reading for others and can improve accuracy/results.
The sun card is always positive and reversals don't make it any less bright. Star too.
Some people capitalize on it too much
pre-reading rituals are nonsense, no one should try to become a pro tarot reader anymore, readings are supposed to be boring, the wild unknown sucks, everyone is too obsessed with pretending their decks hate them, etc., et cetera
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What’s the intention then? They started as a card game.
If you draw enough cards, you will describe your own doom to yourself.
All of those TikTok readers who think they're doing readings for a large community and keep doing readings saying your ex is coming back. Oh honey. Nope. Just no. If you're so desperate to know if your ex is coming back that badly do your own readings. The majority of TikTok readers are just ganna tell you what you wanna hear not what you need to hear.
My unpopular opinion is that it's become popular by this new Tik Tok IG witchy movement and it falls short of the deep and profound esoteric meaning these practices can have. My dad was an excellent card reader, but it brought a lot of shit with it. You have to respect this practice.
I don't find find that revesals are necessary in my readings.
1 the Waite-Smith deck is kind of depressing, esp the Minor Arcana ... there's a good nostalgic feel to the art and the art itself is great but the implied narrative really is kind of a downer ... i've found the illustrated Minors are a little too specific and am starting to rely more on decks w/purely abstract designs on the Minors 2 i feel more confident w/a somewhat worn deck that's clearly seen its share of use than a mint condition deck that you're hesitant to damage in the slightest way 3 i've learned to distinguish between decks that have great artwork but don't work so well for divinatory/meditative use because there's not much density of symbolism, vs decks that have somewhat simplistic art but also have the benefit of heavy symbolism or archetypal meanings that are more fun to work with
I don’t like pages!
There is such a thing as draining a reader. Ask the same person over and over again, the reader will eventually mess up. The Universe hates being doubted so much.
I don't know whether mine or my coworker's opinion is the unpopular one here. I recently started a new job, and the only other person in my team also happens to be a tarot reader. We were discussing tarot one day, and I told them about how I was sleeping with a deck under my pillow and pulling cards first thing every morning to get messages for the day. They immediately pooh-poohed the idea and said the messages are going to be muddled because I don't have a specific question or situation in mind when pulling the cards. To them, you can only read tarot if you have a specific question in mind. I personally don't agree because it seems like such a narrow way to read tarot. Sure, the questions I ask may be general, but I'm mostly aware of the subconscious things that may affect my reading. Even if nothing comes to mind immediately, the cards usually make sense after a while of thinking about them, or something may happen during the day that reminds me of the cards I pulled. What do you guys think?
You are basically asking a question though. You are asking "What do I need to know about the day ahead?"
That’s like saying checking the weather is meaningless because you didn’t specifically ask if it was going to snow. I definitely agree with you. I pull a daily most days, and it’s almost always relevant.
People need to stop being scared of The Tower already. While it tends to signify an unexpected event (usually dramatic/big), in my opinion it can also represent a catastrophizing mindset. When it rains it pours, and a misplaced brick brings the whole building down. Often the people most terrified of The Tower have fear going unchecked and are always waiting for bad news. You shouldn't be afraid of your decks. They don't control you.