Do Tarot Readings Work?

Do Tarot Readings Work?

Tarot is an integral part of my daily spirituality and creativity practice. Tarot is a tool, and like any tool it has its strengths and weaknesses. At its best it is a tool for self-reflection and guidance, uncovering your subconscious thoughts, feelings and desires. At its worst it can be used to manipulate, enforce negative self-talk, and scam others. That said, tarot can be used for a wide variety of purposes. And like any tool, a hammer for instance, its effectiveness depends on how you use it.

How does it work? There are 78 cards in a tarot deck; and each card represents a different archetype. The first card in a tarot deck is The Fool card and its numbered 0 (zero); it represents the archetype of going on a new adventure with no preconceived notions or expectations of what the adventure will be like or how it will end; and approaching the adventure with an open heart and an open mind. It’s really hard for most adults to not have preconceived ideas or expectations upon beginning a new situation. Depending on the question asked, where in the spread The Fool card is located, and the other cards in the spread the Fool card can be interpreted as “you’re being forced into a new situation that you don’t want to be in and you’re not prepared for” or “you’re looking forward to a new situation”, or “you’re ambivalent about this new situation and you’ve created preconceived ideas of how its going to turn out”.

Here are 2 real world examples:s:

Question: How can we improve our romantic relationship?

Interpretation:

While this relationship started out light, fun and adventurous, currently you’re both doing different things alone. You’re not doing things together unless they are necessary. There is a lot of the air element in your reading which indicates that you two enjoyed thinking, collaborating, and planning together. Even small things like what to make for dinner; that energy of thinking, talking and working together is missing. Think of small ways to bring that energy back, cooking together, gardening together, board games; something small and easy. Baby steps are important. Communication is also important, keep it simple and easy.

These 4 cards don’t represent a healthy, dynamic relationship in any configuration. However, with these 4 cards I can give next steps for healing or walking away…depending on the client’s question and the configuration of the cards. I can also give an infinite number of readings using the same 4 cards; with the only things impacting the interpretation are the question, the client's intention, configuration of the cards and my intuition. And I’m so grateful that Tarot decks have more than 4 cards! While those 4 cards do not represent a healthy and dynamic relationship; there are so many relationships that are healthy at its core and the client may still have a question; and those answers can be represented by other cards. More cards allow me to give more nuanced information and guidance.

In conclusion; does Tarot work? Yes! When it is in the hands of someone who has integrity and has taken the time to learn the intricacies of the 78 archetypes. Tarot works wonderfully and accurately as a tool for self-reflection and guidance, as well as identifying subconscious feelings, thoughts and desires. Tarot is a tool that merges the client’s intention and question, the tarot archetypes and images and the reader’s intuition into a cohesive and engaging answer to the client’s question that includes next action steps.

Question:

How can we improve our romantic relationship?

This relationship started out with both of you enjoying long conversations about everything from trying new recipes or restaurants to how to cure world hunger. In the beginning even if most of your grand adventures were thought experiments you two enjoyed the process and comradery of it. Currently, one of you still enjoying trying new things, eating new foods, learning new things and various kinds of grand adventures while the other of you is stuck in worrying over day-to-day grind; and feeling stuck in the day-to-day grind. The way forward is to get back to those expansive conversations; that’s what created the glue of your relationship.

Interpretation:

For the next example I'm going to use the same question and same cards; only randomly rearrange the cards placement.