Tarot Talk & Technique

I read somewhere that one should not buy a Tarot deck for oneself, but wait to receive one as a gift. Only then will it really bond with you and speak the truth. What do you think? Is there truth in that or not? Apparently, one is supposed to put out to the universe that one wishes very much for a Tarot deck and, somehow, it will appear...

I was wondering what would be the cause of someone reading tarot cards for another person, but end up having the reading be about them and not the sitter? What causes such phenomena? Is it some sort of magical mishap? Some angry witch put a curse on you so you can’t give out advice to others? 😂 What gives?

Happy Friday the 13th and Happy Mid-Autumn Festival Just wanted to poise a question to more of the tarot collectors' side of the community. I noticed a lot of people in the tarot community have been stepping back from tarot due to burnout, loss of interest, and/or hitting some sort of tarot "funk" but I noticed it was happening to those more on the spiritual tarot readers spectrum of the community. Was wondering if those that consider themselves more as collectors have experienced such a slump in their collecting. If so and if you're willing, would love to hear about the experience. TIA :)

How do your pets react to your decks/books/ritual items/etc? Do they try to invade your workspace, pawing your cards or distracting you while you work on your spreads? Do they always park their fluffy little selves on top of your decks? Or do they seem apprehensive of your private stuff? Bonus points if you can post pics. :))

Just for fun... ;D They describe how they're feeling like they having a Nine of Swords (or any other card) day. ANYONE have ones to add? :)

I'm going through something I like to call "tarot depression." Let me explain. As of late, I feel my intuition/psychic energy go into a slump and I don't feel motivated to read tarot. I know that I need the practice, but not only am I not motivated, I know that my reading will not be clear to me. Again, the clarity is in a slump. It's a vicious cycle. I also question if I'm doing my best work when I'm doing my readings. Is it normal to be in a slump? Is it normal that your intuition isn't clear in the beginning? Do you ever need a break from tarot?

Hey all, I’ve been reflecting lately on how the Major Arcana can be read as a symbolic journey — not just a sequence of cards, but a narrative arc. The Fool’s Journey is often described this way: a soul’s evolution through encounters, from innocence to wisdom. Personally, I like to tell the story in three phases: Awakening — where the Fool leaps into life and begins forming identity through will, desire, and structure (Cards 0–VII: The Fool, Magician, High Priestess, Empress, Emperor, Hierophant, Lovers, Chariot) Surrender — where the Fool turns inward, confronting emotion, solitude, and transformation (Cards VIII–XIV: St…

If you have a new deck of cards (1 week old, about 5 readings in total, shuffled each time) and you've shuffled them a bit before the reading and pulled up a row (4 or 5) of the same suit, would you reshuffle? Would you discount the reading? I recently drew ridiculously favourable cards (a row of cups) for a situation that IRL looks dire. Should I re-do the spread?

I wonder if any of you have done readings for missing person cases. I never used to, until last year a woman from the wider area went missing and I thought to try. I drew one card from the Marseilles and got Death reversed, which moved in a way first reminding me of a hanging and I thought suicide, but then it all seemed to fall and I saw some weird motion reminding me of water. I had the impression she fell into a body of water and drowned. Forgot about it until now, when I saw news about her case with the information that, some months back, a fisher found hair of her color in a body of water but searches have not found anything as the area is vast and verda…

Is there any rule or good practices to observe when laying down clarification cards? If a clarification is sought for one card, must clarifications cards also be pulled for others in the spread? Is there any risk of misinterpretation when pulling clarification cards when messages of the original card/cards don't seem to match the question, perhaps for other reasons (e.g. wrong energies, not being familiar with card meanings as I'm relatively new to tarot)?

I have a large variety of decks to choose from and I like to switch it up. I know some people has a "special" deck that they use exclusively. I have found that I can switch up decks as long as they are RWS clones and that the artist hasn't changed the imaging too much. I have built up a relationship with the system. Of course I have my favorites tarot deck. I haven't done much tarot reading lately as I've been concentrating on learning an oracle deck. Oracles don't have consistent systems. So I can see the advantage of really learning the one I have been working with before learning others. What do you guys do? Do you consistently use the sa…

Hi Everyone, I wanted to share the results that came out of some meditation I did yesterday to spark some conversation and elicit some perspectives. As background, I've been most recently been working with the Wildwood deck but have had a lot of difficulty with the Court cards because I am not attuned to the animal attributes (yet). I felt like this was impacting my ability to deliver good readings, particularly those in the relationship domain, without relying very heavily on the supporting deck material which at times feel flat, uninspired, and fairly lacking in substantive information (at ones that spoke to me) on the Court animals. Anyway, this is a long j…

Hi everyone, I posted something similar a few years ago, and at the time, I remember many people disagreed. We even discussed all the hypotheses raised: error in the question, error in the method, error in interpretation... (very common, actually). But, in a very humble way, I want to share that – having played tarot for a long time, both personally and professionally – I think that sometimes tarot simply doesn't work. It doesn't get it right. Why? I don't know. I have some ideas. They all have to do with: tarot is not an exact art. Objective. Cartesian. It's not something that can be replicated thousands of times in an attempt to obtain standardized and 100% accurat…

Hey all! I am curious to hear your take on the ancient old question of whether the querent should or should not handle the deck - i.e. shuffling/ picking cards himself for his own reading . So far I shuffle then let the querent shuffle and draw the cards- but I know not all like it. What do you do and why?

Hi! I'm a newbie in tarot reading. I have a question that's really important to me. Can you get incorrect answers? How and when does it happen? I tend to take "tarot answers" too seriously. That's why I get nervous whenever I try to read tarot cards for myself because I'm scared of negative answers.

Hi all X/ I wonder what time of the day you do your readings? From both astrology and astronomy (Einstein's spacetime) I know that time and place are important. That's why I needed to find out the right time to do them, and after some silent prayer I found out that 1 am or 1 pm would be right. Do you have any specific time of the day you do your readings?

How do this when there is something you want to work through or tease out, and it's in regards to something going on in your life, but you want to make sure you have a clear head when you do a reading for yourself? Or do you just simply ask someone else to do the reading for you?

Hello Tarot Friends, I have been thinking about how 95% of my tarot decks are either RWS based or Thoth based. And I find it all too easy to lean on the standard RWS meanings or the Thoth keywords with those decks. I want to get out of my cage of pre-packaged meaning and into some new symbolism, new territory. Of course, there is always purely intuitive reading, and I am going to do more of that for sure, especially over in the ISG Reading Circle. But I'm interested in deck creators who have developed their own symbolism for the cards. Creators who have lived with the cards long enough that they've developed their own personal understanding of …

I feel like I'm in this huge pitch black cavern in my life. I don't know how big it is. I don't know where the walls are. It's so dark I can't tell up from down. I want to know what's coming, something solid to grasp onto, but even the tarot cards don't seem to know. So I feel like I'm asking the wrong questions, but I asked the cards what I should be asking and I don't get an answer. Or at least I should clarify that I'm getting circular answers. A leads to B, B leads to C, and C leads to A. I understand about free choice and how it means the future isn't set. And so I go round and round. Has anyone experienced this and did you ever find the question you need…

Hi guys, glad to be here. I did a reading a couple of days ago and it was a three card spread and the question was about someone's action. I used the Shadowscapes Tarot and I don't do reversals. - 1st card was what's on his mind and I pulled the 9 of pentacles, maybe it means that he needs a closure, the 9p talks about self sufficiency, being whole and trusting yourself. - 2nd card was what's in his heart and I pulled 9 of swords, I believe that it means that he's feeling anxious. - 3rd card was what will be the result of this action and I pulled the 9 of cups, to me the nine of cups is about reaching your heart's desire. My question is about the three nines an…

I've seen a few different ways on how people use the bottom card and thought to ask if you knew of any more suggestions? The two that stood out for me are: 1. Beth over at Little Red Tarot had a blog once (will search for it later) on how, especially if you pull cards from the top I think, the bottom card would be that which is most removed from the reading. A suggestion for what the reading really isn't about. I had the Tower at the bottom of the deck for my Year Ahead reading I did on my birthday with the Death card as the focus, so I took that to mean that while this year will be all about change and letting things go, it probably won't shake things up in any sudd…

Hi All, I hope you are well and staying safe :) I have a question! I am new to tarot and had a reading a few days about asking if my ex was going to come back into my life. The answer was 'likely'. Since this reading we had an argument where we blocked each other off everything- so there is no form of communication. Does this mean that the tarot reading has changed now and wont be the same answer? should i ask the question again? Thank you :)

What are your Tarot / divination related resolutions / plans/ studies/ activities for the next year? Have you got any plans or areas of interest you want to work towards? Goals? Reading changes?

Just starting to get into using tarot cards more often, and I have a question: have you noticed if there is a particular time of day that works best for you to do your readings? I've tried pulling cards in the morning to get insight for my day, and I've also tried doing spreads at night when I can light candles and really get in the mood. Sometimes I feel more focused in the mornings and can more easily schedule it into my day, but some of my best readings have come at night. What have you noticed? Is there a particular time of day that you like to do your readings? I'd especially like to hear if anyone has a routine at a different time of day than I've tried. Thanks!

What does it mean when five of cups and two of swords show up together as feelings towards someone?