Tarot Talk & Technique

I agree with this and many readers choose to never read reversals. It is not necessary, however, it does mean that each card has to be considered as though it may not be the positive meaning. For example, the 2C, that instant attraction from across the room, could also be meeting someone that intrigues, but is not truly out for your best interest, may be a physical attraction, may be a great friend, or someone that causes inner or outer turmoil, could be a constant irritant, or aversion. Seeing the reversed card is a clue that this meeting, this new connection, may be challanged. This thread is a poll about reading reversals and many share insights why they do one or the …

Because the future is uncertain, I read that tarot cannot really foretell the future. Rather, it tells you about the present. Is this true?

How many hours do you think you spent with your tarot decks a day / week?

Hello, I got the chariot, the queen of coins, the emperor, 3 coins, and strength for how someone feels for me after saying happy birthday after we stopped taking after an argument 2 months ago. He replied thank you. And we kept it like that since. Any comments on it’s interpretation?

I've been studying Tarot for about a year now and I've just now started to use reversals more often in my readings. I definitely see how they add more depth to a reading. I'm using Benebell Wen's WIND mneumonic (weakened energy, inverted meaning, negative effect, delay), which I find works pretty well. Just curious as to when more experienced readers felt comfortable using reversals consistently. Did you use them right from the beginning?

I mean readings where you ask things like : what can I do to catch that person attention, so they like me? Or What should I do to recover my ex back? That sort of thing that seems "forced" Do you do that kind of readings? I have learned in my tarot journey and in my life that not everything will be as one wants, but then... I rather like asking things like "What are their feelings about me?" Would they want to back with me again (have a relationship ? And then if the answer is yes maybe ask for further advice. Advice readings to improve ourselves.. I support those.

Searching through the forum, over the years we have had posts about members reversals techniques, but can't find a thread about shuffling. So if you use reversed cards in your readings..... How do you shuffle them in your practice? How do you decide how many to have in the deck? This the place for all reversed shuffling methods and techniques 🙂 There is a guide to shuffling techniques generally, here - https://www.thetarotforum.com/forums/topic/15717-shuffling-techniques/

Hello everyone. Recently, my mind has been going heavily in circles about a certain topic and I drew the cards a couple of times with different spreads. The results were similar with their message and now I am wondering about the origin of the cards' message? Am I attracting the cards based on my deeply engrained beliefs in my subconscious? Or is the result rather to be seen as an "objective advice"? I hope you understand what I am trying to ask. 😊

I’ve been getting into tarot lately and mentioned it to my friends and they made fun of me and said that tarot is girl thing. Curious if anyone else has dealt with this kind of reaction, and why people still see spirituality or introspection as gendered.

The youtube tarot readings mostly seem to be done by the each horoscopic signs, 12 signs in total. Some readers do monthly, and some weekly and sometimes with the bonus reading for each different signs. But there are 12 signs in total, and there are billions of people living in the world. How does one sign reading cover the whole people of the sign in the reading? Surely there can be billions of people sharing the same horoscopic sign, and would the reading cover all the people under the same sign? Does it make sense? Are there any principles or theories that the horoscope sign based tarot readings work for all the people under the same sign? …

Greetings everyone, I purchased a small velvet cloth as an additional layer on my table, but the border is horrid - ugly in my eyes. I'm going to trim it with proper shears. But, how do I seal the sides so that it does not continue to fray? Is there a liquid or something similar that works? Asking my crafty folks. Thanks.

I spent some time sorting out all of the tarot techniques, methods and practices that I use in my own work, many of which have appeared as (very) Frequently Asked Questions in the online tarot community over the years, and turned them into a kind of "punch-list" that might be used as an overview for the more traditional practitioner. These are all personal preferences, and there is a tiny bit of "bio" thrown in to get me to 42 iterations (Douglas Adams fans will understand). Many are questions that I'm sure we've all asked ourselves. 1. Type of shuffle: Overhand, riffle or other? Overhand; sometimes “casino shuffle” 2. Querent handles cards, Yes or no: Yes, shu…

I remember many years ago on Aeclectic there was a member who asked a question about the history of a treasure that had recently been found. Who left it there and why? I'm not sure if anyone ever found out the answer, but there may be a way we can unearth such secrets. Does this sound like an interesting way to use the cards? I would like to start up some Tarot 'research' activities like this that people can participate in. Here's one activity: A question is asked - maybe someone sees something in the news and wants to find out the answer to it - it could be a historic person, treasure, ancient civilisations, such as Atlantis or wh…

In March I am offering an intro course on tarot. I'll be briefly reviewing: History to present day The top 3: RWS, Thoth, Tarot de Marseille Why people read: divination, self-inquiry, self-help and healing, storytelling, creative expression Approaches to learning how to read the cards Hands-on activity I'd appreciate any thoughts and suggestions.

When another tarot reader reads for you, do you usually add new meanings to the reading? For example, I will mention a personal experience: I ordered a New Year's reading for myself with a professional tarot reader - I prefer to have someone else read for me, on certain occasions, so that I am not biased - In the predictions for my health, he mentioned the Justice card and interpreted it beautifully. When reflecting on this card, I remembered that, within my tarot studies, Justice (with its scales that measure everything) can indicate the prediction of exams, such as blood counts, etc. In this case, I received the printed reading, without any dialogue with the reader.…

Does tarot have anything to do with anything that is "new age"? I was unsure of what the term "new age" actually meant, so I Googled it and this is what I came up with... New Age. noun. 1. : a way of thinking arising in late 20th century Western society and adapted from a variety of ancient and modern cultures that emphasizes beliefs (as reincarnation) outside the mainstream and that advances alternative approaches to spirituality, right living, and health. _______________________________________ What is your thinking just how the tarot fits into all things that are new age? What do you think the general public's percep…

I hope this is the right forum for this question. For 2025 I have started doing daily reads for myself and wanted to dive deeper into Mary Greer's work. I calculated my Soul and Personality card to discover I don't have Hidden Factor card, but a Teacher card. In her explanation, I don't follow. I am a 19,10,1 in her constellation chart. If I understand correctly this means I don't have a shadow, but a life lesson to focus on. However, in doing some research I see the Teacher and Hidden Factor terminology used interchangeably. I was hoping for additional reading to better understand the distinction. I found this quote interesting about 19, 10, 1: "In this pattern, you co…

I took some time off of my decks and they've been packed away until recently. Now that I have them out, I've been going through them, just counting and basically checking that all is well. I noticed a few of my decks have "hardened" into a brick and kinda feels tacky when trying to separate them. Is this normal? Only a few, most are great, even duplicates of the hardened ones are great. Weird.

I am aware that Aleister Crowley created his own deck Thoth, but just how was it inspired by the RWS deck? I know that this is sort of a broad question, but are there similarities between the Thoth & the RWS deck? Whatever you want to share I am all ears.

I used to use a fancy cloth that I got from eBay to do my readings on. But my primary way of mixing the cards is riffle shuffling the cards, however I noticed that the cloth would move around on the tabletop when I did that. So, I switched to a jewelers' display pad, but I found the pad wasn't thick enough or big enough to do the layout on. Then I found the perfect solution - The Magicians close-up pad. It makes riffle shuffling easier and they come in different sizes. I have two of them, a red one 11 X 16 which is perfect for my monthly coffee shop gig in which I do three card spreads. And my big pad which I do my regular layout of the…

I found this quote last night by Dr. Wayne Dyer ~ "You create your thoughts, your thoughts create your intentions, and your intentions create your reality." On the table of The Magician's card are the wand (passion), cup (emotions), sword (thoughts) & pentacle (the physical realm). My uneducated mind tells me yes, The Magician card points to that we are the creators of our reality and even being so the very 1st card of the Major Arcana. But I really don't know. Or is the above quote just another example of new age gaslighting? Or is there something to it. Can our thoughts create things? Is this what the tarot…

In the Reading for Those in the Public Eye thread I mentioned that I had to reframe questions like "Does Johnny love me?" so I am not invading one's privacy. I took this advice from a couple of tarot books (I won't name the writers of the books here), and it seems that a few of the experienced readers who are members of this forum said, well one said they would lose 50% of their clients if they didn't take those questions and another reader said they take those questions because it would be nice to have food & electricity in one's home lol. Everything I know about Tarot comes from books that I have read. I would be interested in th…

Happy New Year everyone! My question is do you believe it's okay to do a reading for someone who is in the public eye like a politician or a celebrity...even though they don't know you? I guess what I am trying to say is that I've always avoided questions that have always invaded other people's privacy...questions like "Does Johnny love me?" I would always reframe those type of questions for the sitter. Would I be out of line to do a YouTube video on a political figure (a three-card spread like Issue/Action/Outcome), even if I don't know the person? The person in question here is Elon Musk. He is the richest guy in the worl…

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?

I've always wondered whether whether the person getting a Tarot reading asks their central query aloud or whether the Tarot reader has to intuit what the querent wants from the reading. I've read quite a few guides but this aspect has never been covered in detail. I'm obviously a beginner and would be fascinated to hear member's views 🙂