Tarot Talk & Technique

How accurate is a tarot reading and would it apply to me if a person, who does not know my name or my date of birth, or how I look, but to whom I have shared my concerns about a particular topic, decides to do a reading for me on their own initiative? And in such a case, since I did not ask them to do the reading, should I be required to pay with money?

Does anyone else remember the first tarot book they ever owned? Mine was "The tarot speaks" by Richard Gardener which I bought as a teenager in the 1970s. I still have a copy (not sure if it's the same one) today. I would add an image of the cover but I am unsure how to.

Hey folks! I have always wondered if probability matters when it comes to yes or no questions? I believe that the deck consists of 60% 'Yes' cards, 10% 'Maybe' cards and 30% 'No' cards. This is for when you're only doing Uprights for Yes or No questions. When you're doing uprights and reversals, Majority of reverse cards would be 'No' on top of the already 'No' upright cards. In this case the percentage of 'Yes' cards majorly drops to 30% If we are asking Yes or No questions, shouldnt the Yes-No cards be divided 50-50%? Even though Tarot is based on energies, do you think the cards should be equalised?

Hello all, its been a while since I posted here. Unfortunately, I lost my tarot cards two months ago and havent really gotten around to buying a new deck, even of the same company. Just felt unnatural and meaningless. Instead I have been using Labyrinthos' Pick a Card readings where you have multiple options. Basically you choose a spread (1 card, 3 card, 5 card spreads) with pre-built questions on each and then you tap on each card in that position to see what you got. Can anyone tell me how reliable it is to pick cards on the internet? Emotionally, I feel I might never connect with a deck again, so I want to look into options like these. …

I have recently started reading guide books on decks I buy. I read them because I'm hoping for a insight on artists non-stand RWS card images. I just purchased the Kvirly deck at Esty's. The images remind me of the Deviant Moon Tarot. The LWB is useless, however, since it only gives standard card definitions and some odd interpretations. I've never heard of before. It's of no use to me as it doesn't address the symbolism of cards in the deck. I've had this problem with other Indy decks. It annoys me. I don't read every guidebook if they're RWS clones. What do you guys do?

I am writing to you because of my great despair. This tarot reader told me that I have my mother's karma (because I am the second child) and all my relationships will fall apart for no reason because of it. Is this possible? I am very scared! She looked at my entire life in general. For the reading, the woman only uses major arcana. She used the romany tarot spread. With a row for past, present and future. I apologize again for troubling you. My mother was indeed separated from my father, but she always spoke lovingly of him to me and told me she loved him until his death. We also don't have many divorces in our family history. Only one on my mother's side, with my great-…

I've been reading a lot of newer Tarot books lately. One phrase that bothers me is the insistence that some court cards are said to be playing the victim. We all know people who blame others for everything bad that happens to them. I'm not taking about that. What bothers me is there is no acknowledgement that there are REAL victims. There are people murdered, raped, abused as children, it the consequences of war and can have PTSD due to no fault of their own. The survivors can have such low self-esteem that they believe that somehow they deserve the horrible things that happened to them. That's not going to solve anything. I think there had to be an ackno…

Hello! Could you please help me? I'm very worried. I went to see a woman who read tarot cards for me. She told me bad things about the future and how I have my mother's karma, which will cause all my relationships to fall apart for no reason. How far into the future do tarot cards typically show? Don't they usually predict up to a year at most? Is there any way to change my future?

I recently came across the Word document for a "LWB" I'd started writing for Tarocchi dei Celti, a majors-only deck with artwork by Antonio Lupatelli published by Lo Scarabeo in 1991 that only came with an Italian LWB (didn't have the benefit of Google Translate back then, although having now done that for a few of the cards it may not have been any great loss). My LWB must have been started at least 20 years ago and been slumbering in the depths of my computer files ever since. It's not so little either - for each card I'd written a detailed description of the card, then started research into the Irish mythology of the character portrayed, then the Celtic symbolism of th…

Discussion: who reads fully clear and sober? Who prefers a bit of alcohol or other indulgence? Old pic here with a shot of spiced rum for the spirits. I no longer drink or even smoke nicotine, and my sessions are more satisfying than ever before. Everyone is different, however, so share what works for you. Please don't mention things that are illegal let's keep this thread unlocked.

Have you had any accurate predictions by using tarot cards?

I personally use past, present, future or ask direct questions. What other methods do you suggest?

Personally, i like six of cups, it has a sense of nostalgia and good memories.

Heya so like I havent touched my tarot cards in a long while and recently they are all thats been in my head, like theyre reaching out to me, i finally picked them up and ive used them, ive no more questions for them at the moment or jus anything but i just feel this strong urge to keep touching them, talking to them but i seriously have nothing to talk about, what the heck do i do 😭😭

Hi 👋 iv just began my journey into learning about tarot and all that surrounds it. I have a question that I can’t find an answer to, maybe I’m asking the wrong question. So I thought I would turn to a forum to see if any one can help. So I often see things like imagine if (example) the knight of swords was a person. How do you feel about them.. how can I find out the personality of all the cards thank you

This topic emerged from a recent reading in DotW. In my observation ... the cards are usually right ... but we readers can get it wrong due to 3 "occupational hazards" which I call: Bleedthrough Different / wrong Question Irrelevant Question **Edit added in March 2026** Wrong spread or wrong deck [commentary in my journal] I'll share my thoughts how I deal [or fail] with these. Curious to hear YOUR experiences and tips how you deal with it. Bleedthrough: I was just about to lay cards when my partner started talking to me. It interrupted my flow. I spoke with him awhile .... and then got back to it [so I thought]. Yet…

I've just bought several decks and also got velvet bags to store them in, which has me thinking about the best ways to store my decks when not in use. Obviously, out of direct sunlight and not near heaters and so on, but I wondered how others store their decks when not in use. Do you have a special rite or ritual when putting the cards away or taking them out? Do you have a special box or cloth you wrap them in? Do you display them somehow? (Daniel, if this is in the wrong spot, please move to the right one, thanks!)

Hello all, there's a few things I'm wondering about and hope you can shed some light on it. I apologize if these questions have been asked before, but decided to put these rather short questions into one post. First question: why (or in what instances) could/should a significator be used? I understand the concept of it, just wasn't sure when and how it should be used. Second question: what benefits are there to using an Oracle deck, especially in conjunction with a tarot deck? What are the pros and cons? Last question is more of a comment; what are some good tips and tricks for people learning to read the cards intuitively?

I've just discovered that one of my decks has a card missing - the Eight of Swords. What should I do? It's a deck that I like a lot and use regularly. I've no idea where the card could be. I take decks away from home sometimes so I can do daily draws while travelling so it may be it fell under a hotel bed somewhere 😞 Or it may be lurking in a dusty corner at home... Should I still read with it? What are the issues with reading with an incomplete deck?

Actually not sure which section this would fit in so please feel free to correct and move the post if needed. I was wondering how people draw their cards and why. Since I asked I’ll start - I tend to shuffle and stop when called to, then draw from the top. If I ask a second question or want clarifiers I will shuffle again and then again draw from the top, but unless it’s a new unrelated question I will use the same deck minus the already drawn cards. If I get cards that fly out during shuffling I look at them and note them but will put them back in the deck. I will only read them if they reappear as part of my deliberately drawn cards later i…

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…

How would you read a reversed Queen of Pentacles for aspects of career that cannot be changed? I read it as non-traditional, non- profit, investments required. Job for passion and not just for money.

This may seem like a straightforward question but I would like to look at the deeper levels...sorry in advance for a long description! I guess I can give an example here. I remember my first reading was 3 years ago. I wasnt inclined towards tarot back then, than I am today and only did like two readings with two different professionals in 2021. I remember both the readings telling me that I will meet a soulmate in 2023. Of course, I did not know any cards back then so I dont know what card came up at what placement. After that, I dropped it. 2 years later, in the start of 2023, I went back to those readers to do another reading. I got a bit cocky …

Hey there. Newbie here. When learning and studying cards some sources have some variations in card meanings. When you're learning to read and interpret the cards do you tend to stick to one source of meanings for consistency, the source that resonates the most with the current spread of the cards and questions asked, intuition of what definitions resonates with you, or something else entirely? I'm currently learning with my ~25 year old Rider Waite Tarot Deck and I find, primarily in the lesser arcana, some differences on interpretation between the booklet that comes with the deck and more modern sources.

As I am learning and trying the cards on anyone, like clothing, I suddenly thought that my Stafford was a textbook example of the Knight of Wands. He's charming, athletic, totally self-confident and fearless, always ready for adventures, will tackle what others avoid, rises to any challenge and is a loyal friend. On the negative side, he's hot-tempered, doesn't stop to think before acting, has self-control issues and too ready for a fight (of course he's not allowed to fight). I am still thinking about cats, they aren't as easy for me, but I think it will be a useful exercise for me to figure their cards. What about yours?