Tarot FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions about Tarot Can Tarot tell the future?
What is Tarot?
How does Tarot Work?
What kinds of questions is Tarot well suited for?
What about decks?
How important is using the right deck?
How do you choose a deck?
What about spreads?
How do you choose a spread?
How often do I need a reading?

Can Tarot tell the future?

A large enough Tarot spread can give you a very keen sense of the probabilities inherent in a situation, but the specific way that things turn out are, in the final analysis, up to you -- how well you adapt to the ever-changing conditions that your Tarot reading reflects. A Tarot reading gives a snapshot of what is going on in the Present, the time you are picking the cards. It can help you see aspects of a situation that have been invisible to your ego. In contrast to popular opinion, Tarot is a valuable form of meditation on the Present moment that returns insight and advice. Although it does reflect probabilities, it is NOT a form of fortune-telling.

Consult the Tarot as if you were asking the advice of a wise friend or teacher.

What is Tarot?

Tarot is a divination system that uses a set of cards to gain insight and achieve greater control over issues involving relationships, opportunities, and life changes.

The Tarot deck is over 500 years old. With archetypal roots that go back almost 2000 years, Tarot has become a repository of ancient wisdom. Interestingly, our modern playing cards are a subset of the Tarot.

The history of Tarot symbolism is shrouded in mystery. Some of the Tarot symbols are thought to have originated in China, India or Egypt. Tarot cards date back to 15th century Spain, Italy and France.

How does the Tarot work?

A tarot deck consists of 78 cards that you lay out in any one of a number of spreads. Each card is symbolic of an energy or spiritual truth, its relevance depending upon its position in the spread. There are so many possible outcomes that tarot readers spend decades mastering the meanings of all the cards in all the different combinations. Books are one resource, but can only help so much.

Using the power of Synchronicity, Tarot taps both the subconscious and the superconscious Mind, the center of our psychic abilities. Anyone can become a good tarot reader. But a gifted reader of Tarot is far more than someone exercising innate psychic abilities. An appreciation of the power of the archetypes contained in the images on the cards demands a classical understanding.

What kinds of questions is the Tarot well suited for?

Tarot is excellent for receiving clarity on problems or issues that logic by itself simply can't handle (most of the important ones in life!). Relationships, negotiations, work dynamics, office politics, family matters, spiritual well-being.

What about decks? How important is using the right deck?

Thanks to modern production and distribution technologies, there are hundreds of Tarot decks available to anyone today for a modest price. Most people will come to choose a favorite deck. Any deck is good, with a reasonable connection to classical tarot tradition, so you really can't go wrong.

How do you choose a deck?

It's largely a matter of taste. Use the Choose Your Deck or Select Another Deck menus to try out different ones until you find the one or two you like best. Even after that, it's fun to see what a special card might look like in other decks. This is hard to do in physical reality, no matter how many decks you own.

What about spreads? How do you choose a spread?

There are hundreds of spreads too, with tarot experts creating new ones all the time. A spread is the layout of the cards, with a category of meaning assigned to each position.

How often do I need a reading?

As often as you feel a need for insights or advice. Intelligent people have been known to come to me for readings as a way of processing a relationship coming together or breaking up, or a dilemma in the career or family.

Many Tarot readers come to me because they feel they cannot give themselves an objective reading. How often you give yourself readings is totally up to you!

Last updated: December 31, 1969

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