The truth about Tarot

For centuries, tarot has captivated individuals, yet misconceptions about tarot readings persist. Some believe tarot solely predicts the future, while others link it to the mysterious, supernatural, or even terrifying. In reality, tarot can be perceived in a more practical and significant manner. A tarot reading serves as a potent tool for reflection, guidance, and acquiring new insights into the situations, emotions, and decisions you encounter in life.

At its core, tarot is a system of cards containing different symbols, archetypes, themes and energies. During a reading, cards are drawn in response to a question or intention, and their imagery and meanings are interpreted in the context of your situation. The cards can bring attention to patterns, emotions, possibilities, challenges and perspectives that you may not have consciously considered. Sometimes, the value of a reading isn't that the cards tell you something you didn't know; it is that they help you see something you already knew but were struggling to acknowledge.

One of the biggest misconceptions about tarot is that it predicts one fixed future. I don't see tarot that way. Your future is influenced by your choices, actions, circumstances and the direction in which your life is currently moving. A tarot reading can offer insight into the energy surrounding a situation and the possibilities that may unfold if things continue along their current path. It can help you understand where you are right now, what may be influencing the situation, what you may need to pay attention to and what possibilities you may want to explore. In that sense, tarot is less about handing you a predetermined future and more about helping you become more conscious of the present.

What are the practical uses of tarot?

Tarot can be helpful when you're feeling uncertain about a situation and seek a different viewpoint. Whether you have questions about a relationship, your career, a decision you're contemplating, a personal issue, or a recurring pattern in your life, tarot can provide insight. Sometimes, you might not have a specific question but feel stuck, overwhelmed, or unsure about your life and need guidance to understand your current circumstances.

Tarot can be particularly helpful when it comes to relationships. A reading can help you explore the dynamics within a connection, understand what may be influencing the relationship, identify patterns and gain clarity about your own feelings and choices. It isn't about obsessively trying to find out what another person is thinking or getting a guarantee about whether someone will come back. Instead, a meaningful relationship reading can bring the focus back to what you can understand, learn and choose for yourself.

Tarot can also be useful for career and life decisions. When you are standing at a crossroads, it can sometimes be difficult to separate your intuition from your fears, expectations and outside opinions. A tarot reading can help you look at different aspects of a situation and consider possibilities you may not have thought about before. It can encourage you to ask better questions rather than simply looking for a yes-or-no answer.

Another beautiful aspect of tarot is its ability to highlight patterns. You may notice that you keep entering similar relationships, experiencing the same emotional triggers, procrastinating around the same goals or finding yourself in situations that feel strangely familiar. Tarot can sometimes help bring these patterns into your awareness. Once a pattern becomes conscious, you have more opportunity to decide whether you want to continue it or approach it differently.

Tarot can also be used as a tool for self-reflection. Sometimes the most important question isn't “What is going to happen?” but “What do I need to understand about myself in this situation?” Questions around your fears, expectations, emotional patterns, boundaries, desires and choices can lead to much deeper readings. The cards can act as a mirror, giving you something to reflect on and helping you explore parts of your experience that you may have been overlooking.

And you don't need to be psychic to benefit from a tarot reading. You also don't need to know anything about tarot cards before booking a session. As a tarot reader, my role is to interpret the cards and help you understand how their messages may relate to your situation. You simply need to come with an open mind and, ideally, an intention or question that you would like to explore.

At the same time, tarot has its limitations. It shouldn't replace professional medical, psychological, legal or financial advice, and it shouldn't be used as the sole basis for major life decisions. A tarot reading can offer perspective and insight, but you are always the person making your choices. I believe the most empowering tarot readings are the ones that give you more awareness and clarity rather than making you feel dependent on the cards for every decision.

This is also why I don't believe you need to keep asking the cards the same question repeatedly until you get the answer you want. Tarot can become much more useful when you use it to understand yourself and your situation rather than constantly seeking reassurance about an uncertain outcome. Sometimes the message you need isn't about what someone else will do; it is about what you need to see, accept, release or choose.

In my tarot readings, I create a space where you can bring your questions, doubts and situations without feeling judged. Whether you have a very specific question or simply feel like you need some guidance, we can explore what the cards are highlighting for you. My approach is focused on making tarot understandable, practical and relevant to your real-life situation rather than making the reading feel mysterious or intimidating.

A tarot session can be especially valuable when you are at a transition point in your life, dealing with uncertainty, trying to understand a recurring pattern, navigating a relationship, making a decision or simply looking for a fresh perspective. You may not always leave with a definite prediction or a simple answer, but you can leave with something much more useful: a clearer understanding of the situation and yourself within it.

Ultimately, tarot is a tool. The cards don't take away your free will, and they don't make your decisions for you. They can help you pause, reflect, look at a situation from another angle and become more aware of the possibilities in front of you. What you choose to do with that awareness is entirely up to you.

If you have been curious about tarot but aren't sure whether a reading is right for you, you don't have to figure that out on your own. You can contact me to book a tarot reading and explore whatever situation you would like guidance around. And if you're unsure whether tarot is the right fit for what you're currently looking for, you can also book a free discovery call with me. We can talk about what you're going through, what you're hoping to gain from a session and whether a tarot reading would be the right approach for you.

You don't need to have all the answers before you reach out. Sometimes, all you need is the willingness to look at your situation from a different perspective.

You can find my Tarot account on Instagram by the handle - @askthetarot_bywg. I shall see you there!