That, my friends, is a very good question. Tarot can be many things to many people…

Let’s get some assumptions out of the way. First and foremost, Tarot is not “Evil.” The Tarot is a deck of cards. While the Tarot frequently has a depiction of “The Devil” in it, the Tarot was NOT designed to, and is NOT typically used to work with or to worship any such entity. Secondly, the vast majority of the general public sees Tarot as a device for “Fortune Telling.” While Tarot can be used with that purpose in mind, it seems like a lot of modern Tarot Readers are now seeing it and using it as something else entirely.

You do not need to be “Psychic” to read Tarot. In fact, most authentic Tarot Readers are not and do not claim to be psychic. You just need to be able to study the system to some degree, and then learn to either combine that knowledge, or set it aside entirely, to be able to rely on your intuition to interpret it. Every person has some form of intuition. I believe it is programmed into our DNA. Once an “animal instinct,” it has evolved to suit our human needs. Everyone has had moments when they just “had a feeling” about something that turned out to be true. Developing your intuition can lead to identifying more of these “feelings” and you can find yourself to be much more insightful and knowledgeable about the things going on around you. Tarot is a great device to help initiate the awareness of the intuitive knowledge within you.

For me, I see Tarot as a spiritual and psychological tool. I use Tarot for insight, motivation, self-help, and self-care. Tarot has been able to fill in the details about things that have happened in the past, and provided prompts for which direction to travel in the future. But more importantly, Tarot always has something to tell me about the things that I need to know about the here-and-now.

In my practice, Tarot is best not to be used for “Yes or No” questions. Like using Tarot for fortune telling, there are just too many factors that come in to play in our lives to be able to pinpoint answers to these “Black and White” questions. In this world, there are little-to-no things that fall under the category of “All Black” or “All White,” there are usually multiple shades of Grey in-between that spectrum, and it is there that we tend to operate in our day-to-day lives. I have found that the best questions to ask the Tarot start with prompts such as: “What can I..?” “Where can I direct..?” and “How can I..?”

Another issue that Tarot Readers face is the issue of having the reading focus on a person who is a “Third-Party.” A lot of readers are of the belief that reading for a person who is not present for the reading should not be read for due to ethical concerns. I, myself, partake in the practice of not reading for others that are not physically present and have not verbally consented to the reading. It becomes an issue where the person being read about has often not provided their permission to have their lives, thoughts, feelings, and motivations discussed in the reading. I also believe that if a person is not physically present to provide their own energy in aiding the direction of the reading, or has not put their own question “out there” into the Universe to be interpreted, the reading will be severely lacking. These types of questions can often be rephrased to center around the querent, or person asking for the reading themselves.

I also believe that in my practice, Tarot is best not to be used for questions concerning diagnostic medical issues or being the sole source of knowledge when it comes to legal procedures. Myself and other Readers are likely not trained and specialized in such medical or legal concerns, and are simply unable to provide the best direction when it comes to these matters. Tarot can, however, help you to see how you truly feel about such matters, and help you to see other opinions, options, and paths that may be taken in conjunction with or along-side your medical and legal issues, that may help you by bettering your overall outcome.

Perhaps what is most important to know about the Tarot, it that is not the “Be-All/End-All” answer to the equation. You are a human being and you are surrounded by other human beings. So much of our lives are impacted by the people around us. And then there are the things that come up that are completely out of our and our loved-ones’ control. Things can and do change, and we often don’t necessarily know why. The good news is that we have relatively free-will and have a good deal of control over the actions that we choose to take. Tarot can help to interpret the things going on around you and provide some needed insight to guide you on your journey in the meantime.