Tarot Readers are Not Psychic

When I first learned how to read tarot cards I thought I was just doing it for fun. As I did readings for myself, and then branched out into doing readings for other people, eventually getting paid for readings, I realized that "being psychic" has absolutely nothing to do with one's ability to give a meaningful reading.

We're not trying to guess the future, or calling upon some mystic forces to channel information to us when we read tarot cards. Indeed, it would be disturbing to think that we are opening ourselves to influence from some other-worldly entity or energy.

What is really going on is that we interpret the symbols that are laid out clearly before us. Every card has a specific set of meanings, and a reading is simply putting those meanings together in a way that is suggested by the placement of the cards in a spread.

That is why anyone at all can learn how to read tarot cards. You don't have to be psychic. I realize that a lot of the lore about the Tarot is based on gypsy fortune telling, and people doing readings at psychic fairs. That's a sales gimmick. People go to psychics for information that they think cannot be obtained by normal means. In religion, and in the occult, we look for someone with special powers, or a special connection to the unseen, and often take their advice more seriously than we would that of a trusted friend. Only because they appear to be able to do something we cannot do.

When you really understand the Tarot and what it is, you can begin to achieve the same, or even better, results that any so-called psychic could get. You can read the cards yourself and understand what they are telling you. You're not connecting with mystic forces, but only to your own inner thoughts.

A Tarot card reading should be an interactive conversation between the Querent (the one asking the questions) and the Diviner (what the reader is called). There's nothing spooky or woo-woo about that at all. In many cases, the Diviner is indeed a person whose intuition is more highly developed than others'. (That's really how most psychics get along, as well.) And because of their experience doing readings, they are able to explain how the symbols seen in the cards apply to the querent's situation and address the querent's questions.

You can't do that properly if you are just stating what you see on the cards. That would provide only one superficial view of the messages the cards are suggesting. As we saw with the Card of the Day, there are many interpretations for each card, and these interpretations are affected by other things, such as the placement of the cards in the spread and the relationships between the cards.

As I share with you my knowledge of the Tarot and you learn how to read tarot cards for yourself, it will become evident to you as well that being psychic has nothing at all to do with proper interpretation of the cards. That's one of the reasons why I wanted to do this site, to share with you a tool that I have found to be useful in figuring out what was going on in my life so that I could make better decisions, and gain comfort and courage for whatever would come.

Introduction to the Tarot

I found this excellent video that gives you an introduction to the purpose of the Tarot, the most popular spreads, and all of the cards. Although it is a bit long, it is very comprehensive. Dr. Nathaniel Paluga knows his stuff. I recommend you watch about the first 5 minutes, to find out the background of the Tarot.



What I like about this video is the emphasis on the Tarot as a device for personal insight. That is exactly along the lines of how I use the tarot myself and how I teach others about it. So thanks Dr. Paluga for a great introduction!