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1. I was surprised about the origins of the tarot card, how it always wasn't some magic deck of cards that were used to describe your future. I was also surprised by how old they were.

2. One of my closest friends are very much into tarot cards and even have their own set. They've done a couple readings with me and I haven't really found everything the cards revealed accurate but it was still a fun experience to share with someone.

3. I found the website focusing on the history of tarot cards the most interesting, you hear a lot about what the specific cards are about and what they mean, and how they relate to your life and future, but not so much about how they originated.

4. Since the history was my favourite, I would say I'll remember that the most. It's the most interesting to me and I find hearing other people's stories less interesting, its usually the same thing over and over again. They see a psychic, the psychic gives them some vague prediction, and it comes true. The other thing I really found memorable was the youtuber using tarot cards in order to get in touch with yourself. I thought that was an interesting perspective on the whole idea.

5. I'd say that the believe in natural healing is the most harmful pseudoscience. Many people prefer to use herbs or strange concoctions to heal themselves and others instead of real, efficient medicine. Peoples lives are on the line and they need real medical attention. Anti-vaccers have taken the lives of far too many and something must be done to prevent their ideals from spreading.

The least harmful pseudoscience is astrology. It's just, believing that stars mean something. That's pretty much it. It's not like the stars are gonna kill us (in our lifetime anyway).

6. The most important pieces of information to spread are the harms of pseudoscience. How to watch out for this kinda stuff so you can prevent others from believing in something that's potentially harmful.

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This article is about the recent resurgence of Tarot cards. Many sets are based off of various pop-culture media, such as Alice in Wonderland and Game of Thrones. People who love such movies, shows, or books are gonna swipe this stuff up as soon as they can. Tarot is not so much about the future but about connections between people in the now, getting together and talking to each other about problems or sharing fears and emotional experiences. Tarot has become much more than just collecting cards or paying someone to tell you something you might already know deep down.

Connection:
These people who engage in tarot readings to learn about themselves have definitely gone through the steps of critical thinking and skepticism, they don't believe in the magic of the cards themselves but use them as an outlet. It also seems like the cards help people get on the right track when it comes to critical thinking by exploring oneself and how your brain works.

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It was once seen as the preserve of fairground fortune-tellers spouting platitudes from a booth, and ageing hippies with a fondness for Aleister Crowley and the occult. Now, the art of reading the tarot is back in style, with books, artwork and onstage readings captivating a new generation of fans.

Instagram is full of beautifully shot tarot spreads, with cards showing the High Priestess or the Wheel of Fortune very much to the fore, while tarot-card readers are the heroines of crime novels such as Ruth Ware's The Death of Mrs Westaway and EV Harte's Dolly Greeneseries, and enthusiasts can get decks featuring everything from Alice in Wonderland to Game of Thrones.

Brooklyn artists Kahn & Selesnick crowdfunded their recent project, the Carnival at the End of the World tarot deck, through Kickstarter, while Rough Trade Books has just published the Autonomic Tarot, an experimental 30-card linocut tarot deck collaboration between writer David Keenan and artist Sophy Hollington.

Young Adult author Maggie Stiefvater has created her own tarot deck, the Raven's Prophecy Tarot, which references her bestselling Raven Cycle series. And Litwitchure, created by best friends Fiona Lensvelt and Jennifer Cownie - billed as a Literary Tarot Cabaret and Consultancy - was a hit at the recent Port Eliot festival, with appearances due at other festivals, and even a podcast planned.

"Jen and I had been interested in tarot since we were teenagers wearing too much eyeliner. Then, a few years back, we signed up for a three-month course through Treadwell's Bookshop and began reading for friends and people at parties," says Lensvelt, 31. "What started out as a way of getting free glasses of wine became something different and more interesting - at Port Elliot we interviewed authors on stage by reading their cards, and it worked really well."

For Lensvelt, the increased popularity of the tarot is part of a wider trend towards mindfulness. "There's a real sense of community in using it, particularly among younger women," she says. "People think it's about predicting the future, but it isn't. It's about the present, and it can be very empowering. It's no surprise that a lot of the online communities are driven by queer people or people from minorities, segments of society where people feel as though they're not seen or heard, because tarot allows you to consider a problem, give a voice to it, work it through and see where the blocks might be. It can give voice to problems or fears."

Novelist Caroline O'Donoghue, whose musical side-project Greyhounds, Greyhounds, Greyhounds includes a song about tarot as a vehicle of revenge, agrees. "Throughout the ages, the idea of magic has given hope to people who have none, or the sense of power to those who feel that they have no power, and the tarot definitely taps into that," she says. "Women and minorities, people with a lower locus of control, are far more likely to visit a psychic or a tarot-card reader because they're more open to the idea of things they can't control."

I've had people sobbing when I've read their cards, people telling incredible stories

Nor is it simply new twists on an old art that are touching a nerve. Sales of the most famous tarot pack, the Rider-Waite, created in 1910, "have suddenly shot up, tripling those of five years ago", says Judith Kendra, publishing director at Rider Books. She attributes the increased interest to "political and social uncertainty [leading] people to turn towards the spiritual and mystical in a hunt for answers".

"There's definitely a sense that people feel lonelier or have a lack of certainty in their lives, a massive void that has left them looking for other ideas," says Daisy Waugh, who in addition to writing the Dolly Greene Tarot Detective series under the pseudonym EV Harte works as a tarot-card reader, offering consultations from her home or via Skype.

"People are clearly looking for other ideas, and I think tarot allows us to consider where we fit in the universe. It works as somewhere you can go in with a problem and come out feeling clearer and better about the world."

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Tarot cards from the Rider-Waite deck. Photograph: Alamy

Keenan, whose Autonomic Tarot was born out of a poetry-inspired desire to experiment with the form, agrees that tarot-reading is about offering a space for "an intimate conversation to take place".

"I've had people sobbing when I've read their cards, people telling incredible stories ... it allows an intimate space to open up, the sort of intense connection that you really don't get on social media," he says. "Even the big, harsh cards like Death can be comforting and almost beautiful. They give you agency and say yes, something difficult might be happening but here's how to use it as an engine of change."

And even the more sceptical can find themselves, if not converted, at least open to new ideas. "I didn't know anything about tarot before writing The Death of Mrs Westaway," says Ware. "I thought it was all about telling the future and predictions and making money off people's fears. I went in very sceptical and thinking I would find it all hooey but instead I came out with a huge amount of respect for tarot readers and tarot as a practice. A good tarot reader doesn't tell you what's going to happen, they simply allow you to think your question through in a different way."
Topics

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A new generation follows the pack as tarot makes a comeback

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It was once seen as the preserve of fairground fortune-tellers spouting platitudes from a booth, and ageing hippies with a fondness for Aleister Crowley and the occult. Now, the art of reading the tarot is back in style, with books, artwork and onstage readings captivating a new generation of fans.

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Description:
A nearly hour long video about predicting future in love via the magic of tarot cards.

Connection:
Emotional Connection. Many psychics and tarot card readers rely on people emotions in order to make a connection with the person they are reading to make them more invested in the reading.

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Pick A Card | Messages from your future lover

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Description:
This here youtuber made a video for beginners to Tarot cards, talking about how she uses them for self discovery and guidance. She describes tarot as a way to use your intuition and to tap into your subconscious voice. I don't think thats a bad thing at all, everyone has different ways of tapping into their inner selves whether it be talking to friends and family, seeing a therapist, or through a hobby such as this. The video describes what various things mean in tarot and what kind of readings you can preform. I think it's a pretty calm peaceful introduction into tarot.

Connection:
Pseudoscience watchlist: Mystical energy. Tarot uses terms like arcana, which mean, well, nothing. It's just some weird magical sounding term for a type of card spread. It sounds important and cool but thats all it does really.

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Tarot for Beginners: How I Use Tarot Cards for Self Discovery & Guidance

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Description:
The image here is but a simple quote by Erin Morgenstern: "Tarot is just stories on cards." Each card have a specific purpose and meaning, but instead of having paragraphs of text upon each card you have an illustration. These illustrations are representative of what the card represents.

Connection:
Why do people believe in stories? There are many reasons, the reader has an emotional connect to events within the story, the reader may not be able to explain how exactly the story makes sense so they just pretend it does anyway, an important figure (celebrity, religious figure) telling the story might just be enough to convince some folks.

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Description:
This individual had a mysterious interaction with tarot cards. First there was multiple cards in the same deck (probably just a manufacturers error) and the second time was that they simply... disappeared. Realistically, he probably just left them somewhere and forgot about them. He did lose them after he moved so that there was most likely what happened. He even decided to go to some psychics to see what it was all about but nothing was revealed, unsurprisingly.

Connection:
An appropriate reason for belief is unexplained. Strange things happened, and he didn't know why. That combined with his beliefs made him think that there was some grand mystery behind the whole thing instead of applying some simple logic to the whole thing.

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You are here: Real Ghost Stories :: Psychic / Medium :: What Happened With My Tarot Cards?

Summer 1986 my soon to be wife (now ex) wanted to get me a special gift. What she bought me was a deck of Tarot card's. This is the only deck I have ever owned that I did not buy. Something strange happened with this deck, and I've never found out exactly what.

Samantha (Sam) wanted to get me a 'joined the Navy' gift. I had recently enlisted and was in the delayed entry program. She went to an occult shop called Ye Olde Mystique Shoppe and purchased a Tarot deck called The Stairs of Gold by Tavaglion. The shop owner asked her as she checked out what they were for and Sam told her, a gift for my fiance. The shop owner then asked her if she could bless the deck before she left the store. Sam thought this was a cool idea and soon left with a 'blessed deck' of Tarot cards. She gave them to me and I went through the complete deck to look at all the cards. This deck is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen, great art work and the symbols on the cards... They are just wonderful to look at.

I began using them, everything seemed fine and I really liked this deck. A friend asked for a reading... As I waited for them to come by my house I was 'casting' the cards... Just shuffling them, then laying them out, picking up those cards and laying out another 10 cards. Something caught my eye... I had just pick up a 'casting' that had the Ace of Coins in the 7th position. My next 'lay out' had the Ace of Coins in it... In the 5th position (for reference I use the Celtic Cross Pattern) This card being in another 'casting' was really odd as I was just picking up the casts and setting them to the side. So I pick up my last cast and sure enough there was the Ace of Coins... Now sitting beside another Ace of Coins... My deck, which had the normal amount of cards, now had two (2) Ace of Coins. I didn't know what to think...

First I thought it may have to do with the meaning of the card...

Ace of Coins: Satisfaction... Perfect contentment, happiness.

Good sentiments, but not much help...

Long story short... The next 2 times I go to do readings for people, as I do my 'warm up casting' a similar thing happened... The next card to Double itself was the 2 of Coins (Embarrassment, moments of stasis or perplexity, arising of difficult situations). The next card... The Three of Coins (Fame, great artistic ability, Perfection that brings fame and dignity).

So by the end of the Summer I have a Tarot deck that has extra cards and I have no idea where they came from. I keep my cards in a silk lined, locked box and yet I have these extra cards. I consulted Psychic's (2), a Numerologist and even did reading's for myself. I never figured out why this happened.

I left for the Navy on November 20th 1986, Bootcamp, School in Pensacola Fl and reported to my first ship in Charleston, SC. I returned to Pensacola, Fl in May 1988 and when I unpacked... The box with my cards was not there. I know I packed it... But It was gone. I still use the same Tarot deck, one I have bought for myself but even after all these year's I still do not understand what was happening with that deck but I'd love to find out.

Respectfully,

Rook

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What Happened With My Tarot Cards? from Your Ghost Stories

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You are here: Real Ghost Stories :: Psychic / Medium :: What Happened With My Tarot Cards? Summer 1986 my soon to be wife (now ex) wanted to get me a special gift. What she bought me was a deck of Tarot card's. This is the only deck I have ever owned that I did not buy.

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Description:
Within these nine stories there are two who are about tarot cards, which seem to both have the same pattern. They are told of events that would/will transpire, said events happen, and bing badda boom they're surprised.

Connection:
Emotional connection. Both stories feature an emotional event, one being them losing their first love and the other losing their grandmother. This kind of interacting instantly creates an emotional connection to the reading, and due to the natural constantly changing events in life both were bound to happen no matter what.

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For some, there's something enticing about the idea of having a psychic predict the future. If you knew your fate, or got some crucial insight, perhaps your life would seem more manageable -- and the future less scary.

Of course, experiences vary. Some mediums and Tarot readers spend hours studying their craft, while some charlatans have figured out a way to make a quick buck with a few tricks and some flair. And then there are those who believe all of us are a little "psychic," whether we realize it or not.

We asked the Huffington Post newsroom to anonymously share their stories of encounters with psychics -- and the results ranged from intriguing, to bizarre, to uncanny. Read their stories below.

Neckties In The Closet

A year and a half or two years after my father died I interviewed a medium for a story. After the interview we had lunch and he asked if I wanted a reading. I agreed and told him that for the most part, I wasn't going to confirm or deny anything he said. I didn't tell him about my father dying (though he was somewhat of a public figure, so definitely Google-able).

As he began the reading, he told me that a short chubby woman with red hair was there and she kept saying "Ethel, Ethel." My grandma was a short chubby woman with red hair that looked JUST like Ethel Merman. A bit further into the reading, the medium said, "There's a man with Ethel and he has a message for you. He wants you to tell Ruth that he loves her." Little did the medium know that my mom and dad had been married for 35 years when my dad died and they were the most madly in love people I've ever met or that my mom's middle name is Ruth and he always called her "Ruthie" (and he was the only one -- everyone else called her by her first name). I was shocked.

With the hairs on my neck already standing on end, the medium said, "There's more. He wants you to tell her that she can get rid of his neckties now. Does that make sense?" And I was stunned. I responded, "Yes. Even though it's been quite some time since he died, she hasn't been able to bring herself to get rid of his clothes yet."

I called my mom after the reading and told her what the medium had said about my father (supposedly) saying he loved her. She was crying when I said, "Oh. And you still haven't gotten rid of his clothes have you?" She said, "Well, actually, I didn't tell you but I finally cleaned out his closets and took everything to Good Will two weeks ago." I said, "That's so weird -- the medium said that 'dad' said you could get rid of his neckties now. It was time." My mom began to cry even harder and said, "The only thing that I kept was his neckties. They're still in his closet."

There's no way the medium could have known that -- I didn't even know that. For Christmas that year my mom gave my two brothers and me quilts made out of his neckties.

"Play It Cool"

I went to a palm reader my first month of college with two friends. She told me she thought I'd be a journalist, which at the time I thought was a swing and a miss -- I had no intention of writing professionally. She also told me that there were two men, one who wanted to hold on to me but I wanted to pull away, and another that I wanted to be closer to. (I was still getting calls from a guy I'd dated for like a week at the end of high school, and I had a HUGE crush on my best guy friend at college.) She told me if I pulled back from the guy I wanted and played it cool, things would work out. I followed her advice (I had, uh, previously confessed my feelings and had a really hard time hiding how emotionally wrecked I was that he didn't reciprocate) and within a few weeks he was showing interest. We got together that fall and had a very turbulent but personally formative on-and-off relationship for the rest of college. Looking back she was really good at reading me. Better than I was, for sure.

Teen Romance

My mom is very big into psychics and has read tarot cards since I was a baby. When I was in high school, she had a psychic over to the house, and the psychic told us I would break up with my then-boyfriend of a year (I was about 16) but the person I was meant to be with would pop up around the time I would be going to college. Naturally, I was devastated as a teen would be to hear they aren't going to make it with their first love.

I broke up with my high school boyfriend at the end of my senior year of high school and started dating someone I had been friends with soon after. We married 7 years later.

"I Had The Power To Choose"

My first experience with a psychic happened while I was visiting a childhood friend at college. I remember entering his little shop and being taken to a back room. The psychic said that it looked like I had two love interests. He said that I needed to make a decision between the two of them, and he emphasized over and over again that I had the power to choose. That one came completely out of the blue. I had already been dating my current boyfriend for a few months by that time, and I felt very committed to him. It was only months later that I realized I was still carrying a lot of emotional trauma from a previous abusive relationship. I thought I'd gotten over it and moved on, but I hadn't, and it was hanging like a cloud over my life and my relationship with myself and with other people. I hadn't let go yet. I realized that I needed to take action on it somehow, that I had that power. So I started working with a therapist.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

I once went to a psychic in Turkey who read coffee cups. He only spoke Turkish, but I had someone translate. He predicted I'd move out of state in 6 months, which I did and that I'd marry this guy I hadn't seen in a really long time in 3 years. Soon after that, I started running into the guy randomly and we started spending a lot of time together. But the whole thing freaked me out and I questioned if my actions were following a self-fulfilling prophecy. I also really didn't want to be married in 3 years time. And I really didn't think I'd want to be married to him. In the end, things didn't work out. The three year mark passed a little while ago and I can report that I did not marry him, or anyone else for that matter. I sometimes wonder if the fortune teller's prediction caused me to alter my behavior in a way that changed that predicted path... Then I wonder if I'm reading into everything too much.

Identical Twins

Ten years ago my wife was single, living in South Beach, working for a record label thousands of miles away from her family in New York. After grieving the loss of her grandmother, finding out that her label was shuttering and that she would soon be unemployed, she needed some answers... Hence the psychic. The psychic stated the following: You will soon have a new career path; you will soon meet your life partner; and you will have twins.

Within three months, she moved back to New York to be near her family; got a job at Billboard Magazine in advertising which was a stepping stone into many other great opportunities; we actually me when she was interviewing for that Billboard job. I was an assistant at the time and was summoned to pick her up for the interview where we struck up conversation fast. We were dating three months after she was hired; and in the summer of 2014, we had identical twin daughters. We were not surprised when the doctor told us.

"I'm A Believer"

I saw a psychic at a friend's high school graduation party and let me tell you how truly LEGIT this lady was. She knew the city I was going to attend college in, she predicted that I'd work in the entertainment industry (what's good, HuffPost Entertainment?!) She even specifically name-dropped a guy that I had a huge crush on at the time (yes, his name was Chris so it was mad generic) but he kissed me for the first time later THAT NIGHT! Many, many more specific details were dropped but you get the idea -- I was blown away. I'm a believer.

It's A Boy?

I've never visited a psychic, but one day I was standing outside a restaurant and a woman came up to me and said I was pregnant with a boy. The very next month I found out I was pregnant. I had a girl, but for my first three ultrasounds I was told I was having a boy. It was eerie.

"He Was Able To Provide Clarity"

I went to my first tarot reading about a year and a half ago. I was a bit skeptical beforehand, but he was able to provide clarity and depict my life better than I could have thought possible at the time. I went after my grandmother passed away and he drew a card that he said expressed great sorrow. When I was frustrated with life in general, he accurately portrayed that I wanted to rush into more travel or make other hasty decisions while my mind wanted to slow down and make lists and think things through. Recently, the cards showed that I'd be in a lot of hardship and internal dilemma during winter, but after the cold of winter is over, it'd be much better. Spring is coming, guys.
Have you had a surreal or uncanny experience with a psychic? Tell us about it in the comments below!

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9 Real Stories Of Surreal Encounters With Psychics

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For some, there's something enticing about the idea of having a psychic predict the future. If you knew your fate, or got some crucial insight, perhaps your life would seem more manageable -- and the future less scary. Of course, experiences vary.

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Description:
This here article talks about the history of Tarot Cards, and how they don't actually.. well, mean anything in the world of pseudoscience and how they were manipulated into something that can make money and fool some fools. God, some people like money too much. Anyways, a quick summary; Tarot cards were first an entertaining card game, and were geared toward the more wealthy due to the cost of hand making the complicated, exquisite, and beautiful designs. During the 18th century some religious frenchman made up a bunch of crap about how they related to Egyptian mythology and the Hebrew alphabet, connecting the cards with religious mysticism. From there more people connected it to divine beliefs and a few more people made business out of selling sweet looking magic cards.

Connection:
Reason for belief: Ideology. Some religious figures for some reason decided to make these fancy shmancy cards into something that meant something magical and so many people fell for it. Money being involved is also quite directly tied, someone else found out that you can sell these things to the population and people would believe the mysticism aspects introduced by the religious figures and purchase the cards up.

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From an extravagant card game, to an occult tool, to a mediation technique, tarot is far more interesting than a mere carnival exhibition.

Burning incense covers the room with a smoky security blanket, keeping all its secrets safely tucked away - the rare plastic crystal, the all-knowing grocery store tea leaves and the ancient thirty dollar book of wisdom. Essential oils permeate through the fog in a poignant and nauseating fashion. You wait amidst this fabricated mysticism for a shawl shrouded woman to appear with a deck of cards. She slowly lays down the tarot in a theatrical pattern of divination. Now it begins. Knowledge of your future just a card away. As her ringed fingers turn the first card, you catch your breath, anticipation high. The card is flipped. The woman quickly stands, hands flying to her mouth, she gasps in horror!

And, cut scene. This is not a Hollywood script, nor is tarot a charade of dramatics and quick-money schemes. Tarot cards do not divine fortunes nor summon demonic forces, despite the promises of corner store card readers and the warnings of certain televangelists. Tarot (pronounced teh-row) began, harmlessly, as an elaborately designed deck of playing cards. It was not until some savvy minds capitalized on its growing popularity by selling rumors and misinformation that tarot became far more complicated.

Islamic societies first brought traditional playing cards to Europe around 1375 where they became centerpieces for games and entertainment. " Tarocchi," meaning triumph, was one such game in the 14th and 15th centuries in Italy, although most people are more familiar with its French incarnation of "tarot." Elaborately designed tarocchi cards emerged when the Duke of Milan commissioned the creation of what has become known as the Visconti-Sforza deck in 1440. Without a printing press to mass reproduce cards, each one was handmade - and subsequently very expensive, relegating triumph cards to the upper classes.

The rise of occultism in the 18th century pushed tarot cards from an aristocratic game to a simple method of divination. As tarot gained popularity, some capitalized on its growing audience. Antoine Court de Gébelin, a French freemason and Protestant minister, for example, wrote a book linking tarot symbols to Egyptian lore and the god Thoth, despite no historical evidence suggesting such. Eliphas Lévi originated the now widely held idea that tarot symbols are connected to the Hebrew alphabet, effectively tying tarot with religious mysticism.

Misrepresentation and misinterpretation culminated when French occultist Jean-Baptiste Alliette released his 1791 tarot set meant specifically for divination. The spiritualist movement swept across Europe as mediums, séances and fortune telling captured the minds of their eager audiences. America's spiritualist craze first encountered tarot in the 1900s when two groups, the Theosophical Society and the Rosicrucians, popularized card reading as an instrument of divine revelation. In 1909, Rider & Company Publishing produced the first deck readily available to the American public - the Rider-Waite.

A.E. Waite, a British member of the Christian occult group called the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn worked with fellow member and artist Pamela Colman Smith to create a new type of tarot deck. Smith used Sola Busca artwork as inspiration for her card's designs and was the first to combine symbols with human characters in the minor arcana.

Tarot decks are split into two groups: the minor arcana and the major arcana. The minor arcana retains the four suits tradition from its playing card ancestors, although they take on a slightly different form. Instead of clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades, the minor arcana uses wands, swords, cups and pentacles (or stars). These cards are numbered one through 10 and include Kings, Queens, Pages and Knights as court cards. The major arcana represents larger concepts with depictions of Death, Wheel of Fortune, the Lovers, etc. These cards are numbers zero through 21, making a total tarot deck 78 cards.

The Rider-Waite, also called the Waite-Smith in appreciation of Pamela's work, is the most recognizable deck in America culture and even inspired a Dior fashion line. After Dior incorporated the 1970s Motherpeace deck, created by Vicki Noble and Karen Vogel, sales for the deck shot up 263%. This follows the rising trend of tarot popularity. In 2017, tarot sale rose 30% after already rising 30% in 2016.

"Tarot projects have been on the rise for the last five years at least," according to David Gallagher, senior director of communications at Kickstarter. "In 2013 there were 37 such projects. In 2017 there have been 88, including decks created with more diverse audiences in mind." Decks like Wild Unknowns nods to climate change groups with its vivid natural images. Cristy Road, a Cuban American illustrator, designed a deck whose characters feature same-sex couples, people with disabilities, women in hijabs, the elderly and other underrepresented groups. And with U.S. Games reportedly selling over 123 varieties of tarot decks, the possibilities are endless.

The sudden resurgence of tarot is unsurprising given its shift away from fortune telling and toward mindful mediations during a time when social and cultural trends emphasize self-awareness. Yoga, mindful eating techniques and mental health campaigns all search for an inner self-awareness, which fits with tarot's new conceptualization.

Lindsay Mack, a tarot reader in Brooklyn, told The New York Times that recently her customers seek readers for clarity, rather than for purposes of entertainment or a misguided attempt at divining the future. "Tarot is very trendy right now," she said. "but more people are coming in with inquiries that are very thoughtful and beyond themselves."

Responding to criticism of promoting pagan divination techniques, The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn released a statement clarifying tarot cards are a way to channel one's focus, no different than prayer, music or literature. "The most powerful sources of information come from within," they said. "The Tarot aids in coming in contact with one's Higher Self."

Tarot readers are not meant to answer with facts or clear-cut yes and no answers. When a querent, the person having their cards read, comes for a reading they need a clear head and open mind. Card readers offer advice and new perspectives on how to interpret a situation, but good readers, legitimate readers, never tell you how to think or what the future holds.

Some card readers describe tarot like the famous inkblot test used by psychologists. "When I'm reading the cards, it's a little bit like a Rorschach test where I'm presenting images and then seeing how the querent reacts to them," Fiona Lensvelt, a 31-year-old reader and author, told the Evening Standard. "I tell them what those signs and symbols are, what they mean to me, and it is then up to them to interpret them as they relate to their own life. It's a little bit like a sort of mindfulness."

But current social trends do not negate anyone's personal feelings towards tarot. Whether one believes tarot are playing cards, divination tools, meditative tools or instruments of evil, tarot is what one makes of it.

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Roll Up! Roll Up! The Tarot Reader Lies Ahead

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From an extravagant card game, to an occult tool, to a mediation technique, tarot is far more interesting than a mere carnival exhibition. Burning incense covers the room with a smoky security blanket, keeping all its secrets safely tucked away - the rare plastic crystal, the all-knowing grocery store tea leaves and the ancient thirty dollar book of wisdom.

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Description:
This article describes the journey of a woman who at first didn't believe in the hogwash of tarot readings, but the more exposure her gullible self had to the "surprisingly accurate" readings the more she believed in their supposed potential. She believed the cards so much she let them dictate how she lived her life, it may have been good that she avoided some unfortunate events because of said cards, but I feel like one should use common sense and their own intuition to make decisions and not rely on some cards.

Connection:
I think the reason of belief Emotional Connection suits this article, our subject here believes the cards based on her personal experiences and how the coincidentally positive events have changed/predicted moments in her life or the lives of others. A red flag could be confirmation bias, she sees a few friends with successful readings but doesn't take into account the millions of people across the globe who haven't had accurate readings. I did a few of those little tests featured on the previous posts and found most of them to be inaccurate, but also purposely vague and relying on pure luck to see if they coincide with the targets life.

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Negative stigmas against tarot card readings have left some people skeptical. But those that trust them have made significant changes to themselves and their lives.
Johnston Tisdale got into tarot card reading around 2016. Tisdale, who graduated from The University of Alabama in 2013 with a psychology degree, is an Alabama native who received her master's in counseling from the University's Birmingham campus in 2018 and has been a practicing counselor since. Tisdale believes that her counseling training improved her skills in reading tarot cards.

"I have always been interested in reading tarot cards," Tisdale said. "I didn't know if there was a specific thing that got me into it, but one day I just decided to learn about this."

Not unlike many others who are unfamiliar with the practice of reading tarot cards, Tisdale was initially nervous to try her hand at it.

"I was afraid at first, but thought, 'This isn't scary. I'm going to learn,'" Tisdale said.

Jennafer Bowman, a freshman majoring in public relations, took a more skeptical approach to tarot card readings one night in the dorms with her friends.

"At first I did it as a joke because I didn't believe in that kind of stuff," Bowman said. "We were sat in my friend's dorm with the lights off. I went in thinking it would be a bunch of garbage that was made up just to sell the cards."

This was until Bowman's friend gave her her first reading.

"The first time she read my tarot cards, I freaked out a little bit," she said. "It all made so much sense and connected to my life. It was scary accurate."

For Tisdale, what started as a hobby turned into a side business that she runs on the e-commerce site Etsy. She offers her services in reading tarot cards to customers.

"My friends and family will get them sometimes, and I'll type up their readings," Tisdale said. "You get a spread of cards that offer career and life advice through open-ended questions."

Just like some of Tisdale's customers, some people have been introduced to readings by family members. For Phoebe Hamilton, a freshman majoring in human development, it was through her mom.

"I get mine read about once a year by my mom, when I need direction, feel lost, or when I'm starting something new," Hamilton said.

Hamilton appreciates the general guidance that tarot cards can give.

"While it's a really thoughtful and introspective process, it's not about knowing anything exactly," Hamilton said. "It's about asking the questions you want the answer to and feeling the cards. There are many different ways to do it, but each card has a meaning, and it goes even deeper than that because it can be read differently based on what you wanted the answer to when you started."

Although some customers have more specific questions they present to Tisdale to be answered, that is not a requirement for the reading.

"I pull a card from the deck and interpret it generally," Tisdale said. "Sometimes I have to explain the cards that have a bad reputation. I don't believe that there are negative cards. Instead, I bring out the positive or neutral meanings."

Tisdale's service requires time and effort, and her prices are based on standards in the field.

"The response to the Etsy page has been great," Tisdale said. "I do it for fun. I've always given really accurate readings, and people wonder how I seem to know so much about their lives. It's helpful for people to get advice and insight into things."

With continued success, Tisdale looks to expand her business.

"I think the next level is more marketing," Tisdale said. "I want to set aside more time for this. I do it for fun because I like it, but it could be a good source of income."

While Tisdale believes there are certain traits that give you a head start into readings, anyone should try it out.

"There's a knack for it," Tisdale said. "It's very similar to counseling. The goal is to help people come to a conclusion or give insight. I think I have a natural gift for counseling, and I learned skills to make something out of natural thing. Other people may have that gift or intuition, too."

For those who are looking to get started in reading tarot cards, Tisdale tells them to look past the stigma of receiving your first set as a gift.

"There's a belief that your first deck needs to be gifted to you, but I say don't listen to that," Tisdale said. "Get it for yourself and do whatever you want. There are guide books that come with cards and include the author or artists interpretations to each card."

Tisdale's advice to those who want to get into reading or have the cards read for themselves is to keep an open mind.

"We're not future predictors," Tisdale said. "Nothing in life is set that you can't change. The cards tell you things you need to know in the moment, but you have full control. They don't set you to anything. Things can always change, but they can say something you need to hear to make a change."

As for Bowman, she trusted her first reading so much that it immediately began to alter her life choices.

"It helped me dodge a massive bullet with someone in my life who turned out to be a really bad person," Bowman said.

Hamilton has allowed these readings to guide her through various life challenges, including her involvement in relationships and attitude towards the University.

"The last time I got them read, the cards ended up saying that I hold on too tight in relationships, and in life I need to follow through with where I'm going to the end," Hamilton said. "When I was homesick and sad, I decided to stay at Alabama, and ended up getting comfortable here."

Tisdale thinks that this is something she will continue to practice for the rest of her life.

"I'm getting better," Tisdale said. "There are a ton of cards whose meanings and interpretations can be memorized. I'm better at going with my gut and feeling comfortable with my readings."

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Tarot card readers are more than a spooky reputation

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Negative stigmas against tarot card readings have left some people skeptical. But those that trust them have made significant changes to themselves and their lives. Johnston Tisdale got into tarot card reading around 2016.

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Description:
Below is a link to a Tarot Reading section on the website Astrology.com, a website that fully supports many different pseudoscience topics and isn't against some of the more harmful consequences (referring to the ads about fortune tellers/psychics). The tarot reading portion itself is just a potentially harmless game where you pick any random card and it gives you a motivational paragraph about your future. "You may be in high spirits today" Sorry astrology.com I had trouble falling asleep last night I must admit I'm not in the most peachy mood this "good" day.

Connection:
The advertisement section can be thrown under the Money Being Involved member of the pseudoscience watchlist. It says the first three minutes are free, but by then they've got you hooked in whatever spiel they're trying to give and before you know it you're 50 dollars short. Where did all my money go?? Down the drain, be more cautious next time. Honestly, the little tarot mini-game can be seen as mostly harmless. You just press some random button and boom a nice bit of info is delivered that may just motivate you to do something with yourself. I personally feel like a lot of people do this stuff for that reason, just for a little fun and support from a robot on the internet. That doesn't mean people should make it too serious though.

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#1: Clear your head

The cards will pick up on your energy. So, it's important to keep a de-cluttered mind. For example, if you're asking about your career, but you can't stop thinking about issues going on in your relationship, the cards may pick up on the wrong subject!

#2: Take a deep breath

Just as it's important to relax your mind, it's equally important to relax your body. Take a deep breath in and out to bring ease to those muscles.

#3: Keep your question simple

The cards can only answer one question at a time. We don't want to confuse them! Try to make it an easy "yes or no" question and avoid using questions that start with "when" or "how."

#4: Pick cards with intention

As you hover your mouse over the cards, take notice when you feel jolts of connection. That's your intuition telling you when to choose!

#5: Don't second-guess

Picking cards should be done with intention. But if you start going back on your first picks, that's when you'll miss picking the real messages.

#6: Use your own interpretations

Even if you don't know what the cards mean, you can still use your initial reactions-to colors, symbols, and numbers-to gauge some meaning from them. A certain symbol might mean more to you than the person next to you.

#7: No repeat questions

Of course, you can repeat questions. But really, the cards that come up the first time are the ones that are supposed to come up.

#8: Tarot is not science

If you believe the cards are totally off, maybe they are! There are a lot of variables that can mess with a tarot reading and it's important to remember that readings are not 100% accurate.

#9: "Negative cards" are not to be feared

Those cards are showing up in order to forcibly show you what you need to see. They are only there for your highest good.

#10: Remember: Tarot cards only want the best for you

The messages that come up in a reading are messages that need to make their way to you.

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1: Clear your head The cards will pick up on your energy. So, it's important to keep a de-cluttered mind. For example, if you're asking about your career, but you can't stop thinking about issues going on in your relationship, the cards may pick up on the wrong subject!

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Made by Damian Nowobilski-Zawada, individually.