Liz Worth ~ Tarot

What do you when you’re reading tarot for someone, and they want you to just tell them what to do?

This can be a challenging situation for a tarot reader to be put in.

You might feel put on the spot, or pressured to provide an answer that’s not actually in the cards.

It can also be that your style of tarot reading does not fit such a prescriptive approach.

Many tarot readers aim to empower through tarot by encouraging querents to make their own decisions and take control over their lives – which is the opposite of telling them what they should or shouldn’t do.

Reading styles aside, there are fine lines to walk as a tarot reader when it comes to supporting your querents. Tarot readings don’t replace a querent’s personal responsibility over their own lives.

But if you’re perceived as someone who has all the answers, it’s easy for some querents to try to put that onus on you.

I’ve had tarot clients flat out admit that they want me to...

At my last day job, I worked with a woman who would sometimes pause our conversations and say, "I know it’s off-topic, but can I talk about your tattoos for a second?"

"Sure," I would say. I’ve been getting tattooed for over 20 years. People often have questions.

One day, my colleague finally told me why she was so curious about them. "I really want to get the name of my son tattooed right here," she said, pointing to a spot on her wrist. "But I’m afraid it will hold me back if I ever want to move up in my career."

"It sounds like you’re making decisions for people you haven’t even met yet," I said. "And maybe you never will. Who knows where you’ll be working, or who you’ll be working with? They might not mind."

Though I could relate to her worries. After all, this story isn’t really about tattoos.

It’s about the ways fear of judgement and lack of acceptance erodes joy, confidence, and self-expression.

It’s about the ways we...

What is the point of reading tarot?

Whenever I explain to someone that I believe the future is yet to be created, a question predictably follows:

"Then what’s the point of reading tarot?"

I get where the question is coming from: So many people assume tarot is all about future-telling.

So explain that I read tarot because the cards are a tapestry of possibility. A reading gives you the chance to draw a map of your potential.

I read tarot because it lays out the ideas, thoughts, and feelings that are bouncing around within your head and heart and allows you to get a clearer perspective on what it all means.

I read tarot because it’s an opportunity to sit down with yourself and ask, "What do I really want to make happen right now?"

I read tarot because it gives you the freedom to be yourself by validating your feelings, instincts, and ideas.

There’s a reason why I don’t believe that the future is neatly mapped out for you: If it was, why would you need to make any...

Sometimes reading tarot can feel frustrating.

You might get cards that don’t seem to fit the question, or see something you didn’t expect to come up.

And readings can also feel like they’re just not hitting the right points to feel productive.

When I got my first tarot reading in the late `90s, I was amazed at how helpful it was.

And I held onto a lot of the information I received that day. It became important to me, and
gave me hope for the future.

Which is what I set out to do when I started reading tarot for others.

I do this work to help other people, first and foremost.

And I’m sure you do, too.

Over the years, I’ve seen what tarot can do for people: I’ve had clients who’ve made huge life changes, grown more confident, and gotten clearer about who they are and where they’re going.

But not every tarot reading goes that way.

Sometimes you might not always feel a reading went as deep, or was as productive as you’d hoped.

There are some...

It’s not always easy to dedicate yourself to something like tarot.

One of the hardest things for me to reconcile on this path is how dismissive skeptics and non-believers can be towards anything they perceive as too “out there,” too esoteric, or too spiritual.

Some people genuinely love to hate on anything they see as “woo,” including tarot.

No matter how many ways you try to explain that tarot is about so much more than a gimmicky parlor trick, there are some people out there who just don’t want to hear it.

I’ve written before about my thoughts on skeptics. The short version is that I don’t feel it’s my role to convert anyone. I’m not interested in telling people what they should or shouldn’t believe in, and I don’t get caught up in any ideas that everyone has to like the same things I do.

What I do wish I could change, however, is the pervasive assumption that anyone who is interested in tarot (or related...

Tarot is an interesting tool because whatever we take into ourselves – our influences, beliefs, experiences, and knowledge – can become a new lens through which to filter the cards.

No matter how many outside ideas you learn about tarot…

No matter how many different tarot meanings you try to take in…

No matter how many different approaches you take here…

Every reading you do will go through you own point of view.

And that is something that is built through all kinds of experiences and perspectives.

Our experiences give each of us a unique vantage point from which we stand. If you read tarot, or you’re learning how, it helps to reflect on your personal advantages and how they might influence your readings, or allow you to connect with querents. 

It can be influenced by different jobs you’ve had:

Work gives us all kinds of skills. Many jobs help with people skills, and if you want to read for others, then it helps to be open and...

A few weeks ago I had a copycat on Instagram.

Someone had started an account under my name, stole my profile picture, and lifted several of my photographs and posts, copying my content word for word.

Then they started following people who already followed me, ensuring they were targeting individuals who were already familiar with me and who might be used to seeing me on Instagram.

I had no idea this was going on until someone tipped me off that they had been followed by an account that looked just like mine. When I went to search for it, I found out this imposter had prematurely blocked me – a further sign that they knew full well what they were doing was wrong.

As much as copying and copyright theft can be an issue, what really bothered me about this was that this person was contacting people online – people who, once again, already follow me and might be familiar with my work – trying to sell them readings.

I’m not the only one this has happened to:...

How much tarot is too much tarot?

There’s shared advice among tarot readers that readings need room to breathe:

Messages need time to unfold. Life has to happen. And there can be many factors and influences involved in a situation.

Is it always easy to wait? No. But like anything else, tarot requires balance.

But what happens when tarot becomes a crutch – something you’re relying on so much that you’re afraid to make a move without consulting the cards first?

Or maybe it’s not just tarot. Astrology and other types of divination or rituals can have the same effect.

At what point does a tool or spiritual practice become superstition, or even dependency?

Finding a balance here isn’t always easy. If tarot is so accurate and useful, why not use it all the time?

I wouldn’t say it’s common that someone develops a dependency on tarot, but it does happen.

This is one reason why many tarot readers have guidelines and policies for their clients...

Realistically, going from beginner to pro in tarot typically takes longer than that. Though classes can show you what to do and how to perform professional-quality readings, it can take time to practice and make those skills your own.

And that’s actually okay, because there’s a lot of responsibility involved in reading professionally.

So I think it’s always important to set those expectations from the start: Tarot takes time to learn, and reading for paying clients is quite different from reading casually for friends or family.

There are a lot of considerations to keep in mind before deciding to go pro as a tarot reader, because you’re not just going to be reading tarot all day. When you have a business to run – even if it’s a part-time side hustle – there are lot of other skills involved than just tarot.

And obviously, knowing how to execute a reading is still a top priority. If you don’t know how to do that yet, keep practicing and...