Liz Worth ~ Tarot

Can you learn how to read tarot by watching other readers on YouTube?

Or by picking up tips through Instagram posts?

Or by watching 30-second TikTok tutorials?

I pose the question because it’s something I’ve been sitting with a lot this year.

I’m part of the last generation that grew up without the internet. We had landlines, answering machines, cassette tapes, CD players. Barely anyone I knew had a home computer when I was in high school.

But it was becoming cool to get one, along with a Hotmail account. But people still mailed letters, applied for jobs in-person or over the phone, and – thank the gods – none of us had our adolescence documented from start to finish on social media.

When the internet was catching on, it was exciting. I loved the idea of being to talk to anyone, anywhere, at any time.

Growing up as a teen in the suburbs made it harder for me to find information about tarot. I had to make-do with the limited resources I could get at the...

Please allow me to go on a little rant for a minute.

The spiritual industry has a problem with instant gratification.

I see it all the time in courses and workshops that lure you in with quick certifications, or that promise you spiritual attainment or mastery over a specific skill set in just a matter of days.

What am I talking about?

Beginner tarot programs that promise to give you the basics of tarot and teach you how to start charging for your readings…

Reiki classes that fast-track students through levels 1 and 2 within the span of a single weekend…

Priestess trainings in a matter of hours…

The list goes on.

Before I start to sound like a gatekeeper, I’ll say this: Taking a quick class or weekend workshop to get a taste of something is fine.

If you don’t have the time to commit to a longer training, or you’re not sure you’re ready to make a long-term commitment to a divination practice or spiritual path, there is nothing wrong...

People talk about tools like tarot and other esoteric practices as though they are shortcuts or hacks that will accelerate their paths to success.

Which is why I always feel so boring in that broken-record-kind-of-way when I say that learning tarot doesn’t come with any shortcuts.

To get good at tarot, it takes practice, commitment, and consistency.

Like anything else, if you keep showing up for it, put in the time, and push yourself to improve, things will change.

Which is what happened to one of my students last year, Nat. In early 2020, she sent me an email worried that her progress was slow: “I don’t think I’m very good at this.”

I told her to keep practicing, keep going.

I know that’s the key, because when I was in Nat’s position, I hit walls, too. And I have had to embrace the same learning curves in tarot as everyone else.

So I know how much can change with practice and consistent effort.

And now, a little over a year later, Nat is...

Work and relationship readings are a tarot reader's bread and butter.

If you want to read tarot for a living, you’re going to end up doing a lot of readings on these two topics.

These are the two most common topics that clients want to explore in their readings. It doesn’t matter whether you, the reader, like it or not. If you want to serve your clients and help them sort out their lives, you need to meet them where they’re at.

And often, that means walking through them through decisions about their careers and love lives.

As much as we might, as tarot readers, get excited about getting deep on spiritual explorations in our work, some clients aren’t quite ready for that - or may feel they have more pressing matters to work through first.

Reading on work and relationships for other people means:

Being aware of the responsibility that comes with these discussions;

Being clear and confident in how to handle tricky questions and when to reframe them to better...

When I first started reading tarot for other people, I was actually surprised at how many wanted to know about love.

I thought I would be answering different types of questions about spiritual journeys and personal transformations.

But I quickly realized how important relationships are to people, and how much is at stake when we are talking about love, commitment, loyalty and companionship.

Some of the hardest questions I’ve had to answer as a tarot reader had to do with relationships.

They can be really complicated. Especially if the people involved are cycling through a range of emotions: One day they’re on, another they’re off.

Divining a clear answer about a relationship is not always easy to pin down when the people in question can’t be pinned down in the first place.

Another challenge can arise when clients are impatient about the answer: They feel like they’ve already been waiting “long enough” for love and they don’t want to...

“How long will it take to learn tarot?”

I often hear this question from new tarot students, and aspiring readers who want to go from beginner to pro fast.

Truthfully, there is no one answer to this. How long it takes to learn something like tarot depends on a lot of factors, such as:

What your goals are as a tarot reader;

How much time you put into learning; and

Your methods of study and practice.

I spent about 7 years studying, learning and practicing before I launched my tarot business.

To some, that might sound like an awfully long time. To others, it might not sound long at all - I know plenty of people who still consider themselves tarot beginners after studying for longer.

It's not a race and there is no definitive timeline to follow. How long it takes it relative to who you are, how you approach your tarot studies, and how proficient you become in your card reading skills.

I didn’t start out with business as an end goal, and that influenced my path - because I...

One of the most problematic beliefs that comes from the spiritual industry is that everything is your fault.

If you’re not happy enough, successful enough, or in love enough, then it must because you’re not thinking the right thoughts.

Or you’re not raising your vibration high enough to attract what you really want.

Or you’re just not putting in the work to be who you want to be.

Sometimes there are things that are holding us back that we did not – and would not – choose for ourselves.

For years, I struggled with crippling shyness when I was growing up. It held me back from opportunities that I desperately wanted – but I couldn’t bring myself to be the way I wanted to be.

But that shyness wasn’t just mine. It was part of a coping mechanism that I’d developed over the years, and it was a behaviour that I’d been programmed to adopt into my identity.

The environments I’d grown up in had told me that girls should be...

Are you struggling to connect with the court cards? You’re not alone. They are some of the hardest tarot cards to interpret.

But once you start to click with them, you’ll see how layered their messages can be.

“What are the court cards supposed to be, anyway?” A student asked in a tarot workshop I ran earlier this year.

The truth is, they can be many things, just like any other card in the tarot.

Here are five different ways to look at a court card. I hope some of these inspire you to see the courts in a new way:

1. Read the court cards as people. Traditionally, this has been a standard interpretation for the courts, and it’s completely valid. We are constantly engaging with other people. One thing I do stress, however, is that the courts are not necessarily tied to gender and appearance.  Instead, look at the cards for the energies they bring.

2. Read the court cards as aspects of yourself. We all have different sides of who we are. We all...

So you want to learn tarot – great! Personally, I think everyone can benefit from learning how to work with the cards, or from exploring other divinatory systems. It all leads to deeper self-awareness and unexpected awakenings.

As an aspiring reader, you might be wondering if taking a tarot workshop or course will be a good investment.

The short answer is: Yes. Taking tarot classes with the right teacher can absolutely improve your skills. 

But do you need to take a tarot certification program specifically? My short answer on that is NO.

Here's why:

There are a lot of options out there to help you learn. But like anything, it’s smart to know who’s teaching the class, and what they’re promising you’ll get from it.

There is no one, true governing body for the tarot world. Unlike academic institutions that can create standards and processes, tarot is different. This is work that has been handed down through the centuries. It’s intuitive,...