Eleven misconceptions about tarot cards and tarot reading

In my daily work using the Tarot Cards as part of my divination tool kit I often hear the same old misconceptions and superstitions regarding the Tarot. These range from being evil and the work of the devil to its just bad luck to even go near them.

Nearly always these myths come handed down from someone who either hasn’t had any experience of the tarot or they have read it somewhere. The art of reading tarot goes back many many years, prior to the invention of Tarot cards folk would often read plain old playing cards, I doubt there would have been much resistance to those.
I can hand on heart tell you that I have never ever in over 25 years of reading Tarot had any of the myths I mention below ever come true. Tarot is simply a tool, a divination tool as we call it.

Here below I deal with the main misconceptions regarding the Tarot, there may well be others.

1. You should not purchase your own Tarot Cards

Actually I first heard this from another Tarot reader, she was convinced that it was bad luck to buy your own tarot cards. When I pointed out that the whole point of choosing your own cards is that it ties in with using your own intuition she started to see the madness in this. Many tarot readers would never have even started if they waited around for someone to come along and gift them some tarot cards.
Browsing in a New Age store if you run your hands over each set of cards and watch for any change in the energy, some people get a tingling in their hands, or the hand suddenly gets warmer over the right set of cards. Generally I also advise people to start our with the Universal Rider Waite set of cards as these pictorially are much easy to read and work with.

2. You have to be a gifted Psychic or Clairvoyant to read the Tarot Cards

It definitely helps to have psychic ability but this is where it gets interesting. Firstly you do not need to be psychic at all to read the cards, I know quite a few readers who will say they are most definitely not psychic and are just reading the cards. But this is the interesting part, by working with, learning and using the tarot cards you actually develop psychic abilities naturally. We all have psychic ability not just the gifted few. The fun part in this is growing and developing as you use the Tarot cards.

3 Never let anyone handle or touch your tarot cards.

If you have had face to face tarot readings you will know that in nearly all cases the reader will ask you to a) chose a tarot deck if they have more than one and b) shuffle the cards yourself while thinking of the issue. Again this myth is born out of some superstition that it is in some way bad luck for someone to touch your cards, it just isn’t so.

4. Tarot Cards are in some way Evil

As I said earlier the Tarot cards are just a divination tool, they do not represent anything evil or bad, this is largely put about by folk with strong religious beliefs. I have been using the tarot for over 20 years and nothing evil has ever manifested as a result of using the tarot.

5. If you draw the Death card it always means you or someone else is going to die.

The death card can actually be a good card in that it can mean change and also things that have troubled you are coming to an end. In readings it hardly ever means psychical death, the only time it can be attributed to a passing is if the reading concerns say an older person who is suffering a great deal. Sometimes this card will come up and indicate that the suffering will not be for much longer. In other words it gives comfort to those who are watching their loved one suffer.

6. You cannot read Tarot for anyone over the phone or long distance.

I have delivered far more readings over the phone than face to face. In this instance I shuffle the cards and ask the sitter to tell me when to stop. I then divide the pack into two, pile one is in my left hand and pile two is in my right. I ask them which one they would like and I then deal the cards from there.

7. You cannot read the Tarot Cards for yourself.

Whilst it can be difficult to detach emotionally from the reading (you may be looking for a certain answer and almost willing it) you can most definitely read for yourself. Many people only use their tarot cards for this purpose and never want to read for others. It is a good idea to almost put yourself in the place of a sitter when you do the reading, detach as much as possible as well

8. You should always have your Tarot deck wrapped in silk when not using them.

Its a good idea to keep your cards covered and protected to make them last longer but that’s as far as it goes, they don’t need to be wrapped in silk. One thing I do recommend though is to cleanse the cards after each reading, its not a must but its something I adopted a few years back and I think it certainly helps to “refresh” the cards in an energetic way. I do this by simply placing a rough piece or Amethyst crystal on them for thirty minutes or so.

9. Tarot Cards are the work of Satan or the Devil

How can a divination tool like the tarot cards be anything evil or the work of the devil when they bring hope and love to many people, as I said above this myth is largely a result of misguided religious people who view anything mystical as being of the Occult. Actually the work occult only means “hidden” but it has adopted a whole knew meaning mainly as a result of Hollywood horror films. There is nothing hidden about the Tarot, its there for all to see and learn if they wish.

10. All Tarot readers are con artists and make it up as they go along

In every profession you are going to get those who are not genuine, even Doctors appear from time to time in the News as being less than honest, the same goes for Politicians. On the whole Tarot readers tend to be very Spiritual people and care a lot about their clients. I have never seen a rich Tarot reader driving around in a Bentley on the proceeds of tarot reading scams, it just doesn’t happen. Those who take the time to learn and develop their Tarot reading skills are too busy trying to help people.

11. The outcomes that you are given during a reading are set in stone.

The outcomes are certainly not set in stone, you have FREE WILL and this can and does change the outcome. The whole idea of a good Tarot reading is to give you insight into a particular situation so that you can make your own choices. You should never just blindly accept what you are given in a reading, take what you are given and use it to improve your life and make better choices.