You’re reading this for one of two reasons. One, you are all into tarot and oracle readings already and think ‘Hey! That’s cool, there’s an article about it within my school’s newspaper!’. OR two, you wanna learn more about what tarot is and how it all works! Whatever the reason, you’re in luck!

As said, if you’re wanting to know what it really is and how it works, you’re reading the right article. First off, a basic breakdown of tarot cards and readings. Tarot readings are conducted with a deck of 78 cards divided into two groups: the Minor Arcana, which has 56 cards, and the Major Arcana, which has 22 cards. Each card within the deck has some meaning. The Minor Arcana are basically just suit cards, but in these decks, the “suits” are usually Wands, Swords, Cups, and Pentacles. Each suit is made up of 10 number cards (Ace-10) and four royalty cards (Page, Knight, Queen, & King). Then you have The Major Arcana. These cards don’t belong to any of the four suits of the Minor Arcana; each card stands alone. Instead, every card represents an important archetype, such as love, hope, deity, tradition, life, etc. The Major Arcana cards can also represent individuals and guides that play significant roles in our lives. Much of these cards are subjective to the question being asked. For all you astrology buffs, each zodiac sign is represented by a card in the Major Arcana.

Now how do these cards predict your past, present, and/or future? Tarot spreads are the method of how you lay-out the cards. An example of this could be a 3-card spread/pull, each representing past present or future. You can look up different spreads if you were wanting to try and experiment. The cards only serve as a guide, and the reader is merely interpreting the likely outcome based on the forces at play at the time. By a passage of energy into the cards, no matter how you do so, the cards need to be accustomed to the reader’s energy and spiritual presence. Some use selenite to help transfer and/or hold energy in this way, but it’s entirely up to you. During the shuffling process of the cards, the reader will ask the reader to close their eyes and say stop when they feel it is right for them. Some cards may jump out of the deck with force. If it looks like it jumped out due to the shuffling of the cards being uneven, throw it back in the shuffle. BUT, if it jumps out for no reason other than it seeming like it forced itself out, add that card to the spread. Jumping cards just mean that the card needs to be read and is important for the reading. 

Oracle decks, a separate deck, are used more for self-reflection, and the rules and usage of the deck is very loose. Things such as the amount of cards and general usage are entirely up to the person using the deck. A common way to use them is to shuffle a deck and pull a single card for inspiration or insight into a situation. There are spreads you could do to be more exact to a question, generally like a tarot spread, but it won’t be as detailed. 

Many people are inspired to learn the practices of oracle or tarot readings by receiving a reading from another. People usually find it fascinating and scary how accurate their reading is and wish to try it for themselves. Oracle and tarot readings were conducted on willing students, by a student who practices! These students were then interviewed about their experience having been read.

“It was interesting, I didn’t realize how spot on it would be,” said Alex Helms, freshman. 

Helms earlier that same day received a tarot reading. One of the beauties of tarot or oracle reading is that it is actually easier to read for others than yourself. Accuracy is oftentimes what shocks people when receiving a reading, but it’s not at all surprising. Most volunteers who have been read need to see it to believe it. Students who have been read have described the message the cards were conveying to be true and the precision to be “scary” even, including Helms.

“The present was very accurate, I am unsure if the future will come true yet… I felt very connected to myself,” said Atlyss Ballard, freshman.

People like Ballard find the information the cards provide to be comforting or helpful to understand what is going on in their life. Cards translate both the reader and the volunteer being read, making it a personal experience for everyone in their separate situations. Of course, the point of these readings is transparency and truth, and readings were given with negative outcomes. Nonetheless, volunteers felt the cards deep down were right and the truth was given in a kindly put way. When Alyson Harvey received her rather neutral reading, she was asked if she believed in readings at all.

“I don’t know yet because I haven’t had mine come true or not. So it just depends on if it does come true or not in the end,” said Alyson Harvey, sophomore.

A very true answer and she isn’t to blame. While the past and present are defined in the moment, the future is something that is to be defined later on. Cards seemingly predicting the unknown or giving a glimpse into that is a far-fetched concept to grasp.

At the time of these interviews the readings were given recently or that same day. All volunteers quoted in this article reported back that the readings given were accurate or came true as predicted. This is what makes tarot and oracle reading such a head turning practice. The novelty turning into validity is what’s going to shock people for eternity.

“Tarot cards, Oracle Cards, Runes, Crystal Healing, Divination Techniques, Online Tarot Reading, Online Psychic Reading, Psychic Advisor, Email Tarot Reading” by Atell Psychic Tarotis marked with CC BY-ND 2.0.