Why Tarot?

What’s special about Tarot? Why would you want to pay someone the kind of cash you might pay a therapist or a life coach for a similar amount of time to talk about these 78 cards? 

Well, one thing about doing Tarot, as opposed to regular conversation, is the making room for intuition that happens when the cards are “randomized.” But even if you do believe that’s a thing, why Tarot? Why not runes, or the I Ching, or any number of techniques people have used over the centuries to access the unconscious?

There’s no one answer, but I’ll tell you mine: Tarot works well for many people because we humans like stories. We respond to characters. And when we relate to the Tarot cards, we get to be in a story. We get to be in the story, the great human story with themes that come back again and again.

The more readings I do for people, the more I see the same categories of “advice” recur: Have boundaries. Accept change. Nurture yourself. Have patience. Communicate. Be honest. Be present. All of these are things we tell ourselves, read in magazines, and hear from counselors. But each time Tarot distills these messages for us, they’re different; the individual constellation of cards has subtly tailored them to the listener and the situation. 

Ideally, by bringing us into a story, Tarot invites us to be curious about ourselves. We are less defensive; we don’t feel as if we’re being told what to do. It’s our story, and how we continue it is up to us.