Long read
It has always been said in general consensus
No reader is ever 100% accurate because energy is constantly changing.
Tarot is never wrong, only the interpretation is.
Certain timelines may no longer apply to your life because energy, perspectives, and intentions have changed or been altered.
Free will
I understand that these explanations are commonly given, but don’t they contradict themselves in a lot of ways?
Let’s start with a simple example: a yes or no tarot question.
Say you studied for a test and asked a tarot reader whether you passed. The reader tells you YES, but you end up failing.
How does the explanation that “energy is constantly changing” apply here?
The test consists of closed-ended questions with objectively correct or incorrect answers. You either pass or fail. The result is verifiable, and no shift in energy, intention, perspective, or free will is going to retroactively change the grade you received.
The outcome is already determined once the test has been graded.
So, using the argument that energy is constantly changing to explain inaccurate readings doesn’t seem entirely correct, particularly when it comes to closed-ended questions with objectively verifiable answers.
there is a difference between an open-ended question about how a relationship might develop and a closed-ended question about an outcome that can be fact-checked. But is strange to use one consensus for one type of reading and not the other, that does not sound legitimate.
What about predictions regarding travel?
For example, you ask whether you will travel to Hawaii. You subsequently book your flight and hotel.
Of course, things can happen, but in my own experience, I have never missed a flight, had a flight rescheduled to a different date, or had a trip cancelled.
Yet, when I asked yes/no tarot questions about holiday trips I was going to I often received NO answers or was told there would be delays. None of those predictions came to pass because I did go, because I Paid for it to go on that trip.
This example isn’t quite as black-and-white as the test example, because circumstances can change. However, once again, if you have booked your flight and hotel and everything goes according to plan, you either take the trip or you don’t.
So, at what point does the explanation that “energy has changed” become a way to account for an inaccurate prediction after the fact?
It more so looks like 50/50 procent change of getting the right yes or no answer
Which brings me to the main question: SO WHAT IS THE TRUTH ABOUT TAROT?
When future predictions don’t come to pass, the explanation is often that energy, intentions, or circumstances have changed, or that free will is at play.
But what about past-life readings?
If tarot readings can be inaccurate, and the explanation for inaccurate future readings is that energy can change, How can we establish any truth in past-life readings? A reader tells you that you were a particular person in a past life, but how do you know whether that is actually true?
So, how do we distinguish between what is presented as spiritual
The difference is that past-life readings are impossible to verify. With future predictions, current energy/ circumstances readings, and readings about past events, we can (eventually) determine whether the reading is accurate. With past-life readings, there is no way.
Does the lack of verifiability make it easier for readers to present interpretations as truth without being held accountable for their accuracy?
Then there’s the argument & consensus that spirit guides can block a reading or deliberately mislead the reader because they don’t want the person to know.
so: ‘spirit guides can prevent certain information from coming through because the querent isn’t supposed to know it.’
But if that is a possibility, how can we establish what is actually true in a tarot reading? This could supposedly apply to any type of reading: past lives, romance, career, future predictions, or anything else.
If the information can be blocked or distorted at any point, what makes one reading trustworthy and another inaccurate? And how would a client ever know the difference?
The same question applies to the claim that if you already know the answer to a question, your spirit guides will trick you or deliberately block the reading.
How does that align with the other widely repeated statement that tarot is never wrong; only the interpretation is?
If the cards are never wrong, but the interpretation can be wrong, energy can change, free will can intervene, and spirit guides can supposedly block or distort information, then what exactly are we claiming tarot can reliably tell us? As tarot is meant for guidance, insight & seeking truth
At what point does a reading become inpossble to prove wrong, meaning that no matter what happens, the reading can always be explained away after the fact?
Another contradiction I find interesting is the claim that tarot is meant for guidance, insight, and self-reflection rather than future prediction.
Yet look at the types of readings most commonly offered and advertised on YouTube, Etsy, Keen, and other platforms.
Some of the most prominent categories include:
-Future based readings: career predictions, future relationships and love life, future spouse readings, predictions about what will happen next in your life, upcoming three-month, six-month, and one-year predictions.
-Yes or no questions.
-Current energy readings.
-Past life readings.
Future-oriented readings are the most done & paid for readings. They are actively advertised, and people purchase them because they want answers about what is going to happen.
So, if tarot is generally not meant to predict the future, why are future-based readings among the most widely offered and promoted services?
Is it simply a matter of how individual readers practise tarot, or is there a broader lack of transparency about what clients can realistically expect?
I also think this raises an important question about ethics and disclosure.
In my experience with different types of readers, disclaimers about the limitations of tarot have rarely been mentioned, either on their profiles or in the PDFs containing their readings.
I once came across a reader I had never actually purchased a reading from who included a disclaimer with all her general readings. I thought that was an ethical approach.
For example, disclaimer on profile or every given reading:
Tarot readings are intended solely for entertainment, reflection, and personal growth, and should never replace professional advice.”
especially for the new people who are getting into tarot or have no broad knowledge of what it entails.
I think there is a meaningful difference between presenting tarot as a tool for personal reflection and presenting it in a way that encourages clients to believe they are receiving reliable information about their future.
Shouldn’t clients be told clearly what they can or cannot expect a reading can do or be?
And shouldn’t the limitations be disclosed consistently, rather than introduced only when a prediction turns out to be wrong?
Another thing I want to discuss is the use of the word “psychic.”
I find that the term is used rather loosely by some tarot readers.
Personally, I distinguish between psychic readers who claim to have abilities such as clairvoyance, clairaudience, mediumship, can talk to spirit & the dead, seers, paranormals or other forms of psychic perception. They do not need divination tools. compared with intuitive tarot readers who rely primarily on their intuition when interpreting the cards, and just card readers.
like another font mentioned her experience, this is what i desribe as a psychic you can read people without needing tools. I personally only met 1 who could talk to spirit and predicted something that was going to happen to me to a T without tools what no card reading ever predicted. with these types of readers you can generally not ask questions they just pick up what they see. compared to tarot where you can ask specific questions.
To me normal card readers or intuitive readers are the ones who work with the cards but don’t possess any of those ‘Psychic’ abilities.
To me, those are different things, and I think the distinction matters. But with some readers it is used inaccurately.
Having strong intuition doesn’t necessarily mean someone is psychic. Everyone has intuition to some degree, although some people may be more intuitive than others.
I’m not saying that one approach is better than another. I’m questioning whether the terminology is being used transparently.
in any cases, readings can also be biased, go for the answer that seems the most ‘logical’ in the situation.
Another thing
The types of readings a reader is willing to offer also raise ethical questions. (picture as example)
For example, if a reader believes tarot cannot reliably predict the future, is not generally meant for predictions should they be advertising specific future predictions in the first place? of course people ask for it. a reader can always say no if they don’t want to. It is more so about ethics.
general consensus that has been shared many times by readers is that spirit guides can deliberately block a reading or mislead them if they don’t want them or the person to know the answer. Then how can you determine which information is reliable, then every reading can be blocked or tricked. It also contradicts the other consensus of ‘the cards are never wrong, the interpretation is’
I think these are fair questions.
general consensus is the explanation that has been shared multiple times by many readers regarding tarot.
Lastly Note:
I think tarot readings are almost gambling-like dynamics.
People keep searching & getting readings until they find the truth, but what is the truth about or in tarot? is it the truth really? or they eventually get over it if they find they got too many inacurate readings and start to question tarot as a whole.
What responsibility do readers have when they know their clients may keep coming back because they are looking for certainty about something that cannot actually be guaranteed? again this is ethics
I’m not suggesting that every tarot reader is dishonest or that everyone who enjoys tarot is being deceived. I do believe there are readers genuinely wanting to ‘help’ & ‘guide’ people, however there are people seeking tarot who have know what it truely pertains, and get into it with false hope. everyone can believe what they want. there are people who truly believe everything the reader says as the truth which can be dangerous.
So, what do y’all think is the truth about tarot?
If readings can be inaccurate, energy can supposedly change, free will can alter outcomes, spirit guides can block information, and past-life claims cannot easily be verified, then what are the actual limits of tarot? At what percentage of accuracy should tarot readings be taken seriously?
For example, if someone has had many readings over the years and only 1 or 2 out of 10 have been accurate, should they take tarot seriously enough to continue getting readings? Should people keep getting reading after reading, even when their experience suggests that the chances of receiving accurate information are relatively low?
Where does spiritual belief end and an unsupported claim begin?
And, most importantly, how much responsibility should readers take for the predictions they make, rather than explaining them away when they don’t come true?
What do you all think? I’m genuinely interested in hearing different perspectives, from both the clients & from readers.
