My first experience with reading Tarot for others was at the age of 16 and very nearly stopped me from reading again.
I was introduced to Tarot cards in the 130 section of the public library. Remember the Dewey Decimal System? The 130’s cover parapsychology and occultism and I practically lived in that section as well as the 000 section where ghosts, cryptids, and aliens lived. I devoured every book in those sections. In my library they were on the lowest shelves, and my memories include sitting on the floor as I browsed through the books, looking for something I hadn’t already read.
My First Tarot Deck
I lived in a fairly small college town and we were lucky to have a small “weird” store. It carried books on magick and the occult, stones and crystals, candles, and Tarot cards. I bought my first deck, a standard Rider-Waite-Smith printed in that awful shade of yellow. Seriously, I hate that color of yellow and I avoid the classic deck today for just that reason. The deck came with a little booklet with short descriptions of the card meanings and a how-to for the Celtic Cross.
A quick digression on the Celtic Cross. Why that spread? It is complicated to read correctly for even mid-level Tarot readers and, in my opinion, doesn’t really give good results. I’ve never used it since those first days. And that seemed to be the only way to read Tarot! No other options were given beyond a simple Yes/No reading: if the cards were upright, it was a yes. Reversed meant no.
Reading Tarot By the Book
I loved those cards and worked with them constantly, reading the card meaning from the booklet and trying to memorize them. I didn’t really look at the cards in depth, didn’t notice the symbols or numerology, and certainly didn’t realize there was an order beyond the Major Arcana and the suits.
This was during summer vacations and before school started up again I bought a paperback book printed on cheaper paper with a color I remember as being the same yellow color. The Magician was on the cover. I can’t find the exact book now, but it was basically just a longer version of the little booklet with a few more spreads.
Reading Tarot for Others
I’d been reading for myself all summer and when school started back up my Tarot cards (and book) came with me to school. My persona in school was very low-key. Not goth by any means, I was a conformer who wanted to be different. The cards generated some attention, which I enjoyed. During lunch times we would sit in the halls by our lockers, I’d pull out my cards and do some impromptu readings for anyone who was interested.
This went on for a week when a girl from the “cool” group asked for a reading. She and her friends gathered around as I laid out the cards and started reading from the book. Each position in the Celtic Cross has a theme such as past, present, future, helpers, etc. Remember, I’m reading the meanings right from the book at this point.
At first, she and her friends were positive and amazed at how accurate the reading was. This is likely because the meanings in those booklets are pretty generic and you can apply them in a lot of situations. Then things turned a little dark.
The Tarot Turns Scarily Accurate
For privacy reasons I’ll just say that the cards indicated a level of abuse and control over the person I was reading for that quieted everyone down quickly. Before the end of the reading, the girl got up and ran to the bathroom, followed by her clique. One came back and told me she was crying. Suddenly, the fun game that garnered me lots of attention wasn’t so fun anymore. I put the cards away and it was time for class.
The Consequences
The next day the principal pulled out of homeroom. He and one of our counselors asked me about my Tarot cards and the previous day’s reading. I was a good student in the top tier of my class, so it wasn’t harsh, but it scared me. They told me not to read or bring the Tarot cards to school anymore and I didn’t
I was perfectly happy and actually relieved. The girl I’d read for didn’t come to school that day and, luckily, she and her friends ignored me after that. It felt like they were too afraid to even create rumors about me. It was a very unsettling experience and I ended up not reading Tarot again, even for myself, until college.
An Older and Wiser Tarot Reader
I picked the cards back up four years later as a Junior in college but never read for anyone else until March 2020. That first experience sobered me and made me realize the responsibility entailed in reading Tarot for others.
The specifics of what that poor girl was living through were never divulged, but I do know that her parents divorced and she lived with her mother. Hopefully, the reading resulted in her getting the help she obviously needed, but I want to emphasize how reckless it is to read for others before you know what you are doing. It could have ended much worse.
The courses I took to improve my Tarot skills had extended modules on the ethics of Tarot reading, including topics to avoid and how to present bad news. I’m also almost 40 years older with all of the empathy, experience, and maturity those years have provided me.
What Clients are Saying about Sophrosyne Tarot
I was advised to ask open-ended questions instead of predictive questions which I thought was helpful because I never would have known if it weren’t for the reader. The reader provided the reading along with some advice too so the entire reading was very thorough and explained in an understandable manner.
Everything said was accurate and helpful for me to identify my flaws in order to grow as a person. I have learned a lot about tarot and what it does to help me.
I enjoyed reading about your first experience with tarot. Although, my heart hurt for you when you had your first lesson when reading for others that set you back from mastering your creative gift for helping others for four decades. My heart was full again to read you have regained your light and are showing up to share it. We are ready to receive your light and love. Thank you for your blessings. Sending lots of love and virtual hugs. Jaime
I can’t imagine how you must have felt after your reading, especially being a teenager. I’m happy to read that you picked them back up. I don’t know much about Tarot cards but your post was very interesting.
Do you have any thoughts on how our determination to plan and execute a plan for our lives is influenced by things beyond our control? Is there a balance between our internal energy and external energy?
These are really good questions and I’m going to need to think about them. I’ll blog about this next week!