How Much Does it Cost?

When you are looking for a Tarot Reader and trying to figure out how much a reading will cost, you will probably see a number of different ways to pay for the services.  Some readers set their fees by the number of cards they draw, some may offer a per minute rate for as long as you want, while others set a fee for a specific length of time.  It can get confusing to decide which method will work best for you, so this is an attempt to help you understand what you might expect from each.

The best way for you to get a good Reading is to know what you want to examine before you set up he reading.  General Readings can be good to identify areas that you may need to focus on, but that takes time away from a question that you really want answered. It is best to offer the Reader the question or situation that you want to have them look at, so neither of you waste the other’s time.  In general, be specific and give details that will help the reader focus in on your situation quickly.  It is better to add details (his name is John and we spoke at a party a week ago) than to leave the reader with few clues as to where to look (“I am wondering about my love life”).

You should be able to get a feel for the Reader through their web site, social media, and reviews from their clients. This is important to do because not everyone reads in the same style.  Difficult news can be delivered gently, but some Readers like to make it so easy to take that you don’t hear anything negative. Other Readers can hit you with the information without any warning, believing that the truth is important and it is not up to them to soften the blow.  What works best for you is the Reader that you seem drawn to. 

Readings Priced by the Number of Cards

I read for the Free Tarot Network (www.freetarot.us) which offers a one-card reading for free every 30 days.  The reading is done via email and I will draw a card and send a reply that attempts to answer the question(s) posed.  One problem with a limited number of cards is that there are often things that could be better clarified by another card or two, and the one-card readings are perfect examples of cards needing some clarification!

Many Readers are able to get a lot of insight out of a few cards, so keep in mind that more does not always equal better.  I have been told that my one card readings are fantastic, and I have had situations where I could not connect with a seeker no matter how many cards I drew!

Readings Priced by the Number of Minutes

Just about any Psychic Hotline will charge a per-minute rate to talk with one of their psychics.  (There are a couple that are trying flat rate plans but they are hard to find.) The advantage of this is that you can stay on the line with them for as long as you want, and you have access to a lot of different people that can read for you.  The down side is that it can cost a lot more than what you expected.  If you are close to the end of the time you paid for and the psychic is in the middle of explaining something, you may have to buy extra minutes to be able to hear it all! 

Some Psychic Fairs use this method to help people better manage their budget.  A number of metaphysical shops in my area offer Psychic Fairs on a semi-regular basis, and they charge about $1.00 per minute to read.  That is easily 50% - 75% less than what a Psychic Line reading would cost, and it is a very good way to get an answer to a question or two without feeling like you have to keep your credit card locked away.

Readings Priced by a Fixed Time

This is the main setup that you will find in a one-on-one reading.  A lot of readers use this pricing method because they know what they can usually cover in a given amount of time, for most people who come to them for a reading.  Think of this in terms of going to any professional who charges for their time – they know what their time is worth and they charge accordingly.  The majority of their appointments are similar enough for them to be reasonably sure that they can cover what you need them to in a certain amount of time.   Although there are some sticklers, there is usually enough leeway for the Reader to finish up with you if the time runs out and the reading is almost over, without paying extra.

So Which One Is Right For You?

Depending on what you are looking for, each of these methods can provide you with a good reading experience.  The trick is balancing what you want to know against what the relative cost is to get that information.

For immediate answers, Readings Priced by the Number of Minutes (psychic hotlines / some psychic fairs) will do you well, but make sure that you are prepared with your question.  At $4.00+ per minute for a Psychic Hotline call, it is in your best interest to be ready with the information that the reader will need.  General questions are NOT the way to go here unless you are just looking for someone to talk with.

If you are not in a real hurry or if you do not expect a certain level of detail, the Readings Priced by the Number of Cards can be very good.  The level of detail that is presented in email readings is usually more than you might expect, but the issue with an email reading is the lack of real time communication.  If the Reader says something that you do not understand or it needs more clarification, you will have to get back in touch to have those details emailed to you (and there may be an extra charge for that).

Readings Priced by a Fixed Time can really help you get the answers that you want in a time frame that is often faster than emails, and at a cost that is less than the hotlines. Each Reader knows what their style is and what their time is worth, and they price accordingly. Readings are often scheduled for 15, 30, or 60 minutes, and they can be done over the phone or the Internet (Skype, etc.) as well as in person.   Be aware that the more popular the Reader is the longer it can take to get an appointment with them,  and the higher their rates will be.  As with any service, the more experienced practitioner is going to command a higher price due to the demand for their skills.

Although this just touches on the different methods available to get a Tarot Reading, it should help you understand the differences and some of the advantages and disadvantages of each.  If you are not sure which method might work best for you, try each of them to see how they feel.  When you find the right person and method, you will be glad that you took some time to explore the different options to discover your match.

Why would you want to get a Tarot reading?

I tend to forget that there are a lot of people who do not understand what Tarot readings are all about, or have ideas based on popular culture’s view of the Tarot rather than the actual practice. I am reminded of this when I try to explain what I do to people who are not familiar with Tarot as anything more than a gimmick in a movie or a side show attraction. To them the Tarot is a woo-woo thing that no serious person would ever need in their lives, unless they were looking for entertainment.

Those are the people to whom this post is addressed.

What does a Tarot Reading tell you?
Tarot practitioners generally use the cards to help look at the energies and situations that are happening in your life at the time of the reading. Based on what they see in the cards, they can make some projections about what may happen in the future if the current situations run their course. In most cases there will be some form of an alternative outcome presented if the situations change.

A projection of the possible outcomes is just that – a projection. The Tarot does not foretell the future, although some people may claim otherwise. Like an annual physical that gives the doctor information on what you could do to maintain or improve your health, a Tarot reading can look at the information shown in the cards to suggest ways to get past difficult situations or pinpoint things that are keeping you from achieving your goals. Neither consultation can determine for sure what will happen in the future, but they both can offer possible scenarios if you choose to follow the suggestions that are made by the practitioner.

What does a Tarot Reading NOT tell you?
Your Tarot reading cannot offer legal, medical, business, or financial advice. Any ethical Tarot reader will tell you that, and if they will not then it is time to find another reader.

Your Tarot reading cannot tell you when someone will appear in your life, if they will come back to you, or what they are thinking about you. All of those things are dealing with other people, and a Tarot reading is about you, not them. There are ways to look at the questions you may have about someone else and see what your part in their appearance/return may be, but again it is about you.

Your Tarot reading cannot tell you how or when you will die, what the winning Lottery numbers will be, when you will get pregnant or what sex the child will be. Predictions are not part of the Tarot, only possible outcomes of the current situations are.

Isn’t Tarot Reading simply entertainment?
There are laws in some states that lump Tarot reading in with Fortune Telling (predicting the future) and other occult services (including exorcism!) “except that this section does not apply to a person who engages in the aforedescribed conduct as part of a show or exhibition solely for the purpose of entertainment or amusement.” Because of this a lot of readers use the phrasing that their services are only for entertainment purposes, even though no one actually believes that. If you want to be entertained by a Tarot reading, there are few readers that would turn you away. Just be ready to get up from the reading with a different idea of what a Tarot reading can do for you.

So why would you want to get a Tarot reading?
The main reason to get a Tarot reading is to get a different perspective on your life as it is right now. That perspective is based on the energies that you add to the cards and how the reader sees the results. You can’t get much more objective than that, especially when you have never met the reader before! The insights that the cards provide can help you see what situations are going on in your life, even if you are not aware of them. Answers to questions about the way things are and how you can change them are suddenly obvious, even if they may not be the answers you wanted to hear.

The main reason to get a Tarot reading is to be able to look into the future that might yet be, and decide if you want that or not. If you choose to make changes in your life, that future can be made more likely or less likely – the choice is yours. Tarot readings will not tell you what will happen in the future, but they can give you some insight into the changes you could make in your life to achieve your highest potential, should you choose to go for that.

The future is yours for the taking; Tarot just helps you get a handle on it.

Blessings, Mark

The Death Card Three Ways

The  Tarot  Rebels  Blog  Hop takes a look at the 13th card in the Major Arcana - The Death Card.

The Death Card is one of the better known Tarot cards, even for those who have never had a reading or seen the deck. For years the so-called entertainment industry has used the trope of a tarot reading showing the Death card just before someone dies. And while this is certainly possible, the main focus of the card is how people react to Death and the changes it brings. 

Death is a certainty, and we all know it will happen to us and those we love. What we don't know is when, how, and what happens after Death. What we seldom come to grips with, until a death affects us personally, is how we understand Death and how we feel about it. 

These three cards show different ways of approaching Death. Is one of them the way you look at the end of life and what may lie beyond?

The card on the left is from the Steampunk Tarot by Barbara Moore and Aly Fell. In this interpretation the "spectre" of Death is a sad woman, riding away from the man laying flowers on a grave.  It shows the sorrow of Death from both sides of the veil.  

As we mourn the people who have left us, do they not mourn their separation as well?  What a comforting thought to know that our loved ones are watching us and wishing that they could still be a part of our lives. For many people this is very real.

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The center card is from Tarot of the Vampires of the Eternal Night by Barbara Moore and David Corsi. It depicts a figure sitting in a chair contemplating what has just happened and trying to come to an understanding.  

Will Death be a time of mourning and sadness, and unwillingness to accept what is? Or will it be seen as a transition that brings about a new beginning instead of a final ending? This question has been unanswerable for the living for many centuries. Maybe contemplation after death is what we need in order to decide which path is right for us.

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The card on the right is from the Tarot of Pagan Cats by Magdelina Messina and Lola Airaghi. Here we see Death in a black cat, sitting on a grave as if to keep the body buried. There is no malice in the cat's eyes, only the inscrutable gaze that so many people find disconcerting to look at. Death is portrayed as a simple event in this card, and there is a finality to the image that seems to say that there is nothing more to come. No one mourning, no contemplation by the recently departed, nothing more than a final resting place.  

This idea of death seems to be the one that scares people the most and drives us to find the answers to what happens to us after we die.But as soon as we think there is nothing in the card to give us hope, we remember that a cat has nine lives. The subtle message is that there may be more to come - a new beginning. 

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Whatever you may think of Death and what comes after the end of the physical body, you will never know for sure until it happens to you.  How you deal with the ideas about death and continuing past that point help to determine how you choose to live your life.  Do you fear a life after death or embrace it? Will you live your life without worrying about the inevitable or will you live scared by the ending that we all face?  These are hard questions to answer, but they deserve some thought. Don't leave the contemplation until after you are gone!

What to do When the Connection Isn't There

In the years that I have been reading Tarot I have had a few instances when the cards and I did not connect with the Seeker. Instead of feeling that I have failed somehow, I look at the situation and try to determine what can be done to make that connection. These tips may help you figure out what to to when the connection isn't there.

The "general" spread that I use has 3 cards for the Past, 3 cards for the Present and 5 cards for the Future. I explain that if the Past and Present do not resonate with the seeker, then we need to try something else as the Future cards will not have any meaning for them. Once in a while there is some hesitation about the information seen in the Past or Present cards, and that is when I try to answer any questions and work to see where the disconnect has happened.

Tip #1 - Use analogies and references that the Seeker will understand.

In some cases my explanation of the cards was not clear, and I have to change the way I said what I see in the cards. I have a certain frame of reference that makes sense to me, and in most cases I can use that as a way to explain the situations I see in the cards. But occasionally that frame of reference is so far removed from the seeker's frame of reference, they don't understand what I was talking about.

I can't expect someone to know about people and events that were well known before they were born; many of the famous people I remember from my early years are not as well known today. I can't use people who were known in my hometown as a reference unless I know the seeker grew up there as well. I have to remember that the Bowman Body was a Richmond, Va, celebrity and that more people will catch a reference to Elvira if I want to use a TV horror show host in an analogy. (With Halloween readings, this is not as far fetched as it may sound!) Using illustrations that the Seeker understands will help them accept what the cards are showing without having to question an obscure (to them) reference.

Tip #2 - Reshuffle the cards or try another deck.

Seekers can have a lot of things going through their heads as they approach a Tarot reading, and the energy that they put out can sometimes be a bit scattered. Once they know what the steps of the reading actually entail, they often have less anxiety about what they are about to undertake, and the energy becomes more focused.

By reshuffling the deck and laying out a new spread, the now familiar steps seem less intimidating than they did before, and the seeker can focus more on what the cards are showing them. In most cases where I have reshuffled the deck I have seen very similar cards come up the second time - 5's may become 7's, and 9's can change to 10's, but the basic energy and messages seem to remain very similar.

I have found that the deck itself may be a cause for concern for the seeker, as the images may cause some unconscious reactions. If they are not comfortable with the images, they can dismiss the information I am trying to convey without actually hearing what is being said.

I offer the seeker a choice of decks, but if the they simply pick one without looking at the choices they can end up with one that works against the reading. What one person sees as an exciting and beautiful card can very easily be seen as dark and foreboding by another. Which High Priestess is "better" - the Anne Stokes / Donald Tyson Necronomicon version (above left) or the Arthur Waite / Pamela Colman Smith version shown here?

Tip #3 - Have the Seeker restate their expectations for the reading.

This is similar to Tip #2, but with the Seeker instead of the deck. If they say they are looking for a general reading but they actually are trying to have a specific question answered, their expectation may be that the unasked question will be answered. When this doesn't happen after a couple attempts, try reshuffling their expectations by asking for them to restate the question they want answered, or to focus on a particular aspect of their life to work with in a general reading.

I have found that by having the seeker mentally step back and reassess what they want from a reading we can usually go through the spread and help give them the insights and suggestions they really wanted. Once they have had a chance to refocus their mindset often changes and the cards' messages are more readily accepted.

Tip #4 - Admit that this reading is not meant to happen.

I have had a few readings that never happened with me because there was no connection between me and the seeker. In some cases I have been able to suggest trying another reader at the Psychic Fair; in others I have simply suggested that they try finding a reader in the area (and offering names of some that I know). The main thing I try to convey is that there is no point in wasting their time if we cannot connect, and that there is nothing wrong with what they have asked. Sometimes things just don't jell. Always encourage a second opinion when you can - it is better for the seeker to hear what they need to than for you to be the one to deliver the message.

Conclusion

There has only been one time that I know of where a seeker did not want a reading, but went through with it anyway. Her husband wanted "his and hers" readings and paid for two individual readings. After his reading she sat down and the wall she put up was palpable. In spite of similar cards to what her husband had, she insisted that nothing I said resonated with her, and implied several times that I was simply making things up. I knew that was not correct as her husband had just recently shared some information about the very situation we were now discussing.

With the exception of someone that does not want a reading in the first place, these tips will get a stalled reading back on track. Add them to your Tarot toolkit to help keep things going when the connection isn't there.

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Do you have any favorite tricks to break through to a seeker when they don't feel that the message applies to them? Please share in the comments so others can add to their repertoire!

Lest We Forget...

My Lady Joy and I were at a charity craft fair recently, and I was set up to give Tarot readings.  I donated a reading to the raffle that was helping to raise money for the charity, and I was hoping that the day would keep me busy.  I was not prepared for the reactions I got from several people who asked about readings.

I have been working with the Tarot for about  5 years, and I have incorporated Tarot into many aspects of my life.  I have apps on my tablet and phone that show me a card of the day, I draw a card each morning to see what I could be facing at work, and I have a friends on social media that share a  lot of their Tarot experiences throughout the day.  That exposure has given me a rather skewed view of the way people see the Tarot.

I usually ask if the seeker has ever had a reading before, and approach the reading based on their response. Most people have had a reading or know someone who has, and they are at least familiar with Tarot.  At this fair I had people asking me about the Tarot because they knew nothing about it other than it had something to do with cards and 'fortune tellling'.  Once I got over the initial shock of that, I willingly explained the concept and showed the cards to them.

I tend to forget that people are not always familiar with the same things that I am. As a computer programmer by day I understand that people don't always understand what I actually do, but they have at least a basic knowledge of computers and what they do. When it comes to Tarot and other less-than-mainstream pursuits, I have to remember that not everyone is even aware of their existence. I have to keep that in mind or I will continue  to be surprised.

Just because we have an interest in Tarot doesn't mean that people we meet will know what we consider to be common knowledge.  We need to remember that we were once just as unfamiliar with the cards and how they can be used.  And we need to remember how we were given the chance to learn about the Tarot, and do what we can to clear up any misconceptions and help someone get a taste of the wonders that we use in our lives every day.

TarotBot by Liberus

Many Tarot apps are designed to replicate the experience of using a deck – shuffling, picking the cards and placing them into a spread.  TarotBot aims to evolve tarot into a new medium.  Aron Price, the brains behind Liberus, decided that his TarotBot program would focus on helping people gain insights into the cards by focusing on the images instead of the animations and other potential distractions.

The TarotBot offerings are an amazing collection of 30 apps that brings out the collector in everyone. The Il Meneghello edition decks provide a beautiful way to see the Tarot in a new way and really get a chance to study the images and symbols.  These decks include Tarot Vacchetta, Soprafino , Tarot Visconti  and Tarot of Bugs. There are several decks that are more mainstream that still don’t conform to the standard imagery - Joseph Vargo’s Gothic Tarot and The Baroque Bohemian Cat Tarot (which comes with cat information as part of the card interpretation) are just two of those.  And yes, there is a RWS deck available as the TarotBot Android app.

The app opens to a simple menu that looks like many other Tarot app menus.  But there are a couple of items that are not part of most apps, About Tarot and About the Artist. About the Tarot is a short examination of Tarot and Cognition, followed by a description of the different spreads that come with the app. About the Artist is a brief description of the artist and their choice of imagery.  Both of the About entries have links to web sites (as available) in order to learn more about them.  They are very nice additions to the apps that don’t attempt to do too much, but do provide some insights beyond the card interpretations.

Browsing the cards is very easy to do, with the icons at the top of the screen to switch among the suits and Major Arcana. All of the cards link to a full screen card that makes it easy to study the details. There is a link to the interpretation screen where you are able enter your own custom text.

The interpretations for each card are best described as sparse. With few exceptions, each deck provides a keyword and a few sentences or phrases for each card, divided into In General and More Directly. These are meant as hints or suggestions about the meaning of the card rather than a definitive or verbose explanation.  By not telling us how to interpret the card too explicitly, we are forced to look at the image and decide for ourselves what they mean to us at that point in time. That is a big part of what Aron Price wanted to create with TarotBot.

Aron studied cognitive engineering at Ohio State and wanted to apply that to divination.   In his own words, “First I considered divination from a cognitive perspective and quickly saw that when a person considers a card and how the meaning of it might apply to their situation, they are actually looking at their issue from the perspective of the card's archetype.

“The process of looking at a problem from a variety of perspectives in order to better understand it is one of the core techniques cognitive engineers use.

“Thus when I designed the app I attempted to streamline the tarot reading process into reviewing cards in relation to an issue to trigger potential insights.

“Where other developers focused on fancy shuffling and card drawing animations I was trying to make something that would help people gain insights into themselves through self-reflection.”

With this focus, the difference between TarotBot and other Tarot apps stands out.  I highly recommend trying one of the Liberus apps not only for the decks, but for the chance to really be able to gain some insight into the cards and yourself. All of the decks can be found at play.google.com/store/search?q=tarotbot&c=app.  With plenty to choose from you are sure to find at least one that calls to you.

And if you really want to customize the program, you can!  TarotBot uses a collection of 72 card images, so if you have a digital deck as images you can place it on your tablet or phone and use that.  The cards need to be named 01.jpg-79.jpg.  Copy them to a folder on your device named tarotbot.custom. Open TarotBot and under Options  choose Use Custom Deck.

Although TarotBot has not been updated in a couple of years, Aron has plans to update it in a big way. “Since I created TarotBot I have moved on to developing artificial intelligence for home automation, my hope is to one day come full circle and update TarotBot with my new intelligent app design.”  He will be bringing the Liberus website back and updating the code base later this year.  If you are interested in tinkering under the hood, the current TarotBot code is available through GitHub (https://github.com/aron23/tarotbot)

Galaxy Tone

Galaxy Tone Software (galaxytone.com) makes several different Apps for Intuition, Insight & Inspiration that run on Android devices. Christopher and Shonna are the team that has developed several Tarot apps, Galaxy Runes and Galaxy Crystals. These apps present a lot of information in a variety of ways, and provide reference and teaching resources in a very friendly interface.

The Galaxy Tarot app was the first one they released, and it uses the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. They have used the same programming to create The Wild Unknown Tarot app, the CBD Tarot de Marseille app, Tarot Illuminati app, the Darkana Tarot app and the Gypsy Palace Tarot app. Galaxy Tarot is available as a free app, although the cost for the Pro version is minimal compared with what it offers.

Galaxy Tarot is the first Tarot app I found for my Android, and I now have the widget on the home screen of my phone and tablet so that the Card of the Day is always there for me.  It was so intuitive to use that I initially missed out on some of the functionality, but the more I explored what it had to offer the more I found to like about it.  I bought the Pro version very shortly after I started working with the free version, and it was money well spent. There have been several updates to the app since I first got it, and each one has been a welcome addition to what was already a great app.

The simplicity of the initial screen hides some of the power of the app, but it is this simple approach that makes Galaxy Tarot so easy to start using as soon as it is installed. Selecting   Card of the Day pulls up a full screen image of the card. Tap the card to open the information screen with the card’s name, Today’s Message, and the card Interpretation. Tap that screen again to go back to the card image. Simple and easy.

The true power of the app lies in the icons at the bottom of the information screen.  These switch among the information screen, the encyclopedia and the notes.  The encyclopedia has entries for the card type, suit, element, number, planet, zodiac, symbol, chakra, I Ching, and colors. Rather than being intimidating, the simple icons for each entry give the basic information at a glance.  More information about that aspect of the card is a tap away, and the associated cards are shown as well.




When you are ready to start working with the cards in a reading, there are built in spreads that you can chose from.  The free versions of the aps offer 5 spreads, and more can be purchased.  The Pro versions have a up to 26 spreads to choose from including Galaxy Tone’s own.   The cards can be shuffled and selected or chosen for you automatically. There is even an option to select the cards you can use in the spread for when you want to recreate a reading or use the app as a teaching tool.  All of the options for information are available in the spreads, and there is a message about the placement in the spread to help with the readings.


One thing that I have not seen in other Tarot apps is a spread analyzer that helps you understand the patterns in your reading.  Using the symbols, numbers and other correspondances, the analyzer helps you see what themes are in the cards at a glance.   And as you save the readings in your journal, the analyzer can help you spot trends among them as well. Another feature that I have not seen before is the ability to share readings with others through email, Instagram and Facebook.




All of the Galaxy Tarot cards have interpretations from Galaxy Tone and Waite’s “Pictorial Key to the Tarot”.  The different Tarot apps all feature interpretations from the decks’ creators and the authors of the companion books, so you can see what Kim Huggens has to say about the Tarot Illuminati and what Janden Hale was going for when he created  the Darkana Tarot.

The creators of the Galaxy Tone apps are as enthusiastic about the Tarot (and runes and crystals) as any of us, and very glad that people find their apps so useful.  And they are gracious enough to answer a few questions to help get to know the who and the why behind their efforts.

What drew you to create Galaxy Tone apps? Was it a love of Tarot, programming, or something else that got you started?
Maybe it's corny, but Galaxy Tone sort of drew us to create it :) Chris was an early Android adaptor and built Galaxy Tarot as a practice in Android programming and because he noticed there were not a lot of tarot apps available at the time (2010 -- a lot different than now!). And, lo and behold, people liked it! Chris hired me to do a writing contract at first -- the card interpretations --  but over time my share of the work has grown, and now I'm a partner. I am a huge tarot nerd, and I love being an author. I feel so fortunate to get to do this work that I love and to get to help people with my writing. It's seriously a dream come true! I especially love that Galaxy Tarot is, for many people, a first introduction to tarot! That's so exciting!

Which came first - the Tarot or the Runes, and what ever happened to Galaxy Crystals?Galaxy Tarot was our first app; Galaxy Runes followed about a year later. Galaxy Crystals is waiting for us to have some time to dedicate to it so we can make it truly kick ass; people can still find it for their Kindle Fires though.

Why is Christopher hiding in the background? (Shonna is the one that is the most visible online)
Well, Christopher is a ninja -- obviously :)

Do you have anything that you would like to tell people about the Tarot, Galaxy Tone, or you?
Hmmm... well, we're both really interested in how we can use technology to live better lives -- and tarot is one of those technologies. We're on a mission to show that apps can help people wake up; they're not just the "zombie-makers" many people make them out to be.

Also, our apps are coming for Apple soon!

Galaxy Tone apps are on Google Play, and the developers can be found on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GalaxyTone) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/galaxy.tone) where you will find first peeks and behind-the-scenes goodness!  If you have not already done so, you owe it to yourself to try the Galaxy Tarot.  You will not be disappointed at all!

Can you read Tarot without Cards?

Can you read Tarot without Cards?

There are discussions that pop up from time to time on social media sites where people debate the idea that tarot readings can be done using electronic devices rather than cards.

Some people feel that the cards are required for a reading, since the energies of the Seeker and the Practitioner* will help determine the cards that come up,  and if there are no cards to handle the energy transfer cannot happen.
Others feel that the various Tarot apps are great for personal readings or a "card of the day" guidance, but not something they would ever use for readings for other people.
Some folks seem to believe that the Tarot apps are great learning tools that we can use when we don't have cards with us (???).

My take on this is a combination of all three views.  The energies of the Seeker and the Practitioner are definitely a part of any reading, but physical contact with the cards is not necessary for the Seeker.  Readings by email, Skype and phone are common, and few people seem to question the validity of these methods.  I did a lot of email readings for the Free Reading Network and with a little meditation and reflection on the cards I drew, I managed to get a lot of responses telling me how accurate I was.

There are Facebook Groups that offer reading exchanges so people can practice their skills,  and a myriad of websites that offer readings for a fee.  In all of these cases, the physical presence of the Seeker is not required, and no one seems to question that.  The Seeker is present in the reading even if they are not physically with the Practitioner. If the Seeker can be part of a reading without being physically present, then the idea that the cards can be part of a reading without them being physically present is not too far fetched.

Several theories of the ways the Universe works suggest that everything is connected on some level, and communication is possible among seemingly distinct entities with no obvious contact,  This communication speaks to us through symbols that we each need to interpret.  That is what the Tarot cards show us - symbols that we interpret based on the layout of the cards, the question and our own intuition. If the specific symbols are shown to us because of the connection between the Seeker and the Practitioner, and they are valid without the Seeker's presence, then the display of the symbols does not rely on physical cards to be present in the reading. And if the symbols are produced through a device that uses images of the Tarot cards, they should be just as valid for interpretation as physical cards are,

Having said all that, I rarely use the Tarot apps I have for reading other people.  The ritual of shuffling the cards and laying them out provides a way for me to focus on what is about to come and accept the message I will get from the cards. Most people have an expectation of how a reading is supposed to proceed, in style if not in substance. Shuffling the deck and placing the cards out on the  table is part of a reading as far as many people are concerned, and that shared experience helps the parties to connect with each other on some level. (That connection will play a part in the reading, for good or for bad.)

If the reading is not in person, then the method of the reading changes. E-mail,  Skype and phone calls each require a different approach.  Email isn't as immediate as real-time communication, so there is some time to concentrate on the cards and how to phrase what you will write. Talking with someone  on the phone requires some back and forth discussion, and video conferencing is almost the same as in person.  But even though the details change for different reading mediums, the same basics apply as they would in a face-to-face reading.

As far as using Tarot apps for personal learning and practice readings, the apps offer several functions that make this a great way to do this. Not all apps have all the same functions, but most will provide a card of the day, built in spreads and options on how to choose the cards from the virtual deck.  I have several that I check each day. I have one app on my phone, and I get a 3 card "spread" on my tablet each day with the "card of the day" widgets from 3 different Tarot apps. And if you are on the train or bus you can spend some time with your virtual cards and save the spread for later!

Using an app to do a reading for another person is a personal choice, and I believe it should be discussed with the Seeker beforehand.  At the same time, I do not see any reason not to use the apps as just another tool in the way that  the cards are drawn other than personal prejudice or preference. If I were in a situation where someone wanted a reading and the only thing  keeping that from happening was access to a deck, I would not hesitate to suggest using the apps on my phone or tablet.

There are many Tarot apps that can be found for smart phones and tablets. Over the course of the next several posts I will be sharing my experience with the ones I have tried and those I use regularly.  In the mean time please feel free to add your thoughts and suggestions for apps below!





* I use the terms Seeker and Practitioner in place of Querant and Reader  after reading Benebell Wen's "Holistic Tarot".  The explanation she has is much better than anything I can articulate, and you owe it to your self to get a copy of this book!