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!