My tarot way or the highway

A friend recently contacted me about a tarot deck she was using. “Theresa, is it okay to use a ‘non-traditional’ tarot deck?”

Short answer: yes.

Long answer: you have to find a deck that works for you. Period. It doesn’t matter if your deck of choice is the Hello Kitty tarot or the Rider Waite. It must speak to you and you alone. There is no “one deck fits all” in tarot.

Same with your reading “style”.

Every tarot reader must find their own individual way to read the cards. You can be intuitive, therapeutic, interactive, or logical. You can choose to use reversals (or not), elemental dignities or some other system. You can just go with your gut if that works. Heck, if your preferred method is to deliver your tarot reading in a haiku format, go for it.

Sure, there are some who might turn up their noses and sniff about what is “real” tarot reading.

Real to who?

Ignore that tarot trash talk.

Truth: what works for one may not work for another.

This is one of the reasons why I am adamantly against an official certification board for tarot readers. Who will determine if a reader is any good or if their “style” is correct? Who will be the arbitrator of that? How can we guarantee that a governing board will be able to make room and respect for the myriad of different reading styles? And let’s not forget that enforced ethical codes are not going work for everyone because not everyone is going to operate the same (or want to).

If there is only “one way”, we risk becoming conformists or, worse yet, what Mary Greer called “tarot fundamentalists”. That’s not something I’d be down with. Not one bit.

Because my clients like me and the way I that roll. But the people who sit at your tarot table may not feel the same. It’s all good, yo. There is room for all at the tarot table but we don’t need to eat the same thing on the menu or use the same utensils.

If you want to read with a system or your intuition – or with a traditional deck or one with cats wearing Victorian clothes, go for it! Just don’t judge those who choose differently.

As Kevin Hart says: “Do you, boo boo, and Imma do me.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L9AShaXoxs