Let’s cut the woowoo around tarot
As a long-time reader, I sometimes take the theories around the cards for granted. I no longer question my frame of mind, at least not like I used to do when I just began reading cards. That is why I want to talk to you about the woowoo I often see around the tarot.
Presumptuous readers
Woo-woo always triggers my desire to answer questions about tarot in a no-nonsense way — to make it bloody simple, even when reading cards is not as simple as many teachers tell you. Making it grounded and easy to understand allows me to reach more people, especially when I take the woo-woo off. I have nothing with dark candles, crystal balls, and reading the future. I am right here, right now, feet on the ground, with you, in the mud. There are no big secrets around the tarot. They are pieces of sturdy paper, nothing else. Let’s not make it more exciting or scary than it is.
I mean, we tarot readers can be so presumptuous about how tarot works that we forget to explain it adequately. We tend to add woo-woo where it is unnecessary (or helpful). It hides nal insecurities, which makes us less authentic.
No more the Universe has your back
While I have used woo-woo to talk about tarot, I’ve done that because there is a lot that I don’t know about how cally work. Especially in the beginning, when I wanted to explain it very well, I secretly had no clue how it worked. By adding woo-woo, I took the pressure off of explaining it correctly because that meant I could leave it halfway, just about where my doubts got in the way.
I am no longer afraid to say that I have no clue. Is it an intuitive tool or is it a psychological tool? I’m leaning toward the latter. Because of this, I have shaken off the imposter syndrome. It has brought me back to having fun with the cards. In some way, the images of the cards create ‘wisdom’ in my thinking brain. But what is wisdom anyway? I guess, it is mostly a light bulb moment where you suddenly see how you click. I’d like to understand how that works, it would be interesting, but I don’t need to know it.
When I add woo-woo, I separate myself from the people I want to connect with — people who need insight or just want to talk to another human being with the same hobby. Woo-woo is creating barriers between the people I like and myself because we no longer talk about what makes us tick, but about how to keep up the egoic mask.
Soul-based authentic life
It also doesn’t help me live a soul-based authentic life. When I struggle with something, I often only need a firm kick in the ass because I already know what I want. My stinking thinking has gotten in the way and stopped me from taking action. I can do reading after reading, but in the end, I need to step toward my fulfilling my desires. I need to take action, take a risk, and do the thing that I am anxious about.
Tarot cards bring realistic no-nonsense advice, so why hide that under a blanket of woo-woo? It stops you from understanding what is going on, and I don’t see how the Universe has my (or your) back that way.
Related: Order a real, no-nonsense, no-woo-woo tarot channeling session here.
Let’s make woowoo bloody simple
Let’s make it bloody simple: a tarot deck is a deck of 78 cards with images that create a certain feeling when you look at them. Explaining that feeling tells you something about how your brain works on the emotional and mental levels. It can help you decide what to do next, but it can’t predict the future. The truth about tarot cards is that it’s only paper, people! There’s no woowoo in that.
While the images of the Major Arcana tell you about life phases we all go through, about where you are on your journey to find and live a life that makes you happy, the Minor Arcana cards are generally about our day-to-day lives with ups and downs. Through our day-to-day life, we are learning the big things and find out how we tick.
Life is a big adventure in which you discover through your daily life if things feel good or if they don’t. Having happy experiences does not bring more weight to the game than frustration or depression. Your feelings just are. Through your daily experience, you understand who you are, how you solve your problems, find out what your talents are, and learn what you need to be happy. It is not possible to discover who you are without your daily adventures. Often, you learn big life lessons through your day-to-day life.
Your subconscious woowoo
Another way to use the tarot is to uncover unseen processes in your subconscious. Whatever you experience or once experienced is locked into that vast library of adventures and (sometimes) drama. It is no use to add woowoo because it will not help you dig up the things still affecting you.
Whether you are aware of it or not, your subconscious affects your outlook on life and thus your interpretation.
Suppose you were depressed all the time; this would probably affect your readings because it affects your outlook on life. I must say that I am super happy that I have left behind that part of my life (even though I can still create a shitload of drama around certain aspects of my life).
Drama through woowoo
The thing with drama (and I hope I am not the only one who does this) is that it emphasizes parts of my experience excessively. This is because I exaggerate it too much (that’s why it’s drama).
The more drama I create, the more important I will make the specific card I project it on. So, if you notice you are emotional about something and react strongly to a specific card, then find out what it represents. What does it remind you of? How does it trigger you? How are you “predicting” your future because “this always happens to you”?
How intense are your emotions
Another aspect we should not forget is the topic of our reading. What is your reading about?
Which, maybe emotional questions, full of heart-breaking feelings, did you ask for guidance around? I have a guideline for that. The more emotions connected to the topic, the fewer cards you need in your reading. If life is complicated, do a simple reading. Only draw one card and use that as a breakthrough. Just one card to shift your point of view or the resistance you experienced all your life. In this case, more cards do not make you merrier!
And sometimes, it is just time you let go of a specific limiting story you have been telling yourself. It is time because you have told the bloody story for too long and are fed up with the obstruction and sabotage you have been living with.
When it is time, you need to open yourself to the message of your subconscious. For that, you need to quit the drama and the woowoo. This is why I find asking the right question one of the most critical aspects of reading cards. In the question, you can see how far you have moved forward to embrace self-acceptance or readiness to solve a long-standing issue.
Related: Order a real, no-nonsense, no-woo-woo tarot channeling session here.
Back to you
When you use the tarot cards as a mirror of your soul or as a guiding light in your daily life, you have to stop using woo-woo. Yes, reading cards is a skill that not everybody understands and might create a mysterious aura around you. But adding woowoo is not what you need. It is also not what others need, to see the real you. It is unhelpful, and it is a terrible egotrip.
Whether you are a tarot reader or not, comment below on your opinion about woowoo. If you like the article, please share it with your nearest woowoo person.
My name is Jolanda Bolt, and I am the author of the Tarot Guide for Beginners. If you are looking for a simple but straight forward (a.k.a. Dutch) way to learn how to read tarot cards, this is your sign to buy it. If you want to learn more about reading tarot cards, then find my blogs here.
My understanding of the metaphysical and how to manifest an abundant life change and evolves all the time.What I hope is that you got something out of this blog. I want you to have a more fulfilling, more authentic life, and one of the ways to do this is to subscribe to my newsletter so you can stay up to date with what I’m creating. Another thing you can do is to decide what this blog taught you, leave your comment below and tell one person you know. Thank you, and I love you.
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