Questions by Liz Worth, The Power of Tarot

What beliefs, attitudes, or expectations are you coming in with? Could any of these beliefs possibly hold you back from learning tarot?

April 19, 2026

While I’m open to the idea that maybe there is some higher power that influences a tarot reading, I more or less believe that tarot is a mirror that reflects back at us who we are. It takes our subconscious intuitions, ideas, and sense of the world and brings them to our conscious mind.

Benebell Wen says it better than I could:

I do not support fortune-telling and I do not believe in future-telling. My approach to tarot is not predictive. It is analytic. The signs and symbols of the cards facilitate retrieval of information from the unconscious and move it to the forefront of the conscious plane of the mind, which can then help us form creative solutions, present a different angle to a problem that we have been looking monotonously at, or offer the breakthrough that allows us to move forward. I call it “tarot analytics.”

Tarot tells us a possible future, not one that’s set in stone. Ultimately, as deterministic and fated as the universe may be (in hindsight), we are still offered (or appear to be offered) a choice that we can make.

To that end, I don’t believe tarot always tells us the absolute and definitive objective truth of the matter. We might find a reading we are in strong disagreement with, but in doing so, we can engage with tarot dialectically. Perhaps in opposing an interpretation of a particular reading, we are freed from our indecision and can learn from the tarot apophatically (viz. through negation).

I don’t care about tarot because I want to know the future. The interesting thing about tarot cards are how they can reflect our concerns, ideas, anxieties, emotions, etc. In short, they can become a mirror, or a way for us to project our subconscious into a conscious place. So, while I do research the cards on occasion, I am not beholden to what it says. I might disagree with an interpretation. I might gain further insight from it. It depends.

Do they hold me back? Perhaps in some ways, but none that come to mind.

Why do you want to learn tarot? Why does it call to you, and how will it enhance your life?

I want to learn tarot because it is an encyclopedia of Western esoteric, spiritual, religion, and philosophical knowledge; and it is for this reason that I feel called to it in lieu of what might be comparable “divinatory” systems. It’s actually quite perfect as I have always been fascinated by that magical space in thought, and tarot provides an application of that manner of knowing to the practical matter of discernment in everyday life.

I suppose this will enhance my life by being therapeutic in that it provides me with a ritual space to relate my own thoughts, feelings, ideas, etc. to spiritual systems. I’ve been quite syncretic in my beliefs and spiritual practices for a while now, and tarot seems to offer an appreciate—nay, encouragement—of this manner of spiritual seeking.

Moreover, the Fool’s Journey appears to provide us with some manner of goal in the spiritual life that can be understood distinctly from and in concert with other spiritual practices.

What is your main goal with tarot at this time? (i.e. Learn the basics; learn how to read for others, etc.)

At this time, my goal is to become comfortable with reading the cards. This entails learning their meanings, becoming acquainted with the basic level of symbolism at work, the systems that produced them, and how to weave them together into a proper reading. In short, this is me beginning to learn the basics so that I can eventually grow into my own style as a reader.

What will you do to stay committed to learning tarot, even when it at times it feels challenging, boring, or discouraging?

I just have to keep at it, but engaging in the material structurally should help. I’m working my way through Benebell Wen’s companion course to Holistic Tarot currently, and that ought to do for the next little bit. It’ll certainly help me meet my goals.

Additionally, it might be helpful to engage in social circles of tarot readers that can encourage me, offer advice, and maybe motivate me to continue when it gets tough.