Tarot for Skeptics | Using Tarot Cards for Psychological Exploration & More!

[@socialmoth4974]

This perfectly describes my relationship with Tarot. It's a soothing ritual that helps me to think deeper about myself and consider ideas I had never considered before. Plus, it's fun and relaxing.

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

That’s great, I’m glad I could capture your relationship with tarot as well 😊 it definitely is a calming ritual for me as well!

[@nadia_margaret_3458]

@@theskepticalwitch6611 same :)

[@blipinthecosmos]

Me too! I used tarot cards for the first time recently and it was to help me see how I felt about two jobs offers and choose between them

[@abesapien9930]

I'm an atheist that dove pretty heavily into cartomancy this last year, and being perfectly honest, I felt a little ashamed and conflicted about it! But at the end of the day I am amazed by the insights and possibilities one sees in Tarot, and especially psychology-based oracle decks (like "Archetypes" by Caroline Myss). Since I no longer go to church, it's also the closest I will ever get to a "sermon," since readings so often point out our strengths and weaknesses. I may change my opinion someday, but for now I see more good than bad from Tarot. The magic is all inside us, not the cards.

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

I think that’s a great way of thinking about it-that the magic is inside us, not these tools. I can understand feeling conflicted or ashamed about using things like tarot or cartomancy, but hopefully framing it as a means of self-understanding or improvement can help with that 😊

[@bari_bari_bari]

Another thing: My favorite non-divination tarot learning resource was the Root Lock Radio podcast. The host emphasizes the storytelling aspect of the cards combined with number symbolism. Each of the suits follows similar story beats, just in different contexts, so his approach is more about figuring meanings out in real time rather than just brute-force memorizing all 78 cards. It helped me so, so much.

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

Thank you for this! I’ll definitely check this out! I’ve always struggled with memorization, so this seems like a much better approach for learning the meanings of the cards. I’ve started like a “tarot scrapbook” of sorts where I keep a couple pages for each card, and put in pictures/words/symbols I associate with each one. As a visual learner, this has been pretty helpful!

[@bari_bari_bari]

9:45 Some of the most powerful tarot experiences I've ever had didn't have anything to do with the cards themselves, but rather about how those cards made me *feel* when they came up. Like once when I pulled Justice to represent myself and was immediately like "there's no way that's true, I'm a piece of garbage." So I stopped the reading and wrote a long journal entry exploring why I had such a low opinion of myself, and it really helped to change my whole perspective. Another time I did a reading when I was confused about my gender (I've since realized I'm a trans man), and I was utterly heartbroken when I pulled the Empress to represent myself. I know the Empress can mean a lot of different things besides femininity/motherhood, but my reaction to pulling the card was so intense and visceral that it basically gave me the answer I was looking for. Tarot is such a powerful tool. The randomness has forced me to confront aspects of myself I never would have thought to engage with otherwise.

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

Wow, that’s fantastic you’ve had such moving experiences with tarot. And you’re right-the randomness of it and our responses to it are what can make for such transformative moments. A lot of the power of tarot derives from our intuitive and emotional responses to the cards, rather than from the cards themselves.

[@KairuDeLarge]

"It's how we respond to things that matters." -that line encapsulates my feelings on tarot. I have a somewhat theory about my own nature, that there is the child in me, and the adult. The adult will sometimes reason with the child, and vice versa, though a resolution to the argument is often never reached. I find the random, impartial nature of tarot pulling is a means to have another voice enter into the argument. It can bring up thoughts, or show me things, that the parts of me would not arrive at on their own. Or as you said, our gut reaction can also tell us a lot of things that we would not readily admit. Tarot can speak within us with a voice that is immune to our prejudice. Great video as always! (And yes I have always liked the sound of cards shuffling! I grew up playing Pokemon and Yugioh, so I think the sound illicits a pleasant nostalgic response for me. :P )

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

Thanks so much for this, I really love that perspective. I often feel as though there are various (sometimes competing) parts of myself too, and when I work with tarot, it challenges some of these parts and their assumptions. And that’s an excellent way of putting it-that tarot can speak to us in ways that can move beyond our own prejudices. Ahh yes, I also grew up with lots of Pokémon card suffering! Actually, there are some “pop” Pagans/witches who use Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards as tarot/oracle-like cards, and do readings with them!

[@KairuDeLarge]

@@theskepticalwitch6611 I love the idea of using Pokemon cards for tarot! I should try it sometime haha

[@juliapenarivera3167]

I know this is an old video, but i really appreciate you putting this out there because i have been on both sides of the spiritual/religious spectrum, i was once a believer and now am skeptical- but i do enjoy using the tarot in this way - it is nice to see that someone else also uses it in this way

[@rewfrog]

My spiritual ritual is centered around tarot and journaling, so it's cool to hear that you do the same thing! Thank you for shedding light on this way of engaging with these cards and archetypes.

[@vernongeorge7789]

Im so glad i found your channel! I really connect with your take on the psychological aspect of witchcraft. So awesome. Thank you.

[@godrilla5549]

Been using my wonderland deck to decipher my dreams, came here to get some ideas on further ways to use them save for fortune telling. Lots of good ideas in this video. Subbed.

[@daliazein1871]

Thank you for a great video as always! I sometimes take way too much time shuffling the cards because it's such a satisfying noise hahaha! I use tarot as part of my morning ritual every other day for journalling, decision-making and emotional regulation. Before I used to just sit with my journal feeling that I have way too many chaotic thoughts not knowing where to statt. And drawing the card of the day really helps in just organising some of that chaos as I self-reflect and write.

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

Yes! I feel the same way about journaling-I’ve got so many thoughts in my head, sometimes it makes knowing what to actually get down on paper quite difficult. So tarot is a great way for helping me organize those thoughts. And I’m glad I’m not the only one who lives the sound of card shuffling! Haha

[@arronporter3227]

You practice magic in the same way as I do. So glad I found your content.

[@nerdwingsplays9056]

Thanks for making this! I’m always on the lookout for content from my fellow skeptical witches! Subscribed!

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

Glad you enjoyed it, and thank you! I always love connecting with fellow Skeptical witches! :)

[@OrganicMocha]

Thanks for this insightful video. Really helps me rethink how I use tarot. I moved from blind faith and belief in fortune telling and predictions to having (in my opinion), a more balanced perspective. What was the tarot deck at timestamp 7:12? Beautiful colours!

[@ThePeculiarBrunette]

Love the practical aspect and approach Sarah! Tarot and Psychology looks like an interesting read! I’m adding it to my list because I’m interested in learning more about this perspective. ♥️

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

Thank you! It’s a good book for sure, a super helpful look at just how versatile tarot can be!

[@LawrenceLivingstone]

Hello Sara! thank you for your video! Very interesting prospective, I started using tarot cards a couple of months ago just for this purpose (shadow work and personal development) and that's really cool! Everyone should do it to understand him/herself! It helps a lot.

[@dragonrosehealings]

I love this. Something that I like, something like me.

[@reverietime]

This is a great video! Your approach to tarot sounds similar to mine - I read for myself a lot and suspend disbelief to the point where the logical side of myself would say that a tarot reading is probably random, but at the same time, in the moment, I often treat it like a ✨ special universe message ✨. I also love the idea of tarot illustrations as keys to the collective unconscious. Is the collective unconscious actually a thing? Who knows! This weird mashup of belief/non-belief works well when reading for myself, but I find reading for people a little more challenging since I feel like tarot is both sort-of-divination and not-divination at the same time. Do you ever read tarot for others?

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

That’s cool, we definitely do seem to have similar approaches here! Like rationally I know the cards are random, but in the moment I sometimes like to let myself think that it’s more than that. I don’t read for others very often, but when I do I always let them know my position on tarot-that I believe the cards are random, but that it’s possible to find meaning in the cards if they keep an open mind. So I’ll give them my interpretation of the cards, what I think it could mean for them, and encourage them to make their own connections. The last time I read for other people, they pretty much all had a really strong connection to the cards that were pulled, and could relate them to things going on in their lives. Which I think just speaks to the depths of tarot symbolism, and the way that it can reveal so much about our inner lives, if we let it!

[@myjainieness]

The Essential Tarot, Unlocking the Mystery By Vincent Pitisci. He talks about how creative thinking techniques are used in card reading. "Today a card reading can literally be understood as a Creative Thinking application" - Vincent Pitisci He also has a youtube channel. His book and be found on amazon that is where I got mine. I pretty much use it when I am looking up meanings.

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

Thank you for the recommendation- this sounds really interesting, I’ll check it out! :)

[@myjainieness]

@@theskepticalwitch6611 your welcome. Your channel has given me new ways of looking at my own spirituality. I think we need more of this. thank you for that.

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

I’m glad it’s resonated with you! :)

[@cyberbeary]

I have never used tarot for ASMR, but I really like that idea. I am totally gonna try that now. :)

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

I feel like it’s not a very common thing haha. But for some reason the shuffling just does it for me!

[@izzy574]

Wow, I just found your channel, have watched a few videos and just subbed. I like what you said about some tarot readers who seem to sugarcoat their readings. As a tarot reader myself I would never give such types of 'sugarcoated' readings because there's much that can be learned from adversity. I've noticed that some tarot readers base their readings from a psychological perspective only. Personally, I enjoy combining tarot with the Kaballah and Hermetics in addition to some psychology, but of course to each their own. My point is that tarot is soo much more than any single esoteric practice. Tarot has many layers and that's what makes it special. Anyway, I'm glad I found your channel. Btw, your glamour magick is working quite nicely I might add! 🌛☀️🌜

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

Thank you! And I agree, there’s so much depth to tarot that is really just ignored when readers sugar coat readings. Your combined approach to tarot sounds really cool!

[@welcome12ization]

Interesting. I'm getting interested in tarot and oracle decks and am interested in them in the way you describe - for psychological exploration, Jungian psychoanalysis in a way.

[@violinfairyqueen]

Thank you for this video, Sarah! I am quite agnostic when it comes to spiritual things but in this past month I started using two different oracle decks (Vintage Wisdom and Elle Qui decks) as a way to connect with myself, practice mindfulness and journal and I have been enjoying it soooo much and finding it very helpful. What are your favorite tarot and oracle decks?

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

That’s awesome I’m glad the practice is working out for you! I love the Goddess Oracle deck and the Starman Tarot deck.. but I’m always looking for new recommendations! 😊

[@HappilyNeverAfter]

Have you done a video about your time in Scotland?

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

Not yet! But this is something I could possibly do, as I learned so much about witchcraft and really developed my spirituality there :) is there anything specific you’d be interested in seeing in a video?

[@HappilyNeverAfter]

@@theskepticalwitch6611 I'm always interested in local lore, etc. Maybe also places in Scotland associated with witchcraft, local cultural practices, etc (bonus if you have photos)? I'd also be interested to hear more about your studies there.

[@thomasstanford80191]

If you've never heard of him, you'd love Mark Passio - in general, but in particular he speaks about this specifically :)

[@thomasstanford80191]

Vincent Pitisci was probably my first esoteric introduction to the cards, though he's likely easily my favorite I've seen another presentation from Richard Smoley (also theosophical society) And one with sir Alan Moore it was Ok but highly invaluable history I forgot to mention Mark Passio has an entire lecture on tarot symbolism lol

[@lagos8010]

Sorry if you have already answered this, I looked around but couldn't find an answer, where is your deck from? The vintage SciFi vibes are amazing

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

One deck is the Wild Unknown Tarot and the other is the Starman Tarot (David Bowie inspired!)

[@cryinglightning2363]

How do you read tarots to others using this method?

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

Personally I don't typically read tarot for others, though I think this more psychological approach could still work. If you're reading for friends or people you know pretty well, you can interpret the cards for them based on what you know about their circumstances, personality and experiences... Or, if you don't know them well, then you can ask them to do their own inner work based on the reading. The book I mentioned in the video--Tarot and Psychology by Arthur Rosengarten is a good place to start for thinking about this, as it provides guidance for how you can use tarot as a therapeutic tool for helping people gain psychological insights, and helping them with whatever they may be struggling with.

[@haniyyahn]

Could you post the name of the Rosengarden book or article you were referring to?

[@senuaquest]

I have only started using tarot I dont ask for future event type questions because logically thinking there are to many variables that can happen to change the future. so I ask things like what is going on and or why . off topic here I think that when it comes to the occult things or spiritual beliefs that science has its own way of explaining why and what it is but it doesn't fully explain it allot of what science does is logical guess work and maybe at the time it makes sense until we look even deeper as human beings we cannot fully understand things because our minds are not developed enough or in that way anymore. one thing I have noticed lately is decks like the Waite deck have allot of Christianity symbolism in them, like the Tower ( tower of babel) or the queen of cups she is holding a vessel which has to angels on it protecting it ( the ark of the coven) and the empress I think it is what has the two pillars on either side of her which is the tombs of Solomon. the death card one of the four horsemen. I haven't looked to close at all the cards but it makes me wonder how much of that symbolism is effecting my thoughts on a different level that I might not be fully noticing .

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

That’s a really interesting observation-I’ve never owned the Rider Waite deck, but I’ve kind of noticed some of the Christian symbolism, like the angels. But I think it’s definitely possible that the symbolism in our decks does impact us, even on an unconscious level... I know I certainly gravitate towards certain decks depending on my mood, and I think the symbolism has a lot to do with that.

[@morgana6256]

Hello, Sarah! Would you please tell us the name of the deck you are using in this video? Thank you.

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

Hi! It’s the wild unknown tarot deck 😊

[@jessicariano2582]

If you don't mind, I have a question! What do you think of dismissing or re-doing readings? Something I hear a lot from non-skeptical tarot users is this idea that "the cards never lie" and so if your reading doesn't seem relevant or "right," you just need to think about it harder or from a different angle. Since we are skeptical witches, we don't believe that there is a real or objective message in the cards, so the notion of getting an unhelpful reading and just re-doing it feels less... blasphemous. At the same time, I worry that that could be a slippery slope where we're so critical and willing to dispose results that we block ourselves from using the cards to inspire new ways of thinking, that we might just keep dismissing and re-doing until we hear what we want to hear. Is this something you've thought about? Do you have a way of striking this balance?

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

That's a good question! Personally, whenever I do a reading that I don't like, I do get the urge to just re-shuffle the cards and do it again. I've started to realize though that it's more helpful to just take a minute and reflect on why I had such a negative reaction to the reading, and use that to work through whatever fears/anxieties I have around the suggested outcome. So I think from a skeptical perspective, it's ultimately the feelings we have about the cards that matter most--even when they are negative--rather than the cards themselves.

[@jessicariano2582]

That makes a lot of sense, thank you for your thoughtful response!

[@ReligionAndMaterialismDebunked]

Hey (: Awesome video! (: I've seen some want to do 10 minute readings, email readings, live readings, etc. I've seen paid courses for tarot cards, for general tarot cards and extensive learning courses too. I've seen people say, and many agree, that we should look at them for meanings instead of trying to remember meanings. I've seen it used in psychology. So, that all being said, if I wanna go by psychological spiritual nonreligious evidence based standpoint, and wanna charge $25/half hour, or like $15/15 minutes or so, how would that go? Do you recommend a certain amount of minutes the most over any other set of minutes? How would I go about the cards, learning the meanings tediously or going by what many like, of what I said of just seeing meaning in the cards? Thanks! 🙏🥴🔥👻💚❣️🔥🤜🤛

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

Sorry but I’m probably not the best person to answer these questions-I only read tarot for others for fun, so I have no idea about taking it to the professional level. Good luck with your endeavours though!

[@newdawn960]

I have been doing readings for people and got some great feedback but some of the people believe that what I am doing is letting the universe or God speak through me and I am wondering if this is ethical. I do not encourage their views at all and in fact, remind them that they have free will and that I am agnostic but they feel that the readings are meaningful because I am channeling some force. I don't know what to do because I want to keep using tarot to help people but I don't want to encourage superstition and unhealthy beliefs. Any thoughts on that?

[@theskepticalwitch6611]

I think as long as you're clear with people you're reading for about your own beliefs and intentions, and explicitly state to them that you are not trying to channel some divine force, then what they choose to believe or how they interpret the reading is up to them. You can't control what other people find meaning in, so as long as you're upfront with them, I don't see that as being necessarily unethical. But other card readers might disagree with me on this!

[@abesapien9930]

Also--subbed!

[@excelsiortrading8050]

I find it funny that you still consider yourself part of a chaotic universe instead of one that is quite orderly. Yes magic does exist ;-)