Evidence, Belief and the Cards on the Table

It appears I have once again been invited to darken the digital doorway of Learning Tarot.

This may come as a surprise to those who assumed I had expired quietly beneath an avalanche of old decks, incense burners and badly photocopied occult manuscripts. I am pleased to report that I am not dead yet. Admittedly, I look rather more like Gandalf with each passing year, but so far I have resisted both the grave and the temptation to shout, “You shall not pass!” at delivery drivers.

Since I am still among the living, it seems an appropriate moment to discuss a question which haunts nearly every serious student of tarot:

What counts as evidence that tarot works?

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15 Common Tarot Mistakes and How to Correct Them

Every tarot reader makes mistakes.

That is not a particularly mystical statement. Tarot is a skill, and mistakes are an ordinary part of acquiring any skill worth having. The problem begins when a reader cannot identify what has gone wrong.

A confused reading is sometimes blamed on a badly shuffled deck, blocked intuition, negative energy or cards that have mysteriously decided not to cooperate. Occasionally, the reading itself may simply be unclear. More often, however, the difficulty lies in the method.

The question may be poorly phrased. Too many cards may have been drawn. The reader may be forcing a preferred answer, ignoring the spread positions or treating each card as an isolated definition.

None of these problems requires moonlight, incense or the burial of a deck beneath an obliging tree.

They require better technique.

Here are 15 of the most common tarot mistakes—and practical ways to correct them.

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