Liz Worth ~ Tarot + Astrology

I'm curious: Have you ever used ChatGPT or other A.I. apps to learn tarot?

If so, how did it go? 

I ask because I've noticed more mentions of ChatGPT in relation to learning tarot and astrology this season. In 2023, I wrote a blog about whether we should be concerned that A.I. could replace real-life tarot readers and other diviners. At the time, ChatGPT was becoming more commonplace and there were a lot of murmurings in the tarot community about what it might mean for our industry as time goes on. 

People were, and still are, wondering: Will tarot decks with A.I. generated art become the norm? Will tarot illustrators be replaced? 

What if people turn to ChatGPT as an oracle? 

At the time, I wasn't too worried. I'm still not. 

Yes, we have to pay attention to technological advances. Whether we participate in them or not, it's always smart to stay in the know about where innovation is headed.

I've been hearing more and more about Chat GPT being used to create...

We’re nearing the end of the calendar year which means a lot of us are turning to tarot to ask, “What’s coming up in the New Year?"

Even though there’s always a lot of back and forth in the tarot community about whether or not to use tarot as a predictive tool, the reality is that a large percentage of tarot querents ask predictive questions. 

I think where readers sometimes hesitate with predictions is when we feel like we’re under pressure to be all-seeing and all-knowing.

When I got my first tarot deck, I assumed readings were completely predictive, and expected the cards to send me visions of the future. (Yes, I was very disappointed when it didn’t work out that way.)

That assumption blocked me for a long time, especially because it made me feel inadequate as a reader. 

It took time, practice and reflection for me to understand how I wanted to approach predictive readings, and to develop a framework for myself to operate within...

One of the most challenging things a reader can do is read at a busy event. When you have a line-up of people waiting to a get a complimentary five-minute reading, it really puts the pressure on.

Event hosts usually hire tarot readers to add something extra to the evening: They want to treat their guests to something different, and they want to enhance the atmosphere.

But I find that event hosts often underestimate how popular readings are, especially when the host is covering the cost for the guests. A free reading? Yes, please!

If you haven’t read tarot at a big party – and I’m talking about events that are open to the public – you can expect to have more demand than you can realistically accommodate within an evening. People will sometimes spend their entire night waiting in line for a quick reading, forgoing any other enjoyments the event offers.

You can also expect the usual suspects of questions: People will often ask whether you see them finding love any...

As I've been promoting my new book this season, I've had a few people ask me about using tarot for creative purposes. This is one of my favourite ways to use tarot, especially when I get to read for clients who are emerging or established artists. 

Talking about the ways in which divination can generate ideas or crystallize obscure concepts is something I would love to share more about in the future. There is so much tarot can do when we get curious about our lives and creative with our questions. 

One question I've had recently is whether I use tarot to help me decide which creative projects to pursue. 

The answer, for me at least, is no: I don't base my inspiration against the tarot, at least when it comes to whether I should pursue a new idea or not. 

No matter the topic, there can be a tendency to want to ask whether something will work out or be worthwhile. Everyone wants to write the next bestseller or hit single. 

We all like to wonder, "What if...

Do you ever sit down and reflect on how much has changed since you started making tarot a part of your life?   

When I think back to where I was when I decided to commit to this path, I can’t believe the difference between where I started and where I’ve ended up.  

I used to be searching for something that I couldn’t quite articulate. All I knew was that I had an inner discomfort, an ongoing sense that things weren’t quite what they should be.  

Back then, I had a challenging job in a downtown office. I used to walk to work every day asking, “What am I supposed to be doing?”  

That question led me to a series of readers. I consulted astrologers, cartomancers, psychics, channelers… Slowly, each reading chipped away at my big, nebulous questions:  

“How can I break away from the fears that keep me tied to things I know I don’t want to be doing?”  

“What...

I always pay attention to the patterns that come up in my client readings. It never fails that clusters people tend to be going through the same things at the same time.

We are all part of a collective consciousness: Of course there will be common threads and themes that some of us, seemingly at random, are all experiencing simultaneously. 

But I also think that tarot shows us just how similar we often are to each other. Yes, humans have their differences, but we also have a lot in common.  

Most people want to be happy and fulfilled. Most people want to love and be loved. Most people want to feel accepted and connected.  

One of the common themes that’s come up among my readings so far this year is how drained people feel. There is a lot happening in the world right now, and the pressures of life are relentless.

So many of us are caught in a whirl of go, go, go, rushing from one task to the next. And so often, it seems like as soon as one thing is...

If you’ve had a tarot reading with me, or taken some of my classes, you’ll already know that my go-to tarot technique is the three-card open spread.  

This wasn’t always my go-to technique: I used to swear by positional tarot spreads. The bigger and more complex, the better. I would even make custom spreads for my client work to personalize each session.  

But the more my client base grew, the more I had to adapt my tarot practice. I don’t know what triggered the shift, but it seemed like all of a sudden I was getting more clients coming in with longer lists of questions.  

I often found myself having to think on my feet during each reading, shifting quickly from one question to another, sometimes without any relation between topics my clients wanted to cover.  

It was no longer working for me to create custom spreads in advance: My clients wanted a reader who was adaptable, fluid, and flexible. Going in with one or two...

The tarot space is a crowded one. Especially in the last few years, when it seems like everyone got into tarot and launched a TikTok account…

One thing I’ve talked about a lot with fellow readers offline is how to stand out in such a crowded environment. Especially when it seems like everyone is doing daily card readings online, or going live on YouTube or Instagram to read for the collective.

“Do I have to do that, too?” you might have wondered if you’ve been trying to build up your presence as a reader.

My answer is no. If you follow me on social media, you’ll see that I don’t do a lot of collective readings. It’s on a rare occasion when I’ll pull a card or two for an Instagram live. But otherwise I enjoy talking about different topics and I like to leave space for other things.

Kind of like what I do here in my newsletter: I want to give something that might be helpful to those of you read these emails (thank you for being...

One of the hardest things to do as a tarot reader is to feel like you’re the bearer of bad news.

People come to readings with a lot of hope. Sometimes they want to hear that a rough situation is going to turn around, or that an old flame is going to reappear in their lives. 

But it isn’t always in the cards – at least not as far as you can tell once the reading has started. 

I once had someone get quite upset with me when I told her that I didn’t see what she wanted me to see. 

“I’m not here to lie to you about what I’m seeing,” I finally had to tell her. “Would you rather I do that?” 

This wasn’t a defensive question – it was honest. I genuinely wonder if some clients want readers to just tell them what they want to hear rather than interpret the cards as they are. 

More often than not, though, people are open to receiving whatever may come. Even if the news is disappointing. 

...

In some of my recent readings, a few of my clients have asked, “How much information should I tell you?”

This question doesn’t always come from a desire to stay secretive or to test a reader: I’ve actually found it’s the opposite a lot of the time.

People come to tarot readings because they are trying to work something out within themselves.

Sometimes they are at a difficult or confusing crossroads.  Sometimes they are trying to make sense of an illogical scenario.

I’ve always seen myself as a neutral party for my clients. I’m not here to steer them in any one direction. I’m just here to listen and to understand what will be most helpful for them to take away from our time together.

If that means they want to explain where they’re coming from with a question, or they just want to talk things out for a minute without anyone jumping to conclusions, I can be that person for them.

You never know what a querent is going through....