Choosing Your Tarot Influences Wisely

My tarot students often hear me say this:

It’s the best time ever to learn tarot. It’s so much easier to find information about tarot these days than when I was first introduced to the cards.

There’s an endless assortment of YouTube channels, tarot blogs, tarot websites, and more. And the number of books being published on tarot each year right now is incredible.

And of course, there are a lot of tarot readers sharing tips on social media as well.

But like anything else, not all information is created equal. Just because someone has a big social media following doesn’t necessarily mean the information they’re sharing is accurate.

Even though we have a wealth of information at our fingertips, the popularity of influencers and accounts isn’t always based on the quality of information they share. Instead, it might be because of the way they carefully curate their feed, or the aesthetic through which they present themselves.

Context is also easily lost on social media. Tarot is hundreds of years old and has gone through many evolutions throughout the centuries. Reading it is a craft that can take years to develop. And even then, there are always deeper layers to explore.

But social media boils everything down to quick soundbites and character limits. Because of time and length constraints on posts, creators aren’t always able to explain the why behind what they’re sharing. Nor are they always able to include exhaustive lists of resources to cite their own references or studies.

For all of the information we seem to have at our fingertips, there is also a lot of information that doesn’t make it to the surface as a result. Which means that we all have to do our own quality control when it comes who we’re following online, and how we are allowing those influences to impact our knowledge as tarot readers.

It's especially hard for beginner readers to navigate these spaces, I think, as you might not always have a clear frame of reference yet as to what to look for, or what to even learn first.

Here are a few of my suggestions to choose your tarot influences wisely (online and off):

Look for constructive advice: You might encounter content that preaches that certain ways of working with tarot are “bad” or “wrong.” Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but a good teacher should be able to offer guidance and solutions about what to do instead. Look for teachers who offer alternatives, and who can explain the why behind their reasoning.

Get clear about what kind of energy you want to take in: If you’re really new to tarot, you might be in the exploratory phase, feeling things out and feeling unsure about who or what to pay attention to. But over time, you will start to notice who you gravitate towards the most. Are you excited every time a certain tarot reader makes a new post?

Do you sometimes feel disconnected or put-off by certain things another is sharing? We don’t all have to agree with each other 100% of the time (and sometimes a little bit of friction gets your mind working in new ways), but finding resources and teachers online who share a similar wavelength to you can go a long way.

Look for people who give mutual respect: I’m often surprised when I see content creators talking down to their communities. I’ve seen a few readers with substantial followings express their frustration, impatience, and irritation towards their fans and audience for various reasons. Or they talk down to their communities, acting as though no one knows better.

This is always a red flag to me because it causes a tense leader/follower dynamic within online spaces. It also shows an unwillingness on the teacher’s part to listen and learn from the community around them. Find people who support and nurture their communities with patience, compassion, and fairness. Respect should always be a common value.

What do you look for when you are seeking out resources and influences who you can trust? I’d love to know.

Until next time,

Liz

 p.s. If you're wondering what to focus on at this stage of your tarot journey, my Tarot Blueprint quiz can help! It's a fun, fast way to get inspired about your path. Try it here.