Liz Worth ~ Tarot + Astrology

“Whenever I try to read my cards, I’m not sure how to tell whether my intuition is coming through, or if I’m just remembering something I read in my guidebook.”

This is a common refrain I’ve heard from aspiring tarot readers over the years.

I’ve talked about this elsewhere, but it doesn’t hurt to repeat it every now and then: I think that the assumption that every tarot reading has to feel like an intense psychic download is something that ends up blocking a lot of tarot readers from connecting with their cards.

Which is unfortunate when you think about it. So many of people are called to learn tarot specifically because they want to deepen their intuition and trust themselves more.

But once you’re putting tarot into practice, there can be a disconnect between you and your cards.

Maybe the messages don’t flow as easily as you expect them to.

Or maybe you’ve careful studied the little white book that came with your deck, but...

Since opening the doors to Tarot Study Hall, I’ve had a number of people reach out with questions about what it is, and – most importantly – whether it’s the right place for them to be. 

Tarot Study Hall is not another online course: It’s an ongoing immersion into the art of tarot reading. It’s a place where you’re able to implement what you’re learning about tarot. It’s a place to ask questions and find mentorship and guidance that will help you grow. 

One of my former students, Elle, first came to me for mentorship a few years ago. Elle was spending upwards of two hours a day studying tarot. She would binge every tarot podcast she could find and loved collecting tarot decks. 

But for all the time she was spending with her cards, she never felt like she was getting any further as a tarot reader. As a result, all those beautiful decks Elle was collecting felt like they were taunting her. “I feel so guilty...

One of the main things I focus on when I’m reading and teaching tarot is the importance of the question:

What is the goal or the intention of the reading?

Early on, I was always taught to read tarot using spreads. So many guidebooks I came across recommended three-card spreads – such as past, present, future – or larger spreads like the Celtic Cross.

And as social media became a more common place for tarot lovers to share their passion for card reading, it’s easier than ever to access hundreds, if not thousands, of tarot spreads at this time, for all kinds of topics.

But when I started reading tarot for others, I often found tarot spreads to be too confining for the flow of conversation that often unfolded. For all of the spreads I’d studied, I didn’t feel adequately prepared for the wide range of questions that querents would pose.

The problem with spreads is that if you’re reading on a specific question, then the spread your using has to...

I’m excited to announce that the doors to Tarot Study Hall are officially open. 

Tarot Study Hall is not another online course: It’s an ongoing immersion into the art of tarot reading.

As a member, you get access to monthly Q&A calls, live practice sessions, prompts, and more, all designed to give you the hands-on experience you need to start trusting yourself as a tarot reader. 

Tarot Study Hall aims to be a safe space where you can practice, make mistakes, ask honest, open questions about tarot and – best of all – grow as a tarot reader. 

Being a founding member means you are joining the beta launch of this membership. It’s an all new experience that will grow over time, and you will have the opportunity to shape the future of Tarot Study Hall for years to come. 

If you’re looking for an opportunity to be nurtured and mentored in a community that is dedicated to the art and language of tarot, I’d love to see you...

I have a general rule I follow when I’m online:

I don’t argue with strangers.

Not that I don’t argue with friends or acquaintances, either. I know better on all fronts that social media doesn’t often lead to good things when people are in disagreement.

This isn’t to say I’m against dialogue. It’s just that quite often, when I see people arguing, they’re spending more time trying to change each other’s minds than they are trying to understand each other’s perspective.

I find the same thing happens in the tarot community. When I first started connecting with other tarot readers, I joined some Facebook groups to meet other readers and have a dedicated space to share about tarot.

But after a while, I started to feel like those groups were counterproductive to what I was seeking. So often, posts devolved into virtual shouting matches, just like so many other experiences on social media.

And very often, the arguments that I...

This year I’m doing something I’ve wanted to try for a long time: I’m taking a painting class.

When I was younger I used to love drawing, crafting, and creating all kinds of things with my hands. Like many adults, I’ve let some of those interests fall to the wayside over the years and I’ve come to miss them.

There is something incredibly grounding about working with your hands.

I’ve always been interested in painting, but when I’ve tried to paint on my own, I’ve often felt out of my element.

I don’t know if I’m applying too much pressure on the brush. Or how to make an image look the way I see it in my imagination. Or which details to put on the canvas first.

Basically, I don’t know where to begin or what to focus on when I’m on my own.

I know that art can be expressive and fun, and that technique doesn’t have to matter.

But the thing is, it matters to me: I can be creative in all kinds of ways in my life....

A couple years ago, a young woman named Gabby Petito had gone missing in the U.S.

It was a big news story here. People were obsessively following it online.

At the time, I was mentoring a few tarot students who were following the story, too.

They were particularly interested in seeing other tarot readers, psychics, and astrologers trying to crack the case through readings and divination on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

“I find these videos really interesting to watch,” one student admitted. “But is it ethical to do readings like this?”

There is a history of psychics helping to solve crimes, but this practice has a controversial past and uneven results.

Psychic medium Kristy Robinett famously helped police in the cold case of Ashley Howley of Ohio, who was murdered in 2004. The story of Robinett’s assistance later became the subject of a documentary called Restless Souls, produced by the Discovery Channel.

This is one example of how helpful this...

Readers of this newsletter who’ve been here for a while might remember that I used to share quite a few thoughts about astrology in this space.

In more recent times, I took a step back from my astrology practice to focus more deeply on tarot, and to re-evaluate my relationship with modern astrological trends.

But I never truly “quit” astrology: It has remained part of my personal spiritual practice all this time, as it has always been.

And so I hope you don’t mind if I reflect a bit on astrology today.

Jupiter has been a major influence for me lately. Maybe it’s because my sun is in Aries, and my moon in Pisces, and the planet of exuberance and optimism has been traversing through both signs this past year.

But Jupiter is now full steam ahead in Aries until May 2023, when it enters Taurus. The presence of Jupiter in Aries feels significant to me for so many reasons, mainly because Aries is the first sign of the zodiac and marks a new Jupiterian cycle.

...

To read reversals, or not read reversals…

That is the question – at least for a lot of tarot readers out there.

Questions about what reversals mean, and whether to read them at all, is one of the most common inquiries I hear within the tarot community.

I’ve talked before about my thoughts on reading reversals here. I did work with reversals at a previous point in my tarot practice. I do think they can be an effective technique, but that’s what I always tell people first and foremost:

Reversals are a technique, not a rule. There are different ways to read tarot cards, and as a tarot reader you will gradually develop your own style and approach that incorporates various techniques that you feel are effective. But you won’t necessarily adopt every card reading technique out there.

When I have read reversals, I have looked at them as something that isn’t quite working the way it should, or as a possibility that has yet to grow. There are other...

When I was first learning tarot, I used to look down at my cards and feel completely lost as to what to focus on first.

I kept hearing that tarot was full of rich symbolism, but I was taking that advice a little too far.

I’d look at the number of clouds in the background of a tarot card and wonder, “Do those have numerological significance?”

Or I’d look at the colour of clothes a figure was wearing and wonder if I should take up colour theory and psychology to be able to fully understand tarot.

The problem was that by taking such a granular approach to my cards, I was overwhelming myself with details. I couldn’t see the full story of a card because I was so distracted by the little things instead.

And often, these were things that didn’t add to the insight or overall message I was looking for.

I wish someone had told me back then that not every symbol or detail had to count in every reading.

Sometimes, there are certain details in a card that...