When I do my Introduction to Tarot Cards class, I get asked questions like “Don’t you have to have someone gift you your first deck?” and “Do you have to sleep with your deck under your pillow?” These are all myths. Do not feel bad if you believed them, I believed many of them too! Let us debunk some of them now.
Myth: You should sleep with your deck under your pillow
Many say this should be done for a day or so, to get you “attuned” to your new deck. It may even help, although there is no scientific reason for it. If you want to try it, do it for a day or so then stop. Do not be like me: I thought you were supposed to keep it under there and I was relieved to find that after a while that I did not need to anymore. After keeping up this practice for a few weeks, I was developing a terrible crick in my neck!
Myth: Someone must give you your first deck.
It would be nice if someone did, of course. But I bought my first deck and every deck since. For a while, I was working street fairs, and my decks would get very dirty from the dust and grime, so I was going through 4 decks a year—way too many gifts to ask friends for!
Myth: Do you have to wrap your deck in silk to store it?
This is fun to do if you can. I had a fellow reader who carefully wrapped hers up in a silk scarf every time she used it. I think the ceremony of unwrapping was a way of getting into the right headspace for reading. I had a scrap of silk for wrapping my cards, and they did not seem to mind at all, but these days I do not bother.
Myth: Tarot predicts the future.
Actually, it does not. The Future is still yours to change or figure out. Yes, you can look up the Akashic record to see what COULD happen.…if you do not change anything you are doing now. But change is possible and very likely. So what is probable now, is not for certain.
Myth: The Death card means you (or someone you are reading about) is going to die.
No. The Death card signifies big changes. The “traditional” deck, the Rider-Waite-Smith (published about 1910) shows Death cutting down a King, a Pope and a Family—symbolizing institutions NOT people. This (in my humble opinion) reflects the Anarchist movement that started in the late 19th century. The Order of the Golden Dawn is symbolized by the dawn that is breaking in the background. Out with the old, it says, in with the new!
Myth: Tarot cards have fixed meanings that are always the same.
Wrong. The meaning of the card changes to suit the reading of the moment. If the card meaning that you think makes sense as you are reading is very different from the “usual” meaning for that card, that is great! It means you are opeing your third eye: you are seeing directly into the Akashic record and getting your information.
Myth: Certain cards always mean disaster
Cards such as Death or The Tower are often feared, but their interpretations are usually more nuanced. Death for instance, commonly symbolizes endings, transformation, or transition rather than literal death. The Tower can mean disruption, but maybe that is saying to try something different. It does not mean you are heading to disaster.
Myth: You must follow strict rituals
Some readers cleanse decks, use crystals, or perform rituals, while others simply shuffle and read. There is no universally accepted requirement.
Myth: You cannot read for yourself.
Yes and no. The best way is to get someone else to read for you. But you can read for yourself, you just need to use the Little White Book that comes with the cards. That way, you will not cheat or try to bend the interpretation to what you want it to say.
Myth: Tarot is evil, reading Tarot cards is evil.
Tarot is like a screwdriver. You can hurt someone badly with a screwdriver, but no one thinks screwdrivers are evil. Tarot by itself is not evil either. If you use tarot card readings to scam people into giving you money, you are evil. But do not blame the cards for that.
Myth: Only you can touch your cards.
I used to have people shuffle before I read for them, since COVID, I just shuffle when they sit down with me and do the reading. I do not mind handing my cards to someone who wants to look at them, I just take them back and shuffle them to get my vibes back on them.
Myth: you must be psychic to be a reader.
I do not believe we tarot card readers have special powers, but by practicing card reading, I think you develop your intuition. You may become more sensitive, empathic, more in tune to people’s emotions, but you do not have special abilities beyond other people.