What sort of person reads the Tarot cards? Can anyone read them, or do readers have to possess special powers? Could you read the Tarot?

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Ask the majority of people who know nothing about the Tarot what their idea of the typical Tarot card reader is and most of them will describe a very strange person indeed!

The commonly-held view of a Tarot reader as a middle-aged woman wearing a lacy shawl, long dangly earrings and probably living in a caravan is, of course, totally false. While there may well be Tarot card readers who fit that bill, I have certainly never come across any and that description definitely doesn’t fit me!

Tarot card readers are not fortune-tellers, which is of course what the above stereotype describes. The Tarot was never meant to be used for fortune-telling, although there will always be some readers who use the cards in this way. Although you may come across Tarot readers working in tents and even gypsy caravans at psychic fayres and the like, the majority of them are ordinary people who work either from their own homes or from the homes of their clients.

Most people also assume that the majority of Tarot readers are female, but this isn’t true either. I wouldn’t want to hazard a guess as to the male/female ratio, but there are certainly plenty of male readers around. The Tarot has a universal appeal and is certainly not restricted to any one sex, race or even religion. I was once asked about the Tarot by a Church of England vicar, who soon afterwards bought his own pack, became very adept very quickly, and delighted the majority of his congregation by introducing a weekly Tarot spot in his parish newsletter!

Tarot card readers can, in fact, be anybody or anything. You might be surprised at how many people you know are able to read the Tarot without you being aware of the fact. Not everyone is comfortable about admitting their interest in the cards. The man who delivers your letters every morning is just as likely to go home after his shift and consult his Tarot deck as is the woman who sells incense in the local New Age shop.

The simple fact is – anyone can become a Tarot reader. It isn’t necessary to have any special ‘powers’ to read the cards, although a good intuition always helps. Opinions differ as to whether psychic ability is necessary, or even whether it exists, but anyone learning the cards will find that the more they progress in their studies, the more ‘psychic’ (or ‘aware’) they become.

Obviously, people whose minds are closed to the idea of anything connected to ‘fortune-telling’, or who consider it to be ‘a load of bunkum’ or ‘the work of the Devil’, will not make ideal readers! However, anyone who enjoys having their cards read and is fascinated by the cards, has as good a chance as anyone of becoming a proficient reader.

And they don’t need to wear a shawl, dangly earrings, or live in a caravan!