The Work of Tarot

Abstract

Melissa F. Lavin on how professional tarot readers provide emotional support to their clients as they navigate uncertainty.

Keywords

Tarot divination self-discovery spirituality new age

workers and consumers of tarot

What kind of job involves dealing with a person who “has a demon,” counseling others about their upcoming deaths and entertaining bored teenagers on a weekend afternoon?

Tarot readers steel themselves to contend with just about everything, ranging from the supernatural (a demon) to the natural (a death) and the quotidian (a job). They offer messages about crossroads, love triangles, and every kind of double bind. They are front and center in the broad ecosystem of tarot workers and enthusiasts.

Negative stereotypes vex tarot workers, creators, and consumers, shaping opinions about their practices. Seeing tarot readers and enthusiasts as oddities or grifters obscures the range of tarot’s social functions. Tarot helps people navigate uncertainty, especially people who feel compelled to operate outside of traditional institutions. Tarot readings can function as emotional support, crisis management, a space for structured reflection, and, for tarot workers, as a source of income and creative labor.

what is a tarot deck?

Tarot readers consult 78-card decks for divination and self-discovery: 56 Minor Arcana cards depicting day-to-day actions and approaches and 22 Major Arcana cards—the “greater secrets” of the tarot that represent universal human experience, such as the Star card (depicted at right). Associated with hope and healing, the Star represents what users often seek through tarot.

tarot readers

Alone and with clients, Erika Garnett (also known as Queen Auset-Heru), Patti Woods, Will at Atypical Tarot, and Michelle Margiotta have all consoled crying patrons, laughed over casual seminars, and pored over the cards for meaningful messages. Let’s take a rare look at professional tarot readers and the clients who seek a deeper knowledge of the craft through one-on-one sessions.

Seeing tarot readers and enthusiasts as oddities or grifters obscures the range of tarot’s social functions.

Tarot readings can function as emotional support, crisis management, a space for structured reflection, and, for tarot workers, as a source of income and creative labor.

queen auset-heru

A professional tarot reader from Philadelphia, Queen Auset-Heru moved to Costa Rica in 2016 to flee President Donald Trump’s first election, and because her close friend died suddenly. “My friend’s sudden death held my mortality to my face like a mirror.” She has worked as a full-time tarot reader since 2012. She sings and hums to awaken the spirits as she shuffles her cards. A proud Aquarius, which she sees as central to her spiritual identity, Queen Auset-Heru riffs from the Aquarian perspective on her YouTube channel, where she reviews tarot decks and gives advice about relationships.

Queen Auset-Heru shuffles the cards to deliver messages for a reading. She first drinks the glass of water placed upon her altar cloth to cleanse herself. The statue depicts the goddess Ma’at, her sponsoring goddess.

Queen Auset-Heru delivers a love reading in the park. The client selected the outdoors because it was the first day of spring, an auspicious day. In a society that promotes romantic pairing, finding a partner is a perennial area of worry for many. The cards that Queen Auset-Heru turns over will give insight into the client’s potential love interest.

patti woods

Patti Woods, a full-time tarot reader in suburban Connecticut, reads for private clients over Zoom and hosts events in yoga studios, metaphysical shops, restaurants, lingerie stores, and even churches. Most of Patti’s readings are about the work lives of clients. Self-taught before studying with many teachers, Patti observes: “The stigma is the biggest drawback of this work, especially since the region I live in is not open-minded. I know that people think of me as that crazy witch lady, and that can be difficult.”

Patti’s monthly tarot gathering meets in a metaphysical store. People of all levels gather for tarot prompts and exercises to get comfortable using the cards. These clients use tarot for personal transformation.

will at atypical tarot

A social media influencer with a unique tarot trajectory, Will struggles to fit in as a heterosexual African American man in this feminized community. He reads tarot to get clarity on his own life, as depicted in the two images below. Despite being a tarot influencer, Will prefers not to read tarot for money because “getting it right” creates too much pressure.

Will reflects on a problem. His YouTube channel, Atypical Tarot, helps others do the same.

Will uses candles and crystals to set the stage.

michelle margiotta

The owner of the House of Bone and Dahlia, a metaphysical shop in upstate New York, Michelle Margiotta reads tarot and sells witchy wares (crystals, decks, herbs, talismans, etc.). Michelle learned the cards by using a popular deck and following what she saw others do, ultimately developing her own style.

Michelle encounters a “flyer card” (a card that pops out when one shuffles the deck). Some believe that cards that flip out of the deck as it is being shuffled are requesting to speak.

Michelle stands firm in what the cards are saying to me: “My clients gain perspective and direction. I don’t play games with tarot. My clients deserve the truth so they can navigate their lives without confusion.”

Footnotes

Melissa F. Lavin is Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology at the State University of New York–Oneonta. Her research interests include deviance and culture. She is the author of the forthcoming book, Greater Secrets: Managing Fate Through the World of Tarot.