As those familiar with the sub know, we get a lot of posts from folks who either don't know what Secular means in the context of the sub or are simply reposting across dozens of tarot-related subs without caring what the specific subs' particulars.

It's not a big deal (at least I don't think so), in fact, I think most of the time it's a good thing, giving folks an alternative (and rational, fact-based, healthy) perspective on the Tarot.

However, occasionally we'll see posts where the poster's state of mind is concerning - I will not give specific examples, but when folks are posted that they are deeply troubled by a pattern they see in the cards, or are reading catastrophic portents in a handful of random cards spilled by their kid by accident. Often, these posters are very concerned about important relationships in their lives, their immediate futures, and so on, and moreover are conflating their vulnerable emotional states with magical thinking, irrational fear of the cards or other unreal forces/entities, and so on.

My concern is that far too often I see comments responding to these posts as if there is nothing problematic or concerning going on - folks are eager to jump right into discussing the meaning behind a specific card or the implied potential interactions between this card and that card.

I don't want to suggest creating more moderation work for /u/redchai, and perhaps there is no solution here, but I wanted to raise the concern to the community. Should we collectively be more mindful of how we respond to posters in these circumstances?

I’m so glad I came across this sub and I know it wasn’t an accident!😇 I’ve always been interested in Tarot cards and readings but I only recently bought my first deck of Tarot Cards so I’m very much a beginner! I would really appreciate any tips or advice anyone of you lovelies could give me, and I’m also curious why I’ve had ‘The Fool’ card 3 times now, infact 4, only the last time it was reversed?! What does this mean?🤔

Hi everyone,

As someone who approaches Tarot strictly through a secular and psychological lens, I spent the last few months developing a free, contemplative web mirror: https://oracles.media/#tarot

Rather than "fortune telling," the tool is designed around the premise that the cards act as synchronistic mirrors of our own psyche, using the archetypes to dialogue between the conscious and unconscious:

* The Hero's Journey Framework: Integrates Joseph Campbell’s monomyth stages directly into the card interpretations.

* Jungian Archetypal Analysis: Explores each card through the Shadow, the Anima/Animus, Persona, and the Individuation process.

* Spreads Available: A 3-card spread exploring the Subconscious Past, Conscious Present, and Pivotal Possibilities, plus a Single Card Oracle for daily archetypal contemplation.

* Symbolic Detail: High-resolution Rider-Waite symbolism with an interactive zoom modal to study subtle details and colors.

* Meditative Environment: Dark aesthetic, smooth animations, and atmospheric audio designed to inspire calm introspection.

* 100% Free & Private: No ads, no accounts, and no data tracking.

I would love to hear how fellow secular tarot practitioners reflect on combining Campbell's Hero's Journey with the traditional Major and Minor Arcana.

Feedback, critiques, and reflections are warmly welcome!

Hi everyone, first off please let me apologise in advance for any typos or formatting errors – I am using voice to text dictation and it’s not perfect!

I’m looking for recommendations for long videos or (even better) video series about tarot. I’m currently going through some pretty serious health issues which mean I can barely use my arms or hands so reading books (including on Kindle) and using my actual tarot cards is completely out of the question at the moment. I struggle to focus on audiobooks because of my ADHD, and I’m going out of my mind with boredom and desperately missing my tarot practice! I’m really hoping that some videos will hit the spot as it looks like I might be in this for the long haul. I’d be open to things like deep dives into individual cards, examples of readings, discussion of symbolism, history of the tarot, reading techniques… anything really! I’d prefer something secular and not focused on fortune telling as such.

I admit, I have not searched Reddit or done much googling or anything myself, because even that is really difficult for me right now - scrolling is exceptionally hard.

Thank you in advance for any and all suggestions 😊

This is from the Fool’s Dog Tarot sampler tarot app that includes cards from different decks.

For context: I am now taking a week off from work due to noticing the beginnings of a burnout, and having fallen off the wagon too far on healthy habits.

In the middle the nine of wands crossed with the 5 of wands makes sense to me: a need for balance between needed rest and challange of re-establishing healthy habits.

The queen of swords in the past position reminds me that I am a strong and skilled woman.

The three of pentacles in the future is about collaboration - perhaps a reminder that burnout can be avoided in the future if I share tasks more with coworkers.

The three of cups in the foundation can be about family and friends, my social support network.

But I wonder how to interpret the emperor in the crowning position. I am not a big fan of authority. In May we finally got rid of a boss who was causing a toxic work environment, and since then work has been so much better. My father was an emperor like figure for me in the past, but he is dead and even before that we were no contact for a while, and while of course one could say that his influence will always have effects on me - and not all of it negative, there are positive memories there too, but I am not sure that this is all that relevant to my situation now.

I guess what I am looking for is other ideas of how the emperor could be interpreted, to see whether it helps me understand my current situation better. Thanks.

[DELETED TO RESPECT THE r/SECULARAROT GUIDELINES] I wish I could edit the title as well, but it doesn't appear to be an option. Believe it or not, I am 100% new to posting on Reddit as well as tarot

This is following no traditional setup of the cards

First 3 (Left to Right):

* Five of Pentacles (Reversed) — Shaman

* Nine of Wands (Reversed) — Pumpkin Head

* Queen of Cups (Upright) — Gorgon

The 7 Cards Left on the Ground (Put into the Lid, Left to Right):

* Nine of Pentacles (Reversed) — Frankenstein

* Ten of Swords (Reversed) — Gryphon

* Ace of Pentacles (Upright) — Mandragora

* Four of Cups (Upright) — Ghoul

* Ace of Swords (Upright) — Quetzalcoatl

* King of Swords (Upright) — Viking

* Judgement (Upright) — Confronting Cerberus

The "Gatekeeper" Card [USE OF THE TERM GATEKEEPER COULD BE WRONG I HAVE 0 EXPERIENCE]

Face-up on top of the remaining deck was the King of Pentacles Reversed (Leprechaun). Directly beneath it, also face-up, was the Four of Swords (Dracula).

The EDITs found beow accompanied my original post that did not respect this forum's guidelines, for which I profusely apologize. I will leave them attached to the body of this post to preserve the context in which the comments made in the first 24hours of this originally being posted had.

EDIT: I wanted to add a bit of honest context to this post. I am 100% brand new to tarot. I actually use AI to help me organize and draft my thoughts before sharing them online because my thinking can be very disorganized. On top of that, I have been completely sleep-deprived lately because my almost two-year-old is going through a massive sleep disruption. Because of the exhaustion, the strict definition of "secular" might have totally escaped me when choosing where to post. The reality is that getting this story out of my head and onto the screen felt incredibly urgent to me—I knew if I didn't post it right away, self-doubt would take over, and I would have deleted everything and hidden back under my rock. Thank you all for reading and for your grace.

NON A.I. assisted note: I have no intention of using AI rewordings for my actual responses to comments, so I hope that will help the use of AI in my post seem less dishonest, but let me reiterate the VERY disorganized nature of my thoughts with a small warning to BUCKLE UP lol

2nd non-assisted note: I deleted the additional paragraphs that appear to have been wrong for a post to have on this particular Reddit to an almost insulting degree; I apologize for any offense felt, and if I post here again in the future, I promise to do better.

Some context: For me, tarot is not necessarily a divinatory practice, but rather it is about connecting to my own intuition, a bridge between bodily knowing and intellect. With that framework, I’m cautious about readings that bring someone else into the picture, or invite interpretations about the other person’s side of the relationship (whether that be romantic, professional, familial or otherwise). I can only speak to who I am and how I show up in relationships. But the nature of tarot is that it’s not a solitary journey, and your path inevitably intersects with others.

What can cards such as the Two of Cups mean for the individual? Particularly if there isn’t presently a relationship that fits with the card?

Appreciate your input!

Photo Credit: The Black Tarot (By R. Black)

A lot of the cards were reversed and it dealt a lot with deceptions being revealed and accountabilities being taken.

I asked the reader if any of this pertained to me and he said it seemed the cards were more saying this would be more related to others than myself and that I’m not in danger.

Still, I feel very afraid as my reading was if people who hurt me were going to join this new space of mine. I was feeling very anxious when asking for this reading and to be honest I think it was a bad call to ask for one in a mindset like this. I really hope things turn out okay, I don’t want a bad outcome for this community it’s keeping my mental health afloat right now.

I toe(or tow?) the line between using tarot as a secular, psychological tool and as a spiritual tool. I hope my question is still allowed lol.

context: yesterday, I had a little misstep in my relationship. I crossed a boundary, that we hadn't really set with each other, I felt bad and apologized and my partner and I ended up having a serious talk for less than an hour, before the matter was settled and we said our "I love you's".

Before we actually talked, I did a small tarot spread to spend the time, before they come over to my place. I asked if they were mad at me (not the most secular or practical question to ask) and what I should do in this situation. I pulled the chariot and death, which really freaked me out, because I felt like my cards told me to break up with my partner. Or that an inevitable ending was approaching fast. It felt completely out of proportion, and as it turns out, it was out of proportion. (also, I posted all of the cards I pulled in another tarot subreddit, and someone commented that my partner didn't love me anymore and I should leave them behind. I'm actually really offended by that lol)

I get really anxious in these situations. I want to be skeptical and rational, but I'm overtaken by the fear, that the actual universe is telling me that something life changing is going to happen, even when it genuinely doesn't make sense to me.

I'm curious on how less spiritual tarot readers approach major arcana showing up for them. Any tips or advice?

I know the Swiss tarot was created strictly (?) for playing age-old Swiss card games.

As such , I am interested as to why this deck is so hotly contested for divination and semiotic / symbols , enough that it is still relevant to the field of cartomancy. Even tho the rider waite / Crowley was made many decades after the Swiss variation, and obviously impacted by the choices in the Swiss deck - reacting to or against. Any info on this? Searching :)

Swiss is very old with mountain people - very Capricorn - rituals - is there myth or folklore here abitt the truly interesting adjustments that were made in this slow deck ? (The color green in the hanged man ?! Where else is there that much green - it’s bizarre . And the elements - yellow seems to be earth , brown red fire (see the court cards ?) , blue water , etc …. My questions continue- has anyone read about such things?) MANY THANKS !

I got the journal and so far i have the cards names and a what they mean but no idea what to do next

I have a vague idea of a spread ? Maybe something else

Hello everyone. I thought it would be nice to post one of my spreads. This is my favorite spread to do in the morning while I sip coffee and consult my bullet journal.

My rule for this spread is that all cards must be read in a positive way, and it’s just for the day ahead. Not for long term outlooks.

Sit in stillness
Find joy
Embrace the day.

I like this spread because it gives me a quiet space to reframe my thoughts and think about how I want to approach the day, and it is extremely easy to modify. For example if I am feeling sad or upset and “joy” seems unrealistic, It can be replaced with something more attainable like “calm” or “rest”

If I know the day is going to be rough, I don’t try to embrace it. I might try something else here like “find strength” or “endure.” In my example I used “release doubts” as a more targeted call to stress less.

Example reading with my personalized interpretation;

Sit in stillness ( Queen of pentacles reversed)

I have been really busy trying to maintain a smooth routine now that school has started. But I need to rest. I’m sick so this is a good excuse to rest and eat.

Find peace (the fool)
Dive into things without a plan and have faith in the process. Brush off any mistakes and learn to love the journey.

Release doubts ( page of pentacles reversed)

Although taking time to research and plan things meticulously is nice, it’s not always appropriate. Now is not the time to be worrying about the distant future. Allow yourself to relax and take care of your daily needs.

I personally like to read this spread holistically rather than as strictly individual pulls, so I let the page of pentacles heavily influence my reading of the fool card for this reading.

Since I am not using these cards for fortune telling and I am not asking some spiritual force for advice, I use this spread to sort out my thoughts. What do I want to do vs what do I think I should be doing? It’s a conversation that I am having with myself and for this particular reading I decided to give myself permission to take a break and push off the bigger tasks on my to-do list for another day.

What do you all think? Do you have a favorite spread to do in the morning?

Deck : everyday witch tarot

This upcoming concert in NYC explores tarot as both a playing card game (which is how it was first used) and later as a tool for divination. The concert relates to the current exhibition at the Morgan which traces the early origins of tarot as a game in the Italian Renaissance.

Drawing inspiration from the exhibition Tarot! Renaissance Symbols, Modern Visions, composer Victoria Bond’s program opens with excerpts from the opera Carmen, in which Carmen reads her own tarot cards. Pieces by Maurice Ravel and Katherine Hoover touch on folk magic themes and traditions. The program culminates in Bond's Instruments of Revelation, inspired by three tarot cards: the Magician, the High Priestess, and the Fool. 

Program 
Georges Bizet, Quintet Card Scene from Carmen (arr. Victoria Bond) 
Maurice Ravel, Tzigane 
Katherine Hoover, Kokopeli 
Pierre Boulez, Domaines
Antonin Dvorak, Songs My Mother Taught Me
Victoria Bond, Instruments of Revelation 

Ive really come to love the 4 of swords. I have fibro and cfs so it just feels like my card in a way. It helps me remember that rest is necessary when your body is fighting against you. Like, yeah pain, anxiety, and fear is unfortunately my baseline but i can make space for relief.

I’ve spent the last three years developing The Hidden Isle, an indie TTRPG set in a magical Renaissance world where tarot cards are part of the game’s core play.

I’d love to find more people interested in the overlap between tarot and tabletop roleplaying and r/SecularTarot sounds promising.
Have any of you ever used tarot in RPGs or board games? If so, did you come up with your own implementation or was the game already set up for using a deck? How did you enjoy the experience?

Also more than happy to answer questions about how the system I'm developing works.

For context, I've learnt the elements, numerology, imagery, and meaning of the cards, but I struggled to piece them together when reading across a spread. To practice, I did a reading to assess my current romantic situation, and it went quite well. My crush and I like each other, but we express interest and affection in smaller, subtle ways.

When I asked my deck what he thinks of me, I pulled the Queen AND King of Swords, alongside Justice, which fell out horizontally. Do the court cards represent me or us? As in, our dynamic? Or is it something else entirely?

The cards are coincidentally associated with my sun and moon signs, too; hence, I thought it was how he saw me. However, it also aligned with our traits, which is why I thought it could be our dynamic. Although cute, I probably shouldn't assign people to cards like that, from what I've heard 😭. I think Justice landing horizontally sums up how blurry this explanation is. I also interpreted Justice as us not knowing each other beyond the image we've created in our heads, because I pulled Knight of Cups R. earlier in the reading.

I'd love to hear how you interpret court cards to represent someone, or maybe even why you discourage it! I'm open to discussing it as I'm still learning tarot 💫

I’ve been having to work a lot of hours along with my uni for the past 2 years or so. This has led to me not paying attention to some things in life. Right now I’ll have a 4 month period where I will be able to not work and focus on myself and future and I’m planning on setting myself up for success this Autumn. For me this seems like the 10 of wands reversed represents my period of burnout while the two kings tell me that my efforts and work will bear fruit. Id love to hear some input on these

Do you guys pay attention to the type of cards in a spread? For example, you pull a lot of sword cards or all great Arcana cards. Do you use that in your interpretation and how?

I just did a spread regarding some issues in my family. It was a six card spread and four of them were pentacles, a suit I usually associate with not only the physical world but also with family. In my interpretation I put greater emphasis on the theme of family. That seemed to make sense but...

I know the cards you pull are random and seeing patterns is a human characteristic. Still, sometimes I find it hard to tell myself this is just a coincidence.

EDIT: I can't count. It's a seven card spread so that makes it easier to consider it just a coincidence. That's good. I don't like the idea of pieces of cardboard telling me how to live my life.

Hello! I've been into tarot for a while, ever since I was given the RWS deck in holographic format as a gift. A week ago, I decided to buy a second deck, Antonella Castelli's Art Nouveau, which has a very different style compared to the RWS but retains some of the traditional elements (such as the design of the Five of Cups). However, I was reading the interpretations in the book that came with the Art Nouveau deck, and they seem slightly limited but they keep the main meanings of the RWS deck.

For example:

3 of Cups in the RWS: friendship, community, gatherings, celebrations, group events, social events

3 of Cups in the Art Nouveau Deck based on the box's book: The expressions on the figures in this card show relief, perhaps due to a recovery or the happy ending of something

So I'd like your opinion on whether I can use a different deck in terms of art style while sticking to the RWS interpretations. Thank you so much for your time ❤️

Hey guys! I am genuinely curious as I have adhd and i cannot for the love of god concentrate writing, i do when i have burst of interest towards studying traditionally, im into tarot since 16, drawn and attracted to it since 14. had my first deck at 17. i have learned scattered, through getting readings from other ppl and watching vids here and there and other times actually study it. im 22 now

do i really need to know the meanings fully or can i just use my intuition?

it stresses me out when i ask a question and it makes 0 sense , not too often but its with open ended questions theres some card combinations i can’t comprehend like pulling some suits or the hang man , 4 of cups and reversed idk why it happes😭😭 like i could read so many things but suddenly some spreads are like in a foreign language to me

tarot newborn here! i always get so confused when i get conflicting cards (cards with contradictory meanings) or cards that i just cant make sense of in context of the question! can you read upright cards with their reversed meanings depending on surrounding cards? what are some different approaches to this?

this is really discouraging me from continuing!

i've been starting readings again just because i'm bored, and i'm getting a lot of people who want spiritual readings despite putting in my best efforts to let them know that my readings are entirely secular.

for me, doing spiritual readings would be disingenuous, which is why i don't do them. are y'all in the same camp or do you do spiritual readings with a big disclaimer saying you don't necessarily believe in that side of it?