FAQ

First off, I‘m glad you’re here. If you don’t find answers to your questions, feel free to get in touch here. Below you'll find some common questions about both tarot and about readings with Neighborhood Tarot.  

What exactly are tarot cards? 

A tarot deck is a set of 78 often beautifully illustrated cards that originated in Italy in the 15th century for a card game called tarocchi, which is similar to bridge. Tarot decks have two sections, 22 major arcana cards and 56 minor arcana cards.

The 22 major arcana cards can be thought of as illustrated representations of each stop along the 'hero journey', or the archetypal storytelling arc that guides many of your favorite books or movies. These cards point toward major life moments, or 'big picture' spiritual stuff.

The 56 minor arcana come in four suits, just like the cards you use to play games like Poker or Go Fish. Each suit--swords, cups, wands and pentacles--includes cards numbered from ace to ten, plus four court cards--page, knight, queen and king. These 56 cards represent day-to-day actions, thoughts or emotions in your life, like saving money, resting, feeling nostalgic or starting a new project. 

And what are tarot cards metaphorically speaking?

Most simply, tarot tells a story. Stories are how we understand life, others and ourselves. Tarot helps you see where you are now and helps you make clearer decisions about the actions you can take to get to where you want to go. 

Together, the tarot cards tell a series of five stories, one for each of the four suits from ace (one) to ten, and one for the major arcana, with each card representing a chapter in the story. While each card has a unique message, there are also a number of larger themes that appear throughout the deck across multiple cards. 

What are tarot cards in spiritual terms? 

First, indulge me in restating that my goal in creating Neighborhood Tarot has always been to make tarot more accessible and approachable to more people. Having conducted readings for countless people with all kinds of wishes, concerns, situations, fears and desires, what I can confidently say is that tarot readings find a way to help clients cut through the clutter and get right at the heart of what's important in that moment. This tends to be a deeply affirming experience for people. 

I personally tend to think of the things we carry--our thoughts, fears, feelings, hopes, questions--as signals pointing to where we are focusing our energy. I feel the tarot cards serve as an energy meter of sorts, lighting up our areas of low or high voltage, so that we can begin to think about what we may want to recalibrate, energetically speaking, and how.  Continuing with this same analogy, it would then make sense that they are called readings.   

What happens during a tarot reading?

Here you'll find a general explanation of tarot readings. Scroll down for further detail about what happens during a reading with Neighborhood Tarot. 

Generally speaking, a reading uses tarot cards to answer a series of questions that the querent, or the client, has about a particular situation. The reader will create or use a layout, called a spread, to organize the cards and questions. The querent selects cards from the deck to correspond to each spread position, or question. For each card, the reader shares the description, interpretation or advice found in the card. Each card has a universal meaning, plus a layer or significance unique to that deck and reader. Tarot also corresponds to a number of other systems, from chakras (hello, fellow yogis!) to the zodiac, all of which offers potential additional insight for cards and readings. 

What do people get out of tarot?

The most common outcome people share is that they feel a renewed sense of optimism or agency over a situation that previously made them feel stuck or overwhelmed. Tarot readings often feel like a fresh start mentally, spiritually and emotionally.

Not really a question, but I've heard tarot readings are spooky.

I've heard 'spooky' used to express a few different things pertaining to tarot. Sometimes people say tarot is spooky because they've been told that the cards are 'the devil's deck'. As a preacher's kid who grew up in the South, I've heard this label a time or two.  However, as a deeply spiritual person, my own personal experience with the cards has been quite the opposite. Tarot makes me feel directly connected to that warm, fuzzy Big Spiritual Energy (or whatever you choose to call it) that calls each of us to find, love and share our true self and our purpose with the world. 

Sometimes people say readings are spooky because they've heard about someone being told that something catastrophic was going to happen. Some may use tarot cards in this way, but not us. Emphasizing external events takes the power away from the client and distracts from the internal clarity and agency that tarot can deliver.

For both of these 'spooky' takes, we believe that the beauty of tarot is that it focuses entirely on what's going on within. A Neighborhood Tarot reading is a guided conversation between you and your own intuition, or higher wisdom. We believe that a reading allows you to listen more openly and honestly to your own 'inner knowing', which helps you feel empowered, confident and ready to face anything that comes your way.  

Who is a tarot reading for?

Tarot readings are for people who are ready to surprise themselves. 

What happens during a Neighborhood Tarot reading? 

Book your session. Sessions are available in hour-long or 90-minute increments. You can select a general reading or pick from among our themed readings, such as Zodiac-inspired for birthdays or a milestone reading for major life moments like starting a new business (congrats, we're so excited for you!). 

Decide on the spread, or questions, you'd like to explore together. Upon booking, you'll receive an email providing the opportunity to share more about your goals for the reading. Depending on what brings you to your reading, together we'll select an existing spread or create a custom one. Rest assured anything we discuss remains confidential. In this same email, you'll be provided with a link to our waiver, which states our shared expectations for any reading.  

Get ready for your reading. For online readings, you'll want to find a time and place where you'll be able to join our Zoom uninterrupted. You deserve this time to focus on yourself without worrying about letting out the dog or making someone a water. A dedicated time and space will allow your intuition to come through more clearly. 

Enjoy your reading! I look forward to our time together. After your reading you'll receive a summary of the cards you pulled and links to any resources we may discuss to revisit at your leisure.