Wanna Learn How to Read Tarot Cards? Try These Apps
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Tarot is but one facet of divination, and it's fulfilling and fun to learn. We all need a little guidance right now, as the global pandemic shows no signs of slowing down. With tarot, you can take the time to learn about yourself while also keeping yourself busy indoors, plus you can now learn right on your phone.
At the end of the day, an app—even the best—should be a stepping stone in learning, or an on-the-go way to center yourself, and not necessarily the only way you ever use tarot if you're truly interested. As Porsche Little, a Brooklyn-based artist and witch (who has a very informative YouTube channel), explained, apps are fine for learning the meaning behind the cards, particularly if you don't have a deck of your own. But it's important to remember that "tarot is pretty sacred and there’s a lot of connection involved," she said.
With that said, it's nice to have the option to try something out without committing to spending a ton of money, and if you're just out to have a little fun, apps are a solid entry point. So if you're ready to learn to read tarot cards, we rounded up the best tarot apps available right now.
It's important to remember that tarot is a helpful hand and guiding light. It cannot predict your death (no, the death card doesn't mean you're doomed) or set in stone what's in the future for you. The answers you find with a reading are already inside you, they just need help coming to the surface. And if you don't like the answer you get, you can change your path.
Photograph: Guntmar Fritz/Getty ImagesThe Basics
How to Pick the Right App"You don't have to know anything about the tarot to start doing this, but as you keep reading for yourself, you'll naturally learn about the cards that come your way," said Tina Gong, the creator of the Labyrinthos app and author of the upcoming book Tarot.
Just like picking the right deck, the right app for you depends upon your own style and what you're drawn to.
"My biggest piece of advice is to find a tarot app that inspires you," said Gabriela Herstik, author of Inner Witch: A Modern Guide to the Ancient Craft and Bewitching the Elements: A Guide to Empowering Yourself Through Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. "While seasoned tarot readers may not care so much about the written descriptions for the card they pull, novices may want to do some research in the app store or online to see if the writing about the cards resonates. Having space for notes in the app is great so you can reflect on how that card showed up for you that day. Making a ritual out of virtually pulling a card is always suggested as well; maybe you pull a card every morning as you drink coffee or as you take your dog on a walk. There’s a lot more options with how to do this when your deck is in your phone!"
Most of the apps listed here are free, or mostly free, so you'll have the chance to play around with it before spending money. If you ultimately don't like it there's no harm in deleting and trying another.
- Photograph: Tina Gong
The Best Tarot App
Labyrinthos TarotIf you're set on really learning the ins and outs of tarot, Labyrinthos is the app to get. It offers easy to understand readings, lessons, and quizzes to get you on your feet, and you can even create custom spreads for when you're ready to go a little deeper with your practice. The readings can be a simple single card draw, or you can choose multiple spreads across topics like love or moon phases. There are also Lenormand spreads, which as the Labyrinthos site explains, is a similar divination tool but it deals with more tangible issues than traditional tarot.
You can choose to input cards as well, if you want to do a reading with your deck in front of you and reference the app for help. After you've chosen the type of reading you want, click the three dots in the upper right-hand corner and select input physical cards. Though not hard to get to, Gong's Golden Tarot app (mentioned below) makes this option more obvious.
- Photograph: Golden Thread Tarot
A Well-Known Runner-Up
Golden Thread TarotI've been using the Golden Thread Tarot app for over a year, and even though Gong told me it will no longer be updated (so she can instead focus on Labyrinthos), this list wouldn't be complete without it. Gong assured me it will continue to be available for download.
Golden Thread, which has a matching physical deck you can purchase, is well known among those I spoke to when researching this guide, and was recommended to me by a friend who reads tarot. It has thoughtful, concise, and easy to understand interpretations for all your readings. It doesn't have as many lessons as Labyrinthos, but it has great explanations of what the major and minor arcana cards in tarot are, with beautiful illustrations and animations to boot. I have several books on tarot and Gong accomplishes in a few words what they take several pages to say. Like Labyrinthos, you can choose to draw digital cards or use a physical deck. If you choose the latter, it counts down the time you should take to shuffle your cards and concentrate on the question you're trying to ask—a nice feature that Labyrinthos is missing.
- Photograph: Dark Goddess Tarot
Once You've Mastered the Basics
Dark Goddess TarotOnce you've found yourself comfortable with the meanings of the classical tarot cards, you might want to branch out into something more specific. Though Gabriela Herstik doesn't typically use tarot apps, she was drawn to this one. "I have an affinity to the Dark Goddesses, or the goddesses who come to life through transformation and sexuality and death and grief," she said. "And this deck really hits the spot."
The card art is beautiful and the readings teach you what it means when each goddess appears. While obviously still digital, it makes you click the deck to shuffle, cut, and draw, which should help you build a routine for when you decide to pick up physical cards. There are also spoken directions to walk you through the entire process. You can even choose which altar cloth you'd like your cards to be drawn upon, which is a nice touch to get you into the spirit. As someone who has never paid for any app before trying this, I'm happy to report it was not a waste of $4 and has become a staple in my routine.
Photograph: Daily Tarot PlusYou Can Probably Skip These
More Tarot AppsThere is no shortage of tarot apps out there, but I think the three mentioned above are the best to start with. They're designed in a way that makes learning the tarot the same as getting a reading: calming, spiritual, and fun. The others tend to be messy or cluttered with ads.
Daily Tarot Plus (iOS) has a nice interface and design, with really cool card art and simple explanations. It would have been a pick, but the amount of ads makes it incredibly frustrating to use. You shouldn't have your concentration broken when you're trying to do a reading.
Trusted Tarot (iOS and Android) also offers easy to understand explanations for every card you draw. While the ads aren't as intense as Tarot Plus, they still interfere with the experience. You can remove them by paying a monthly subscription fee, but with the free apps mentioned above or the one-time payment for Dark Goddess, I don't think there's a need to pay this much for a just OK app.
The Tarot Card Reading Numerology (iOS) interface is ugly and littered with ads. Like Trusted Tarot, you can remove the ads for a payment, but I don't think the experience is worth it.
- Photograph: Medea Giordano
It Helps to Have a Physical Deck
Rider-Waite Tarot DeckYou can learn tarot on your phone without having to buy anything, but if you want to do readings more often, or for others, I strongly recommend getting a physical deck so you can get used to the feel of the cards and see the images up close. If you can find a metaphysical shop in your area, they will probably have some options, but you should start with a classic: the Rider-Waite deck. It features the images that you probably picture when you think of tarot, and most guides will reference these images when you're learning.
Porsche Little also suggests starting with the Rider-Waite. "You’d be surprised how easy reading tarot can become once you start paying attention to the images depicted in the cards," she said. "So don’t start out with something quirky like 'Cat Tarot,' you’ll be super confused."
Once you're ready to branch out, or if you simply like collecting beautiful decks, there are hundreds you might be drawn to, including Tina Gong's Golden Thread and Luminous Spirit decks. There's a myth that your first deck must be given to you, but you can rest assured knowing that many professional tarot readers purchased their own decks. But if you feel strongly that it must be gifted, start hinting to your loved ones.
Photograph: Floris Leeuwenberg/Getty ImagesWhat's Next?
There's Always More to LearnEven the most gifted among us won't be a tarot expert overnight. It takes a lot of practice to not only learn what each card represents, but to interpret what cards mean together based on the person and question at hand. Start off slow and let yourself enjoy the process.
Keep a journal to write about your tarot readings. It will help you to learn and pick out themes and common cards, as well as track your progress over time. Get readings done by professionals you admire, and find other likeminded people you can learn from.
At one point in time, if you said you were a witch you'd be accused of devil worship. And at another point in time, you'd be stoned to death or burned at the stake. It's not completely without ridicule today, but it's become more publicly accepted and admired and therefore there's a lot of learning opportunities for those who are interested.
Being a witch, of course, is not about waving a magic wand and turning someone into a toad or twinkling your nose to cast a spell a la Bewitched. If you find yourself drawn to spirituality, the metaphysical, animals, tarot, and mediums, you just might a witch. There's no wrong way to go about witchhood as long as you're respectful and don't harm anyone or anything in the process. If you want to cover your house in crystals and cleanse water under the full moon, by all means do what you please. But if you'd rather practice in private without extra accessories, that's fine too.
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