In a time when more and more people are turning to spirituality for guidance, TikTok tarot readings can be a beacon of hope. Alice Wade explores whether a social media platform once known for its dance routine and younger usership can be an accurate predictor and advisor for our love lives.

It’s safe to say that tarot has been having a moment on TikTok. For one, the hashtag ‘tarot’ has 76.1 billion views on the app. From the macro of whether to break up with your partner to the micro of whether it will rain at your picnic, the spiritual practice has woven itself into pretty much every nook and cranny of the app.

Viewers are often taking on board ‘personalised’ advice on everything from careers to friendships and to love, without ever having met their reader. And while some find these videos comforting, seeking guidance from content they’re told has been directed by the universe to them, several from the industry have raised an eyebrow at online tarot and its potential for to be exploitative.

On an app that is notorious for having a younger audience, guidance can easily be misinterpreted as instruction and can have powerful influence over the experiences of children and teenagers. While many of us would roll our eyes and scroll past a message such as “someone special is thinking of you right now”, these messages can hold power over those who are vulnerable.

Without seeking to tarnish the practice of TikTok tarot readers, it is important to question the intention of creators as well as the means through which they expect their readings to be accurate and helpful. 

Adam is a Hindu practitioner who regularly reads tarot, both in person and online, often relying on video calls to carry out readings. They question the authenticity of readings which are performed based on stranger to stranger algorithms. 

“The thing that immediately jumps out at me when I see these videos is, you don’t know me and you don’t know my background. [With TikTok] You're relying on a digital algorithm to try and work a personal connection with somebody.”

Paramount to an accurate reading, they tell me, is resonating with the individual and their set of circumstances.  “A large part of it is reading someone's energy. I don't really dictate what the cards say, but I dictate how I interpret them.”

Relying on a “blind reading” from one stranger (filming a reading) to another (watching it based on an algorithm), contradicts the very channel through which readings are made, says Adam.

“I believe tarot is a very intimate thing and the nature of the content on TikTok is kind of antithetical to that.”

Another sceptic of TikTok tarot is Janis King who has 15 years reading tarot. She questions what she describes as “quick fire readings”, a commonly used style of video where an individual makes predictions based on general markers such as star signs.

“It is tosh and it's designed to get figures not give service,” she says. “You keep watching because you also want to hear something else, about you, you want to know what else she knows. Could there be something else in here that's interesting to me? So you get addicted to it. You get little hits of dopamine, that spike your interest and then you're hooked in for more.”

While she thinks that tarot can be read digitally, she is keen to differentiate between videos designed to reach a wide audience and those that have “clear intention” and a knowledgeable reader.

“Tarot is a language between us and the non-physical and we need to have the expertise of the reader to deliver communication which is in context with the client.” Echoing the views of Adam, when I ask Janis if TikTok can provide reliable readings, her simple answer is no.

And it’s not hard to see why experts are unconvinced when so many videos promise viewers personalised readings that are then watched by hundreds of thousands. How can creators ensure that the right message reaches the right person at the right time?

Dominique, or Lunar Light Tarot, is a master tarot reader and professional psychic. She has 27.3K followers and reads tarot on TikTok, regularly reaching over 100k views.

Dominique believes that while the answer lies partially in the “mundane” of data and algorithms, the other part of it is the spiritual or, “even magical”. She believes in the algorithm's ability to channel the spiritual to reach and resonate with the right audience. 

“I believe nothing in the Universe is truly random. I personally believe in a God, or spirit guides, or angels that will use different means as a way of communication. These benevolent beings need a modern way of communicating with you! So they'll use the algorithm to send you a video that will help you.”

“When I read for my viewers, I connect with them by intentionally tuning into the energy of those who will watch the video I am recording. [...]  It only works because time is an illusion. We only need to concentrate on the energy of our future viewers to get messages for them.”

And the messages that come up most often? Love, of course. Though Dominique’s readings now centre around promoting self-love, she reminisces about her journey into spiritual TikTok and how she quickly found herself becoming obsessive about love readings she found online, using them to “justify an unhealthy relationship”.

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And she isn’t alone. You only need to type ‘tarot' into the app to be met with a barrage of videos reading messages relating to love and romance. “Someone is thinking of you and wants to reach out”. “Your ex is missing you and will be in contact soon, interact with this video to claim…” The hashtag ‘tarot love message’ has 37.7 million views alone. 

As Adam points out, the popularisation of these videos may very well be the result of a modern “dating crisis”, with both the isolation caused by the pandemic and the growing criticism of men’s poor behaviour in relationships to blame.

“We're in a current position where standards have really started to realign for what we expect of men as romantic partners, and that is making dating harder because we're not willing to settle for as much anymore or we're not letting any shit slide really.”

“Although that's a positive thing, it is intimidating because there is still that expectation that you date, you get married and have kids.”

As women make up the majority of tarot consumers, it’s unsurprising that they are turning to different mediums in search of solace.

And as Janis points out, when delivering messages about the universally felt experience of love, it’s not hard for readings to project guidance for situations that resonate with a broad audience. “There are only about three or four love stories, we all go through the same shit time and time again so it's really not a big ask for people to come out with those stories as part of a reading,” she observes.

With one in four users of the app between the ages of 10-19, the popularity of these videos should be questioned. While creators may themselves be adults – the average age of top 10 creators on the app is 24 — there is no promise that the algorithm doesn’t push these messages onto much younger and more impressionable users.

Adam says: “I think people don't realise that just because your feed page is people mostly your age – I never see videos of kids on my TikTok – doesn’t mean you put those things out there and it only goes to those people. As an adult, you’re already in a position of trust.” 

Both Adam and Janis have strict policy about only giving readings to those over 18, which they tell me is common within the industry. Adam says this is because tarot often hinges on exploration of time as a matter of the past as well as the future. “You are consenting to talk about quite heavy things,” they say.

Because tarot often explores trauma and heartache, they don’t feel like children are the appropriate receivers of readings. “At that age [under 18] if you fall out with your best friend, it feels like the end of the world.”

“There are a lot of people who are younger, who aren't really emotionally ready for that kind of conversation, especially with someone that they don't know personally.”

But should any of us be basing our decisions on a stranger reading your tarot on TikTok?

While each tarot practitioner carries their own view on readings carried out over TikTok, what is consistent amongst all three, is the importance of understanding tarot as something that resonates with you. 

How does it make you feel? Does the message ring true and do you feel connected to the meaning? You need your own “arbiter” of what messages speak to you personally, says Janis.

Even Dominique echoes the views of her sceptics. While there may be a magical or spiritual side to TikTok tarot, she stresses that it is important to focus on how the reading makes you feel. “Usually if the reading inspires clarity, self love, or joy, it is for you from your guides. If it inspires confusion, doubt, or worry, it's probably just Tik Tok trying to get you to comment.”

And most importantly? “I always say to take things with a grain of salt,” says Adam. “If the tarot says quit your job, don’t necessarily do that, think about it first [...] Take it as many ways as you can before making an actual decision.” 

Like with any guided advice, treat it as that. If you find TikTok readings resonating with you, there is no reason not to use them as one of many tools to explore your situation and feelings. 

But if a reading tells you your lovely golden retriever boyfriend is cheating on you, maybe think twice before starting an argument. Employ logic, reason and reality into your decision, like you would hearing advice from a friend. And take caution to the wind. It's only guidance.