“If you see this, it’s meant for you” is a typical caption on TarotTok, a corner of the internet that has manifested more than 14.7 billion views on the app.
Many of the videos found on this side of TikTok emphasize the idea that this content – usually a read – is meant to find you, eschewing algorithmic design for fate. It’s on your For you Page, after all. The creative formula is quite simple: a tarologist presents a scenario, such as turbulence in a romantic relationship, and gives advice by way of cartomancy. stop sabotaging yourselfthey might say. Learn to practice self-control.
Everyone wants to hear good things happen, and these videos can provide a feeling of comfort, direction, and validation to those who seek it. Wouldn’t it be nice to make all your troubles disappear with a deck of 78 cards and a flick of the wrist? It is an attractive proposition, which also arouses a great deal of skepticism.
But even naysayers on social media can be drawn into tarot’s orbit. For instance, @lakaiaj tweeted “I try to skip tarot readings on tiktok but then I’m like ‘wait, this could be frl. “And they’re not the only ones feeling this.
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It has a lot to do with the fact that there is a fundamental misunderstanding about online tarot. Tarot is a form of divination, but the cards don’t predict your future; they offer tips to help you get there. More than anything, tarot is a catalyst for self-reflection and mental clarity. Theresa Reed, aka The Lady of the Tarota tarot professional with more than 30 years of experience, refers to it as “a creative incentive for personal development”.
“It’s something to reflect on and guide you and give you more meaning,” she told Mashable. “Whatever the card, there’s a lesson – there’s something to think about, and there’s myriad ways it can be applied, whether it’s something small or something big. .”
She describes a typical reading on her website as a way “to explore the pros and cons of the various choices you could make – creating the best possible plan for the future you want.”
It’s something to reflect on and guide you and give you more meaning.
On TikTok, these readings, while brief and perfectly suited for social consumption, are always reassuring and never judgmental. They most likely tap into a universal feeling or struggle, which is why it’s not uncommon to see dozens of comments like “I claim it with positive energy” and “I claim it with good luck and happiness” under any video on TarotTok.
Take a video posted by @queenbarbieznoire, a tarot card reader that has more than 74,000 followers on TikTok, for example. She gives the viewer a reading of 11/11, which tells you what the spiritually significant day of November 11 will bring to you. It begins with “if you see this before 11/11, this is the read for you”. Then she does a reading for different astrological and elemental signs. “Fixed signs, so Taurus, Scorpio, Leo, and Aquarius, you’ve completed a cycle in which you’re about to be very happy. You’ve healed,” she says. The video has over 10,000 likes.
An example of the type of tarot readings found on TikTok.
Credit: TikTok / queenbarbieznoire
It’s a strange phenomenon because no matter how the creators try to turn it into fate, it’s the TikTok algorithm that knows what you need to hear – and finally, what you want to consume. Tarot readings on the app are popular because they use the app’s most influential indicator of interest: watch time.
So is tarot practice an art form or a clever way to build an audience? Reed finds the tarot migration to TikTok both interesting and necessary, but she cautions users against reading too much. “If you’re looking for an introduction to tarot or something with a hip flair, you’re going to find it on TikTok, but you also see a lot of people who haven’t worked with tarot long and don’t really know what they’re doing. “, Reed told Mashable.
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“What people need to understand is that tarot is an art form and a craft,” she adds. “When you dedicate your whole life to it, you take it very seriously. Then there are people who get into it and get excited and want to turn the hobby into a career before they’re ready, which can get you and people interested in your work into trouble.
Despite the obvious tensions between the age-old practice and the app, many TikTok users choose to believe the readings – just look at the number of likes and positive comments on these videos. By following the instructions of a tarot card reader to interact with their content, users choose to claim what the cards say as divine intervention.
What people need to understand is that tarot is an art form and a craft.
Over the past year, tarot has exploded onto TikTok and Tumblr, platforms that attract niche communities of young, highly engaged users.
According to Cates Holderness, Tumblr Trend Expert, there have been around 1 million engagements with the Tag “tarot” on Tumblr since April, including 200,000 in the past six weeks.
“Like many communities found on Tumblr, content related to the ‘tarot’ tag is extremely varied,” Holderness told Mashable. “From fan art and original tarot card designs, to articles on astrology and explanations of what certain cards mean when drawn, the community uses the creative canvas on Tumblr to truly express their passion for this practice.”
In October, Tumblr launched Tarot Tuesday.
Credit: Tumblr/happytuesday
Tarot content became so popular on Tumblr that the platform was launched Tuesday Tarotan event where a group of seasoned tarologists, including @lecturesbylilyprovided users with personalized readings.
“We wanted Tarot Tuesday to be an event for the Tumblr community, by the Tumblr community,” Holderness explained. “So we made sure to work with tarot readers who were active on our platform and had a long and trusted experience with the readings. And then we wanted to make it easy for the community to participate by sharing their initials, their sun sign and pronouns – and any burning questions they had for the universe.”
Saj Allen, a 21-year-old spiritual practitioner on TikTok, is happy tarot has found its way onto the internet. “There’s always been a stigma around spiritual practitioners, but on TikTok it’s more welcome. Now that people are actually listening, they’re like, ‘I’m okay with that, I feel like this is for me,'” Allen told Mashable.
Allen thinks people are more accepting of tarot online because of all the time we’ve been sitting with ourselves during the pandemic. “There’s been a lot of self-discovery during the pandemic. We’re discovering that we’re more alike than we thought,” they explained.
Meanwhile, Reed sees tarot on social media as an opportunity for the art form to “adapt to the modern age” and educate inquisitive minds “about the beauty behind it – the art, crafts”. She says, “It’s a way to get people interested in tarot and to make tarot more accessible.”
Reed, who picked up her first deck at 15, hopes that through TikToks and Tumblr posts, more young people will learn about tarot and start practicing it themselves.
“We really want to inspire young readers to get started because we have to pass the ace of the wand to someone,” she says. “But please make sure you treat it like a craft. We want to make sure the craft continues and is respected.”
And if she has any advice for users seeing tarot content on their FYPs, it’s “don’t believe everything you hear on Tik Tok.”
At a time when everything is so uncertain, it’s no surprise that the tarot has become so popular. People of all ages are looking for answers. So go ahead and comment “I claim with positive energy” with caution.