This is what has drawn so many Gen Z folks to tarot, its intersection of spirituality and self-reflection.
Its allure lies in the highly individualized insights it offers. They use it to help them make sense of an uncertain world and their place in it.
For a generation searching for deep connections and insight, tarot offers a fun, approachable, artistic way to express that desire.
The cards resonate with their values of introspection and openness, making it a favorite tool of self-expression and exploration.
Why Gen Z Is Drawn To Tarot
1. Exploring Self-Discovery and Personal Growth
For those in Gen Z, tarot has emerged as a powerful resource for self-discovery and introspection. Unlike more conventional self-help practices, tarot serves as an interactive and creative tool for introspection and self-discovery. Each card is like a mirror, reflecting themes or patterns that may currently be prominent in the reader’s life.
Once you pull a Hermit card, the urge to be alone and reflect might emerge. The Empress card can inspire a person to care for others, explore their creative potential, and cultivate beauty in their life. Dr. Joshi notes that people nowadays embrace tarot as a form of therapy. It allows them to make sense of the chaos that is contemporary life.
Gen Z faces distinct challenges, from economic pressures to the mental health impact of social media. Tarot creates a gentle environment to address these topics with curiosity rather than shame. The cards don’t tell you what the solutions should be, but they do help you ask the right questions to get to a deeper understanding.
This adaptability makes tarot accessible, but it is also orders of magnitude flexible to people’s needs. Just scroll through platforms like TikTok to see real stories of self-discovery inspired by tarot. This makes the practice feel relatable and approachable for young users.
2. Seeking Guidance in Uncertain Times
Even more than the meteoric rise of witchcraft and tarot, this global pandemic had a tremendous impact on the popularity of tarot within Gen Z. Its sudden and catastrophic disruption of everyday life left millions searching for new sources of comfort, reassurance, and clarity. Tarot has been used as a form of guidance, providing a little bit of order when the world has otherwise been turned upside down.
Shuffling the cards and laying them out requires all of your focus. This simple ritual is an act of intention and peace, grounding you when the world feels upside down. As anthropologist Sabina Magliocco has observed, tarot offers “sensual and aesthetic stimulation,” which many people found lacking during lockdowns and other times of social separation.
There’s nothing like holding the cards; the amazing tactile experience engages all your senses. The stunning aesthetic artwork seizes your sense of sight, and the calming pace of a reading encourages an incredible calm connectedness. Inclusivity is a big part of modern tarot decks. They feature a wide variety of imagery and creators, which makes them inclusive and accessible to a wide audience.
This inclusivity creates a sense of trust and connection, allowing Gen Z to feel that they can see themselves and their experiences represented in the cards.
3. Connecting with Spirituality and Intuition
More than self-help, Gen Zers are increasingly turning to tarot as part of a larger spiritual renaissance that prioritizes intuition. In an era when traditional religious structures might not be as accessible, tarot can become a secular yet spiritual medium for exploring these big, existential questions. Most view it as a practice to commune with the mystical or to access their own intuition.
Tarot doesn’t claim to tell your future. Rather than limiting users, they guide users to imagine new possibilities, question their assumptions, and listen to their intuition. Social media has been instrumental in both amplifying this exploration and making it more accessible than ever before.
Creators on TikTok and Instagram are posting tarot spreads and interpretations. They’re sharing their own journeys to make the process less intimidating and encourage others to try it themselves. The ease of beginning with just a one-card draw or a guided spread creates an unintimidating entry point for novices.
What’s more, a 2019 study reported that 61% of tarot users engaged with the cards in ways that expanded beyond typical fortune-telling. When we think about Tarot today, it’s so versatile. Today, it is a powerful tool for setting intentions and for exploring identity and purpose.
Cultural Significance Of Tarot For Gen Z
Influences of modern spirituality trends
In a post-lockdown, post-BLM world, tarot has become a cultural phenomenon, particularly with Gen Z. Luckily, this generation has been consistently eager to engage with non-traditional routes to self-awareness and understanding. Whereas older generations may have been more reliant on established religions, younger people tend to look for more open-ended, exploratory interpretations of existence.
Tarot fits perfectly into this zeitgeist. It provides a deeply personal and customizable experience, where the meaning of the 78 cards can be tailored to individual circumstances. Each card, with its unique symbolism—from wands to cups, swords, and pentacles—provides a way to reflect on challenges, opportunities, and emotions.
A key reason driving tarot’s popularity is its digital-first appeal, particularly its recent rise on platforms such as TikTok. With more than 1.7 billion views under the #tarottok hashtag, tarot has found a lively home on TikTok that continues to grow and thrive. Creators upload videos to help explain what card meanings are, give live readings, or teach viewers how to use a tarot deck.
This cultural visibility has turned tarot into one big communal experience. As a result, tarot has shattered the space of one-on-one readings to build a global, interconnected, and multidisciplinary community. Tarot became more accessible in part due to social media. Our local readers, for instance, have their own IG accounts with hundreds or even thousands of Gen Z followers. Most of them do five to seven bookings a week, which is a testament to how much demand for tarot has expanded outside of niche spaces.
Blending traditional beliefs with modern practices
Though tarot’s origins stretch back centuries, Gen Z has transformed its cultural significance. Rather than relegating it to the realm of fortune telling, younger generations have largely combined its traditional roots with contemporary self-care rituals. For example, many practitioners use tarot readings alongside meditation or journaling, thus turning it into a practice of mindfulness.
This hybrid approach makes the practice especially attractive to young people who are interested in spirituality, but not strictly in traditional ways. Ironically, this fusion of past and present is not without its bumps and bruises. In many areas, tarot continues to meet opposition. In 2014, the local government of the rural Virginia town of Clifton was subjected to a severe public outcry.
This outrage came from efforts to repeal a law prohibiting “magic arts.” Such resistance is a far cry from how tarot is welcomed online and on social media, where its versatility is lauded. TikTok and Instagram have revolutionized tarot into a vibrant and modern medium. It’s truly remarkable how now, tarot so fluidly blends spirituality, psychology, and personal growth.
Appeal of universal patterns and symbolism
The second big reason Gen Z is drawn to tarot is its universal symbolism. The imagery on tarot cards usually reflects the highs and lows of life, creating a universal structure for meaning-making. Dr. Gayatri Saikia, a counselor who practices cognitive-behavioral therapy, links this concept to “The Barnum Effect.
This psychological phenomenon partly accounts for why people can find personal meaning in generalizable, sweeping claims. This psychological phenomenon is what makes tarot feel so relevant. Through the ability to project one’s own thoughts and emotions onto the cards, tarot cultivates a sense of clarity and direction.
Beyond this, what draws people to tarot is its versatility. Though 61% of users consider it a type of spirituality, some use it strictly as an introspective practice. This duality, this tension, between foretelling the future and self-reflection is what makes tarot so inviting.
It’s not something that needs dogma or deep commitment to a philosophy.
Rather, it’s a powerful tool to journey into your inner world with archetypes and symbols that we all connect with on a universal level. This balance between structure and openness is what resonates so deeply with a generation that appreciates authenticity just as much as they appreciate adaptability.
Emotional And Psychological Benefits Of Tarot
Providing comfort and clarity during challenges
Tarot frequently becomes a tool for moving through uncertainty, providing emotional and spiritual reassurance during times of overwhelm. For others, the process of pulling cards and interpreting their meaning becomes a soothing ritual in and of itself. One woman formed an emotional attachment to frequent tarot visits. Their guidance allowed her to address personal issues with a feeling of calmness.
The comfort, I found, came from the symbolic messages embedded within the cards. It also comes from the reflective process they generate. Collectively, we’re experiencing a renaissance of tarot like none before. In 2020, online searches for “tarot cards” and “how to read tarot cards” surged 50% from the year before — a testament to how people turn to tarot for clarity in difficult times.
Autonomy
Tarot readings make their users feel more autonomous and self-directed. They provide people with the emotional and psychological benefit of feeling that they can change their situation. Yet another woman testified about how tarot gave her the strength to seize control of her choices and future. The confidence she found from this new practice dramatically lowered her stress levels.
Tarot doesn’t provide clear-cut answers or tell the future. What it does do is provide a scaffolded story arc that allows individuals to make sense of their obstacles and find their way back to a path forward.
Encouraging mindfulness and introspection
Tarot has a way of forcing users to slow down and creating an intentional space for mindfulness. People are able to focus on the cards and what they represent. This allows them to move away from the distractions of everyday life and process their inner thoughts and feelings.
This process can be incredibly re-centering, helping people gain clarity on their thoughts and feelings. The Barnum Effect is a psychological phenomenon that explains why people tend to identify with general descriptions. This effect makes it easier for users to connect the cards to their own lives. Rather than a shortcoming, this effect underscores the flexible and introspective quality of tarot readings.
For younger generations like Gen Z, who tend to be more burdened by digital fatigue, tarot provides a more tactile, sensory experience. Shuffling the cards, studying each artwork and interpreting their spreads is an art form that can easily become a meditative ritual.
This tactile, personal approach establishes a deep connection with yourself. It asks you to go deep in a way that’s personal and provocative. Local tarot communities, such as in Singapore, boast hundreds of members. They open up shared spaces for participants to explore mindfulness alongside one another and in doing so deepen their own connections.
Supporting mental health through self-reflection
Tarot’s power as a mental health tool comes from its capacity to encourage self-reflection. Many millennials and Gen Zers are turning to tarot as an unconventional form of therapy, using it to explore their thoughts and emotions. One woman used tarot to help her combat her mental health issues.
These cards soon became her voice, allowing her to express emotions she found difficult to verbalize. This reflective process is helpful for understanding emotional patterns, leading to personal growth and healing. In this way, tarot offers a safe, nonjudgmental space for people to explore their fears and dreams.
By externalizing inner conflicts onto the cards, users can approach their challenges with a fresh perspective. The symbolic nature of tarot makes it truly open to interpretation, creating a flexible tool for self-discovery. Tarot is very popular right now with millennials and Gen Z, partly because it’s easy to come by.
Thanks to online classes and social media platforms, it’s easier than ever to pick up tarot and learn to use it for self-help. That increasing fascination is seen in the tarot reader’s booming marketplace, where many report active, booked schedules and more than a few sessions per week.
Addressing Risks And Misconceptions
Misunderstandings about tarot’s purpose
In fact, one of the largest misconceptions about tarot is what it’s used for. Most people, especially younger ones new to spiritual practices, still tend to think of tarot as a future-telling tool. This belief is not based on any historical or psychological reality. Experts and noted tarot historians have long underscored this crucial point.
Tarot is not at all meant to be used like this, as a fortune-telling tool. Tarot origins can be traced to card games played in 15th century Europe. Their symbolic interpretations came about much later. Through both history and practice, Dr. Saikia illustrates the appeal of tarot’s occult and supernatural charms.
These characteristics provide a fantasy and escapism that hundreds of thousands of people enjoy. For Gen Z, this fantasy is not only an entertaining escape, but a nurturing space for self-discovery and acceptance. When it comes to personal healing, tarot really shines as a powerful tool of introspection. It isn’t designed to be a crystal ball.
When used in this manner, tarot serves as a powerful tool for self-reflection, allowing people to consider their emotions and examine situations from multiple angles. It must never be considered a strict blueprint.
Over-reliance on tarot for decision-making
Another risk is that you might become too reliant on tarot to make decisions. It’s easy to want to just consult tarot cards and see what they say. Holding them too dearly can lead you astray. To give you an idea, the Journal of Behavioral Addictions recently reported on a really interesting case.
It’s about a woman who becomes addicted to clairvoyance. She started losing her ability to make everyday decisions without relying on tarot, which over time derailed her life. The over-reliance on this approach comes from a human tendency to veer toward the path of least resistance.
It’s easy for tarot to come across as a quick fix for complex issues. It is important to address it with a balanced perspective. Smart decisions, particularly big ones, should be made after careful consideration and input from trusted sources—not a game of 52 card pickup.
Rather than looking to tarot for definitive answers, it can be more helpful to approach it as an additional resource for cultivating insight.
Protecting against negative energy during readings
Finally, atmosphere and intention are huge when it comes to tarot readings. It’s understandable why so many people are afraid of letting bad energy ruin a great time.
Though some would call this superstition, it is a real risk from a psychological standpoint.
A stressed or anxious state can cloud interpretations, leading to misreadings. To set the right tone, consider practicing mindfulness or grounding exercises before starting the reading to promote openness.
By intentionally framing tarot—specifically as a tool for self-reflection, instead of future prediction—misconceptions can be addressed and the practice can stay focused and positive. If you’re new to tarot, remember this above all else — the cards are not ominous or predestined.
They are a unique opportunity to spark imaginations and expand minds.
How Tarot Reflects Universal Patterns
Understanding recurring themes in life
Tarot readings are so enticing because they so perfectly illustrate the themes and patterns of life that we all experience. Carl Jung was onto something when he described tarot as an “intuitive method.” Tarot, at its best, is a mirror that reflects universal patterns back at the person seeking guidance.
Approaching tarot this way takes it out of a purely mystical realm and turns it into a practical, illuminating tool for self-reflection. In a tarot deck, every card is an archetypal situation. These cards mirror the experiences all of us have faced at one time or another in our lives.
For instance, pulling the Tower card could mean sudden change or upheaval, an experience many of us go through at one time or another. This symbolism helps people to relate their own journey or victory to these broader themes of life.
Consider the experience of a woman who started relying on tarot card readings after a messy divorce and subsequent layoff left her feeling lost. She talked about how the cards gave her this “reassuring feeling,” like a comfort almost. The cards were not providing her with concrete answers.
Rather, they taught her how to look at her struggles as being involved in a greater narrative. This simple shift in perspective is incredibly empowering and therapeutic. It provides solace to those exasperated by life’s unanswered questions, particularly in circumstances where neither faith nor empirical evidence can shed light.
This concept of life’s themes repeating themselves is not just confined to the individual narrative. Tarot itself reflects this through its structure, with Major Arcana cards representing life's major milestones and Minor Arcana cards symbolizing everyday events.
The universal themes found in diverse readings make people feel like they’re part of something bigger. This relationship is especially attractive to those who, like me, are looking for something more in their lives.
Recognizing interconnectedness in the universe
A second reason tarot appeals to so many, especially Gen Z, is its focus on interconnectedness. Each individual card drawn and each unique reading conducted is a testament that nothing in life exists as its own solitary act.
If you’ve been wanting to reconnect in our fast-paced, technology-driven world, tarot is a great way to do that. It’s a beautiful reminder of the universal threads that connect us all. A 23-year-old tarot reader in Singapore found the art of readings empowering.
They allowed her to see patterns in her life and feel more in tune with the overall universe’s rhythm. She explained it as building on this collective energy that leads and shapes individual actions.
This feeling of connection is attractive to those who are looking for a connection to something bigger than themselves. Those who feel called to make magnificent things happen are naturally drawn to tarot.
It goes a long way to reinforcing their faith that there is a bigger plan afoot. Each card is a deep, multi-layered web of symbols and meanings. They connect the personal to the political.
The doubters will always wonder if a shuffled deck is really random, but they are nonetheless fascinated. Occultists feel this randomness is a reflection of how fortunes can change in a matter of minutes, just like life itself, which is always in flux.
As Jenny Haddad Mosher recently noted, an increasing number of Orthodox youth are picking up tarot. This trend points to a larger cultural movement towards seeking out alternative spiritual practices.
This trend is not limited to one geographic area or religious ideology. It’s about creating connection within complexity, understanding that we’re all threads woven through a common fabric.
By using tarot as a tool, individuals can explore their place in this complex web. Along the way though, they discover powerful truths about themselves, and the world around them.
Conclusion
For Gen Z, tarot provides not only self-reflection, but a sense of cultural belonging and emotional support. It’s a reflection of a desire for clarity and personal empowerment in an increasingly chaotic world. The cards become tools for processing emotions, choosing paths, or even simply stopping to reflect in a new way. It’s not so much about predicting the future, but getting a better sense of the present.
If you’re interested in learning more about tarot, it’s an interesting practice that’s definitely worth approaching with an open mind and grounded spirit. Whether you’re in it for wisdom, inspiration, or just for fun, tarot invites you to explore the magic within yourself.
Enjoy the process, share your experiences, listen and engage with others and let it inspire deeper discussions and continued learning. Take a plunge into this exciting cultural current and find what clicks for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Gen Z so interested in tarot?
Tarot appeals to Gen Z because it provides self-reflection, guidance, and a sense of control in an unpredictable world. Plus, it fits with their emerging love of spirituality and self-care.
Does tarot have cultural significance for Gen Z?
Yes. Tarot combines ancient traditions with modern self-help trends. This historic meets modern combination strikes a chord with Gen Z who appreciates both the traditional and the new practices.
What are the emotional benefits of tarot for Gen Z?
Tarot can support stress relief, emotional clarity, and self-awareness. It’s a safe, non-judgmental tool for exploring difficult feelings and gaining perspective.
Is tarot safe to use?
Absolutely, provided it’s done in a responsible way. Tarot is a tool for self-reflection, not future prediction. There are definitely misinterpretations that can occur, but in the right hands and with an open mind, it’s a safe practice.
Are there misconceptions about tarot?
The common perception is that tarot is all about the mystical or the predictive. To be clear, it is not a magical means of predicting the future, but rather a tool for deepening one’s understanding to make informed choices.
How does tarot reflect universal patterns?
Tarot’s archetypes and symbols speak to universal human experiences, making it translatable across generations. It’s been a way for me to connect users to a larger life to these themes.
Can tarot replace professional therapy?
No. Tarot is not a replacement for professional mental health treatment. It augments self-reflection but cannot substitute for professional help with deeper problems.
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