How To Find A Good Tarot Reader Who Will Give The Clarity You Need

So you want to have your tarot read. Maybe you’re a true believer who needs guidance with a certain question, a curious skeptic, or one of the people who has contributed to the 36.7 billion (and counting) views #tarot has on TikTok and you want a more personalized experience — regardless of your reasoning, finding the right tarot reader for you can be more challenging than expected. 

“When you get tarot done … you’re going for some sort of clarity, or healing or understanding of a question or uncertainty that you have in your life,” said R29 Entertainment Director and Twitch host Melissah Yang during Thursday’s R29 Twitch stream. “Finding a good tarot reader is kind of like finding a good therapist. You’ve got to shop around, and it might be that the first person you go to is not the greatest.” 

That’s something Mercedes Viera, R29’s affiliate writer and resident tarot reader — has found to be true, though they got lucky the first time. Viera was visiting Chicago last year when they “stumbled across” a psychic and although the Aquarian was a self-proclaimed skeptic, decided to get a tarot reading done. “The way she read me to filth only knowing my name and my sign was insane,” Viera said during the stream. Viera became a tarot believer, and when they got back home, they picked up a deck, started learning about the craft, and have been doing readings ever since. 

It’s fair to say, then, that Viera knows a thing or two about what you should be looking for when trying to find a reader of your own. Red flags are aplenty. Viera recommends exercising caution if a reader tries to sell you something at the end of your session (especially if that something is particularly expensive), or if you and a friend go for a reading at the same time and your results are weirdly similar — that probably means something is up with your reader, or they don’t totally know what they’re talking about. Green flags are a bit harder to pick out, which is why Viera suggests sticking to your gut: If, intuitively, a reader feels good or right, chances are that they actually are. 

“Everyone should have a balanced state of mind,” Viera said. “[Go in] like, ‘I’m not going to believe absolutely everything you say, but I’m also not going to doubt absolutely everything. There has to be some middle ground.” 

Other than that, the most important thing to yield a good reading is to head into one with a specific question on your mind, according to Viera. It could be more general, like you’re wondering about the current state of your love life, or narrowed down, like does my soulmate live in this city? That will offer a good starting point for your reading. Just be warned: Things may not go exactly as you had envisioned. “Sometimes a spirit will go rogue. Maybe you asked about love, but it’s going to tell you about self-growth and healing to point you in the right direction to find that love,” Viera said.

That’s what a couple of R29ers found out during the stream when Viera did personalized readings for them. R29 Social Editor Bre Davis joined the discussion to ask Viera if she’s already met “her person” and if she’d have to relocate for them. The answer? Based on the cards pulled, Viera thinks Davis knows that she may have to move for someone, but isn’t fully ready to commit to that prospect yet — words that definitely resonated with Davis. 

Viera’s last piece of advice for R29’s Twitch audience? “Personally, I still believe that in every message, you can take away something, so just keep an open mind.”