Teens and Tarot

Divination, or the magic of predicting the future, has become a popular trend among teenagers. One of the bigger branches of divination, known as tarot, is especially gaining traction. 

Tarot cards are decks with 78 cards, each one with a corresponding meaning. Decks are composed of two separate parts, the major and the minor arcana. The major arcana has 22 cards, every card unique. The minor has 56 cards, divided into 4 suits, similar to normal playing cards. The four suits are wands, swords, coins, and cups, with each one corresponding to an element. 

Tarot cards originated in Italy and were used to play card games, not being used for predicting the future until the mid-18th century. In the past 10 years, this centuries old practice has had an increase in popularity. 

There is no concrete proof that tarot cards give accurate predictions of the future, but still, it’s the possibility that intrigues most people. The idea that there can be some certainty of the future is appealing to anyone. 

This form of divination resurfaced for a number of reasons, one of which is a witchcraft trend over various forms of social media. From Instagram to TikTok, tarot and wicca have created a wave of teenagers who are interested in the spiritual side of life. 

A Colorado shop named Springs Spirituality Metaphysical Shop is run by Natalie Evans, a professional tarot reader. She gives readings and teaches others how to interpret tarot.  

Evans said, “I almost have a conversation with my tarot cards, I’ll ask questions and pull three cards, read them super quick, and I’ll put them back in my deck. Tarot is an introspective tool used to look inside of yourself. It gives you a nudge in the right direction.” 

Some Instagram influencers have made a living out of the witchy aesthetic. Devany Amber Wolfe, an influencer with 75.1k followers under the name @serpentfire, primarily promotes tarot on her page. She posts cards with detailed descriptions that go in-depth about their meaning. Wolfe also began her own business, selling original tarot decks and instruction books. 

“My first true experience was purchasing my own deck when I was 23 or so, in Montreal. Someone I knew gave me a reading with that deck and it really blew me away! I saw the chance for pure, distilled self-inquiry and insight, and I was hooked. When you are a teenager, especially now with access to social media, there are so many influences on your day-to-day perceptions – not only of the world but of yourself,” Wolfe said, “You are influenced to ‘do this’, ‘think this’, ‘buy this’, etc. And while this happens to adults too, as a teenager your self-view and worldview is more changeable. This is a good thing! Question everything! Which is why tarot can be such a valuable tool for your own self-reflection, to help tease out the inner guidance you have within you. It is my full belief that no matter how old or young we are, we all have wisdom inside of us – and tarot can help you tap into that.” 

On TikTok, tarot readers often make videos with the idea of appealing to whoever stumbles on the video. Commonly they express that if you’re seeing the video, it was meant for you. These videos are not hard to find as the hashtag ‘#tarot’ has over 2.1 billion views. 

With many popular pages presenting divination, it makes sense that it would become a trend among their target audience, teenagers.

Teenagers are often looking for something to tell them how to move forward in life. Sometimes it comes in the form of mirroring parents, following a stereotype they’re comfortable in, or even trying to learn the future. Who can blame them? The world is a confusing place and being an adolescent on top of all that, the age where you are trying to figure out who you are, is stressful. Whether tarot is real or not, it can be comforting in an unstable world.