Is it okay to use “clarifying cards” in a tarot reading?

Let’s be honest, tarot can often be bewildering and confusing.

Clarifying cards can help reduce that confusion. But they have to be used responsibly.

When some tarot students first discover “clarifying cards” they may think they’ve found a secret workaround to the natural uncertainty that tarot readings always have. Clarifying might seem like a shortcut to crystal clear understanding — turning the cards into some kind of cosmic help desk.

If only that were true.

( If you’re reading this and you’ve never even heard of clarifying cards, see our introduction to tarot clarifying cards. )

Using clarifying cards during a tarot reading is a legitimate practice and is an important part of a deep and intuitive tarot reading.

Using clarifying cards during a tarot reading is a legitimate practice and is an important part of a deep and intuitive tarot reading.

That being said,  it’s a practice that’s easy to abuse.

There are times when clarifying cards should be used, and other times when their use is considered “poor form”.

Generally speaking: As long as you’re using them to clarify cards that are already part of your tarot spread, you’re using them correctly. The key word is “clarification”.

If on the other hand, you’re using them to change or alter the meaning of your tarot spread, then you’re definitely tilting the cosmic pinball table. Remember: clarifying cards are not a “do over”. They don’t replace the cards you don’t like.

Remember: Tarot doesn’t always tell us what we want to hear.  The cards are often brutally, painfuly honest. The goal of a clarifying card isn’t to change the message. It’s to make it clearer.

Want more information? See our in-depth look at using clarifying cards.