Been watching tarot on YouTube for about a year now, and really, most of them are just noise. Like they’ll pull a card and spend 10 minutes saying basically nothing while staring intensely at the camera.
Found maybe two channels that actually know what they’re doing. One reader I watch doesn’t even show her face, just the cards and her hands, but she gets so specific it’s almost uncomfortable. Last week, she did a reading about career blocks and mentioned something about “unfinished paperwork from 3 months ago,” and I literally had tax stuff sitting on my desk since January.
The rest, though, are just generic love readings with the same recycled messages. “Someone from your past is thinking about you” okay cool that could be literally anyone.
Tyler Tarot might be one of the better ones, though. He gets pretty specific with details, and they usually match up with what’s happening in my life. His rising sign readings work better for me than sun sign ones.
Both are decent but the rising sign stuff is more accurate. His style is kind of different and not everyone likes it. Takes a bit to get used to his vibe, but I think he has a real knack for reading cards.
Yesterday I caught a boundaries reading where the Nine of Swords came up and the reader goes, ‘stop doom-scrolling tarot at 3am for answers.’ That stung a bit.
I’m cutting back and keeping to a couple readers. Watching a bunch was just scrambling the messages.
If you’re looking to go deeper with tarot, check out Benebell Wen’s YouTube channel.
She covers symbolism, history, and esoteric stuff that most channels skip over. Her videos aren’t flashy, some of the older ones have pretty basic production. But if you want to understand why certain cards mean what they mean, she’s got you covered.
Just a heads up, though, her lessons can be pretty intense. I usually need a break after watching because there’s so much information packed in.
I always look for readers with that magnetic personality, the ones who are interesting even between card pulls. They’ll throw in mythology references or words from other languages.
The YouTube readers worth watching don’t just flip through cards. They’re storytellers who make it feel like a conversation. If you forget you’re looking at a screen and feel like you’re actually sitting across from them, that’s how you know.
Been watching Kino Tarot and Anita Sirene (formerly Stargirl the Practical Witch) a lot lately.
Their readings have been pretty accurate for me. I’ve unsubscribed from some long-time favorites like Eso, The Hermit Tarot, and Cenus. Not sure what happened, but their readings don’t work for me like they used to.
Sometimes you just outgrow certain readers, I guess.
Someone gets the Death card, okay cool, transformation and all that. But then you read below and there’s like 50 people talking about their divorces, job changes, whatever. With actual details about what went down. Way more useful than the original reading if you ask me.
I only watch readers who tell you their process upfront. What spread, what the positions mean, how they get timeframes. There’s this old tarot guy from the 1700s, Etteilla, who basically started the whole thing with positions and timing in spreads.
The good YouTube readers still do it that way, they give you specifics instead of vague stuff. If your reader’s explaining her spread when she talks about paperwork, she’s probably legit.
I’ve been following White Feather Tarot for a while now. They’re actually the only reader I watch regularly anymore. Their readings are pretty grounded and practical, which I like. The spreads they use are creative but not confusing.
Yeah, the tarot community needs more real convos and less ‘someone’s thinking of you’ on repeat.
The best readers treat their comment sections like mini-forums anyway. They’re in there answering questions, explaining why they read the cards the way they do, helping people flex their intuition muscle. That’s where the authentic guidance really is.
The channels I stick with now are basically the ones where the reader AND the community show up. Otherwise you’re just collecting generic messages like trading cards.
This is so true. I’ve had Benebell Wen’s videos open in tabs for weeks because they’re the kind you need to sit down with, maybe take notes. Can’t just have them on in the background while doing dishes.
My cats seem to know when I’m watching her content versus the fluffier stuff. They’ll actually settle down instead of walking across my laptop. Maybe they sense the different energy, or maybe I’m just more focused and stop fidgeting. Her book Holistic Tarot is worth checking out, too, if you want the deep dive without needing to pause and rewind constantly. Though honestly, sometimes I prefer the video format because you can see her demonstrate the spreads and card combinations in real time.
White Feather combines different card systems in her readings, which is pretty interesting. Instead of just using one deck, she pulls from multiple ones to show different angles of the same situation. She mixes psychology with the mystical stuff too. The readings end up feeling more like conversations than typical fortune-telling sessions. She knows her tarot really well.
The good readers take their time with it. Like an hour or more sometimes. You can’t really get into someone’s life stuff in just 10 minutes. Those channels that rush through with the same ‘someone misses you’ lines are pretty different from the ones who actually sit with the cards.
One of the reasons why I don’t really like short videos for tarot readings.
The best is live streaming. You get a good feel for the reader as a person when they’re live.
I get what you mean about the storytelling vibe. I think the best readers let the cards tell the story rather than carrying it all themselves. Like when someone pulls the chatty Page of Swords followed by Mr. Mysterious himself, the Hermit, and they just pause and let you feel that tension between wanting to speak up and needing to stay quiet.