Tarot Reading Misconceptions: What a Professional Witch Actually Does

If you think tarot is fortune telling, you're operating from the same script that's been fed to you since childhood. And it's probably why you've never actually sat down with a real reader.

The difference between what people think tarot is and what it actually does is the gap where real misunderstanding lives. Courtney Pearl—a Celtic priestess, energy healer, and professional tarot reader based in Utah—has spent years watching people walk in with one set of expectations and leave with something entirely different.

Here's what actually happens when you get a tarot reading, how to tell the difference between a genuine reader and someone taking advantage of your vulnerability, and why the cards have nothing to do with the devil.

The Fortune Telling Myth (And Why It Matters)

The first thing Courtney tells people is this: she's not a fortune teller.

The distinction sounds small. It's not. When someone markets themselves as a fortune teller, they're already operating from a framework that positions the cards as predictive—like a magic eight ball with better artwork. People sit down expecting yes or no answers. They want certainty. They want the cards to tell them whether to take the job, leave the relationship, or move across the country.

This is where the real problem starts.

"If someone has said to me, 'Oh, Courtney is a fortune teller,' I'm like, what? I'm a tarot reader," Courtney explains. "And there is some fortune reading in that, but even the way that I do it is more so healing."

The cards don't work like a decision-making machine. They work as a clarification tool—a way to surface what you already know but haven't fully acknowledged yet. Most of the time, when someone gets a reading, the cards confirm what they already sensed. They just needed permission to trust themselves.

If you're going to a reader expecting them to solve your life, you're going to be disappointed. And honestly, you should be skeptical of anyone who promises otherwise.

How to Spot a Fraud (Before You Sit Down)

The easiest way to identify a reader who's taking advantage of people is to listen for how they talk about their own power.

If a reader is telling you how to live your life—"You need to leave your husband" or "You absolutely must take this job"—that's a red flag. A real reader facilitates clarity. They don't claim authority over your decisions.

Courtney has seen readers cross this line repeatedly. "If it's shooting all over you, it probably isn't going to be higher vibrational frequency. It isn't going to be aligned with what you need. And a lot of people are looking for that so desperately, it's almost taking advantage, right?"

Here are the actual signs of a credible reader:

• They ask questions. A real reading is a conversation, not a monologue. The reader should be asking you about context, your situation, what you're trying to understand.
• They keep prices affordable. If someone is charging astronomical rates, ask yourself why. "I keep my prices affordable for a reason," Courtney says. Desperation pricing is a red flag.
• They respect your intuition. A good reader will tell you: your gut feeling matters more than the guidebook. If something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't.
• They have boundaries. Real readers won't do readings for someone else when you're the one who booked the session. They won't test you to prove they're psychic. They won't grab strangers on the street and force readings on them without consent.

The hardest part? You have to trust your own intuition to recognize these things. Which is ironic when you're seeking someone to help you develop your intuition in the first place.

Tarot Isn't About Predicting the Future—It's About What You Need to Know

One of the most powerful things Courtney said in her conversation with Make Me a Believer came from Norse mythology.

In the Nordic tradition, there's a concept called the orleg—the cards you're handed as your fate or destiny. But there's also the veerd—how you play those cards. The combination is infinite. You can't change what's coming, but you can change how you respond to it.

This is what tarot actually does.

The cards might show you what's emerging in your life. They might highlight patterns you haven't noticed. They might surface a deeper subconscious thing you haven't considered. But the reading isn't prophecy. It's insight.

"The cards might tell you what's coming up. What do you need to know about what's coming up?" Courtney explains. "But that doesn't mean this is going to happen to you and this is the way it is. It might be like, this is going to give you some choice on how you choose to handle it."

This is why people who come in desperate for certainty often leave disappointed. They want the cards to remove their responsibility for the decision. The cards won't do that. They can't.

What they can do is show you what you're not seeing. And that's worth far more than a yes or no answer.

The Devil Card, Death, and Other Misunderstood Messages

People are terrified of the death card. They're equally terrified of the devil card. And they should be—not because they're evil, but because they represent things that are hard to face.

The death card doesn't mean someone's going to die. It means a cycle is ending. Something has to decompose so that something new can grow. In the major arcana, it represents transformation—the kind that requires destruction first.

"Even in the death card, it often associates with a death or a grief in a more personal way. Like you are going through something that this has to die. This has to decompose. This has to nourish the new that's coming," Courtney says.

The devil card represents vices, addictions, patterns you keep getting stuck in. The tower card is chaos and disruption—the moment when everything you thought you knew gets challenged. These aren't light messages. They're not supposed to be.

But they're necessary.

"There has to be a destruction of what you thought. So even in the death card, it often associates with a death or a grief," Courtney explains. "You can't level up and ascend from that position of stuckness where you are without some destruction happening."

This is the real value of tarot. It doesn't sugarcoat. It doesn't fluff. It tells you what you actually need to know—not what you want to hear.

Why Tarot Readings Work (And Why You Don't Have to Believe in Them First)

Here's something that surprises people: you don't have to believe in tarot for a reading to be helpful.

You do need consent. A reader shouldn't force a reading on someone who doesn't want one. But skepticism doesn't disqualify you. In fact, skepticism might be exactly what you need.

"I don't think you have to believe in it," Courtney says. "I think that there is, in anything that I do, there is sort of a consent of the higher self that has to be there in some form or another."

What matters is that you're open to hearing what comes up. You show up willing to consider what the cards are reflecting back to you. You're not testing the reader or trying to catch them in a trick.

Most readings work because they create space for you to think differently about your situation. The cards are a mirror. They show you patterns. They connect you with your own wisdom. Whether you call that intuition, the universe, psychology, or something else entirely doesn't matter.

The mechanism works because you're engaging with it honestly.

Start With Oracle Cards, Not Tarot

If you're curious but intimidated, Courtney's advice is simple: start with an oracle deck, not tarot.

Oracle cards are the gateway. They have fewer rules, no guidebook required, and they're designed to be intuitive. You pull a card. You feel into what it means for you. That's it. No complex symbolism. No 22 major arcana cards and 56 minor arcana cards to memorize.

"Oracle decks are really great for people just starting out who don't really have the time or want to study," Courtney explains. "They just want to pull a card and get a meaning from it that day."

Pick a deck based on the artwork. Connect with the images. Pull one card in the morning as a ritual. Build the habit slowly.

And here's the thing: your interpretation matters more than the guidebook. Your intuition is the real oracle. The cards are just a tool to access it.

Ready to explore what tarot can reveal about your own patterns and blind spots?

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