Lately I have not been unable to visit a tarot reader in person so I have been experimenting with computer generated tarot readings. I decided to compile here some of my recent experiences and answer the question – Does Online Tarot reading generators really work?
They are useful for simple Tarot readings or when a person is exploring the different meanings of individual cards. As these readings are not able to mimic the intuition of a human tarot reader, and the rapport between the reader and the seeker is missing, they don’t offer as in-depth results as a person to person readings.
The online tarot reading generators come in different forms. Some of them are purely advertisements to entice the user to buy something, but I did notice that some of them offered several benefits especially for tarot learners. Let’s take a closer look at what I discovered.
What is the point of online Tarot reading generators?
There are basically basically two types of online tarot reading generators.
- Fully-automated
- Semi-automated
Many of the generators that you see are the fully automated ones. These are usually advertised as “Free tarot readings”.
You have most likely pumped into these while you have been searching for information on Tarot or Tarot card readings. Even some quite informative websites have advertisements which invite you to take a “free reading”.
If the website user clicks on those advertisements they will be redirected to a page where they start the reading process immediately.
As you might have heard the saying – “there is no such thing as a free lunch” so you probably understand that most of these readings are meant to get the website user to submit their email to them so they can increase the likelihood of turning the user into a buying customer later on.
The other type of reading generator is the “Semi automated – Tarot readings”. These readings include some human participation but they automate a big part of the tarot reading process by leaving only the card interpretation to a human reader. These readings don’t have the card reader and the seeker interacting in person. The communication is commonly done via the generator forms and email.
The semi-automated readings are not usually advertised as free. They either have a direct price (which seemed to be on average around $40). If they are offering them for free, they require the seeker to sign up to the website, and again this is done in the hopes that the seeker will be transformed into a paying customer later on.
How do the computer generated readings work?
The computer generated readings that you see online follow very much the same process as a normal tarot reading excluding the pre- and post-reading rituals and clearly the human interaction that is involved in a human to human readings.
The process for the fully automated readings goes roughly like this:
- Step 1 – Automated Card Shuffling
- Step 2 – Seeker draws the cards
- Step 3 – Seeker Giving some general information about themselves
- Step 4 – Seeker Receives the 1st part of the reading – Past
- Step 5 – Seeker Submits more information about themselves
- Step 6 – Seeker Receives the 2nd part of the reading – Present
- Step 7 – The automated reader asks the seeker to submit their email to receive the final part of the reading – Future
- Step 8 – Seeker Receives the final part of the reading which includes a recommendation to a product that you can buy
- Step 9 – Follow up emails (spammy)
The process for the semi-automated readings goes roughly as follows:
- Step 1 – You can choose what type of a reading you want, possibly even the tarot deck and the spread
- Step 2 – Submit basic information about yourself
- Step 3 – Card Shuffling
- Step 4 – Card Selection
- Step 5 – The Spread
- Step 6 – Sign up / Purchase the reading
The sites that offer the semi-automated readings, will basically either ask you to sign up for a computer generated free reading or you can purchase a reading which will be interpreted by a human reader.
You will then receive the results of the reading to your email after some time.
The weakness of the computer generated tarot readings
Firstly, the most obvious and the most important weakness is the lack of human to human interaction.
If you are like me and you want to use Tarot for self guidance and reflection, to me a big part of the process is the connection I have with my Tarot reader. It is not only the reader who is interpreting the cards, but it is the moment and the energy we share.
While it can be easy for a skilled programmer to create algorithms to attach meanings to the drawn cards and to apply some relationships between the meanings, it is nearly impossible to mimic human intuition.
A skillful and experienced tarot reader will be able to connect with the seeker and take into account the personalities of both parties involved into the reading. They are able to understand how different cards relate to the energy of the seeker and interpret the meanings in that moment to that specific person.
Of course the ideal situation for this to happen is when the reader and the seeker are face to face in the same space. I’ve done online readings on different video-meeting platforms such as Skype and Zoom and they have worked well also especially when I have met my reader in person before.
With the video meetings there is just something missing. It is difficult for me to describe this lack of energy here on black and white but I think you guys get what I mean. The energy is there in every human to human interaction. With some it works well even in an online meeting and with others there is just something missing.
Maybe after some time, when technology develops, even these aspects will be included in the readers. Anything is possible. But at the moment I can pretty confidently say that programming such complex interaction to a computer software is not going to happen.
Another big turn off about the reading generators is that the software is usually coded with the intent to get the user to behave in a certain way. So to speak, the outcomes are forced and the results of the readings encourage the seeker to purchase something as a result. I am not saying that all of these sites are purely built with that in mind but if you take some time to try the different generators, you can see that this is the case in many of them.
The possible uses of online generated tarot readings
I do see some potential with the semi-automated and even with the fully automated reading generators. They take away part of the human interaction but for simple readings they do offer some added value.
You don’t need to spend much time and energy getting simple reading quickly and maybe just for fun. You can even use it as a second opinion and observe your situation from another perspective.
Another reason I see potential in them is that they can be great additions for someone who is learning Tarot cards.
Even the fully automated reading generators can offer a student of the art of Tarot insight on how to interpret the card meanings. Or even how to gather the meanings into a coherent story.
For such use they are a great source of study material and use cases.
The semi-automated reading generators are even more beneficial to someone who wants to learn tarot and perhaps even become a professional tarot reader.
Firstly, they too give insight on how to interpret the cards and introduce the person to the different spreads.
And when the results are human generated they are valuable “case studies” for someone willing to learn from a more experienced reader. They give even more added value if they allow the seeker to present follow up questions to the reader.
Secondly, these websites that offer semi-automated readings are the perfect places to get started as a professional tarot card reader. It can be very intimidating to start doing readings to people who are paying for you when they are sitting in front of you.
The remote readings that are done via email will give valuable experience and build up the confidence to start doing more personal readings. I would highly recommend giving it a try.
Tarot reading generators online
If you would like to give the generators a try I listed below a couple of sites where you can get started. See for yourself what you will think about them, and feel free to leave a comment in the comment section below.
They offer semi-automated readings among other services in Tarot and Numerology. The Administrator of the Service George M Taylor advertises that the advantage of online Tarot reading at Phuture.me comes from that, the software doesn’t choose the cards for the client. The person seeking the reading is able to make the decisions which cards are included in the reading. The software just enables the reading to take place even though the seeker and the reader are on different sides of the planet. “It doesn’t matter if they are printed or digital as long as you pick them and not the software. That’s true divination.”
They have over 20 professional tarot readers and a good bunch of clients that use the services on a regular basis. They also have mobile apps and readings with photographs of spreads.
They offer a good resource for automated-readings if you want to try without having to submit your email. They have a large variety of different decks and spreads you can choose from.
It is a great free resource if you want to study different Tarot spreads and Tarot meanings.
Llewellyn is a publishing company specialized in metaphysical books and resources. They also have a computer generated tarot reading that is completely free. You can choose the reading from 10 different tarot card decks which include decks like Gilded Tarot or Witches Tarot. They also have eight spreads and reversed card readings on their generator.