My city has a wonderful spiritual store, stocking everything from incense and tumbled gemstones, to pendulums, dragon statues and, of course, tarot decks. You can imagine it’s one of my favourite shops to visit – each time I visit, something inside me becomes relaxed and I start seeing the world with clarity. And more often than not, I come back with a new find.

During my latest trip, when I bought a box for my latest deck and for my incense sticks, I got talking to the cashier. After hearing I’d recently bought a new oracle deck from there, she said an interesting sentence – ‘the decks have been flying off the shelves lately’.

And this has got me thinking about what is behind the resurgence in the popularity of tarot and oracle decks.

There have been plenty of headlines in the last couple of years suggesting that younger generations such as mine (aka millennials) are increasingly being drawn to the tarot. This article by The Guardian is one example, highlighting that the cards are providing hope and clarity in what has, let’s be honest, been a roller-coaster of a few years.

Another article in The New Statesman also points that today’s generation, rather than seeking guidance and assurance from religion, is looking at divination and spiritualism as a way of helping them discover answers and connect with like-minded people.

Social media has fuelled this further – nowadays, a search for the word ‘tarot’ on Instagram turns up a host of pages to follow and countless images of beautiful cards and layouts. This has created a community which literally spans continents, making it easier than ever for curious or aspiring readers to get advice and inspiration.

Going to back to when I read the tarot for the first time, there’s definitely a lot I relate to. At the time, I was feeling lost and confused about where I was in my life and what was happening in the world around me at that time. The Raider Waite deck helped to bring me back to something resembling stability.

Previous generations have had the misconception that tarot and oracle cards predicted the future – today, people are more aware that the cards are for guidance, helping them to make sense of something they might well have been aware of but unsure how to verbalise or seek help for. There’s also a sense of being more open to alternative teachings or messages, allowing the younger generation of today to make independent choices based on what the cards are revealing to them.

Not only that, but the issues faced by teens and twenty-somethings are a world away from those their parents and grandparents experienced, making them less likely to approach them for advice. And that can be incredibly isolating. But through tarot and oracle readings, younger people are able to find their answers.  

There hasn’t been a great change in the way tarot is practiced either, although apps and mobile readings have no doubt made it more accessible. Traditional decks are found everywhere and are able to be bought online, with guidebooks to go with them. What might be different nowadays are the designs of modern decks – themes range from animals and nature, to mythical creatures and ancient cultures. As a result, there is a deck out there that will resonate.

However, these new decks all nod to the traditional interpretations from decks of yesteryear, ensuring that the practice of reading the cards will continue for generations to come.

Whatever is behind the tarot’s rebirth, you can be sure that with a generation more open than ever to its teachings, its future is in safe hands.