It’s commonly believed that tarot came out of Northern Italy in the 1400s, but many Asian and African cultures contributed to tarot as we know it today, says Benebell Wen, reader, tarot-deck reviewer, and author of Holistic Tarot. Wen explains that playing cards originated in China in the 1300s, and the Mongol Empire brought them west when they ruled over Egypt and most of the Mediterranean.

“We’re needing to access our ability to make meaning and understand our realities.” “Tarot is a set of images that - depending on which deck you’re working with - can be very activating and stirring for the soul,” says tarot reader and author of Tarot for Change Jessica Dore. She says that it makes a lot of sense that we’re collectively drawn to tarot right now. They’ve been around for centuries, but have become increasingly mainstream, especially in the last year and a half of the pandemic. For some, TikTok might be your first experience with tarot, which is, simply put, a deck of 78 cards depicting images traditionally used for divination fortune-telling and as a tool for spiritual and psychological introspection.

If you’re anything like me, your For You page on TikTok is filled with tarot readers who declare, “If you’re seeing this, it’s for you.” They’re promising abundance, a new job, and the return of your ex. Photo-Illustration: The Strategist Photos: Retailers