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All cards on the table: Twitter's tarot card masters

Tarot card readers are the newest Twitter influencers. The Jakarta Post tries to understand the phenomenon, and gets our cards read in the process.

Amahl S. Azwar (The Jakarta Post)
Bali
Tue, February 23, 2021

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All cards on the table: Twitter's tarot card masters

Amahl S. Azwar

Contributor/The Jakarta Post/Bali 

With his buff look, at first glance, you probably would not guess that Adi Wicaksono, 33, was a tarot reader with quite a following on Twitter. He looks more like a fitness trainer or a bodybuilding enthusiast. 

Adi’s eyes lit up when I asked him about the first time he bought tarot cards.

“When I was in college back in 2007, I saw a tarot deck and guidebook on sale at a local magic shop. For some reason, I was charmed and bought it right away,” said Adi, who works as a legal translator and interpreter at a local law firm.

We sat together at a coffee shop somewhere in Denpasar, Bali. Adi planned to do a reading at another coffee shop where he used to do readings for his clients, but sadly it was closed. 

With 7,756 followers on Twitter as of Friday and, Adi told me that the first time he got a client from the social media app was back in 2011. The client disappeared without paying after the reading session, which was done online.

It was not until 2018 when Adi began to offer reading sessions again.

“At first, I opened a tarot booth for school events, corporate events, baby showers and weddings. Later, I decided to offer it online,” he said. 

Adi was ambivalent when asked about people who read tarot cards in order to make money. While he did set a price for one session, which was Rp 350,000 ($25), the money was merely to compensate him for his labor.

For Adi, tarot reading is more of a spiritual calling. He believes he has “gifts” that need to be used to help other people to find balance in their lives.

“One time I returned my client’s money after he gave up when I dealt the fourth card during a seven-card reading. That’s why I have other jobs. My spirituality forbids me from capitalizing [on tarot reading],” he said.

While Adi’s approach is more spiritual, Gladhys Elliona, 26, a graduate student, uses her academic background in psychology whenever she reads tarot cards for her clients.

As she put it, tarot cards for her were just a medium for reflection and not to predict the future.

“In college, I was trained in psychological intervention with skills such as active listening, encouraging and needs assessment. These skills are the ones I apply in my reading,” said Gladhys.

Refusing her reading to be perceived as a placebo that merely comforts people, Gladhys gives her clients space to talk about their problems and feelings. She affirms their feelings whether negative or positive. 

“I then encourage them to find logical solutions based on what the symbols represent,” said Gladhys, adding that for some reason, almost all of her clients resonated with this method. 

“Many people get a tarot card reading to hear what they want to hear. That’s not the case with me. My way of speaking to my clients is not only filled with empathy, but also uses a little bit of cognitive-based principles,” she added.

Tarot ‘skeptics’ and ‘addicts’

Azza Waslati, 44, who had 24,500 followers on her Twitter media account, was nonchalant about people who did not believe in tarot cards, citing that she also did not believe in them at first. 

“If people are skeptical then it’s all right. This means they don’t need my help. And that’s good,” said Azza, who began offering tarot card readings in 2013.

On the other hand, Azza admitted that there were several clients who kept asking for sessions about similar topics in an extremely short window of time. She decided to set boundaries and ask them to give some time before booking another session. 

“As a tarot reader, I always remind people tarot cards can only give them guidance and suggestions. The decisions are still for them to make,” she said.

Most of Azza’s clients come to her confused about certain choices in their lives. Azza suggested that they only needed confirmation from her reading in order to encourage them to make decisions.

“People who come to me [for a session] know that I am reading their energy patterns that may influence the future, not a prophecy. So of course it can go wrong,” said Azza. 

Fernanda Azaria, 24, a freelance writer, admitted that she considered herself “addicted” to tarot card readings, adding that she booked a session almost every week.

Tarot cards, for her, gave her really good insights beyond the surface. 

“It really trains you to use your discernment and lean on your instincts when you get a reading. You decide if it applies to you or not, and it gives you a good sense of reassurance,” said Fernanda, who is a freelance writer.

When asked about how much she got for one reading session, Azza laughed.

“Let’s just say, one time, I got enough to purchase a discounted Louis Vuitton,” she said, chuckling.

Hani Kumala, a psychologist from Atma Jaya Catholic University, said that while there was a branch in psychology called Jungian therapy or Jungian analysis where some therapists used tarot cards to assess their patients, she herself did not believe in tarot cards.

“Humans are often inclined to want to know more about their lives. Beyond what they can see now. That is why tarot cards are so popular,” she said.

“There’s this term: self-fulfilling prophecy. What we believe, even if it’s wrong, will guide us until we finally get confirmation. So, because we deeply believe tarot can give answers, then if it fits, we will say “see?”. So there’s a bias there.” 

Coincidence?

Just to test the water—well, for the sake of this article—I asked Adi, Gladhys and Azza to pick up a card for me each to summarize what I needed to focus on for 2021. 

Adi pulled out the Eight of Cups, which he explained represented the need for me to start falling in love again. He clarified that the word "love" could be applied to falling in love with a person, a job or even myself. 

“So basically it means you need to start all over again in the field of love,” he said.

Gladhys pulled out another card, The Wanderer, which meant that everything for me started anew and it was totally okay to feel that I did not know anything.

“Because what you need to do is just go with the flow and control yourself in this uncontrollable situation,” she said.

The High Priestess was the card that Azza got for me. She said that this card represented the need for me to trust my instinct and not move too fast. 

“The card also described that the Universe asked you to change. It’s time for you to shed your old and tired skin and allow yourself to rebirth,” said Azza.   

I just moved to Bali in December after having experienced some tough losses including the death of my partner last March. I was just starting a new life in this island, with a new set of friends and a new career.

So are these cards coincidences? You decide.   

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