50 Tarot Quotes Demystifying An Ancient Art

By Clifton Sankofa

School Leader, Language Arts Expert & Master Quote Curator

Published October 23, 2023

Learn more about ancient art with our Tarot quotes.

Tarot has been a widespread practice for over five hundred years.

But where does the Tarot system come from, and who developed it?

Learn something new today with our Tarot quotes.

What are Tarot cards?

Tarot cards were developed in Italy during the 15th century.
Many global cultures have a variety of tools for divining information.
Tarot cards are a storytelling device used for self-reflection and perspective gains.

Where did Tarot come from?

The Tarot system that is popular today originated in Italy during the middle of the 15th century.

Tim Husband is the Curator of the Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

He notes, “The earliest references to tarot all date to the 1440s and 1450s and falls within the quadrilateral defined by the northern cities of Venice, Milan, Florence, and Urbino.”

Do you have to be a psychic to use Tarot cards?

Anybody can use Tarot cards.

One of the biggest misconceptions about the “magic” behind Tarot is the user’s intent.

Many Tarot practitioners will remind you that Tarot is not designed to tell you what to do, nor will it give you a play-by-play of your future.

However, Tarot does offer archetypal ideas and conventional wisdom you can apply to various themes in your life to gain clarity or insight.

How do Tarot cards work?

People confuse ideas of the mystical and magical realms with the world of intent and energy reading.

Any card system that includes readings is designed to serve as a tool for self-reflection.

The cards include universal themes, and the readings are designed to help us determine our own meanings.

Through synchronization, Tarot empowers our decision-making but does not dictate our future.

A Tarot reading can align you with ideas, perspectives, and ways of thinking that open the door to new ways of thinking.

To learn more, check out our Tarot quotes below.

Short Tarot quotes appealing to your spiritual side

We begin with these short tarot quotes.

1. “You don’t go to tarot readers or psychics when everything’s going well.” — Sheila Heti

2. “I’ve seen the odd tarot reader and had my palm read in various countries.” — Simon Baker

3. “Actually, I believe in everything, including astrology and tarot cards.” — Billy Dee Williams

4. “I looked up the Queen of Swords, and I read the meaning. It was a tarot card.” — Fallon Fox

5. “The true Tarot is symbolism; it speaks no other language and offers no other signs.” — A. E. Waite

6. “I can do Tarot cards and all that.” — Gemma Collins

7. “Tarot is just stories on cards.” — Erin Morgenstern

8. “I can read the Tarot cards and believe in ghosts.” — Mark Roberts

9. “Last night I stayed up late playing poker with Tarot cards.” — Steven Wright

10. “I have friends who practice witchcraft, and I study tarot myself.” — Kate Leth

The best Tarot quotes for making the most of your opportunities

Knowing the future only has value if you act on the knowledge.

11. “My mother had this deck of cards that her mother had given her and that she passed on to me. It was a gypsy tarot deck that I used to carry everywhere.” — David Blaine

12. “My mother reads tarot cards, actually, but I won’t let her read mine.” — Sam Taylor-Johnson

13. “We have now seen that there is no particle of evidence for the Egyptian origin of Tarot cards.” — A. E. Waite

14. “Even though I’m super into tarot and astrology, I don’t believe in knowing too much about the future.” — Kate Nash

15. “I haven’t been brave enough to engage with tarot cards mostly because they always end on a bad note.” — Sarah Snook

16. “The tarot is sacred.” — Alejandro Jodorowsky

17. “I was brought up with psychics and tarot cards.” — Lee Ryan

18. “We’re new-world mongrels. The women in the family read horoscopes, tea leaves, coffee bubbles, Tarot cards, and palms.” — Katherine Dunn

19. “Mystical groups such as the Theosophical Society and the Rosicrucians turned tarot into an American fad during the early 1900s.” — Brendan I. Koerner

20. “My dream show is to have this haunted house and get some celebrities in there, and then I can do their Tarot cards and speak to the dead with them.” — Gemma Collins

The top Tarot quotes for understanding the practice and ritual

Tarot is an old practice used by diverse cultures.

21. “The description of the tarot card sounded to me like the description of a certain type of woman. She’s strong, she’s proud, she’s intelligent and all these different things.” — Fallon Fox

22. “I don’t feel like any tarot reading I’ve done or received was particularly surprising.” — KiKi Layne

23. “Some people believe tarot cards are a form of black magic or senseless new age mysticism, but for me, they are a practical way of talking directly to the universe.” — Toyah Willcox

24. “Tarot cards likely originated in northern Italy during the late 14th or early 15th century.” — Brendan I. Koerner

25. “According to tarot historian Gertrude Moakley, the cards’ fanciful images – from the Fool to Death – were inspired by the costumed figures who participated in carnival parades.” — Brendan I. Koerner

26. “I don’t really believe in palm readers and crystal balls and tarot cards, but I respond to the need for them.” — Stephan Jenkins

27. “The oldest surviving [tarot set], known as the Visconti-Sforza deck, was created for the Duke of Milan’s family around 1440.” — Brendan I. Koerner

28. “You know, it was just another presentation of my work, and a funny one, because the cards are quite different from the normal Tarot deck, no?” — H. R. Giger

29. “The [tarot] cards were used to play a bridge-like game known as tarocchi, popular at the time among nobles and other leisure lovers.” — Brendan I. Koerner

30. “The thing about tarot – maybe this to me is the difference between it and working with a psychic – to me it’s clarifying the things that you already know.” — KiKi Layne

Famous Tarot quote from practitioners

Who better to comment on using Tarot than those who study it?

31. “It is the province of the tarot reader to move backwards, forwards, even sideways in time.” — Sasha Graham

32. “You probably think of psychics or palm readers when the concept of tarot cards pops into your mind.” — Carlie Fox

33. “The tarot represents the spectrum of the human condition, the good, the evil, the light, and the dark.” – Benebell Wen

34. “The [economist] profession has become an embarrassment, and the most respected economists have shown themselves to have as much predictive power as a deck of tarot cards.” — Stephen Moore

35. “Fear is dangerous, not the tarot.” – Benebell Wen

36. “Tarot Cards are your guidance cards.” — Nikita Dudani

37. “The concept of tarot cards seems super mysterious.” — Carlie Fox

38. “Remember that the Tarot is a great and sacred arcanum.” — Jack Parsons

39. “Many American tarot practitioners use a set of cards known as the Waite-Smith [tarot] deck, created in 1909 by A.E. Waite, a British member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and the artist Pamela Colman Smith.” — Brendan I. Koerner

40. “How many cards are in a tarot deck? A deck contains 78 cards.” — Carlie Fox

Tarot quotes and sayings about life

We close our list with these Tarot quotes to live by.

41. “Books are like Tarot decks. They provide answers and guidance, but more importantly, they are doorways and portals to the otherworld and the imagination.” — Sasha Graham

42. “Tarot Reading is an art based on intuition, interpretation, and perception.” — Nikita Dudani

43. “Tarot cards are the best friend you can ever have. They are always there for you.” — Nikita Dudani

44. “Tarot is evolving.” — Carlie Fox

45. “Tarot is for everyone.” — Carlie Fox

46. “A Tarot reading will last a lifetime.” — Carlie Fox

47. “Tarot is meant to challenge your beliefs.” — Carlie Fox

48. “You are the Secret. Let Tarot Explore you.” – Shweta Tarot

49. “Tarot is about the journey, not the end result.” — Carlie Fox

50. “In every [Tarot] deck, the Fool is in a precarious position.” — Melissa Cynova