Tiktok Tarot: For You, From the Algorithm

 by Jennifer Cartwright

My TikTok For You Page knows me very well. It knows that I love pop culture gossip, will always tune into a funny trend, and that I greatly enjoy watching people’s outfits of the week. But every now and again, my TikTok will show me videos that claim to know not just my interests but me as a person. This is TikTok tarot. TikTok tarot readers will shuffle a deck of cards, promise this reading “has found me for a reason” and tell me how overwhelmingly positive my life will become. Apparently I’m on track to getting my dream job. I will find true love with someone who is tall, dark, and handsome. This week, this month, or this year will be the best of my life. But do they know what they are talking about? 

First records of tarot cards date back to medieval Europe. Comprised of four suits (Wands, Cups, Coins, and Swords), and a series of picture cards including The Sun, the High Priestess, and Death, they were originally used for games. Now, perhaps due to the evocative nature of tarot card images, the cards are more commonly used for fortune telling. Some believe tarot cards can predict the future. Others see them as tools for self-reflection. Some think the whole thing is nonsense. I don’t think I could ever decide tarot is a complete lie, after all, I have seen crazy Reddit stories of eerily accurate tarot predictions. However, I am sure that some tarot readers do lie. And I believe that TikTok provides them with the perfect platform. 

Technically, anyone can be a tarot reader, all you need is a deck of cards. In tarot, the cards have traditional meanings but if you are talking to someone who doesn’t have knowledge of these cards, you could say that any card means anything. It is easy to make a generalised TikTok tarot prediction based on what people want to hear. Most TikTok users aren’t going to exit the video and study the cards, they are going to trust you.

TikTok tarot readings often oscillate between extremely vague affirmations and hyper specific predictions. The vague readings assure that some form of good fortune is approaching. The readers affirm that this could be a job offer or could be a romantic interest, or could be something else entirely. Ultimately, it could be anything you want it to be. As readers repeatedly emphasise to “take what resonates and leave what doesn’t” they have catch-all terms and conditions that ensure that they are always somewhat right. By connecting generalised positive statements with a viewer's own projections, TikTok tarot videos offer divine verification to whatever it may be that you desire. 

Meanwhile, the specific readings often promise a particular thing will happen in a certain amount of time. Predictions vary but often revolve around “your person” who “is thinking about you and will reach out” or “is going to apologise” or “is going to marry you”. Crucially, every prediction is always nice. They never tell you that “your person” is someone you should move on from or that this relationship may be unhealthy. With their uplifting promises, these videos nurture intense but unchecked infatuations. 

Readers also often highlight real world signs to look out for to verify that their video was meant to find you. These vary from angel numbers to songs to random objects. One told me that I would see pink roses and later that day I did. But was this because of the reading or simply because it was Valentines weekend? Slightly spookier, another told me I would see the number 444 and later that day, I looked at the oven clock and it read precisely 14:44. Was seeing three fours in a row my confirmation or merely chance? The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon suggests that people notice specific items or concepts more often after becoming aware of them. This creates a cognitive bias where one assumes the item or concept has been newly introduced into the environment when really it’s always been there, you just weren’t looking for it. TikTok tarot readers pick arbitrary signs, likely to already be in a viewer’s environment, and instruct their reader to overthink and overnalayse them. These signs act as external verifications to readings when really they may be nothing more than a highlighted coincidence. 

Repeatedly, these videos claim that they were “meant” to find me. However, they are also “meant” to find  thousands of other users who have engaged with the video and claimed the reading in the comment section. Relatability is somewhat unsurprising because of course my life is going to look similar to other people in their twenties. But are we all leading remarkably similar lives or are we being collectively duped?

For generalised tarot readings, the ultimate destiny seems shaped not by divine prophecy but rather the algorithm. TikTok, like many social media platforms, curates your For You Page based on your actions within the app. It knows what you’re watching, how long you’ve watched it for, who you’ve followed and who you’ve unfollowed. It doesn’t take long after making a new account for TikTok to create an ever-evolving personalised feed of content catered to your interests. 

This creates the perfect engagement cycle for TikTok tarot. One reading shows on your For You Page because TikTok guesses you might like this content. You watch, and so TikTok shows you more tarot readings which affirm that these videos were meant to find you. As the messages, like the video style, are often quite similar, you may mentally connect them together and assume they are talking about the same thing. Tarot readers encourage your engagement - go to their profile to find the second part to the reading, comment to claim the message, save the video to check if it comes true. All these empower the algorithm and set up the TikTok tarot trap. Only when you stop engaging do the messages mysteriously stop.

I don’t have the authority to say whether every TikTok tarot reader is or is not telling the truth. I know I’ve seen some readings that have laughably missed the mark and others that have more closely resonated. But I can say I don’t think taking TikTok tarot to heart is healthy. When I’ve seen TikTok tarot videos, they’ve always promised me great things but they’ve never made me feel great. Instead, they’ve made me feel anxious, confused, and like my life isn’t in my control. There can be a pressure to pay attention to TikTok tarot readings because you don’t want to repel good luck. But the entrancing nature of TikTok tarot makes it easy to spend more time thinking about your life than actually living it. 

Remember, even if this message is meant for you, you have permission to ignore it.

Jennifer Cartwright (she/her) is a journalist and writer from North Yorkshire. She’s written pop culture opinion pieces for publications such as The Independent, The Foreword, and Empoword Journalism, and currently works as a Community News Reporter at the Yorkshire Evening Post. Beyond writing, she loves reading, second-hand fashion, and anything connected to Taylor Swift.  // @jennncartwright