Reader

A reader is the person who lays out the cards and interprets them, whether for someone else or for themselves. There is no licence, exam or initiation: anyone who learns the cards can read. Some readers work professionally, at fairs, by appointment or online; most read privately, often keeping a journal of what they drew. Styles range from book meanings learned card by card to intuitive reading from the pictures, and many readers combine the two. The older word cartomancer means a reader of any cards, including playing cards. A reader is distinct from the querent, the person asking, though in a self-reading they are the same person. See how to read tarot.