Reading Tarot for Children and Teens

What do you think of the idea of reading for children or teens? Or would you allow your child to get a reading?  I will begin by stating that I do read for both children and teens. I'm hoping the rules and guidelines that I follow help you figure out what to do, if you are on the fence. Ready yourself, grab a coffee, tea or hot toddy. Put on something both sexy yet comfy, relax and get your peepers ready, heed this warning- it could end up being a long post.
Lets begin with, should you read for children or teens?
There is a big difference between reading for children and for teenagers. Lets start by talking about reading for children. When I volunteered with the Carnival of Terror last year, I had the chance to read for a lot of young people (between 9-12). It was my first time reading for kids outside of my family and friends. If you decide to read for children, the most important rule would be to make sure there is a parent or guardian present. If all you read of this post is that bolded sentence, my work as your Tarot guide is done. It is the most important rule.  So important and I am going to just put it right here, one more time,  if you do choose to read for a child make 100% sure that a parent or guardian is present. This covers you and the child.  You never know what a kid could end up going back to their parents and saying. It is better to have them there to hear everything you are telling their most precious little monster firsthand. Another plus of having a guardian present is that you can ensure that you will not become a babysitter. Sadly this does happen, especially at public fairs or events. There is nothing worse than being stuck with an unruly child when you are trying to create an air of mystery and intrigue. We are Tarot Readers not babysitters. Never let anyone take advantage of your tent or your time!

Rule number two, make sure you have a child friendly deck to use. When I went to the Carnival of Terror, I only brought my Rider Waite deck. In retrospect, I wish I had brung a deck that was more child friendly and did not contain nudity. The Rider deck's nudity is not graphic but it is there are some cards contain totally naked people. Learn from me, I ended up getting some disapproving looks from a couple of parents, especially when their kids were pointing at the Star card saying, "boooooobies." Yeah... that was not a comfortable time to be me. You do not want to introduce a random child to anatomy. Save that for their parents or biology teachers! Next time I am at a public function where there will be children, I am going to make sure to use my Fairy Deck or perhaps find something else to use. Runes or Witch Stones might be a good idea because they contain zero naked parts. Another thing to keep in mind is the imagery on your deck. It may not be a wise idea to use the Zombie Tarot for example, to read for a nine year old. Keep your decks lighthearted and fun for the youngin's out there. Note: I just assumed reading at a Haunted House, would result in older people getting readings done instead of children. You know the old saying to never assume, listen to those old sayings!

Someday I will get a real camera...

Rule number three, because apparently, I love rules, you will need to think about some cards like Death. Do you really want the Death card to come up for a child? Do you really want to explain to them about how it does not actually mean Death and do you think they will actually listen? If I were you, I would remove it. Unethical to remove cards? Yes I think so, but do I want to explain it to some random ten year old, no thanks! There are decks out there that are specifically for children, but I don't see the point investing money into a deck I would only use a couple of times. Instead, I think it is better to modify whichever deck you plan to use. You will also need to think about how you would explain cards like the Three of Swords or Ten of Swords to a child. Depending on their age, the Three of Swords could be described as being sad and dealing with emotions. The Ten of Swords might be a nasty classmate or friend who likes to gossip. Do you just gloss over the meaning, rewording them to be child friendly?  Really think about your delivery and how you approach those not so nice cards. Another thing to consider are the more racy cards like the Lovers or the Nine of Cups. There are other cards too that you may want to be cautious about. A mistake that I made was telling a child when they got the Moon, that there were spirits around them. Little kid me would have LOVED to hear that. This kid was nervous and his mom immediately made me clarify that they were not bad spirits. Something that is so commonplace and normal to an adult could be scary to a child. This is where the idea of using runes or witch stones might be a better alternative when reading publicly for children. 

Witch's Runes

Not a rule but something else to consider are spreads. I typically use the Celtic Cross spread.* Its my go to spread, but it really does not translate well for children. There is too much information in the Celtic Cross for someone who has only been on this earth for a couple of years. I personally prefer to use a three card spread that covers the basics- past, present, future. These spreads typically do not go too deep into the past and I find they work well. Lastly an easy go to is a 12 card / 12 month spread that just covers each month of the year. This one seems to work well and is popular with children I have read for.

When it comes to reading for teens, I work a little differently. Teens are probably my favourite age group to read for because they have this vibrancy about them. Young people are open minded, they are excited and willing to listen. If you are on the younger side of teenager-hood (I made a new word- fancy) your parent or guardian should either be present or at least pop in to tell me that its okay. They do not need to stay for the reading, but I still want their permission.
The cut off for parental permission for me is that if you are old enough to drive a car, you are old enough to decide for yourself whether you should get a Tarot Reading or not. I know a lot of people say 18, which makes perfect sense and I agree, but full disclosure, I would probably not turn a 16 or 17 year old away. Plus some of them are more mature than people my age, so there is always that.

There are still some things to consider when reading for teens. First your deck choice. I don't think you have to be as cautious about nudity as you do with children but you still need to remember that they are minors. None of us want to turn into the "creepy Tarot Reader" on the circuit. Some Tarot decks are basically softcore porn, The Witches Tarot is a perfect example of that. I would not use that deck, seriously though, have you seen that deck? The nudity is very 80's and it just gives me the weirdest vibe. They need to spice that one up, but alas thats a whole other post. Unlike reading for children, you can be a little more creative with your deck selection. The Zombie Tarot, Halloween Tarot or Tarot of the Dead might be fun for this age group (upon re-reading this before posting, I noticed I listed all spooky decks. I just cannot turn my brain off of Halloween). You can also be old school like me and stick with old faithful, the Rider Waite-Smith and I think you would be fine.

Picking a Tarot spread for this age group is easy as well. By thirteen you have seen some things. You should have had some major experiences by this point. Therefore I believe the Celtic Cross works fine or any other Tarot spread you want to use would also work great. There is just enough past for the past cards to  make sense. I love telling young people about their future loves, careers and adventures. 90% of the time its something positive and gives them something to look forward to. I always slip in a little guidance counsellor like wisdom with messages of "staying in school", "following your dreams" and "being open to love" because hey, why not plant some positive seeds. You might just be the reason they decide to stay in school if they think it is written in the stars that they will be successful. Note: I am not saying to manipulate a teen by telling them everything will work out and be dandy, but I see no harm in telling someone hard work will pay off or to follow their dreams. You the always mysterious, Tarot Reader may be a beacon of hope for some young person. Keep this in mind. Which brings me to my next point.

What about those cards that are not so nice? How do you explain them to an impressionable teen? This one is not easy because teens are old enough to pick up on the symbols on the cards. They are also very intuitive so trying to hide something from them will probably result in embarrassment. I try to treat teens like adults and am very black and white about what I see. The good thing is that you can explain to a teenager that the Death card means change and not physical death or that the Three of Swords means heartache.  They are often wiser than we give them credit for.
There is a balance in Tarot of light and dark cards so eventually you will get someone who for lack of a better term, gets a really shitty reading. This especially sucks when it happens to a young person. Again its all about delivery. There is no need to tell a young person that something horrible is going to happen. Be delicate and explain that nothing is set in stone and that these cards are showing up as a warning about what can be avoided. An example is the Devil. Maybe this person has been getting into things they should not be doing, maybe they succumb to peer pressure. This would be a good way to let them know they can think for themselves and that they can avoid going down a bad path if they listen to themselves instead of everyone else. There is a positive in every card so if you get a young person who has a lot of negative cards, do everything you can to make sure they leave feeling happy with a new point of view on how they can navigate growing up. I wish I had a Tarot Reader who could have helped me through those awkward years!

Last but not least this part is for the parents who may be on the fence about letting their most precious angels/ sometimes devils get a Tarot reading. First it is super important to do your research. Make sure you take them to someone who has a good reputation. Read testimonials, check out their website, ask around, creep their Facebook or Twitter account. If you get someone who takes Tarot seriously and is not just messing around for a few extra bucks, you will not be disappointed. Please be weary of anyone who just pops up claiming they can read the cards. There are a lot of weirdos out there but you don't need me to tell you that. Don't be afraid to ask the reader questions or talk to them before hand. Be prepared that no one, not even the Tarot Reader will know what is going to pop up during the reading. If this makes you feel sketchy, Tarot may not be for your young one just yet. If you are still with me, know that if there are topics that you do not want discussed, just let them know. Any reader worth their incense, crystals and salt will be respectful of these requests and would appreciate the heads up. Tarot is an age old tradition of fun, mystery and exploring the unknown, remember that this is for entertainment. If you have any reservations whatsoever, than my recommendation is to NOT allow your child to get a reading done. As your Tarot reading guide, I like to think we are not going anywhere so we will always be around when the time is right.

*For anyone who is not familiar, the Celtic Cross is a fairly traditional Tarot spread which consists of ten cards, that cover everything from the past to the future, issues hiding under the surface, how others see you, hopes and fears and everything else in-between.