A card drawn by code versus a card laid by hand
A physical deck has weight and resistance. Cards stick together, one jumps out mid-shuffle, the cut splits the deck somewhere nobody planned. Readers have always taken these small things seriously: a card that leaps out on its own is often read as an extra message for the question.
A generator has none of that. A random number picks an image file. It can be fun, but it isn't a question meeting a deck. A reading with real cards starts with hands, card stock and focus, and the photo lets you see the result exactly as it lay on the table.
The table where your reading is made
I read with a physical Rider-Waite-Smith deck, all 78 cards, on a wooden board bearing the triple moon. Waxing crescent, full moon, waning crescent: the sign of the Triple Goddess as Maiden, Mother and Crone, beginning, fullness and the wisdom of endings. For a reading, it's a constant reminder that every situation has its phase.
Around the board there are candles, herbs, rose petals and crystals. Each stone has its traditional role:
- Rose quartz: the heart stone, gentleness and love, especially close to relationship questions.
- Amethyst: clarity and intuition, the stone of the third eye and calm focus.
- Black tourmaline: grounding and protection, keeping the space clear of stray noise.
Why the setting matters
The candles, stones and herbs are part of my ritual of focus before a spread. They aren't an add-on or a paid “boost” to the reading. They're the conditions the cards come to the table in: calm, consistent, set apart from everyday noise.
You'll see the same table in the photo of your spread. For a lot of people that matters, because the reading stops being an anonymous text from the internet and becomes something made in a real place for a real question. If you work with the moon's rhythm in your own practice, moon phases and rituals goes deeper.
How a reading is made, step by step
The order matters. Cards first, words second, never the other way round.
- You order. Choose a format, write your question and any context, and pay online by card, Google Pay, Klarna or local methods.
- I read your question. Before I touch the deck, I read the question and context. For a Love Clarity Reading, this is also when I choose the spread format that fits your situation.
- The space is prepared. Candles lit, stones in place, a moment of quiet.
- Shuffle and lay. I shuffle with your question in mind and lay the cards into the spread positions.
- Photo. I photograph the spread exactly as it lies on the board, before anything is moved.
- Interpretation. I write the reading: each card in its position, how the cards relate, and the answer to your question.
- Delivery. You get a private link by email with the card photo, the interpretation and your order status in one place.
What you can read from the photo yourself
Even without knowing all 78 meanings, a spread photo tells you a lot. These are the things experienced readers take in before they read a single card:
- How many Major Arcana. Cards with a Roman numeral and a name, like the Tower or the Star, are the big forces and life lessons. When they dominate, the matter reaches beyond everyday choices.
- The dominant suit. Wands (fire) are drive and ambition, Cups (water) feeling, Swords (air) thought and conflict, Pentacles (earth) work, money and the body. A spread full of Swords in a love question says the head has taken the wheel from the heart.
- Court cards. Pages, Knights, Queens and Kings often point to people, or to roles you're stepping into.
- Repeating numbers. Two or three Fives in one spread are a clear theme of friction and change. Several Aces signal a strong beginning.
- Where the figures look. Rider-Waite-Smith figures face definite directions. Cards turned toward each other are in conversation. Cards turned away hint at a rift.
- The background. A yellow sky, like the Magician's or the Fool's, carries awareness and momentum. The black wall of the Nine of Swords and the snowy night of the Five of Pentacles announce a harder stretch before you've read a word.
Example: how to look at one card in your photo
Take the Queen of Pentacles. She sits on a stone throne in a garden, under an arch of roses, gazing tenderly at the golden pentacle in her lap. Goat heads, the sign of Capricorn, decorate the throne, and a rabbit leaps in the lower right corner, a symbol of fertility and abundance. Under her feet the ground is rich and tended.
In the Golden Dawn system each Queen is the water aspect of her suit, so the Queen of Pentacles is water of earth: care that shows itself in practical ways. Feeding, home, body, finances, all without fuss. In your photo, look at what she's next to. Beside the Nine of Pentacles, the woman in her vineyard with a hooded falcon on her glove, she speaks of comfort you built yourself and can now share. Beside the Five of Cups, she says the way out of grief runs through looking after your body and your daily life first.
You can approach every card in your spread this way. To go deeper into the symbolism, start with the Major Arcana meanings or the suit of Pentacles.
The photo as a record for later
A reading doesn't end on the day it arrives. Plenty of tarot practitioners keep a journal and paste their spread photos into it. Coming back after three months is revealing: which card played out, which court figure turned out to be a real person, where the reading ran ahead of events.
The photo also helps with follow-ups. The 3-Card and Love Clarity readings include one follow-up question within 48 hours, and a question about a specific card in the photo (“what does that Knight in the third position mean for me?”) usually gets the sharpest answer.
The photo and interpretation stay on your private page behind a unique link. Nobody else sees them.
Frequently asked questions
Will I get a photo of the cards with my reading?
Yes. Every Tarovia reading includes a photo of the spread laid for your order. You can see which cards came up and in what order.
Which tarot deck do you use?
A physical Rider-Waite-Smith deck with 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana in four suits. It's the classic deck whose symbolism underpins most modern tarot practice.
Are the cards chosen by a computer?
No. The cards are shuffled and laid by hand on a wooden board, then photographed. The written interpretation is only started once the cards are down.
Can I interpret the spread photo myself?
You can see a lot in it: which suit dominates, how many Major Arcana appear, repeating numbers and court cards. The written interpretation ties all that to your question, and the photo lets you follow where each conclusion comes from.
Why are there candles and crystals on the table?
They're part of the ritual of focus before a spread: rose quartz, amethyst, black tourmaline, herbs and rose petals around a triple moon board. They aren't a separate service, just the space the reading is made in.
Personal reading
See your own spread on a real table
The Love Clarity Reading, 29 EUR: a spread format matched to your situation, a photo of the cards laid on the triple moon board, a written interpretation of the dynamic between you and one follow-up question within 48 hours.
Order a Love Clarity Reading →