MANILA, Philippines – In this new age era of astrology birth charts, crystals, and manifestation mantras, it’s about time we demystify the art of tarot reading – a form of cartomancy where practitioners use tarot cards to gain insight into the past, present, or future.
Philippine tarot authority Rob Rubin, founder of Mysterium Philippines and a professional tarot reader for the past 27 years, agrees that tarot reading has been gaining more popularity in the Philippines lately. With the rise of TikTok readers, true believers, and religious doubters, it has become more crucial to address the many misconceptions surrounding the practice.
Can it really predict the future? Or is it a scam? Here’s everything we need to know about tarot – what it does, what it can do, and what to watch out for.
Learning from the master himself
Rob’s tarot journey began at 14 years old, when he accidentally stumbled upon a tarot card reader’s stall in the San Francisco Bay Area and was gifted a free tarot card deck. Awakening his spirituality, Rob dove into the practice – despite people calling him crazy for doing so – and decades later, established Mysterium Philippines, the largest intuitive community in the Philippines of tarot readers and other spiritual practitioners. Quitting his corporate job to pursue his passion full-time, Rob attributes his positive life trajectory to the tarot.
“Thanks to the tarot, a lot of beautiful things came into my life. I met my then wife, I had a family, I’ve helped a lot of people grow, and I’ve helped a lot of people experience the beauty of tarot and help demystify it,” Rob told Rappler in an interview. “I want to show people that they have gifts beyond the regular perception.”
As his bread and butter and life purpose, Rob is on a mission to demystify the tarot practice, for the benefit of the growing Filipino tarot community and for the curious as well as the doubtful.
Tarot is for everyone – you don’t need a ‘third eye’
Tarot may be seen as a “spiritual practice” but that doesn’t mean you have to be attuned to the spiritual world or have a “third eye.” Described as a “mystical invisible eye,” a third eye allegedly “provides perception beyond ordinary sight.” In Filipino culture, this is what we’d call someone who can see or communicate with ghosts or the undead.
According to Rob, tarot can be practiced by anyone, regardless of religion, background, or spiritual development. One’s intuitive potential can be developed and celebrated in a safe and professional environment, such as Mysterium Philippines.
“Anyone can either learn about intuitive topics like tarot and intuitive development,” he said.
Your “intuitive self” – the deepest, most true self within you – can be honed, Rob said.
“It’s kind of like your inner voice. Since we need to survive, many of us have been trained to ignore our inner voice. They’ll tell you, ‘Oh, you’re being impractical, think about security, settle down,’” he added. Tarot can help you find this voice again.
“The truth is: the intuitive self is the realest version of ourselves. And because of that, we also have gifts that come with it. Some people become empathic because of their intuitive gifts. Some people can even develop the gift of telepathy. Or sometimes they have other more fascinating gifts that come with it, like healing. Some people are good at healing. All of these are part of the intuitive gifts. Tarot reading is but one of them,” Rob explained.
Basically, learning to read the tarot is a very intuitive skill that anyone can learn. You don’t need to have a third eye – anyone can learn how to read the tarot with the proper dedication and commitment. However, aspiring tarot readers must also remember that failure is inevitable.
“Allow yourself to fuck up. Because eventually you will drop the bomb so horribly that you will say, ‘I look so stupid with what I just said.’ It happens to everyone. There will always be that one person that just doesn’t resonate with you, that does not like your energy, and they will not work with you. And if you could learn to live through that, you have what it takes to be a tarot reader.”
It’s not idolatry
Some people think that tarot is the worship of an inanimate object – the cards. But it’s not idolatry, Rob said – it’s more about reverence and respect. Tarot readers begin to develop a “personalized approach” as they start reading more and more. Eventually, they develop a relationship with the energy of these cards.
“You realize that there was something even more than just cards, that there’s like a consciousness behind it. And that’s why I treat it with such respect,” Rob said. There can definitely be a spirituality to the practice, but Rob doesn’t worship the cards nor pray to them.
“I give it a certain level of reverence, just like you would give respect to your company. This is your job. This is your community. So if somebody’s vandalizing the walls of your office, you’ll say, ‘Hey, that’s important to me. Please show respect,’ but I don’t think you pray to the logo,” Rob said.
“It’s not a form of worship – it’s a form of respect to the collective energies behind the tarot.”
Tarot can also be a medium for inner healing. Because it can bring to light suppressed thoughts or repressed feelings in order for you to work through them, tarot can actually work with mental health in unison, and not against it. It never claims to be a substitute for medical advice, nor are tarot readers eligible to give psychological, physiological, or psychiatric advice.
However, Rob says that at the same time, “It would be nice if science would be a little bit open-minded to it.”
“These are psycho-spiritual beliefs of the people. If the people believe in it, it’s important to them. So no matter what we try and do, there is a market, there is a segment of society that adheres to these things, and it’s actually ingrained in indigenous culture of the Philippines, even before the pre-Spanish era,” he said – albularyos, anting-antings, and the like.
“The minute we can accept it and learn to work together is the second progress will happen.”
It’s not meant to predict your future
Rob has been called “crazy and fake” by non-believers, but he doesn’t think that’s fair – as a professional tarot reader, Rob never claims to give 100% accurate forecasts or consultations. Tarot is not marketed as a fool-proof tool either.
“Even financial analysts make mistakes. Even doctors and lawyers make mistakes. How come I can’t? It’s a mistake to say that I can see the future before it’s happening. If that’s the case, I would have bought Bitcoin a long time ago,” Rob said. What his readings do offer are guidance, clarity, and empowerment.
“And at the end of the day, if you feel more empowered, if you feel guided, and if you feel like you have peace of mind, I did my job,” he said. “It’s not my job to choose for you or to tell you how to live your life or to give you bad news. I want to give everybody what we call a positive tarot experience.”
What about the assumption that “general and cold readings” are given to make tarot “more accurate?” Here, Rob takes a scene from the film The Matrix, where Neo went to the Oracle for the first time, and she lied to him. She told Neo, “You’re not the one.” In the end, when he was the one, he said, “Why did you lie?” She said, “I told you just what you needed to hear.”
“In other words, you’ll get the message you need. Now, I have no idea how you put that into context, but that was the message you got. And for some weird reason, it resonated,” Rob said.
Rob reminds people that your future is not set in stone. Any tarot reader who claims it to be is using the practice to incite fear and force, which is wrong.
“Remember that this is guidance. This is not condemnation. I tell people where they’ve been, where they are, because we can’t change that. The only thing we can change is where we could be going,” Rob said. After which, Rob looks at trajectory – how you’ve been living your life and what’s most likely to happen; unless if you make no changes to your life at all.
“The beauty of the reading is you can see the what-ifs. It shows to you your options, but at the end of the day, it’s like your Waze app. Waze will show you where the traffic is, but it’s up to you if you’re gonna take those roads or not.”
There are professionals – and there also swindlers
Most professional tarot readers are certified, having undergone training workshops and certification programs. However, there are many non-professionally trained “readers” who are just looking to make an easy buck on social media by being “viral” and capitalizing on people’s vulnerabilities and fears.
“You don’t need to say anymore, ‘The universe brought you here today.’ ‘Take what resonates and leave.’ That’s so played out. You have to be authentic. People who are already aligned to the market can pick up if you’re being fake or not, and not like the energy you’re giving off,” Rob said.
“The whole TikTok thing, unfortunately, it’s just a lot of people just trying to cash grab. After the pandemic hit, everyone was suddenly tarot readers on Instagram with logos and everything. Some of these people weren’t trained or skilled enough,” Rob said. This is dangerous to the practice, because since these are “half-assed people,” clients end up getting a bunch of negative tarot experiences, which damage the reputation of the tarot community as a whole.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing? If you’re a tarot reader, your job is to give the person guidance. And if you yourself don’t know where you’re going, what right do you have to be doing this? Work on yourself first,” Rob said.
For tarot clients, ensure that you are getting a reading from somebody reputable and you know has a good track record and word-of-mouth reputation – someone who puts the client before themselves.
Be wary of readers who ask you questions about yourself before the session, because this could be a sneaky way of obtaining information about you that they could use for your reading. Avoid readers who make firm predictions, and scare you using fear tactics or “absolute truths.” Don’t believe readers who will talk you into buying extra merch – a “healing oil” or a “crystal” – to ensure that your “predictions will come true,” or ask you to “book another session” to “clarify things further.”
Tarot is meant to be a wholesome and communal practice, built on service and community. It can be seen as a form of therapy and a selfless act of love. For aspiring tarot readers, Rob reminds them that “if you make it about yourself, you will never last as a tarot reader.”
“If you make it about serving the person that you’re reading for, you will last for the rest of your life. If you’re doing readings just for the unholy trinity – me, myself and I – you’re not going to last. The energy of the tarot will spit you out,” he said.
“But if you are doing readings to bring fulfillment, love, support to people, then you will be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams by the collective energy of the tarot. So don’t make it about you. Make it about helping other people.” – Rappler.com
For more information on Mysterium Philippines, you can check out their website.
