How to Get Your Conservative Uncle to Try Tarot at Thanksgiving

If you’re tryna do Tarot with your cousins and fam during TG but you’re nervous about the eye rolls of that one religious aunt or finance-bro-brother-in-law, we’ve been there and we've got you.

People are often curious about what they don’t know, but nervous about what they don’t understand. Most have preconceived notions about Tarot that simply aint it.

Be ready for questions like: “What is tarot? How does it work? Do you actually believe in this stuff?”

IMO it’s often not about the practice or ideology of Tarot—but rather about identity. People have associations with what Tarot is and means and hesitate because of what they think it would mean for them to be someone who does it, “believed in it” or enjoyed getting a reading.

I’ve noticed when I deliver it to them in a way they can easily grasp, and without language that triggers associations they’re uncomfortable with, they’re down to clown.

Perhaps it’s my Millennial people pleasing tendencies, but if all that’s getting in their way is a bit of lingo, then I’ll make that accommodation to help them take their guard down enough to give it a try themselves.

How I Present Tarot in (overly) simple terms

What Tarot Doesn’t Need to be to be useful:

1. It’s not about predicting the future.
2. It doesn’t require belief in anything mystical.

What Tarot Is:

Two Handy Metaphors (simple, but powerful for putting their guard down)

• A Life Checklist: Tarot is like using a checklist grouped into 78 categories. Each card represents a topic with a series of questions to check in with myself to see what the status is in a part of my life, of my choosing, and check if it needs maintenance.
• A Scene List (Like Mad Libs): Each card is like a mini story; a three-act play. You choose the genre, but the card picks the theme, and you figure out how to tell a story using real things about your life through the lens of that theme to uncover a story about yourself you didn’t even know.

Tarot is about universal dynamics—gaining vs. losing, resisting vs. accepting—and reflecting on how these show up in your life.

Example: Burnt Out (10 of Vibes)

You’re feeling off in your relationship and want to address it. You draw Burnt Out (10 of Vibes), a card about overexertion and energy depletion.

It’s not

• You’re burnt out.
• You’re going to be burnt out.
• “Oh, this is bad”

It is

Reflection Checklist

• Have I overexerted myself in this relationship?
• If so, where?
• If so, why?
• How have I been trying to fix this?
• How can I fix this instead?

Three-Act Play (Mad Libs Style)

Genre: Romance, Theme: Overexertion

• Act 1: "I realize that I _____ (do/don't) have feelings of burnout in _____ (specific part of romantic life)."
• Act 2: "What led me to feel _____? Was it _____ (specific behaviors or expectations)?"
• Act 3: "To move forward, I need to _____ and prevent this by _____ (i.e. setting boundaries or new habits)."

It’s not about inventing meaning but articulating what’s already there. It might feel like the card is what you needed to hear (which dives into ideas of the mystical), but really, the whole structure of the exercise is constructed to uncover what you needed to say.

Making Tarot Approachable

The biggest hurdle with skeptics is their perception. Language matters and one of the coolest things I've seen about Millennial Tarot is that it helps reduce some of those language barriers.

For example, changing the names of The Hierophant for The Festival Goer switches up the tone and associations, making drawing a card feel like stepping into the world of a Millennial, rather than stepping into the world of a mystic; something newbies are less afraid to do.  

I think when tarot feels mundane and relatable, skeptical people let their guard down, get a good reading, and enjoy it. I’ve seen skeptics go from rolling their eyes to saying, "Okay, do me next." Get a few mulled wines or eggnogs in your relatives and they’ll be doing the same.

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