TikTok & Youtube Tarot Influencers Find Huge Viral Audiences
It’s easy to dismiss tarot card reading as just another fleeting trend fueled by TikTok influencers and pandemic-induced boredom. But behind the aesthetic decks, meditative language, and Gen Z-friendly packaging lies something far more troubling: the normalization of divination in modern American society that mirrors exploding trends in Europe. Indeed British Vogue’s wildly popular online show “What’s In My Bag” showcases the contents of handbags belonging to female celebs such as singer Dua Lipa to Harry Potter actress Emma Watson and others- but all too often included with the lip gloss, sunglasses and concealers are tarot card decks. In fact, Watson conducted an impromptu tarot reading during her segment.
Alarmingly for Christian leaders and parents, this skyrocketing interest in old fashioned divination is finding an audience among Christian youth, especially among underaged girls and college-aged young women.
Interest in tarot and other alternative spiritual practices is not just a passing resurgence —it’s reaching deep into the lives of young people in the increasingly secularized cultures of Europe and North America. A 2021 survey by the Springtide Research Institute found that 51% of young people aged 13 to 25 engage in tarot or some form of fortune-telling. This includes many raised in Christian homes. What was once a fringe activity is now being reframed as personal growth, inner work, or even “spiritual self-care.”
According to The New York Times, tarot deck sales in the U.S. tripled during the first year of the pandemic. Meanwhile, on TikTok alone, the hashtag #tarot has amassed over 15 billion views, often featuring young users offering daily card pulls and spiritual guidance under the guise of mental health advice.
But tarot isn’t harmless introspection. At its core, it is a practice rooted in divination—the attempt to gain hidden knowledge or insight apart from God. Scripture is clear on the matter:
“Let no one be found among you who…practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens…Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord” (Deuteronomy 18:10–12).
A Pandemic-Fueled Gateway to the Occult
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the trend. Isolated and anxious, many young people sought spiritual outlets outside the Church. Tarot reading apps, custom Etsy decks, and Zoom consultations provided easy access to what some described as “spiritual support.” But instead of drawing people closer to God, these practices often led them into spiritual confusion.
Some young Christians now attempt to fuse tarot with their faith—using the cards for “contemplation” or as part of a devotional ritual. But this is a dangerous compromise. Just because a practice uses spiritual language doesn’t mean it’s aligned with biblical truth.
The Gospel Doesn’t Need a Deck
For Christian parents, youth pastors, and spiritual leaders, this trend presents an urgent challenge. The line between curiosity and compromise is easily crossed. While the culture rebrands tarot as empowering or therapeutic, Christians must remember that true guidance and peace come only from the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
“For Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).
We don’t need hidden knowledge. We need the Gospel. And in an age of spiritual drift, we need the courage to say so—clearly and compassionately.
