Do you need to believe in tarot and oracle cards for them to work? by Leela J. Williams

It’s not uncommon for someone to show up for a reading declaring that they don’t believe in all this stuff. So, why are they there? Maybe their partner booked the session, maybe they are curious, maybe they hold a quiet hope that something meaningful might unfold, maybe they are looking for something to believe in? What matters in this exchange is that the questioner has shown up. Belief is not required.

You might assume that belief is the magic thread that brings a reading together. After all, without belief, the cards are just printed images, arranged by chance. Even when stripped of any ‘higher’ meaning, the cards still have a story to tell. It’s not just that belief isn’t necessary. I go a step further and say that fixed belief can sometimes get in the way of meaning.

Years ago, I presented a talk on belief and non-belief to UFO Research Queensland. What emerged in the Q&A was that what we believe is less important than how we arrive at our beliefs. Being open to questioning and reshaping our views can make that journey richer.

Even after a lifetime of spiritual experience, I find incredible value in the space between belief and non-belief. Agnosticism holds a kind of liminality, where I can remain open to everything without committing to any singular view. I do not assume there is a guiding force beyond what I can sense, nor do I dismiss that possibility. There may be no larger script, no greater destiny, no invisible hand. At the same time, there might be. From that place, readings are not shaped by my personal beliefs. The messages don’t arrive with the authority of angels or higher deities. Instead, I allow each reading to unfold in its own light.

What happens in a reading can be understood in many ways. Psychology offers one pathway, suggesting that symbols resonate because they reflect something already alive within us. We recognise ourselves in the images, and meaning arises through that mirroring. The reading works because it engages our inner landscape — the patterns, memories and associations that shape how we see ourselves and our world.

And yet, the insights, inspiration and stories that arise in a reading can feel like more than reflection. Meanings can appear as sudden leaps of understanding. It may feel like an outside perspective interrupting our usual way of thinking. The cards open a dialogue rather than a feedback loop — not simply mirroring but responding. Whether we call this intuition, coincidence or something beyond ourselves, the effect is the same. Something shifts.

When writing divination decks, entering this space allows me to be open to outside threads and voices rather than imposing my own meaning on a card. While penning the guidebook for Maxine Gadd’s Zoologica: The Steampunk Oracle, this process revealed unique stories, realms and perspectives, reminiscent of the literature that inspired the steampunk movement. I found myself in awe of Zoologica’s ingenuity, resourcefulness and resilience. When I return to the guidebook, the messages seem to extend beyond what I consciously set out to create — as if something outside myself is present in my work.

Perhaps this is why I am unafraid to set aside belief. It allows me to live in perpetual wonder. I can relive the magic of the intuitive process, again and again.

Belief, then, may find its true role in our personal meaning-making. A reading becomes a small act of setting our certainty aside and sitting with possibility. There is no need to surrender our agency to an outside source or to defend our existing stance. Tarot and oracle cards don’t demand belief. They offer a gentle invitation to be open, to be willing, and perhaps, to receive insight.

Whether a message arises from within the psyche or meets us from beyond, there is something quietly miraculous in the way meaning can emerge so precisely, so personally, from something as ordinary as an illustrated card deck. For me, that is enough.

Connect with Leela at https://linktr.ee/leelajwilliams and find her oracles and journals, including Maxine Gadd’s Zoologica: The Steampunk Oracle at Tarotopia.