I found this set of prompts through Laura of Aquamarine 18 Tarot and Books, which was a response to Coyote Tarot. This is the final category in a 4-part series.
15. What kind of content is your favourite to post and watch?
I like any content that enhances my learning. Tarot history is a perennial favorite topic, and I also enjoy tarot reading techniques such as different spreads or layouts, different ways to phrase questions, tarot book and guidebook reviews or comparisons, and sample readings. I also like any content that feels personal to the presenter or their practice, such as monthly wrap-ups that focus on readings, other tarot experiences, and life events. I enjoy getting to know other folks through this medium of video.
Reviews and walkthroughs of specific decks are also helpful for figuring out if I want to buy a specific deck. I’m trying not to fuel desire and FOMO by watching a lot of this content or related ‘deck parade’ tag VRs, but if I learn about a deck and want to verify that it’s right for me, this is a very helpful way of getting a reality check before purchasing.
New for me but well-established as a format, I’m also interested in joining some of the tarot challenges I’ve seen, like Mindfull Tarot’s #DROPM78, or Kelly Bear’s #TarotAdvent. I like these because they encourage us to read with decks we already have and maybe aren’t as familiar with, rather than buying something new. I’ll be looking for other challenges like this, so if you have any suggestions please leave a comment.
16. How did you get into creating a YouTube channel?
Originally I wanted to meet other people interested in discussing tarot. Most of my local friends are either not interested at all, or only very casually and not in studying to become proficient readers, or interested in tarot history or other nerdy topics. Until recently I haven’t known of any local tarot “community” per se (we live in a very rural place, so most special interest topics end up being solo endeavors). YouTube has afforded me some wonderful offline friendships with people I met through our channels, acquaintances that have blossomed into full friendships around all sorts of mutual interests and care for one another, in other words, not just tarot.
There is a “witchy” community that meets in person regularly, but the topics extend to more than tarot / divination and I don’t feel a part of that scene, so finding other Buddhist as well as secular tarot readers on YouTube has been lovely. Of course, seeing folks use tarot in their witchcraft or pagan or other spiritual practices has also been a wonderful opportunity, and YouTube is especially helpful in that I don’t feel like I have to show up and be a certain way in order to appreciate the content silently from my side of the screen. I can “take what resonates and leave the rest” without worrying I’m going to offend anyone or embarrass myself.
17. Knowing what you know now about YouTube/TarotTube, is there anything you would do differently?
Yes, I learned a few lessons from my first channel (now removed) and have implemented some changes for this second iteration. I’m maintaining pseudonymity as much as possible. (I won’t say anonymity, because what is privacy in the age of AI-enabled corporations on the internet?) I’m making videos in hands-only format, and don’t have plans to change that anytime soon.
I’ve also returned to YouTube with a very specific set of goals for my channel. I used to get sidetracked trying to make cute content that mimicked other channel’s popular output, but it felt forced and strange, and those videos often had a consumerist slant, something that always made me feel uncomfortable.
This time around, I want to focus on learning to be a better card reader (this includes discussions of ethics and how we interact with clients successfully), a better user of divination tools in general, and stay in my lane rather than chasing subscribers and other people’s audiences.
I know that the people who want to have these conversations will eventually find me here, and that the quality of engagement is more important than the size of the audience. In fact, it’s often easier to have in-depth conversations and mutual discoveries when the community remains small. That doesn’t mean I want to be exclusive at all, but I think my approach will naturally encourage those who are more interested in deck reviews and comparisons to look elsewhere for that content and not expect me to provide it.
