A Collection of Tarot Quotes: A Journey Through Tarot’s Essence

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On Born Under Saturn, we write a lot about Tarot, but we also love reading what others have to say about it. Over time, we’ve come across some truly insightful quotes that resonate deeply with the essence of Tarot, its symbolism, wisdom, and its ability to inspire self-discovery.

Here you’ll find a curated collection of quotes that inspired us, including words from legendary figures in the Tarot world like Alejandro Jodorowsky. We’ll also revisit some of our own reflections, sentences we’ve written here and there that truly resonate with how we view the art of Tarot.

If you have any favorite Tarot quotes of your own, we’d love to hear them! Share them in the comments below. Together, we can celebrate the profound and poetic beauty of Tarot.

Mix of Tarot Quotes from Legendary Figures

Here is a selection that brings together voices that have shaped the modern understanding of Tarot. We begin with A. E. Waite, the mind behind one of the most influential decks in Western Tarot, the Rider–Waite Tarot. From there, the journey expands to other pivotal thinkers, including Carl Gustav Jung and additional figures whose insights have influenced how we read and experience the cards.

“The true Tarot is symbolism; it speaks no other language and offers no other signs.”
― A. E. Waite

“Pictures are like doors which open into unexpected chambers”
― A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot

“They are psychological images, symbols with which one plays, as the unconscious seems to play with its contents.”
― C. Jung 

“Magical is simply another word for psychic.”
― C. Jung 

“We hold a universe in our hands when we pick up a deck of tarot cards.”
― Lon Milo DuQuette

“When you actually know the question, the answer is every­where, and you can see it in anything you observe.”
― Lon Milo DuQuette, Book Of Ordinary Oracles

“I don’t use the Tarot to make predictions. I find that the best use of the cards is for obtaining advice from a place of inner wisdom that I call the Higher Self.”
― Robert M. Place

“[…] the images on the cards adapt themselves to the situation.”
― Robert M. Place

“Tarot is storytelling. It’s what we do when we read the cards. Telling stories imbues us with supernatural power – the power to change our story.”
― Sasha Graham

“It is the province of the tarot reader to move backwards, forwards, even sideways in time.”
— Sasha Graham

“Remember that the Tarot is a great and sacred arcanum – its abuse is an obscenity in the inner and a folly in the outer. It is intended for quite other purposes than to determine when the tall dark man will meet the fair rich widow.”
— Jack Parsons

Iconic Tarot Quotes from Alejandro Jodorowsky

Alejandro Jodorowsky is a true icon in the Tarot world. He views Tarot as a psychological tool and brings a fresh, transformative perspective to its use. While we’ve explored his groundbreaking vision in depth in our dedicated article, Alejandro Jodorowsky: A Pioneer in the Contemporary Use of Tarot, here we’ll focus on collecting some of his most thought-provoking quotes.

“The future is a scam. The Tarot is a language that speaks about the present. If you use it to see the future, you, yourself, become a swindler.”
― Alejandro Jodorowsky

“To comprehend the Arcana, we have to enter inside them stripped of words. Better, we should allow ourselves to be possessed by them.”
― Alejandro Jodorowsky, The Way of Tarot

“This idea that the cards were not conceived one by one—as separate symbols—but as parts of a whole did not appear to me all at once.”
― Alejandro Jodorowsky, The Way of Tarot

“The human mind has a frequent tendency to adopt a preexisting system to understand something it does not yet know. This is how the Tarot has been incorporated into all manner of structures.”
― Alejandro Jodorowsky, The Way of Tarot

“I decided that the true teacher was the Tarot itself.”
― Alejandro Jodorowsky, The Way of Tarot

“I sat down in meditation and looked at the cards—one by one—in my imagination for hours. I gradually perceived that each of them acted like a talisman. These were not simple images but, in a certain way, individual beings, each with a different personality, impossible to define in words.”
― Alejandro Jodorowsky, The Way of Tarot

“Although I was raised by an atheist father who mocked all the sacred books, I permitted myself to speak of “God” because the word God appears in Arcanum XVI, and at least half of the Major Arcana have a connection with religious thought.”
― Alejandro Jodorowsky, The Way of Tarot

“A symbol permits an infinite variety of meanings, one for every individual who perceives it.”
― Alejandro Jodorowsky, The Way of Tarot

“What I am trying to do when I use symbols is to awaken in your unconscious some reaction. I am very conscious of what I am using because symbols can be very dangerous. When we use normal language we can defend ourselves because our society is a linguistic society, a semantic society. But when you start to speak, not with words, but only with images, the people cannot defend themselves.”
― Alejandro Jodorowsky

As you may have noticed, many of these quotes are drawn from Jodorowsky’s bestselling book, The Way of Tarot. And it’s easy to see why—it’s an incredible work, brimming with profound insights and offering detailed explanations of each card in the Marseille deck. Plus, it features stunning visuals that truly bring the Tarot to life. A must-have for any Tarot enthusiast!

Our Born Under Saturn Quotes

The last thing we want to do is compare ourselves to Jodorowsky or any other legend in the Tarot world. However, while crafting our Tarot content, we’ve come up with a few quotes we’re genuinely proud of – quotes that resonate deeply with our perspective on Tarot. We’re excited to share them with you here.

“Tarot’s power lies in its symbols—a universal script that transcends time, culture, and logic.”
― Born Under Saturn

“Tarot cannot be reduced to dry “yes” or “no” responses.”
― Born Under Saturn

“Tarot isn’t about foretelling the future; it’s about understanding the present and unlocking your inner wisdom.”
― Born Under Saturn

“Tarot’s symbols are whispers from the universe, bridging the gap between intuition and insight.”
― Born Under Saturn

“Tarot transforms the intangible—our hopes, fears, and dreams—into a visual symphony of art and insight.”
― Born Under Saturn

“Holding a Tarot deck is like holding a museum of symbols, each one offering a window into the soul.”
― Born Under Saturn

“Your future is unwritten; Tarot helps you hold the pen and write it with clarity and intention.”
― Born Under Saturn

We’ve shared a collection of Tarot quotes, but there are undoubtedly countless others out there. If you know any that resonate, feel free to share them in the comments. And if you’ve written some of your own, we’d love to hear them too!

Also, let us know which quote from this collection speaks to you the most.