Tarot is a tool for clarity.
It’s also a mirror. One that can reveal the beauty of your soul—and the shadows you’d rather not see.

But what happens when that mirror is turned only toward the light?

In recent years, the tarot community—especially in online spaces—has seen a rise in love-and-light language, positive vibes only messaging, and a focus on “high vibrations” as the goal. While well-intentioned, this trend often slips into something else entirely:

Spiritual bypassing.

What Is Spiritual Bypassing?

Spiritual bypassing is a term first coined by psychologist John Welwood. It describes the tendency to use spiritual ideas, beliefs, or practices to avoid dealing with difficult emotions, unresolved wounds, or personal responsibility.

In tarot spaces, it can look like:

• Relying only on “positive” interpretations of cards to avoid discomfort

• Explaining away challenges as karmic or vibrational without practical context

• Using phrases like “trust the Universe” to avoid supporting someone in distress

• Avoiding conversations around harm, ethics, or injustice because it’s “low vibe”

While often well-intentioned, these behaviors can dismiss lived experience, silence necessary conversations, and delay real healing.

How Spiritual Bypassing Shows Up in Tarot Communities

Tarot, by nature, deals with complexity. It brings up joy, fear, confusion, shadow, and truth. But when the community (or a reader) leans too far into comfort, bypassing can occur.

Here are a few real-world examples:

✦ 1. Over-Focusing on Positivity

Some readers may skip over traditionally “difficult” cards (like Death, the Tower, or the 10 of Swords) or reframe them too quickly without allowing space to process grief, fear, or loss.

That’s not healing—that’s avoidance.

✦ 2. Blaming the Client’s Energy

Telling someone that they’ve attracted hardship because of their vibration, thoughts, or “lack of alignment” can be harmful. While tarot may reflect energetic patterns, it should never be used to blame or shame.

✦ 3. Refusing to Address Real-World Issues

Spiritual language like “everything is divine” can sometimes be used to avoid engaging in conversations about inequality, trauma, or responsibility. This can become especially problematic when intersecting with race, gender, class, or neurodivergence.

Tarot can be inclusive, empowering, and supportive—but only when it’s practiced consciously.

Ethics Matter: The Issue with Bootleg Decks

Another increasingly relevant topic in tarot spaces is the rise of bootleg (pirated) tarot and oracle decks—unauthorized reproductions of independently published decks, typically sold through third-party marketplaces like Temu, AliExpress, and Amazon.

Some readers justify using these decks by saying things like:

• “Spirit will speak through anything.”

• “It’s more affordable.”

• “It’s just a tool—I can still do good work.”

These justifications, while common, ignore important ethical facts:

✦ The Facts About Bootleg Decks:

• They are unauthorized copies: Bootleg decks are often scanned and mass-reproduced without the artist’s permission or compensation.

• They harm creators: Most indie deck creators spend years designing, writing, and self-funding their decks. Piracy undercuts their income and visibility.

• They may violate copyright law: Reproducing and selling someone else’s creative work without consent can legally be considered infringement.

• They’re often lower quality: Many bootlegs use poor materials, missing guidebooks, and altered artwork—all of which impact the reading experience.

✦ Why It’s a Form of Bypassing

Using or promoting bootleg decks while claiming spiritual alignment is a contradiction. It can be a form of bypassing because it:

• Avoids confronting the ethics of how spiritual tools are created

• Prioritizes convenience over integrity

• Deflects responsibility by hiding behind “spiritual” reasoning

Tarot is a sacred practice—but that sacredness must extend to how we treat the people who make it possible.

What Ethical Tarot Practice Looks Like

A grounded and responsible tarot practice includes:

• Honoring the full spectrum of emotion in readings—not just the positive

• Naming harm and injustice when it shows up in the cards or the client’s story

• Supporting original creators and being aware of where your tools come from

• Holding space without needing to “fix” or reframe too quickly

• Taking responsibility for your words, tools, and impact

✦ Remember…

Spiritual bypassing doesn’t mean someone is malicious or fake. Most people do it unintentionally—because it’s easier to stay in the light than to face discomfort.

But tarot asks us to be present.
To face truth.
To feel before we heal.

And that includes how we show up in our community—ethically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Tarot isn’t just a tool for insight. It’s a practice of integrity.

Let’s treat it that way.