Editorial Standards
Tarot has a long history of being misused. We take the responsibility of publishing tarot content seriously. The standards below describe how we write, source, review, and correct everything on Mystic Wisdom Tarot.
Sources we work from
Our card interpretations are grounded in the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition. The primary references our editorial team works from include:
- The Pictorial Key to the Tarot — A.E. Waite (1910), the original companion text for the Rider-Waite-Smith deck.
- The visual symbolism of the Pamela Colman Smith deck itself — colour, gesture, posture, plant, and number.
- Modern teaching texts including Mary K. Greer’s Tarot for Your Self and Rachel Pollack’s Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom.
- Numerological and elemental correspondences as established within the RWS lineage.
Where contemporary interpretation diverges from Waite’s original framing, we acknowledge the divergence rather than flattening it.
How a card meaning page is written
Each of the 78 card pages is written by hand by a human editor, not generated from a two-word keyword list. The standard structure is:
- Overview and symbolism — what the figure, posture, and objects mean.
- Upright meaning — the card’s primary interpretation.
- Reversed meaning — shadow, blockage, or excess of the upright.
- Love, career, money, and spiritual sections — applied to common life domains.
- When the card appears — recognisable real-life situations.
- FAQs — direct answers to questions a reader is likely to type into a search engine.
Our use of AI
The interactive reading interpreter on this site is powered by a large language model. It is constrained by a written methodology document that defines what the interpreter is and is not allowed to do. It may not invent names, dates, diagnoses, or third-party private thoughts. It must acknowledge uncertainty. It must read the cards together rather than listing them in isolation. The card meaning pages themselves are written by humans.
Editorial independence
Readings are free. We do not run sponsored card interpretations, do not embed affiliate links inside reading content, and do not adjust interpretations to favour a commercial partner. Anything we ever monetise will be clearly marked and will live outside the reading flow itself.
Sensitive topics and what we will not say
- We do not predict death, terminal illness, or pregnancy outcomes.
- We do not give a medical, legal, or financial diagnosis.
- We do not name third parties, claim to read their private thoughts, or assign them blame.
- We do not tell readers they are cursed or sell a remedy for a curse.
- We do not use fear to convert a free reader into a paying one.
Corrections
If you spot a factual error in a card meaning, a misrepresentation of Rider-Waite symbolism, or copy that crosses one of the lines above, please tell us. We make substantive corrections directly on the page.
Frequently asked
Do you use AI to write your card meaning pages?
No. All 78 card meaning pages are written by hand by the editorial team using established Rider-Waite-Smith sources. AI is used only for the interactive reading interpreter — and even there it is constrained by an explicit methodology document that forbids invented facts, fear-based copy, and unsupported predictions.
How do you verify a card meaning is accurate?
Each card meaning is checked against multiple primary references — most centrally A.E. Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910), the visual symbolism of the Pamela Colman Smith deck, and respected modern teachers including Mary K. Greer and Rachel Pollack. Where modern interpretation diverges from Waite, we say so.
Do you ever change a card page after publishing?
Yes. Pages are reviewed when a reader flags a problem, when our editorial team revisits a card during ongoing study, or when language is unclear. Substantive corrections are made directly to the page.
Is anything on this site sponsored?
No. We do not publish sponsored card meanings, paid placements inside readings, or affiliate links inside interpretive content. Readings remain free and editorially independent.
How do you handle sensitive topics like health, fertility, or grief?
We do not predict diagnoses, pregnancy outcomes, or causes of death. When a question touches a topic that calls for a qualified professional, the reading says so explicitly and points the reader toward appropriate support.
Try a reading written to these standards
Draw your own cards now and receive a personalized AI-guided interpretation in seconds.