I've been using tarot apps on my phone for the last few months and the readings seem really vague to me. But when I went to a tarot reader in person, I felt like she picked up on my situation better. Is there a real difference or is it just me imagining things?
The difference you're feeling is probably real, but not exactly because online tarot is less accurate than in-person. It has more to do with the dynamics of it all. An app generates the cards and that's it - you read them yourself or the app gives you a generic interpretation. With an actual person, they're right there talking to you, listening to the tone of your voice, picking up on energy, asking questions that help put the cards in better context. That makes the reading much more personalized, even though the tarot itself is the same.
Apps also tend to give pretty automatic and broad interpretations because they need to work for anyone. A tarot reader can adapt the message to your specific situation, connect the dots between what you're going through and what the cards are showing. So yeah, it's worth keeping the app for practicing or getting quick guidance, but if you want a deeper reading, going in person does make a difference because of the human interaction - not because online tarot is "less spiritual" or anything like that.
What you're feeling has less to do with accuracy and more to do with personal interaction, really. An app just pulls the cards and that's it, but a person face-to-face can ask questions, watch your reactions, adjust their tone based on how you respond - that creates the illusion (or feeling) that they understood your situation better. Technically speaking, the cards are the same, but context changes everything. The sense of vagueness in apps probably comes from the fact that you're interpreting on your own, without someone there to "fill in the gaps" with their intuition or their observations about you.
I agree with what they said, but there's another side to it: an app can't adjust the reading based on how it sees your reaction or the context of your real life. An in-person tarot reader can ask follow-up questions, pick up on whether something they said really hits home or not, and adjust the interpretation. With an app, you always get the same generic answer no matter who you are or what's actually worrying you at that moment.
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