Are you looking for a new tarot app? I just tried out Labyrinthos Tarot and have some positive (and constructive) feedback about it.
Labyrinthos Tarot is a great app that allows beginner tarot readers to learn about the divination method through a gamified experience. It uses avatars, lessons, and daily readings to help people learn tarot. It won’t teach experienced readers anything new, but it’s excellent for tarot newbies.
Throughout this article, you’ll discover all of the reasons that you might want to consider the Labyrinthos Tarot App, including:
- Key features that make it an excellent app, such as its appearance and functionality
- Pros and cons to shine a light on every aspect of the app
- Whether or not this app is the right one for you
What’s Nice About Labyrinthos
There’s a lot about Labyrinthos to like. Here’s what I found while I went through the app.
Aesthetics
One of the most exciting things about using Labyrinthos is that it is visually stunning. When I first downloaded Labyrinthos, I expected something a lot less appealing. I’d heard good things but did not anticipate finding what was downloaded on my phone—a gilded black, white, and beige app with crisp linework and aesthetically pleasing images.
The app is centered around three tarot cards that can be quickly read with a simple tap. These three cards are all virtually “pulled” from the Golden Thread Tarot Deck, of which you can buy physical copies on the Labyrinthos website (linked to in the app). The Labyrinthos team describes this deck as a “minimalist iconographic” deck.
The images on the virtual cards are black and gold and easy to read. The images on the cards mirror those of the Ryder-Waite but look less medieval and more art deco.
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Narrative
Something that separates Labyrinthos from other tarot apps is that it is designed to work as a narrative. When you first log into the app, it guides you through a brief introduction “chat” with one of the main characters who will guide you into the realm of Labyrinthos.
The gamified app’s premise is to bring yourself out of the hazy realm of Labyrinthos into a place of enlightenment through a tarot. Pretty cool, right? I like that the app lets you have your little avatar that moves through the “Fool’s Journey,” which, for the uninitiated, is the metaphysical journey through the 22 cards of the major arcana (the character cards of the tarot).
As you progress through the daily process of pulling cards (what they call their “daily spread” is a three-card pull in a horizontal pattern), the app collects trends from your activity in the app space called “The Mirror.” The Mirror tracks common suits, cards, reversals, and numbers that arise in your readings so you can reflect on them later.
Options for Spreads
Although the standard reading on the app is the three-card spread, Labyrinthos provides several other options for spreads. Under the “Reading” tab at the bottom of the app, under “New Tarot/Lenormand Reading” (Lenormand readings being an offshoot/variation of the tarot with different imagery), you have 25 different tarot spread options to choose from.
These spreads are split into several categories: Love, Career, and Spiritual. Within each category, the app offers different styles of spreads, with each card representing a different quality, person, or circumstance. While some spreads seem unique to the app, it also gives the option for a classic Celtic Cross.
If none of these 25 options suit your fancy, you can create your own spread format. If you like the layout of one of the other spreads but want to add or omit a card, you can easily do that on the app.
What Could Stand to Change About Labyrinthos
Just because there was a lot I found to be great about Labyrinthos doesn’t mean it was all good. I did find some things that detracted from the experience a little.
More Deck Options
As I mentioned, the Golden Thread Tarot Deck (on which the app is based) is a stunning art-deco deck with bright gold illustrations on a black background. Along with the Golden Thread Tarot, they also offer Lenormand readings from a similarly styled deck.
Aside from these two deck options, app users do not have any other options. You can only choose from the Golden Thread Tarot and the Lenormand deck. While I understand that this is likely designed for ease of use and giving tarot newbies a chance to learn the names and faces of the cards before branching out, experienced tarot readers will probably want more options than just a single deck.
What I would love to see the Labyrinthos app do with its deck program is offer multiple options. I would appreciate seeing at least two more style decks from this program. I am surprised that the program does not offer the traditional Rider-Waite deck.
Once Labyrinthos users have progressed past the tarot basics, they should have the opportunity to read multiple decks virtually.
Less Busyness
Another aspect of the Labyrinthos app that needs a bit of work is the busyness of the format. When I first logged into the app, I was surprised by the narrative format. Some people might find this appealing, but I’m not a huge fan of the character’s monologue when you first create your Labyrinthos account. I feel that many people will want to get right to the cards.
Once you enter the app, you are greeted with many options. At the bottom of the screen, five symbols read: “Reading,” “Mirror,” “Learn,” “Shop,” and “Profile.” The standard three-card spread is laid out at the top of the main screen, and within the individual icons at the bottom, there are dozens of options.
These options could easily be simplified to “Readings” and “Lessons” without the need for the intricate details they include. Labyrinthos is trying too hard to be a fascinating game-like app when its creators should hone in on emphasizing the cards instead.
More Explanation
As I mentioned in the last paragraph, there is a lot of clutter in the app that is not intuitive. Those five symbols at the bottom of the screen are not very understandable. The first button reads “Reading,” which is self-explanatory. This is where you can give yourself readings and explore the meaning of the cards. This is what I like about the app—it explains each card in great detail.
The next icon is far more confusing: “Mirror.” Labyrinthos describes this portion as “self-knowledge through the cards.” The Mirror is, essentially, a compilation of your past readings and a tally of the patterns in the cards. This is a great idea, but the explanation is not clear.
Finally, the “Lessons” category needs a bit of work. I like the content of the lessons—some excerpts include articles about the suits and the court cards, as well as memory games on the cards’ meanings. However, the lesson’s layout is confusing—they use a scroll-down page loaded with unclear images when they easily could have used multiple pages to simplify and streamline.
The Verdict
I like the Labyrinthos app. I would suggest this app to anyone who is brand-new to the tarot. It gives visual learners an excellent opportunity to practice their readings. This app is a perfect choice for people who may not be able to use a “normal” deck (think people with mobility issues).
What I do not like about the app is how confusing the icons and options are and the lack of deck options. However, these annoyances are made up for with the gorgeous graphics and the cards’ excellent descriptions.
While I won’t use Labyrinthos myself (I prefer physical traditional card readings), if someone asked me for a tarot app, I would suggest Labyrinthos to them. Happy reading!
