Ship a Tarot Reading App This Weekend with Zero Tarot Knowledge

You do not need to know the difference between the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. You do not need to memorize 78 card meanings. You do not even need to own a tarot deck.

You need an API that handles the tarot logic and a weekend to build the app around it.

Tarot apps are one of the most popular categories in spiritual technology. They have high engagement (users pull cards daily), strong monetization potential (premium spreads and interpretations), and they generate shareable content that drives organic growth. The top tarot apps earn millions in annual revenue.

And the development barrier is lower than you think.

What You Will Build

By Sunday evening, you will have a live tarot reading app that:

• Lets users draw single cards with a tap
• Generates three-card spreads (Past, Present, Future)
• Shows card meanings with upright and reversed interpretations
• Looks polished with card imagery and smooth animations
• Works on mobile and desktop

The Stack

Data layer: RoxyAPI Tarot API handles everything: card randomization, spread generation, meanings, and interpretations.

Build tool: Any AI coding tool (Cursor, Lovable, Bolt.new, Replit Agent) or manual coding with React/Vue/vanilla JS.

Deployment: Vercel, Netlify, or any static hosting. One-click deploy.

Cost: $39/month for the API (all domains included, not just tarot). Free hosting tier.

Saturday Morning: Core Features (4 Hours)

Hour 1: Single Card Pull

The foundational feature. User taps a button, gets a random tarot card with its meaning.

API call:

GET https://roxyapi.com/api/v2/tarot/daily
Headers: X-API-Key: your-key

The API returns:

• Card name
• Card number
• Upright meaning
• Reversed meaning
• Whether the card is upright or reversed
• Card description and symbolism

UI pattern: Show a face-down card. User taps to flip. Card reveals with meaning below. Simple, satisfying, and feels like a real reading.

If you are using an AI coding tool, describe it:

Create a tarot card reading page. Show a card face-down in the center.
When the user clicks it, call the API endpoint, then flip the card with
a CSS animation and show the card name and meaning below it. Use a
mystical purple/gold color scheme with a dark background.

Hour 2: Three-Card Spread

The most popular spread in tarot. Three cards representing Past, Present, and Future.

API call:

GET https://roxyapi.com/api/v2/tarot/spread?spread=three-card
Headers: X-API-Key: your-key

The API returns three cards with their positions and meanings.

UI pattern: Three face-down cards in a row, labeled Past, Present, Future. User taps each to reveal one at a time (or taps a "Reveal All" button). Each card flips to show its image and interpretation.

Hour 3: Card Detail View

When a user taps a revealed card, show a detailed view with:

• Full card name and number
• Upright meaning (expanded)
• Reversed meaning (expanded)
• Symbolism and imagery description
• Keywords associated with the card

This adds depth. Users spend more time in the app exploring card meanings.

Hour 4: Navigation and Polish

• Home screen with two options: "Daily Card" and "Three-Card Spread"
• Reading history (save results to local storage)
• Share button that generates a card image with the reading

Saturday Afternoon: Visual Design (3 Hours)

Tarot apps live and die on aesthetics. The mystical atmosphere is part of the experience.

Card Imagery

For the Rider-Waite-Smith deck (the most recognized tarot deck), public domain versions are available. Search for "Rider Waite tarot public domain" to find high-resolution card images you can use freely.

Alternatively, use AI image generation tools to create a custom deck aesthetic. A unique visual style differentiates your app from competitors.

Color Scheme

What works for tarot apps:

• Dark backgrounds: Black, deep purple, midnight blue
• Gold accents: Borders, text highlights, card frames
• Mystical touches: Stars, moons, subtle particle effects
• Typography: Serif fonts for card names, clean sans-serif for meanings

Animations

• Card flip animation (CSS transform: rotateY)
• Fade-in for meaning text
• Subtle shimmer or glow on card borders
• Smooth page transitions between views

These details transform a functional app into an atmospheric experience. AI coding tools handle CSS animations well if you describe the effect you want.

Sunday Morning: Engagement Features (3 Hours)

Daily Notification

"Your card for today is ready." Send a morning push notification. User opens the app, pulls their daily card, reads the meaning. This creates a daily habit.

For web apps, use the Web Push API. For mobile, use platform-native notifications. The key is timing: between 7-9 AM when users check their phones.

Question-Based Readings

Before pulling cards, let users type a question: "What should I focus on at work this week?" or "What do I need to know about this relationship?"

The question does not change the API call (cards are random), but it frames the interpretation. Users find the reading more meaningful when they have a question in mind. Display their question above the cards for context.

Shareable Reading Cards

Generate a visual card with:

• The card name and image
• A one-line meaning
• Your app logo and name

Users share these on Instagram Stories, WhatsApp, and Twitter. Free marketing. Each shared card is a potential new user discovery.

Sunday Afternoon: Monetization and Launch (3 Hours)

Freemium Model

Free:

• 1 daily card pull
• 3 three-card spreads per week

Premium ($4.99/month or $29.99/year):

• Unlimited card pulls
• Additional spreads (Celtic Cross, Relationship Spread, Career Spread)
• Detailed interpretations with extended meanings
• No ads
• Reading history with searchable archive

Ad-Supported Alternative

If you prefer ad revenue, use banner ads between readings and interstitial ads before revealing a spread. Users who want an ad-free experience upgrade to premium.

Launch Checklist

• App works on mobile and desktop
• Daily card pull returns correct data
• Three-card spread shows all three cards
• Card meanings display correctly (both upright and reversed)
• Share button generates readable image
• Caching: daily card cached per session (do not re-fetch on every visit)
• Error handling: graceful message if API is unreachable
• Analytics: track daily active users, readings per user, share rate
• Deploy to production (Vercel/Netlify one-click deploy)

Going Further: Week Two Features

Once the core app is live and users are engaging, expand:

Add More Spread Types

• Celtic Cross (10 cards): The comprehensive spread. Premium feature.
• Relationship Spread: Two cards per person plus an outcome card. Great for couples.
• Career Spread: Five cards covering current situation, challenges, advice, outcome, and action.

Add Astrology Integration

"Your tarot reading based on today's planetary transits." Combine the daily card pull with the user's horoscope for a richer experience.

GET https://roxyapi.com/api/v2/western-astrology/horoscope/daily?sign=scorpio

Same API key. One additional call. Two spiritual domains in one app.

Add Numerology

Show the user's life path number alongside their tarot reading. Numerological interpretation adds another layer of personalization.

GET https://roxyapi.com/api/v2/numerology/life-path?date=1992-03-15

Again, same API key. RoxyAPI includes tarot, astrology, numerology, I-Ching, and dream interpretation in every plan.

Add AI Interpretation

Pass the tarot card data to an LLM (Claude, GPT) along with the user's question for a personalized conversational interpretation. The API provides the structured data. The LLM provides the narrative.

This transforms a simple card app into an AI tarot reader.

Why Tarot Apps Are a Strong Business

Daily engagement. Users pull a card every morning. Few app categories achieve this kind of daily habit formation without notification spam.

Social sharing. Tarot readings are inherently shareable. "Look what card I got today" drives organic discovery.

Low content creation cost. The 78-card system is fixed. Once you have meanings for all cards, the content is evergreen. No daily editorial work.

Clear monetization. Free tier for basic pulls, premium for advanced spreads and features. The value ladder is intuitive and well-proven.

Growing market. The astrology and spiritual app market exceeds $6 billion in 2026 with 20%+ annual growth. Tarot is a major segment within this market.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I really need zero tarot knowledge? A: For building the app, yes. The API provides all card data, meanings, and interpretations. You need to understand the basic concept (78 cards, upright/reversed, spreads) to design good features, but you do not need to be a tarot reader. The guide above covers everything you need to know.

Q: Which tarot API should I use? A: RoxyAPI provides tarot card draws, multiple spread types, card meanings, and interpretations through a JSON API. The same API key includes astrology, numerology, I-Ching, and dream interpretation, allowing you to add spiritual features over time without new integrations.

Q: Can I use custom tarot card artwork? A: Yes. The API returns card data (name, meaning, position), not images. You control all visual assets. Use public domain Rider-Waite-Smith imagery, commission custom artwork, or generate images with AI tools. A unique deck aesthetic is a strong differentiator.

Q: How many API calls does a tarot app use? A: Very few. A daily card pull is 1 call. A three-card spread is 1 call. With caching, a user who checks daily uses about 30-40 calls per month. The Starter plan (5,000 requests) supports over 100 daily active users comfortably.

Q: Can I build this as a mobile app? A: Yes. Build as a responsive web app and wrap it with a tool like Capacitor or PWA for app store distribution. Or build natively with React Native/Flutter, calling the same API endpoints. The API works the same regardless of your frontend technology.

Q: What makes a tarot app stand out from competitors? A: Three differentiators work: visual design (unique card artwork and atmospheric UI), AI-powered personalized interpretations (using LLMs to generate contextual readings), and multi-domain features (combining tarot with astrology and numerology in one app).

Start building this weekend. Get your API key at roxyapi.com/pricing and ship your tarot app before Monday.