Tarot Stars Avantika & Jacob Batalon Talk Tarot, Astrological Signs & Mercury Retrograde

Jacob Batalon jokes he never touched the tarot cards given to him at the end of filming his new movie with Avantika, Tarot, out May 3. “In the trailer, they say that you should never use anyone else's tarot cards,” he tells Teen Vogue.

Sony's latest horror flick, Tarot, revolves around a group of friends who make the grave mistake of using someone else's tarot deck, unleashing a series of terrifying events that will haunt them for life. As an astrologer and professional tarot reader and practitioner, the movie is particularly interesting to me. It is considered an important superstition to always use your personal tarot deck because its energy is connected to the owner — and to never buy your first tarot deck. (So to be honest, Batalon was probably in the clear.) Instead, it is recommended to cleanse any deck before using and to have it gifted to you. When the characters in Tarot break these rules, drama and chaos ensue.

As a result, they must confront malevolent spirits in the real world, where their fears manifest as tangible threats. The group race against the clock to prevent a grim fate that has been foretold by the cursed tarot cards. In order to rid the cards of their evil influence, the teenagers need to evade their destiny.

Tarot also sends a message that innocent people can be affected by the supernatural. The film emphasizes the importance of using proper steps while summoning evil spirits, including saying “goodbye” at the end of the session to let them know that you're done calling upon them and performing cleanses afterwards to rid oneself of the energy that was brought in. Additionally, before every reading, it is crucial to ensure that the energy is appropriate and that only welcoming spirits are present. Tarot safety is important.

I sat down with Avantika and Jacob Batalon for Teen Vogue to discuss their birth charts, tarot cards, and on-set friendship. (There was plenty of chemistry, shout out to air signs.) Even though their characters have opposite vibes, a Libra and Aquarius can be great friends both on and off set.

Lisa Stardust: Have you ever had or given a tarot reading?

Avantika: I never have given a tarot reading. I like learning. I just bought a deck. But I do get tarot readings religiously every four months. What I usually hear is that I'm gonna have three kids, and that's like the one constant I get.

Jacob Batalon: I would say that I definitely have not done my proper tarot reading. My mother is actually very into these types of things. I went with her once to get my palm read. And the person said that I was gonna be an actor, but it might have been because my mom told me to remember that I wanted to be that too. So, I think that that's probably my only experience, she knew the answers.

LS: I wanted to pull tarot cards and explain to you the meaning, and you can tell me if you resonate with it. I pulled the Nine of Cups, The Magician, and The Sun. The Nine of Cups is all about having fun and being in a state of joy. The Magician is about communicating. And the Sun is about being in the spotlight and shining bright — doing what you wanna do, basically based on your will and determination.

JB: Do people decide their life family?

AV: I feel like tarot is a good guideline slash reminder of common things.

LS: Do these cards resonate with you?

AV: Yes. I am in the spotlight, literally.

LS: Do you both believe in tarot and astrology?

JB: It’s tough to say. I mean, I believe in fate. Fate is really right.

AV: I don't really know enough about tarot to confidently say I believe in it. I think it’s an observational find. Astrology has been around for so long, but I also think it's more so about pattern recognition than, like, this is what's gonna happen to you.

JB: That makes more sense to me.

LS: Did anyone read tarot on set?

AV: I feel like there was a point in time when one or more people read all of our tarot cards.

LS: What is the spookiest thing that you've ever heard during a tarot reading?

AV: [Laughs] I don't know..I don't think they're like, trying to spook us or anything.

JB: But then the multiple things of having kids, I read that's definitely something for sure.

AV: For sure.

LS: What are your zodiac signs?

JB: [While laughing with Avantika] What is October 9? Libra? Is Libra an animal? No, I'm dead ass right now. Is it like a zebra?

LS: [Laughs] It’s the scales.

AK: I’m a water-bearer. I’m an Aquarius and a Cancer Moon.

LS: So since you're both two air signs, and air signs are really good at communicating and having fun together, would you say that that was the vibe of the relationship on set?

JB: The thing is Avantika is really great and funny. But she would always diss me, bro, like, for no reason, like, we'd be having a good time on set. No, we had a good time. We had a really good time on set for sure. There were a lot of jokes.

LS: Air signs like to laugh and communicate together. They have a similar sense of humor.

JB: Wow. There’s a lot of jokes. A lot of talking sh*t.

LS: Well, that's what air signs do — they like to gossip. They like to communicate. Do you know anything about Mercury retrograde and the Great American eclipse next week? Mercury retrograde is when, you know, things get wonky astrologically. Then we have a big eclipse happening on April 8 that's going through the western part of Mexico all the way to the northeastern part of Canada. So are there any major events that you're planning to do for the eclipse? I like to warn people during Mercury retrograde that traveling is not a good idea during this time.

[At this point, we discover Jacob is traveling around that time.]

JB: I don’t want to have the technology to fail me. Oh, I just don't wanna let like…all of a sudden the stars are gonna kill me, bro. I don't know.

LS: They're not gonna kill you, they're just gonna create delays in your travel.

JB: No, not on the eighth So, no, I'm traveling the eleventh. Oh, thank god.

LS: Well, that's a great day to travel during Mercury retrograde. That’s perfect. So the stars are aligned in your favor.

JB: Nice!

LS: Do you have any advice on reading tarot from the movie?

JB: Don't find some random cards, in some scary mansion that your friend rents out.

Both: If the door says, do not enter. DO NOT ENTER.

LS: How do your characters relate to each other in the film?

JB: Paxton is the clown. And I feel like you're more rational in the movie. So I feel like we don't really, we don't really mesh well, but I think that's what makes it really fun, because everyone's kind of distinctive.

AK: One is really distinct. And I think, like, there's definitely a toggle between Paige and Paxton… they're, like, polar opposites.

LS: Is anything else you'd like Teen Vogue readers to know about the film or about yourselves?

JB: It's a very exciting adventure movie — I think people really enjoy the fact that it's more than just a horror movie. There's a lot you can relate to, and the characters are really great, the story is really unique and different. I don't think we've ever really seen something in terms of tarot reading, which is really fun. And I feel like right now, this time, younger people definitely enjoy star signs and all those things. I feel like that's a really great part of it.

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue

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