Woman Thinks She's ‘Cursed' So Goes to Tarot Reader-Then Comes Diagnosis

A woman who feared she had been “cursed” after months of overwhelming exhaustion said a tarot reading unexpectedly led her to a medical diagnosis-one she believes she might otherwise have missed.

Barbara Varya Ershova (@varya.london), 23, a fashion photographer living in London, shared her story on TikTok, where the video has racked up more than 1.4 million views and over 285,000 likes.

In the clip, Ershova appears receiving an iron infusion while text overlay explains that a tarot reader suggested she see a doctor after hearing about her constant fatigue. “Turns out she was right and my enemies didn't curse me. I just had to get an iron infusion,” she wrote.

Ershova told Newsweek that her symptoms began shortly after finishing university.

“After I graduated from university, I started suddenly feeling a lot more tired than usual,” Ershova said. “I had no energy and was always just laying down if I could, and tasks felt so difficult to do.”

She added that her exhaustion became so persistent that she began searching for explanations outside of conventional medicine.

“And I feel like, in society, there are so many forms of expressing that it's caused by spirituality such as the term energy vampires and so on,” Ershova said. “So I started to suspect that someone has put a curse on me.”

She tried spiritual cleanses, including what she described as an egg cleanse, but nothing helped. Eventually, she booked a tarot reading at Treadwell's Books in London in November 2025 with a reader named Chloe.

During the session, Ershova initially asked about her post‑university career but then raised the concern that had been troubling her most.

“I specially told her my suspicions on being cursed because I felt so exhausted all the time,” she told Newsweek. “And as someone who is very active this felt especially noticeable. I told her it felt like energy was being sucked out.”

Ershova said the reader's response caught her off guard.

“I remember she looked at me and said ‘no' and told me to do a blood test for anemia instead,” Ershova added.

She said she was surprised by the advice and initially dismissed it. “I had expected her to tell me that someone had caused this, whether it's curse or not,” Ershova said, “especially as anemia wasn't something I had considered to be the reason before.”

Two weeks after the reading, Ershova flew home to Eastern Europe, where her symptoms persisted. She eventually asked her aunt about getting tested.

“She reassured me, ‘no, you definitely don't have it,'” Ershova said. “So I did the test and, a day later, I had my results.”

The blood work showed her iron stores, measured by ferritin, were severely depleted, placing her in a pre‑anemic state. In January, after returning to London, Ershova sought further testing at a private clinic in Soho, which confirmed her levels had dropped even further.

She said she considered iron supplements but opted instead for an infusion due to the severity of her symptoms.

“I felt so terrible that I did not want to wait months to see if they work,” Ershova said. “I was scared because infusions are known to sometimes have side effects.”

The infusion went smoothly, and Ershova said she experienced no complications. A follow‑up blood test conducted last week showed her ferritin levels had risen from 17 to 120.

“I do feel a lot better,” she said. “It's crazy to think that I caught it in time at pre-anemic before it turned into anemia because of tarot. I honestly don't know how long I would have gone otherwise before finding this out.”

While investigating the cause of her iron deficiency, Ershova also received another diagnosis.

“While I was looking for causes for the deficiency, I also was diagnosed with endometriosis,” she said, “which also would not have happened without the tarot. So it was like two birds with one stone.”

Ershova added that she has since made lifestyle changes, including limiting matcha intake, which can interfere with iron absorption.

Reflecting on the experience, Ershova emphasized that the tarot reader did not attempt to diagnose her.

“She did not diagnose me,” she said in a follow‑up video. “She referred me to go and get tested.”

Her message to others is simple: take persistent symptoms seriously.

“The sign here is that get your blood tested,” Ershova said. “I don't know how long it would have gone without finding this out.”

The video also prompted thousands of comments, with many viewers joking about the unexpected medical twist.

“I love that you considered a curse before you considered anemia,” one TikTok user, Angie, wrote.

“Good on that tarot girlie giving good advice,” another commenter added.

Others leaned into the humor of the situation. “Different kind of healer, babe,” a third joked.

“Your enemies cursed you with low iron!” wrote a fourth user, Luella.

Newsweek's reporters and editors used Martyn, our Al assistant, to help produce this story. Learn more about Martyn.

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This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 4:36 AM.