Those of us who are very highly psychic and intuitive (this is a real thing, I could tell you stories...) need tools to channel our experiences productively. Tarot can be such a tool, although its use easily corrupts if the user isn't careful.
The woman I did the reading for was African-American, but the lifetime that was haunting her was clearly European. The genetic memory of atrocities continues for generations indefinitely, until healed. I believe that she was trying to heal it.