Your reader has now revealed several frightening-looking cards. Don’t go crazy. The way you perceive them is incorrect.
In This Article...
What do I need to understand before I read tarot cards?
You’ll discover as you study more about tarot that each author has a unique interpretation of what each card symbolizes. The majority of specialists will agree on a small number of keywords for each card, but beyond that, there will be a great deal of conflicting information. Additionally, each card will have a distinct meaning based on where and whether it appears in your spread upright or reversed.
That could be a challenge if you value clarity over ambiguity, but consider the tarot a chance to practice accepting uncertainty and building trust in your own intuition. Consider the keywords as boundaries for the meaning of each card, and then start paying closer attention to each name and image to determine what speaks to you individually.
Choosing one card to focus on each day and reflecting on its meaning is one approach to do this. Keep a journal where you can record your personal reflections on each card as well as the conventional interpretations of each.
What must I do before I read the cards in my tarot deck?
Tarot is definitely in vogue. Even if it weren’t frequently reaffirmed in the comments of our Fool’s Journey series, it is evident from the way tarot is sprouting up everywhere that an increasing number of people are taking up a deck of cards to see what it can do for them.
Hurrah in the first place if you’re one of those people! I’m so happy you made that decision! Tarot is stimulating, imaginative, enjoyable, thought-provoking, motivating, and, in the end, I think it may change your life. Tarot cards can be used for practically anything you can imagine, including problem-solving, getting to know yourself and your friends, planning, and meditation. There are as many ways to read tarot cards as there are people, and the tarot community is enormous and diverse. Once you have your cards, it is entirely up to you how you want to use them. It can be as mystical, as realistic, or both.
It can be intimidating to learn your first tarot deck, though. How can you begin to understand what each of those cards means? And how exactly do you do a reading? Do you read for yourself, other people, or both? What exactly does it imply when someone claims to be using their intuition? And just what is a “tarot spread” exactly?
Ah, indeed, there is much to learn. But don’t let this overwhelm you; if you have a deck of cards, you already have all you need to begin developing a rapport with them and increasing your self-assurance. Here are some advice I have for beginning.
Get used to holding the cards in your hands
Make it a practice to pick up your cards and shuffle them whenever you find yourself in a bind. If you’re not a natural shuffler or they initially feel awkward in your hands, don’t worry; just keep picking them up and they’ll start to feel more normal.
Daily cards
I know I keep saying this, but truly, this is a terrific, easy method to progressively get to know your cards. It’s an easy procedure. Every morning, choose one card and take a moment or two to truly look at it, identifying any symbols, colors, or other aspects of the image that stand out to you. then research it online or, if you have a book, in it. For the remainder of the day, keep your card in mind. Where in your daily life do you see certain energies, behaviors, or thoughts expressed?
For bloggers and journalers, this is a pretty common practice, and it’s actually how my site got started. Here is an archive of my personal “daily sketch” posts.
Get a good book
There is absolutely no shame in researching tarot card interpretations. I say this as a seasoned reader who frequently searches through her books to see what various authors have to say about this card or that. Yes, you will eventually form your own opinions regarding the meanings of the cards, but when you first begin, I highly suggest having a book on hand.
Some decks, such the Steampunk, Wildwood, and Shadowscapes Tarot, include substantial instruction manuals. If yours didn’t, the following suggestions are for you:
- Tarot trainingJoan Bunning
- Eighty-seven levels of wisdom
- Pollack, Rachel
- 21 Ways to Interpret a Tarot Card
- John K. Greer
- Oliver Pickle’s She Is Sitting in the Night: Revisioning Thea’s Tarot
There are many free sources available as well if you’re on a tight budget to research the meanings of the tarot cards. My two favorites are Biddy Tarot and Joan Bunning’s Learn Tarot (the complete text of her book is available online).
Dive right in and try a simple self-reading
The first time you read for yourself could feel unusual if you’ve never done it before. Not to worry! It seems completely strange to sit down with a deck of cards and ask them about your life, but you’re going to do it nevertheless.
Tarot readings don’t require a special sacred setting, but some peace and quiet are a good idea. Grab a cup of coffee, shut the door, and make a little space for yourself by organizing your workstation, coffee table, or blanket. To cut down on distractions, put your phone away.
Before reading their cards, some people like to perform a small ritual.
anything you choosegrounding, praying, lighting a candle, etc. Or you might just start by closing your eyes and taking a few really deep breaths. , or none of those options. You are you.
You can take your time shuffling the cards. When ready, place three cards face up in the following manner:
1. You are currently the central card. It might symbolize your current mindset, your actions, your goals, or a circumstance or problem you’re going through.
2. The card on the left stands for letting go of something. This could be someone, a method, a behavior, or something else that is now hindering you.
3. The rightmost card is a piece of advise. It can be a strategy you can use, a force you can add to your life, or just something you should do.
If you don’t instantly comprehend the cards, don’t give upthis is very normal! Take your time, research the cards in a book or online, make a list of the points or thoughts related to each card, and try viewing them from several perspectives. For instance, receiving a card in the advise position that seems awfully negative is perplexing! Or perhaps the central card is completely illogical. You’ll understand what they’re trying to tell you if you keep looking and paying attention.
Last but not least, try to distill the main takeaway from the reading. What should you remember from this?
Read with a friend!
While reading for yourself is fine and dandy, reading for and alongside others is also a fantastic learning opportunity. I wholeheartedly recommend having a traditional tarot session if you have a friend who is into them. Bring your own decks of cards so that you may compare and contrast your favorites (bonus points if you have various decks! Together, you can read aloud, discuss potential meanings for each card, and support one another’s academic growth.
How should I prepare my home for a tarot reading?
While rearranging the cards in the tarot deck is a good approach to purify and clear their energy, there are some circumstances in which you might wish to perform a more specialized ritual. If you’re just getting started with tarot, cleaning your deck can be an excellent place to start.
You might want to clean your tarot deck for a variety of reasons, including:
- beginning with a fresh deck
- readings for other people
- You think you need to recharge.
- Your card readings seem a touch “odd” or “disconnected”
- Your deck hasn’t been used recently.
- Your deck has been handled by others
- You think you’ve been utilizing your deck a lot. A LOT, especially for books with strong emotional content
Why should you cleanse or clear your tarot deck?
Tarot deck cleansing helps keep the energy flowing between you and your deck. Consider it as a little spiritual hygiene to maintain a strong and clear connection. It’s not necessary, but if you have any of the aforementioned symptoms, try a few of the energetic cleansing techniques listed below and note which ones seem to work the best for you.
How often should you cleanse your tarot deck?
This is another way of stating USE YOUR INTUITION: there are no hard and fast laws. Don’t stress if you don’t believe it is necessary for your deck. Alternately, if you like to cleanse them once per week or once per month, that’s great. If it feels appropriate to you, you can even place your favorite crystal on the balcony each night.
If you frequently place crystals on your deck and store it on an altar while not in use, you might not feel the need to cleanse it frequently because this quick ritual will likely be sufficient to keep your deck feeling nice.
There are numerous ways to cleanse your cards, just as there are numerous reasons why you might desire to do so.
Different ways to cleanse your tarot deck
Use holy smoke. Light a dried rosemary, lavender, cedar, sage, or palo santo cleansing wand until it begins to smoke. Hold the smoke a safe distance below the deck while holding the burning herbs in one hand and the deck in the other so that the smoke drifts upward onto the cards. Turn the deck so that the smoke covers it from all angles. Next, safely put your deck to the ground and put out the fire.
On the deck, set a selenite stone (or a black tourmaline or a transparent quartz). It works well to leave it like way for an hour, but I prefer to leave it overnight.
Set them on display during a new moon. The New Moon is energy of a blank slate; you can purify the deck by setting it on a window sill on a new moon night. At this moment, you can also make a brand-new intention for your deck.
Place the cards in a salty dish. A strong and stabilizing cleaner is salt. My preferred choice for a thorough cleansing is this. Allow it to sit anywhere from one to eight hours in a dry area.
Unorderly shuffle. Spread the cards out on the ground, then shuffle them around like a child playing in dirt. This method’s freedom and randomization serve as an excellent reset.
the shuffle and sort. Set up the deck in rows of seven cards across, commencing with the Major Arcana numbers 0 to 22. (see photo above). Next, arrange the cards, Ace through King, one for each suit, as follows: Swords, Pentacles, Cups, and Wands. View the deck in this configuration, then mix everything up (like the chaotic!) and shuffle it thoroughly.
How should I prepare to use fresh Tarot cards?
You can experience confusion and overload if this is your first experience with tarot and other woo-woo practices. You quickly shuffled your cards before flipping over each one one at a time. It’s not like you’ll be able to instantly remember what all the cards signify, and you still don’t feel ready to pick cards for yourself or others.
Breathe in deeply. Not all of us instantly become instant readers the moment we hold a deck of cards.
Focus first on giving your new tarot deck a hefty break-in.
You need to play your cards a little bit, just like you would with a pair of running shoes, a hard pair of pants, or homemade pizza dough. Allow them to stretch a little. Let them help you exercise your tarot-reading skills.
Whether you’re a preternaturally woowoo person or a pragmatic person (like me), there are ways to use your new tarot deck a first time that will help you break them in.
You can get to know your deck on your own terms by using these exercises, which are suitable for both muggle-centric tarot aficionados and ritual-obsessed witchy individuals. Consistently using these methods can gradually pique your interest in learning the tarot within the parameters that your new deck establishes.
Questions you don’t really want answered
Even though it might seem apparent, it’s advisable to refrain from asking the tarot cards questions that you aren’t prepared to hear the answers to. That’s because answers to these questions can reveal information you’re just not quite ready to hear.
“Tarot can definitely come off as offensive if you’re not willing to hear the truth or consider an opposing opinion. Tarot reading Nicole Fortunaso
According to tarot reader and life coach Nicole Fortunaso, “tarot may truly come out as offensive if you are not willing to hear the truth of the problem or look at an alternate viewpoint.” She advises analyzing why you’re reacting the way you are in order to reflect on how to effectively address the underlying problem if you ask the question and aren’t satisfied with the response.
After a breakup
Draw one card for each of the following inquiries if you’ve recently broken up with someone and want to know more about the reason or determine whether you’ll get back together:
- How energetic is the partnership right now?
- What caused the divide in the first place?
- What do they really think of me right now?
- What do they intend for me right now?
- What kind of relationship will this be in the future?
- Which action is ideal for me to take right now?
When job searching
You can use this spread to explore what kind of career guidance the tarot can offer if you’re feeling uncertain about your career path or thinking about a new employment. Draw one card once more for each query.
- How active am I in my career right now?
- What challenge must I overcome?
- What is my calling in life?
- How can I follow this calling more closely?
- What should I do to prepare for the upcoming month?
When deciding between two options
This spread can highlight the benefits and drawbacks of each option, guiding you toward the best decision if you’re using tarot to pick between two possibilities (two job offers, two apartments, perhaps a love triangle???). Getting the deal Per card, ask one question.
- What is the fundamental cause of this fork in the road?
- What is the likely result of choosing option A?
- What is the most likely result for option B?
- What more should I take into account that was overlooked?
- What’s the best thing I can do right now?
When something is off with a friend
If you’re concerned about the state of a friendship or feel like something is wrong but are unable to pinpoint the cause, you might be interested in seeing what conclusions and solutions this spread offers. Ask one question per card, once more, I repeat.
- What makes this friendship so crucial?
- What led to this sudden change in tone, and why?
- What has changed, in my friend’s opinion?
- What can I do to make this matter more urgent?
- What is the future of this friendship?
- What should I do at this moment?
Do tarot cards need to be purified?
That’s correct
Magdaleno really suggests cleaning your deck before each reading to achieve the most accurate results. She advises starting with a cleansing to make the cards clear for your reading, whether it’s for yourself or someone else.
How can I greet the cards in my tarot deck?
What do you do right away after receiving a fresh tarot deck? remove the package, shuffle, and launch into a reading right away? hesitantly flip through each card one at a time, feeling the feel of the entire deck? choose your favorite cards and just sit with them? Perhaps you also do an unique ritual, such as purifying or “charging” your deck with crystals?
Before I’m ready to shuffle, I like to take my time with a new tarot deck and go through all 78 cards one by one numerous times. I like to take note of anything that stands out to me, any symbols that seem particularly pertinent to me at the time, or any characters who seem to be communicating directly to me. It could take this process anywhere from 20 minutes to many days.
However, when I am prepared to shuffle, I typically use the “tarot deck interview spread” to get to know my new cards. I have no idea where I got it. Despite the fact that several bloggers have given it to me, I did not create it. however I do use it quite a bit. I’ve posted a few tarot deck interviews on my blog throughout the years. Here are a couple of them.
A wonderfully cool method to get to know a new tarot deck and let it get to know you is to use the interview spread. In essence, it’s a discussion about your possible working relationship where you may learn how to approach and use these cards most effectively while also discussing the deck’s advantages and disadvantages. Some tarot decks, according to many people, are better suited for love readings, while others are better suited for queries about job or other practical problems, and yet others are the kind for “getting deep.” This interview spread is a useful tool for delving further into those concepts.
So, if you’ve just received a new deck and are eager to start using it, make some space for yourself, light a candle if you’d like, and try out this little spread. (This might also be a good approach to rekindle your relationship with an old deck you’ve been ignoring or with which you’ve never felt particularly connected.)
Can I read tarot cards on my own?
It’s normal to be a little clumsy when you first start practicing the tarot. Tarot study is similar to learning a new languageit takes time to become proficient. But what happens if you no longer require the booklet and have intimate familiarity with the deck? Are you able to read yourself? No, except for a few rare instances. Simply put, it’s a horrible idea.
You see, the majority of us turn to astrology or tarot when we’re looking for clarity amid a period of ambiguity. In contrast to astrology, which is quite technical, our consciousness restricts our capacity to read tarot cards. Working with your personal interpretation of the cards, you are not constrained by short- and long-term cycles like the planets’ orbits. It might be tricky to go beyond your current circumstances while utilizing the tarot to better understand a trying scenario. Even if all the cards are spread out in front of you, putting them together requires such a broad perspective that it is all but impossible to fully understand the meaning of each card. Basically, any biases you already have will always be reflected in your tarot reading!
Do I need to allow people to handle my tarot cards?
If you have been reading Tarot for years without allowing anybody else to touch your cards and this is how you prefer it to be done, maintain reading in this manner. Do it if it works.
However, if you are new to tarot and unsure about whether you should allow others to touch your cards when reading for them, REST! Others are welcome to touch freely. In fact, I believe that doing this makes a reading seem more genuine. You simply need to believe in the strength of your intention to afterwards purge any negative energy from your Tarot deck.
What are your thoughts on this? I’m interested to know! Therefore, please share your thoughts regarding individuals touching your cards in the comments section below. Do you agree with it? Or do you strictly enforce a no-touch policy?
