How To Understand Tarot Card Meanings

What do the various tarot card types represent?

Despite their vastly different designs, all tarot decks share a few characteristics. Each one has 78 playing cards, divided into the main and minor arcana. The major arcana, which are the deck’s 22 trump cards, generally allude to bigger influences and disclosures when they are revealed during a reading. These cards stand alone without a suit and represent key occasions or people in a person’s life.

In contrast, the minor arcana refer to influences and issues that are more commonplace. Wands, swords, pentacles, and cups make up the four suits that these 56 cards are divided into. (Occasionally, tarot decks will use different terminology, such as “Pentacles for coins, but they are exact equivalents to the four original divisions.) A different aspect of life is represented by each outfit. Wands typically represent imagination and passion, swords intelligence, pentacles work and wealth, and cups emotion. Additionally, each suit is associated with a certain set of astrological signs, such as wands being associated with fire, swords with air, pentacles with earth, and cups with water.

Since we’re beginners, the meanings you’ll most frequently refer to are the functional definitions, albeit these meanings can be used when cards symbolize people and their zodiac signs. For example, a three-card spread with three pentacle cards strongly denotes a financial concern. (More on the various spreads will follow.)

While much of this is up to the deck’s owner and what resonates with them, there are a few conventions that apply to the majority of tarot readings. If you’re reading cards for someone else, you should ask them to provide you with a question or suggest something they’re interested in, and keep that question in mind while you shuffle the deckalso referred to as “removing the effects of earlier research and readings. (An illustration would be, “When will I discover love?” Am I pursuing the correct career? “How can I get through my block?

Then you could query the person you are reading for (also known as “cutting the deck, once more concentrating on the querent. Although some readers will cut the deck for the querent, we prefer this option since it gives the querent a chance to feel linked to the deck personally. In any case, you will draw the necessary number of cards for your spread and, if you’re reading for yourself, place them between you and the querentor directly in front of you.

What do the tarot cards I have mean?

The Fool, card number 0, is the first card in the Major Arcana and stands for the start of a journey, innocent amazement, danger, and promise.
The Magician, I: Manifestation, healing, spirituality, and a connection to the divine are represented by this card.
The High Priestess, II: Symbolizes the study of nature and spiritual mysteries, human wisdom, the divine feminine, and one’s inner realm.
The Empress, III: Is seen as a conduit for the High Priestess on Earth and represents nature, the Great Mother, and fertility.
The Emperor, IV: Stands for authority, sway, steadiness, and capacity for domination.
The Hierophant, V: Symbolizes life’s practical lessons in applying natural law, learning, and becoming an expert in one’s chosen field.
The Lovers, VI: Depicts a relationship’s maturation, compromise, and hard choices that will need to be made in the future.
The Chariot, VII: Stands for success, empowerment, conquering challenges, and victory.
Strength, VIII: Depicts the struggle between the ego and intuition, as well as the necessity for self-control and self-interest that are refined in order to achieve inner peace.
The Hermit, IX: The Hermit stands for reflection, introspection, and the advantages of solitude.
Wheel of Fortune, X: Symbolizes impending change, which is frequently for the better, as well as the inescapable seasons and cycles of life.
Justice, XI: Stands for fairness, moral decency, karma, and meticulousness.
The Hanged Man, Chapter XII: The Hanged Man symbolizes consequence, submission, immobility, and a circumstance that must be endured.
Death, XIII: Stands for ends, gathering, liberation, and progress. (Not to be interpreted as a death prediction.)
Temperance, XIV: Stands for self-evolution, moderation, and avoiding extremes.
The Devil, at position XV, stands for the shadow self, sensual pleasures of the world, destructive relationships, and entrapment.
The Tower, XVI: Indicates impending or current peril, turbulence, and unanticipated change.
The Star, XVII: Symbolizes inspiration, transcendence, spirituality, and connection to the divine.
The Moon, in position XVIII, stands for deception, confusion, illusion, and strife.
The Sun (XIX) stands for life, happiness, luck, assurance, and honesty. It and The World are the only two words with no opposite or negative connotations.
Judgement, XX: Stands for decision-making, wakefulness, and freedom from internal turmoil.
The World, XXI: Indicates the completion of a cycle, a significant shift, and self-actualization. It doesn’t mean something opposite or negative.

How can newcomers approach using tarot cards?

If you find this daunting, Howe advises you to take a deep breath and believe in your own initiative. “In order to see it less as “This holds all of these secret meanings that I have to do all this work to access” and more as “I know all the meanings; it’s just a matter of establishing the connections and being able to articulate them,” use language or knowledge that you already possess. She points out that the four elementsearth, water, fire, and airplay a significant role in the tarot, which is advantageous because the majority of people already have an understanding of the meanings of each element. ” If you do that, your viewpoint will be more personal, and you will be able to express yourself more freely.

Howe suggests the three-card draw and the Celtic Cross as the two fundamental spreads for beginning readers. In the former, three cards are chosen at random from the deck to symbolize the subject’s mind, body, and spirit, or past, present, and future. According to Howe, you could even up the stakes and use a six-card draw, with one card for each location.

Can you interpret your own tarot cards?

It most certainly is. Tarot is a technique that aids in deepening our understanding of the present moment, honoring our intuition, and predicting future possibilities. Although it might seem complicated, the technique is actually quite straightforward.

Is it appropriate to let people handle your 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?

How can I independently practice using tarot cards?

How to Conduct Your Own Tarot Reading

First, make the space.
Step 2: Discover the question’s core.
Choose the layout in step three.
Step 4: Sort the cards and shuffle them.
Read the cards and tell the story in step five.
Answering your question is step six.
7 Steps to a Clear Tarot Reading for You: Download the PDF.

What does each card mean?

Each of the four major pillars of the Middle Ages’ economy is supposed to be symbolized by one of the card game’s suits: Hearts stood for the Church, Spades for the military, Clubs for agriculture, and Diamonds for the merchant class.

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 Ask one question per card.

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?

Tarot card connections: what are they?

Advice on connecting with your tarot cards whether it’s your first time using them or you’ve owned your deck for a while.

Connecting or reconnecting to your deck can be a helpful activity, regardless of whether you haven’t picked up your deck in a long, are hesitant to conduct a reading for yourself, feel “wrong” with the readings you’ve been conducting, or have purchased a new deck.

Check out Reading Tarot for Beginners: How to Start Reading Tarot for Yourself for advice on how to pick your deck.

Being a competent reader requires you to connect with your tarot deck. But you must invest time, effort, and attention in a good relationship.

How can I tell if I’m not meant to work with a deck or I just need to reconnect?

The connection you have with the deck has to be strengthened, or it might not be the best fit for you at this time, if you’re having trouble getting a good reading from it or feel off with it.

It’s possible that you and your tarot deck aren’t intended to be in a serious long-term relationship if you don’t feel like you connect with it or if you don’t appear to speak the same language. There is a deck available for you if you want to learn, therefore this does not imply that you are not destined to be a reader.

However, there’s also a strong chance that you can establish the connection with a little time and effort. especially if you were initially drawn to your deck.

You can utilize some decks for specific purposes and not others. The majority of your magic will probably be performed with one main deck, although you may occasionally use other decks for fun, support, or clarity. Since decks are exquisite works of art, I love collecting them. And I adore using them when I want to switch things up or am performing a certain style of reading, but I only use my original ride or die deck for all of my professional readings and lectures.

All of this is to indicate that testing out a variety of decks is a wonderful idea. For your first deck, conduct some study, examine the imagery, and choose the one that sparks your interest.

Here are some methods for getting back on your deck. I’ve listed them in the sequence I’d perform them, but you should feel free to customize this exercise according to your own preferences.

How to connect with your tarot cards

You can accomplish this in a number of ways, including by shuffling, using crystals, moonlight, salt, or sacred incense. Click here to learn more about cleaning your deck.

Hold your cards firmly in your palms while taking a few deep breaths. After that, think about the intention you want to have for your practice with them. It could be a word, a sentence, or an emotion. You can use this time to ask any guides or spirits you enjoy working with for assistance or to help you open your channel to divine advice that is in your highest and best interests.

Cleaning the energy in the deck through shuffling. Additionally, it creates the random system that allows us to access the advice we need from the deck. We can gain a completely new viewpoint from the cards because of the randomness that shuffling creates; by doing so, we are deviating from logic and embracing the unknowable. Check out this article on card shuffling.

To get to know one another, gain some fresh perspectives, and, yes, bond, spend some time completing a tarot spread that is tailored to your deck.

What details about you do you want me to know?
Your restrictions?
What type of partnership are we capable of having?
What task are we supposed to complete jointly?
Which card can currently be my teacher?
How can I use this card to explore deeper?

Make putting your deck away a ceremony. You might keep it in a box, cover it in a special scarf, place a crystal on top of it, or place it on an altar while not in use. Choosing to follow this quick procedure at the conclusion of each session or day is a way to show your deck some love, gratitude, and appreciation.

Bonus Tarot bonding exercises:

the whole picture The Major Arcana numbers 0 to 22 should be arranged in lines of seven cards across. Next, arrange the Ace through King cards for each suit in the following order: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. Take a good look at the deck in this format. Then thoroughly jumble everything together.

Select a map. To serve as your anchor and guide for connecting with your deck and intuition, choose a card based on its look and/or its meaning. Write down all the thoughts, emotions, and queries this card triggers for you in a journal. Use it to meditate. Keep track of how it manifests in your daily life and tarot practice (and keep a notebook of your observations!). When not using your deck, place this card on your altar. You can carry out this for a week or a lunar cycle before selecting another.

Put your deck beneath your pillow while you sleep. You can connect with the cards in your unconscious time if you can make it comfy.

Also keep in mind that it takes time to establish a connection and relationship with your deck. Like any relationship, it evolves as you develop and gain new knowledge.

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.

You Just Had a Tarot Reading

Unless the reading is about a completely new and specific subject, I suggest waiting at least three months between professional tarot readings. Before returning to the cards, let things to develop and alter.

You Want a Redo

I frequently observe people attempting to “chase the right answer.” People will visit several tarot readers or ask the same question repeatedly to the same tarot reading until they receive the response they desire (which, by the law of averages, does happen eventually). This is basically useless!

Your Question Is About Someone Else

Tarot readings are not the solution if your entire line of inquiry is about another person’s thoughts and actions (such as what your ex is up to). Tarot is meant to help you gain understanding of *yourself,* not other people. (A better option would be to reconsider and rephrase your query as if you were looking for help on how to move past your split.)

You’re Looking for Medical Advice

Simply said, neither physical nor mental health concerns can be diagnosed or treated using the cards. Some things are better left in the hands of medical specialists rather than tarot readers!