How to Read Tarot Cards for Beginners
The interest in mystical and exciting tarot cards is growing in the uncertain modern world. Being one of the powerful instruments for self-learning and discovering life events, tarot serves as an ultimate instrument for divination and personal development.
Tarot can be very helpful in challenging situations. By using symbolism readers interpret the meanings and get directions that ease the difficult choices. Despite the opinion that tarot is only for chosen ones, with a genuine desire and enthusiasm anyone can start to read tarot cards. By following several steps of how to read tarot cards for beginners, you will easily start your exciting journey into the world of tarot symbolical meanings and their interpretations.
Why read tarot cards?
Some people might think that tarot cards are for predicting the future. However, divination is only one of the possible goals of using tarot, and it’s not a fortune telling itself. The cards can read the energy and help to understand the vibes of an exact moment or event. Tarot is perfect for self-learning being a powerful instrument of discovering your inner thoughts and beliefs.
Becoming a skilled tarot reader means widening your network as there are many online and offline communities of tarot enthusiasts. You will always be able to ask questions and consult regarding challenging interpretations of readings. Tarot can bring the reveal in challenging life situations and help find the right way through tricky circumstances. If you are ready to start, here are some steps to take while learning how to read tarot cards.
Get a deck
You should start with getting your first tarot deck. This purchase will be a crucial step, so choosing the right option is vital. The veterans of tarot reading recommend paying attention to beginner-friendly decks. Here are several ones you can consider:
Rider-Waite deck
One of the best choices for beginners would be the Rider-Waite deck. Since most readings of tarot are primarily based on illustrations on each card, from that point the drawings made by Pamela Colman Smith for the Rider-Waite deck in 1909 are perfect. The detailed pictures serve as a great field for interpretations that match the basic meanings of each card. The author’s approach to illustrating is among the reasons why this deck gained popularity and became a prototype of many other variations of tarot decks. Each card depicts exact figures, details, and symbols that perfectly add meaning to the whole picture.
Mystic Mondays Tarot
The author of this bestselling tarot deck, Grace Doing, lives in Philadelphia. Being an author, an artist, and an entrepreneur, she initially did not plan that making cards would become her full-time job. But after Duong’s big success of crowdfunding her first Mystic Mondays Tarot deck on Kickstarter, the popularity of her product was incredibly high. Vibrance, innovation, transcendence, and magical vibes make this deck very attractive for beginners.
Ethereal Visions Illuminated Tarot Deck
This stylish deck with vibrant illustrations in Art Nouveau style attracts tarot reading novices worldwide. The author of the deck, Matt Hughes, created unique handwritten illustrations that make each card a piece of art. The combination of styles that refer to the Golden Age of illustrations allowed the author to add unique pictures with a hint of Symbolic aesthetics. The deck is popular among beginners as the pictures are not only very beautiful but also easy to read. The illustrations by Hughes awaken imagination and intuition, which becomes crucial for mindful reading. The Ethereal Visions Illuminated Tarot Deck contains two additional unique Major Arcana cards to add insights to your readings.
One of the tips for successfully choosing the first deck is listening to your heart and intuition. Of course, the style of drawings is important too. The deck must match your style and ideally reflect your personality.
There is an opinion that it is crucial to get your first deck as a gift instead of purchasing it by yourself. However, many readers confront this idea proving that their excitement and enthusiasm of buying their first tarot deck was a great push to learning the cards.
Prepare the deck for reading
Can you start tarot reading right after you get your first deck? No, as you need to ‘activate’ the deck first to ensure the tarot cards accuracy. Here are several approaches you can use:
- Inner work. The practice helps to recognize your feelings and understand your true attitude to the deck. You need to take two cards with opposite meanings. For example: the Major Arcana Tower symbolizes destruction, and the Minor Arcana, the Ten of Cups embodies harmony and emotional fulfillment. Turn the cards over and shuffle them. Now relax and try to find out which card is where by listening to your inner feelings and intuition. If you can easily recognize the cards, try to take more than two cards, and repeat the practice.
- Spiritual connection. This method helps to tune yourself with the deck spiritually. Find a calm space, make yourself comfortable, and close your eyes. Take the deck into your hands and put your hands close to your chest. Think about the cards asking them to become your helpers in solving any issue and discover yourself. It will be good if you will feel the heat coming from the deck. The duration of this practice must be at least 10 minutes.
- The four elements. This method helps to activate the tarot deck by using the four elements of nature: Fire, Air, Water, and Earth. You need to have specific physical objects on the table. Light the candle, put a stone next to you, as well as a glass of water. Put the deck between the elements and ask it to connect with you and guide you.
After you finish the practice, you need to check the deck. Try a short spread of three cards asking any question that comes to your mind. This method will show the cards’ readiness to work with you.
Read the cards in the right mood
What condition of mind and soul is the best for tarot reading? You will more likely succeed by being in a balance of focus and relaxation. If you have experienced strong emotions before reading, get in the right mood first. By approaching the tarot deck in the wrong condition, you may experience disappointment and get upset. Be attentive to your emotions and reduce distractions in your mind. Some readers practice meditation before they start the spread. If you are reading for someone else, it is also crucial that they would be in the right mood.
More tips on reading tarot cards for beginners
Pull more cards for a clearer picture. Imagine the deck of tarot cards as an instrument with an unlimited number of tries and pool as many cards as you want. Such an approach helps beginners to piece together the meanings of several cards, remember the interpretations better, and see the picture clearer.
Be patient when shuffling and picking cards. Experienced readers’ advice is to select the cards thoughtfully. No matter what spread it is, carefully shuffle the deck and do not rush. Try to feel the energetic connection with the cards. Tarot veterans develop and apply unique techniques to ensure the selection of each card is unbiased.
Ask clear questions. One of the ways to accurately read tarot cards for beginners is being concise. Asking vague questions will lead to vague interpretations. Ensure that your question is easy to understand.
Avoid reading when you’re spiraling. However, you might want to take a deck into your hands when you are in despair or panic, better don’t do it. Follow the advice of tuning yourself in the right energetical tone to connect with the cards. The anxiety you experience during reading may lead to getting mixed signals from the cards.
Afterall
While some people still consider tarot reading a prerogative of a few people with mystical abilities, the cards are becoming a popular instrument for self-reflection for the masses. There are some steps on how to read tarot cards for beginners. If you want to learn tarot reading, you must get your first deck. You can purchase one of the beginner-friendly decks recommended by tarot veterans. If you want to reach a high level of accuracy of tarot cards, prepare the deck for reading by ‘activating’ it. Some readers use specific rituals and methods, and some approach reading with meditation. Choose the best way that resonates with your vision. Note that you should read cards in the right mood as the deck can feel the energy of a reader. With online tarot reading, you can easily learn from experts or get answers whenever you want. We wish you good luck!
