You might be someone that wants to understand more about tarot readings. A tarot is a journey that happens in the psychic realm. The different cards are supposed to represent things in your life and the different possibilities that can happen.
If you look at the cards and you keep your mind open, you will be able to make a deep connection with them and they will give you wisdom about what they are and what they do. This will give you the ability to make decisions.
There are some tools that have been used by psychics over and over since ancient history and the tarot cards are one of the tools that are widely used. There are 78 different cards in the deck and when you first start with them, the different symbols and definitions take time, and it might be overwhelming.
The card can be confusing at times and if you learn to the questions and want to know what the cards mean, you will have a better time learning about them.
Choosing the Right Deck
Maybe you have seen tarot cards online or in a book store. There are so many different decks and there is no better deck than another.
A real tarot card deck will have Major and Minor Arcana and there should be at least 78 cards or more, depending on who created the deck. The decks are often set with different stories or different variations and some people will add additional cards to the decks. Some of the cards have never existed in the past.
If the cards have less than 78 cards, then it will not be a full deck because there are 56 Minor cards and 22 Major cards in both the tarot and the oracle decks. When you look at a deck, pay attention to your feelings and your intuition to see which deck calls out to you.
There are decks that have just the Major or Minor cards and you can start with these if you are new, or you can use them to add to your deck if you are an experienced reader. If you want to get the full feel of the deck though, you need to have a full deck.
Tarot Deck Styles
There are so many different styles of tarot cards that you will never see them all. There are three main kinds though: Tarot of Marseilles, Inspiration decks and Thoth Tarot decks.
Tarot of Marseilles
This is one of the oldest kinds of decks that you can get, and they have been around since the 1700’s. These are often abstract, and they look like an original deck of cards. This is a hard deck to use if you are beginning because it takes time to learn the meanings.
Inspirational Deck
Many of the decks today are inspirational decks and these are made by Rider company. They are illustrated by Patricia Coleman Smith and the deck is iconic and has great imagery. This is a great deck to start with so that you can get more familiar with the cards.
Thoth Tarot
This was a deck that was made by Lady Freida Harris and Alistair Crowley. They made the cards based on the “Book of the Law” and it is full of geometric shapes, references, numerology, and the messages that the cards have.
The difference is that the cards are in a different order and using this deck can lead you to learn more things about the psychic world.
Picking a Tarot Deck
There are so many different decks that it can be hard to choose but many believe that the Rider-Waite Smith decks are the best ones to start with because of the artwork.
If you choose this deck, then you can have different images and scenery and symbolism that you might not get from the other decks.
Figure out what kind of images that you want and the ones you are drawn to. Do you like images that are soft or those that are edgy? Do you want mythology to place you a certain place or do you want some of the ones that are timelier? Do you like the depictions in the images?
Look online and in stores and take notes about what images connect with you. Find the ones that have good reviews and ones that draw you. Sue your intuition to connect to the deck and then pick that one. Make sure you research.
Once you do your research and you pick some decks that you like, use your intuition to pick one deck. Use these cards to try to figure them out and see if they are a good match for you.
Reading the Cards
People often get overwhelmed when they first start with a tarot deck because of all the cards in the deck. No one is born to know how to use the cards and you have to give yourself time and be patient to learn them.
The decks are designed to help you reach int your subconscious and even if you don’t know the meaning of the cards, you can practice and understand them more. The more you try the more you will learn them.
Intentions
Make sure that you have a clear intention about what you want the deck to show you. Maybe you want to figure out what problems you have in your physical body or something about relationships. When you ask the cards questions, you need to be specific and have a good intention.
Make your questions to answer your needs. You can also do general readings and then go back to other harder readings so that you can get used to it.
It is a good time to learn the cards but do not think that they will fix you. The cards are meant to help you to see what is going on and then you have the power to change things.
There are no definite answers when you use the tarot cards but here are some things people ask:
Yes or No Questions
These questions are not good questions to ask. You will not get very much information. Don’t ask things like “Will I get a boyfriend?” But ask, “how do I know when someone is interested in me.”
Death Questions
Asking about death or health can be hard questions. If you ask if someone is going to get better, you might not get the right answers because a health struggle can change. Try to ask things about being the owner of the question such as if the loved one is suffering.
Power
The tarot cards are for knowledge and not to give away your power. You can ask the questions and then it is up to you to change things and to make things happen. You can reflect on the energy but if you are wanting something fixed, you have free will to make decisions.
Spreads
There are different kinds of spreads and each of them have different interpretations. If you do a drawing and get the Tower card, this can change depending on where it is in the spread.
Figure out the positions that you want to put the cards in before you start so that you can not get overwhelmed and stressed.
There are different spreads that you can learn and there are always new ones. Figure out which ones you like the best while you are getting to know the cards. Use simple spreads until you are better at it, and this can make interpreting them easier.
Simple Tarot Spreads
One of the easiest spreads for beginners are the ones you use each morning to find out the energy of your day. Do this each day and journal your experience until you get better at the cards.
All you have to do is pull cards each morning and then write down what they mean. When you go back in the evening, look at the cards and then write down what the cards made you feel or how they changed your life that day.
Notice the differences about the cards, do they have different suits? Are the same kinds of cards showing up a lot?
Three Tarot Spread
Three tarot spreads can be great beginner spreads. Some good tarot readers will use this for guidance but most of these are past, present, and future spreads.
The first card will be the event that happened in the past and will shape the energy of the second card. The energy in that card will shape the future card.
The past, present and future spread is one that is linear, and it works. Her are some things to know:
The first card is how the situation is playing in your life, the second is how you look at the person in your life and the third will be what both of your views are. This is a great spread to use if you are looking at your relationships.
Five Card Spread
When you learn the three-card spread, go to the five cards. This one is good if you want to go deeper in your reading. You can position the cards with the relationships that you have with the card and what information you want to get.
The purpose of the five card is that the first represents you who you are in the present, the second is the past, the third is the future. This is similar to the past, present and future spread.
Then the fourth card though is the influences that are changing the way that you are acting that you might not be aware of, and the fifth card represents how you can grow and become better.
Career Tarot Spread
In this spread, the first card is how your job is going now, the second is what you need that you want to change in your job, the third card is what your situation is now, and your strengths and the fourth card is how you can grow in your job. Card five is what your job will look like in the future.
Tarot Card Meanings
The 22 Major Arcana represents different points in your life. This is an understanding of how your journey starts and ends. A Major card can be anything in the spread so pay attention to different themes.
Minor Arcana
The Minor Arcana is divided into four suits: swords, wands, cups, and pentacles. This represents the four elements of fire, air, earth, and water. These cards are meant to represent small things that happen in your day.
Each suit has their own rulers and are over things like the swords are over communication, the wands are over reputation and jobs, the earth is over physical things, cups rule the emotions. When you do a reading and one suit is hard for you, learn its meanings first.
Each of the suits go from Aces to 10 and they have a court of a King, Queen, Knight, and Page. Each of them has different personalities and different things that they represent.
Together with the Cards
While each of the cards have their own personal meaning, when you put them together, they can mean something completely different. The cards will give you clues and when they are paired with another card, they can have a different meaning.
Think of the cards are different characters and ideas. Learn to trust your intuition and learn how to connect with each of the cards.
Remember that the symbols might come up in different cards and you need to figure out what that means to you when that happens. If you find that symbols are repeating, pay attention to those and figure out what the connection is.
The advice against asking yes/no questions or questions about death and health is very insightful. It seems crucial to frame questions in a way that the tarot can offer meaningful guidance, rather than seeking definite answers.
I found the section on reading the cards particularly helpful. It’s good to know that the process involves patience and practice, and that there’s no need to be overwhelmed by the number of cards initially.
This article provides a thorough overview of the different types of tarot decks and their historical significance. I appreciate the detailed explanations and the guidance on how to choose a deck that resonates with one’s intuition.
Choosing a tarot deck seems like a highly personal journey. The emphasis on following one’s intuition and connecting with the imagery really stood out to me. This is very informative for anyone interested in starting with tarot readings.
The breakdown of different tarot deck styles like Tarot of Marseilles, Inspiration decks, and Thoth Tarot is quite useful. It helps to understand which decks might be more suitable depending on one’s experience level.