Learning to Read Tarot Cards
Tarot cards can be a useful tool for meditation and developing intuition. A tarot deck consists of 78 cards. The minor arcana has 56 cards, which are somewhat similar to a standard card deck. The remaining 22, the major arcana, contain pictures of archetypes. To learn the cards, first become familiar with their individual symbolism, then practice simple readings, or spreads.
Other People Are Reading
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Equipment
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Choose a deck of tarot cards and a cloth for readings (this can also be used to wrap the cards). One good beginner's deck is the Rider-Waite with its clear, simple symbolism. Your deck should come with an explanatory booklet which explains that deck's particular imagery.
Card Preparation
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Prepare your new tarot cards, rather like breaking in a new pair of shoes. From now on, don't let anybody else handle them. For at least a week, handle the cards often. Sleep with them under your pillow, shuffle them and study individual cards, trying to memorize the details.
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Minor Arcana
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The minor arcana has four suits. While there are many variants, the most common names are Coins (pentacles or disks), Swords, Cups and Wands (batons). There are 10 numbered cards in each deck, along with four Court Cards: A Princess (Knave or Page), Prince (Knight), Queen and King. Just as in normal playing cards, there is an Ace.
Each suit has general meanings and the Court Cards represent different types of people. Check your booklet for these correspondences, and start to learn them.
For a first session, study the Aces. On the second day, examine the Twos---and so on. Don't worry about learning everything by heart; it's fine for beginners to look up meanings as they read.
Major Arcana
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There are 22 cards in the major arcana, numbered from 0 to 21. Starting with 0, the Fool, take each card in turn and try to learn its meaning. While some of the cards (Tower, Death) sound scary, their meanings are seldom literal. However, drawing a major arcana card does usually indicate a major event or turning-point.
First Readings
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Once you get to know the cards, you can start using them in readings. Find somewhere quiet and private. Take a deep breath and try to empty your mind. Spread your reading cloth and shuffle your cards. With no particular question in mind, cut the cards once, to the left, and place the right-hand pile on top. Draw the top card. Study it. Look up its meaning if you have to.
During the day, keep the card at the back of your mind. Because this is an ordinary, everyday kind of reading, even the major arcana might manifest in literal ways. The Tower could mean that you drop and shatter a plate. The idea is to start making intuitive connections about each card's meaning.
Simple Spreads
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After two or three weeks, try a simple three-card spread. For this spread, as you shuffle, ask a question or think of an issue. There are two approaches; in the first, one card represents the past, one the present, and one the future. In the second, you pick three cards and they represent the situation or question, and can be interpreted all at once. From here you can progress to other, more complex spreads, and eventually to reading for others.
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