Everyone needs a little magic in their life, and everyone is a little bit magical. Maybe you have a green thumb, maybe you’re a wizard in the kitchen, or maybe you find a lot of lucky pennies on the ground. I bring a little more magic into my life through tarot.
Tarot is a form of divination through “fortune-telling” cards. The reason I put quotes around “fortune-telling” is because tarot, and I know this may come as a surprise, can’t actually tell your future. That doesn’t mean that a tarot reading can’t influence your future because, like most magical things in life, tarot is about the self. I consider my tarot cards as a tool for self-discovery and self-reflection (plus, they’re a really fun party trick).
I believe that while tarot can’t tell you exactly what is going to happen in your future, it can help you manifest the future you want. Every tarot reading that I do requires the querent (that’s the person who is having their cards read) to think about who they are as a person and who they want to be. If they resonate with the cards, that’s great! If not, they’re forced to confront why. Either way, that person is directing their thoughts inward and, hopefully, discovering something about themselves.
Reading Tarot Cards: Getting Started
If you’re interested in learning how to read tarot cards, the first thing you’ll need is a deck. There are several websites and free apps for your phone if you want a digital deck, and Amazon has lots of physical decks that you can order. Once you have a deck, the next step is to learn how to interpret the cards.
While there are traditional interpretations of each tarot card, it’s nearly impossible to memorize all 78 meanings perfectly, and it’s certainly not fun. Everywhere you look you’ll find a slightly different interpretation, and it can be frustrating to try to figure out which source is “correct.” Most tarot decks also come with a book that includes the meaning of each card, and this can be an excellent tool to get started. What’s most important when it comes to reading tarot, though, is interpreting the imagery of the cards.
With any tarot deck, the best way to learn what a given card means is to take a single card and just take note of everything happening in that card. What colors are used, what images and what emotions does it evoke in you? Is there motion? Where is your eye drawn? What details did you miss the first time you glanced at it? It can be helpful to write these things down so that you have something to look back on when the card comes up in a reading. It’s like creating a personalized reference book.
One final tip if you’re interested in learning to read tarot cards: practice! As with any skill, you’ll only improve with practice. So break out your deck and get reading. One easy way to practice is to do a single card reading every day. I like to do mine in the morning and reflect back on the card in the evening. It’s also really fun to read for your friends, and you’ll likely find that reading for others offers new challenges and rewards.
Of course, all of these tips are just what has worked for me. If you want to start reading tarot, it’s important to figure out what works for you. If you don’t want to bother with memorization and always reference the book that came with your deck, that’s perfectly fine. If you never look up a card’s meaning and just go with your gut, that’s totally valid! Just have fun with it, and live magically.