Tarot For Beginners: How To Read the Cards and Divine the Future

Getting the right deck

For the most part, many tarot decks are more or less the same. Some are fancier than others and some are prettier than others, but they all contain the 78-card deck you need to read tarot cards. Since you’re a beginner, though, you should work on finding a deck that’s a bit easier and accessible.

As an example, the Rider-Waite deck provides thorough descriptions of the cards and their significance. That can be handy whether you are conducting your first reading or just need a little reminder about what all of the cards mean. Don’t worry, though…it won’t be long before you can read these cards like the back of your hand!

Learn your cards

The next step sounds easy on paper but can be intimidating in practice. But here we go: you need to learn what each of the cards means. This can be difficult because each of the 78 cards is completely different. Therefore, tarot decks are a bit more complicated than decks of playing cards which have the same basic 13 cards simply repeated in different suits.

How can you learn all 78 tarot cards, though? Simple: one card at a time. That’s very literal, by the way…unless you’re in a real rush, one of the best things you can do to learn is to randomly pick out one card a day and try to absorb its meaning. After a few months, you’ll understand the entire deck and can get started doing readings in earnest.

Open your mind

When beginners start reading tarot cards, the first thing they must usually do is open their minds. That’s because far too many people think a tarot deck will be able to predict their future with granular precision. In reality, though, you need to go in with more open-ended questions, like asking the universe what lessons you need to learn at this time.

Going in with an open mind also means accepting that the cards are always up to interpretation. This isn’t about finding out what will, without a doubt, happen in the coming days. Instead, it’s about looking at yourself in a new way through the lens of the four elements: earth, water, fire, and air. By learning more about yourself, you can do more than predict the future…you can change it.

Bring the right energy

If you’re completely new to tarot, the next part may sound crazy, but you have to stay with us here. You see, you can’t just go in blind and start reading the tarot cards. Instead, you have to set an intention before reading. This is a bit like determining the kind of energy with which you are going into your task

For example, you don’t want your mind to be scattered, and you don’t want to go into this with anxiety or fear. Consider setting the mood by lighting candles, burning sage, and doing whatever else sets the right tone for this reading. Such a ritual can help you calm your mind and focus your thoughts, and these are the keys to a successful reading.

Tarot spreads: learning the basics

There are plenty of different “spreads” in tarot. You have a lifetime to learn them all, but as a beginner, there are a couple of them you should focus on first. For example, the three-card pull involves (you guessed it) three cards, each representing the past, present, or future. Some more advanced practitioners get up to six cards, allowing two different tarot cards to represent each time period.

When you’re ready for something more challenging, the Celtic Cross involves 10 cards, with each card position having a clearly defined meaning. That makes it easy to set up and relatively easy to read. Eventually, you’ll discover the spread that works best for your own style and needs.

Finally, despite what movies and TV shows have told you, there are no real “bad” cards. The Death card, for example, doesn’t involve literal death but metaphorical transformation. And if you go into this with a sufficiently open mind, you may be completely transformed by your tarot journey!