Tarot cards have long been a way of using intuition and astrology to read the future and present of questions and life situations.
To begin a basic understanding of tarot, it’s important to know that traditional decks are composed of a major arcana and a minor arcana. The major arcana cards are usually considered more significant if they show up in a reading considering there are only 22 of these as opposed to the 56 total minor arcana cards. When just starting out as a reader, one should familiarize themselves with the traditional meanings of the major arcana first. As you learn more about the meanings of different cards, it’ll become easier to intuitively read as well as take meaning from the pictures on the cards and tailor your reading to the situation. It’s also important to learn what the suits of the minor arcana symbolize.
A large part of tarot is rooted in astrology and certain metaphysical topics. To fully grasp all the elements of tarot, one should work on their knowledge and understanding of astrology. Certain cards in traditional decks are also symbolized by zodiac signs and planets. Knowing which sign is associated with a card can help further determine the energy of a reading and/or who is involved. Astrology is also useful in tarot if using cards for timing purposes in which case knowing which sign the card represents will tell you between what dates or which season something may happen. The minor arcana can also represent the four seasons with wands as summer, pentacles as fall, cups as spring, and swords as winter.
Another important facet of tarot is shuffling and selecting the cards. It’s important to note that if cards show up in the reverse position, there are different meanings than the upright. These meanings aren’t always the exact opposite of the upright, though. For example, the star card in upright is a symbol of hope, wishes, and creativity. In the reverse it tends to mean some difficulty with getting a project off the ground as well as a creative or mental block. Different readers shuffle their card differently but a common way is to do so in your hand quickly so that a card meant for you may fall out on its own. If you’re shuffling and one or two cards fall or fly out on their own, it’s a good sign from the universe that those cards are important. One can choose to select cards however they’d like, whether that be from in a row off the top or out of a full deck spread out. Some readers believe that the card left on the bottom of the deck is symbolic of the main overall energy of a reading.
Personalizing the experience in other ways depends on your beliefs and what you feel is best to ground your energy for a reading. Many use crystals, candles, prayers, and incense to get in the right zone, but it’s not always necessary for a good reading.
A great way to learn card meanings, new interpretations, and techniques is by getting your own cards read on YouTube using “pick a card” videos. There’s a large community on YouTube composed of tarot readers creating videos based on all types of life questions that can help teach meanings of cards when combined or based on love or money. These videos can be quite helpful if someone’s having trouble interpreting specific cards or if just starting out and needing an audio-visual learning experience.