Are you wondering if you will ever be able to do accurate tarot readings? What exactly will you have to do to become an amazing tarot reader? Will you need a special “gift” to do tarot readings?
The good news is that these questions are normal, and the time between picking up your first deck and feeling confident at doing tarot readings can be frustrating.
My first advice is to keep in mind that no one expects you to be an expert tarot reader when you’re just starting out. Then, remember that tarot it’s an intuitive art and we all possess intuition, which means that anyone can learn how to use it for reading tarot. It’s just a question of developing that intuition and finding out the best way for channelling that intuitive knowledge.
Practice is key! The more you practice, the faster you will improve.
Learning how to read tarot can take time and be stressful, however, you can make your beginnings a little less “bumpy” by following some tarot tips for beginners.
Choose the best tarot deck
First you need to start by choosing the right tarot deck for beginners. It’s not ideal to simply grab one deck off a shelf and hope to have immediate success. Take some time with your selection.
Check if one deck’s images appeal to you more than the others and take some time to read the description.
There are some really great tarot decks for beginners with very clear imagery and even written messages that you might want to consider as a good way to start. The most popular tarot deck is the Original Rider-Waite deck.
STUDY YOUR TAROT DECK
Once you have bought your first tarot deck, you must familiarize yourself with it and learn the individual meaning of each card as it can differ from deck to deck. Spend some time studying the image of each card, as well as memorizing it’s meaning.
Pay attention to and analyse the scenes in the images and you will begin to form a sense of the messages the cards are sending you.
Remember that the cards also have specific meanings when they show up on the up right or upside-down position.
It’s good to spend some time handling and shuffling the deck as this will help with charging the deck with your energy (if you are doing a reading for yourself).
Also, when reading tarot, choose the cards you are drawn to. If you change your mind and decide on another card before you pick one up, there is a reason behind it, always go with your intuition.
Cleanse A Tarot Deck
It’s important to cleanse your tarot deck either if it’s new or pre-owned as decks carry energy. Your decks should carry your own energy!
In order to cleanse your tarot deck, sometimes a quick shuffle is enough to clear out any stuck energy. However, other times, your intuition will tell you that more is required.
You will know when your connection with your deck doesn’t feel right and that’s when you should consider some of the following ways to cleanse tarot decks:
-Meditation: Close your eyes and hold your cards with both hands. Relax and visualise your energy being drawn to your tarot deck and surrounding your cards in a protective way.
– Sage Cleansing: Burn some dried sage and pass the tarot deck through the smoke several times.
– Shuffling: Simply shuffle your cards several times in order to surround them with your energy.
Be in the right frame of mind
Make sure that you are in the right frame of mind before starting a tarot reading. You should be feeling balanced and receptive.
Your mind needs to be quiet in order to be in a receptive mode. If you’re able to silence your inner chatter, your intuitive senses will be enhanced.
A tranquil mind allows you to access your higher self and channel its infinite knowledge.
When there is a lot of mental chatter going on, you’ll be limited to information that comes to you from your ego which will not get you the most accurate readings.
Start with a simple tarot spread
Let’s face it, trying to do a 20 card tarot spread can be overwhelming when you’re just starting out. It may feel very tempting to do it but my advice is to keep it simple in the beginning.
Try starting with something small such as a one card spread, or a three-card spread.
It will allow you to learn how to focus on small details while building up your confidence.
Check the article tarot spreads for beginners if you want to learn more about tarot spreads.
Practice on yourself
A great way to start reading tarot is to start reading for yourself regularly. You can consult your tarot books and notes as much as you need to.
If you are able to get useful insights from your own readings, then you are more likely to be able to do the same for others.
If you have any friends or family members who are willing to be used as “guinea pigs” that’s great too. You can use them to practice by asking them for honest feedback after a reading.
Follow your intuition
If you have watched tarot readings from different tarot readers, you have probably noticed that everyone has their own way of interpreting the cards. Of course tarot cards have main meanings which most tarot readers would agree on but outside of that, you’re going to find a lot of contradicting information. This is because everyone will follow their intuition when interpreting the cards in specific tarot spreads.
Each card will mean something different depending on where and how (upright or reverse) it shows up in the spread.
As you practice, you will start developing the ability of looking closer at each card and illustration and start giving deeply meaningful messages according to what resonates with you, personally.
Read the illustrations
Memorising the meaning of 78 cards can be daunting. One of the easiest ways to interpret a tarot card is to analyse the illustration.
Even if you don’t remember the specific card’s meaning, just try looking at the picture and observing what story is being told there.
Who are the characters and how are they feeling? What are they doing?
Then, relate it back to your specific question and situation.
Upside down cards
You will have to decide from the start if you want to learn to read with reversals or not. Either is fine.
If you do want to include reversed cards, you will be able to add more depth to your tarot readings as they can show you where there are energy blocks or imbalances, underlying issues and unknown opportunities.
They will also allow you to easily identify the ‘no’s rather than only the ‘yes’.
However, as a beginner, it can be overwhelming to add another 78 Tarot card meanings to your study list. You might want to consider focusing on reading uprights only before you feel confident enough to start reading reversed cards.
Ask the right questions
Asking the right questions is very important when doing tarot readings. First off, asking yes/no questions really won’t give you anything with depth as they are are closed-ended questions.
Open-ended questions will provide you with a lot more insights to work with.
An example of a closed-ended question is: “Will I overcome this problem?”
An example of an open-ended question is: “What has been blocking me of solving this problem?”
The first question can only be answered “yes” or “no”. The second question gives space for deeper reflection and understanding how you can overcome a specific issue.
“When…?”; “Should I…?” questions are unlikely to give you any clarity either as cards won’t determine your fate. You have to make life choices yourself by using your free will.
Your ability to ask good questions will come with time and practice, however, here are a few examples of questions that are useful to me:
- What energy do I need to be aware of in order to …?
- What should I be aware of if I decide to do…?
- How can I improve my ability to…?
- What is standing in the way of me achieving my goals?
- Why is my current plan not bringing results?
- What do I need to know about… ?
- How will I know when …?
I wish you all the best in your tarot journey. Have fun!
