How To Get Started With Tarot

You’ve seen the beautiful tarot decks. You’ve heard the moving insight. You know that you want to learn how to read the cards, but you’re still not sure how to get started with tarot. Sound like you? I’m here to help. My name is Sarah and I’m a professional tarot card reader. I’ve been working with tarot for over six years and it’s become an important aspect of my life and my identity ever since I started tentatively using my first-ever tarot deck.

Tarot can help you find a moment in your day for reflection. It can help you plan for the future, especially future goals and ambitions. It offers clarity to murky situations and gives you the space and time you need to process many thoughts and emotions that don’t get attention during our busy day to day lives.

In short, it’s the perfect addition to living a full, happy and conscious life.

I’m going to give you the most simple run-down of tarot that you’ve ever heard and some easy-to-use tips to get started with your very own tarot deck right now.

Tarot is fairly free-flowing these days, especially with the artsy and non-traditional decks out there. However, most of them adhere to a system. There are two kinds of tarot cards, major arcana and minor arcana.

The minor arcana are like suits you’d expect to see in a regular deck of cards. And, just like a regular deck of cards, there are four suits. In tarot, they’re typically wands, pentacles, cups and swords.

Decks are getting really creative these days with the court card names, but they’re usually something like page, knight, queen and king.

Major arcana cards can also be a little creative with their wordage, but they’re always the same. Together, they form a story arc, a journey of the soul, and each card connects to deep human experiences and cosmic or even karmic forces. These are the cards you’re probably most familiar — the moon, death, the sun, the hermit.

With 56 minor arcana cards and 22 major arcana cards, there are 78 cards in a deck

How do I read tarot cards?

Once you have your own deck and you’re familiar with all the suits, court cards and major arcana cards, it’s time to start playing around with reading tarot cards.

Many decks come with guidebooks and these are helpful for getting to know a new deck or becoming acquainted with tarot for the first time ever.

But, professional tarot card readers don’t use books or guides. Wondering how they do it? They use their intuition to connect with the deck.

Over time, you will come to have your own associations with the imagery, meaning and the story behind the cards. I’ll do a quick reading example of a card for you.

This card is the 10 of cups. I know from my previous study and reading the guide books that the cups are the suit of emotion and the 10 is the final stage so it’s usually about abundance and having enough to share.

Depending on the placement of this card in a tarot spread, I would interpret this card to say that you’re in an emotional happy place.

Things are not only stable, but you’re also at a point in your life or even your week where you have enough to share.

You can be there for a friend who needs to vent, you could shower your partner in extra affection when they’re feeling down, and you can reach out to people who you’ve been meaning to connect with.

Try using association, your personal experiences, and emotions that the cards trigger to describe the experience. You can try talking it out loud, practise reading for a friend, and it’s ok to look in the guide if you get stuck, need reminders or inspiration.

The most important thing to remember is that you’re trying to connect with your intuition. If you’re feeling something, make it into words and speak it. Your gut and your intuition cannot be wrong.

My final tip: getting your tarot cards read by a professional is essential to learning, growing and deepening your own tarot practice.

Don’t forget you can always reach me with questions about tarot! I’m also available for readings, booking your own tarot party and coaching.