Learn Tarot

This page contains a variety of information introducing you to tarot and tarot card readings. Below you will find: How to Do a Tarot Card Reading - What is Tarot? How does it work? - The Major Arcana Overview - Free Tarot EBooks.

How to Do a Tarot Card Reading

Tarot Card Reading is Simple.

1. Gather Items

Gather together all the items you will need to do your reading, including tarot cards. You want to stay put once you start your reading.

2. Set the Mood

Before you start your tarot reading, consider lighting candles and incense, quietly meditating, or taking some slow deep breaths. This will help you get centered and open. It also creates a sacred space for your tarot reading.

3. Decide on Your Reading Focus

The focus of your tarot reading can be a question or an issue. The key is to choose a question or issue that is very specific. However, you can also do an open tarot reading, where you do not have any question or issue in mind at all - you simply want to see what the tarot cards reveal to you.

4. Connect with Your Tarot Cards

Once you have your question in mind, begin shuffling the tarot cards in any way you feel called to. This is when you focus on connecting you, your question, and the tarot cards. This connection will help bring you a clear tarot reading. You can also cut the cards, once you feel ready to stop shuffling.

5. Lay Out Your Tarot Cards

Beforehand, you should have a layout chosen for your reading. Tarot reading layouts can be found in books or online. You can also create your own tarot layout. After you have shuffled and cut the cards and feel as though it is time to layout the cards, do so.

6. Interpreting Your Tarot Card Reading

You have many options. Some tarot decks come with books that contain interpretations for each tarot card. It is acceptable to use the book to understand the tarot cards. However, you have other options for reading tarot layouts. You can look at the artwork on each tarot card, seeing it as a picture-show about your question. You can use symbolism and interpret each tarot card. You can rely solely on your intuition, and let your inner voice tell you what each tarot card means. Or, you can see the tarot cards as a story, with the first tarot card the beginning of the story, and the last tarot card the end. It is important to look at each tarot card individually, and at the layout as a whole. In other words, get two perspectives-see the "forest" and the "trees".

7. Further Interpretation

If there are parts of your tarot reading you do not understand, or parts you want more information about, you can layout more tarot cards. For instance, if you don't understand the third card in your layout, you can lay a new tarot card next to it, asking for clarification. Or, if you understand your tarot reading, but have another question or concern, pull a tarot card or two to focus on the additional information.

8. Remembering Your Tarot Reading

You might consider keeping a tarot reading journal where you record each tarot reading you do. List the date, question, and each tarot card in the layout. The benefit of recording your tarot reading is that you can go back later and reread what your tarot reading contained. It also becomes like a diary of your life. If you do not want to do this additional work, you can stay in the moment with your tarot reading and choose not to record it.

9. Ending Your Tarot Reading

End your tarot reading slowly and respectfully. Thank the Universe (or anyone else) for the guidance you received and pick up your tarot cards, mixing them back in with the deck. You may say a few words to end your tarot reading and clear the tarot cards of your old question. The idea is to put away a tarot deck that is clear of energy from the last reading, so that when you do your next reading, you are starting fresh. Put your tarot reading supplies (deck, candle, and anything else) away as if you are ending a sacred ritual.

10. Getting Back to Reality

When you do a tarot reading, you are working in sacred space. You are healing yourself and connecting with spirit. Once you're done, you become re-engaged in mundane life. Make sure you are fully present and back in your body before you go back to doing things like driving a car or making dinner. You can shake your body, stretch, take deep breaths, and do other things that clear the energy of the reading event from your body.

What is Tarot? How does it work?

Tarot Explained.

Tarot cards were most likely created sometime between the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Tarot spreads are not creations of the new age. It is debated whether Tarot was created in Europe, Egypt, India, Italy, Spain, China or France.

Today, there are thousands of decks and all are unique. However, most decks consist of 78 cards. There are 22 cards called the Major Arcana and fourteen cards (divided into 4 suits - usually, cups, wands, swords and disks) called the Minor Arcana. There are many different ways to lay out the cards when you do a reading.

All tarot cards contain images, symbols and meanings. Some cards are assigned the elements -earth, air, fire and water. When doing a tarot reading, you can read the book that came with your deck to find out what the images and symbols mean on the cards, or you can use your intuition to interpret the cards' meanings. Books also contain many tarot spreads to choose from.

Early tarot symbolism is rooted in Medieval and Renaissance Europe. There are many decks that use nontraditional symbolism. There are decks based on feminism, cats, Alice in Wonderland, mythology, astrology, angels, goddesses, fairy tales, dragons, herbs, baseball, animals, unicorns, art, vampires, Native Americans, runes, Egypt, flowers, crystals, gypsies, and more! You can even use regular playing cards to do a tarot card reading.

Tarot can be used to gain insight, clarity, and achieve greater control over issues involving relationships, life changes, work and career, health, spirituality, dreams, and family. Anyone can do a tarot reading, but it takes effort and commitment to gain a depth of understanding of the cards. Some people simply read the card interpretations in books, while others find they have a special talent for just "knowing" what the cards mean. Many people who read tarot cards for others find it better to have someone else do their own reading so that the reading is more objective.

The Major Arcana Overview

There are two parts to a traditional tarot deck: the major arcana and minor arcana. In the major arcana, we have 22 cards. These cards represent the major archetypes in our life and the significant stages of the journey we all take. Well-known major arcana cards include: the Lovers; Death; the High Priestess; the Wheel of Fortune.

Below are brief interpretations of what each card stands for. However, these are general interpretations. A tarot reader would apply each card to the focus of the reading she was giving and give a more specific and personal interpretation.