I’m sure you are excited to start reading cards.
I mean when I got my first Tarot deck, I was practically sleeping with it. I wouldn’t leave my house without it. I was staring at the images, reading about the cards and I just couldn’t wait to finally be able to make sense of them.
I remember I went back home to Ukraine and my grandma asked me for a reading. It was actually a very serious matter and I was SO SCARED that I won’t be able to give her an answer, as I was a true Tarot newbie at that time.
And you know what? Even at that time I was able to give her an advice that totally made sense to her and she said she felt so much better hearing what I had to say.
The most important thing I’ve realized that time is you should never be scared!
Practice makes it perfect and it is so important that you practice as much as you can.
Don’t be shy to tell people that you are just a beginner but will try to do your absolute best to give them a quality reading.
Here are my TOP 3 TIPS to help you succeed from DAY 1!
1. USE A TRADITIONAL TAROT DECK WHILE YOU ARE STILL LEARNING TAROT CARD MEANINGS
I’ve had a whole Blog post dedicated to this for a reason.
I am a full believer that a Tarot reader, beginner or experienced, does not need a lot of Tarot decks UNLESS they are studying the history of Tarot, doing Tarot decks reviews or are teaching.
As a BEGINNER, you need to give yourself an opportunity to thoroughly study the Cards, its symbols, colours and numerology.
For some time, you will be developing a strong image-meaning association and it’s okay!
You don’t have to focus on just memorizing the meaning of “6 of Swords”. You can keep the image of the boat with people swimming away to the new, undiscovered shores and this metaphor will give you a clue that “a person is moving away from that which no longer serves them right. They WILL get better BUT there still will be some rough times ahead. What’s most important that it’s for the better and they are not alone”.
Now, I’ve highlighted this “there still will be some rough times ahead”. And I did it for a reason. If you look at traditional Rider-Waite deck, you can see that on the right side of the boat there are waves. This illustration implies that not ALL troubles are left behind and you will have some things to work on still. Waves are a metaphor for troubled times.
It seems like it is such a small thing but do you understand how powerful it is guys for the meaning and interpretation of the card?
If you take, for example, Thoth Tarot and try to memorize 6 of Swords using this deck you will NOT be able to establish this connection.
Yes, you can still memorize the meaning just fine but you won’t be able to visualize it and visualization is very important in Tarot when you are trying to remember…78 CARDS. Let that sink in.
Shop these decks!
Click here to buy the original 1975 Rider-Waite Tarot Deck
Click here to buy Thoth Tarot Deck
Click here to buy The Robin Wood Tarot Deck
And back to my original point, Tarot reader DOES NOT NEED 30 different decks and if down the road you decide to buy a new deck, you will need to take some time to study those images, to see how they differ from the traditional decks and what metaphors did the artist and Tarot deck creator used to convey those meanings.
You may even need to buy a book that goes along with the deck to be able to work with it well and on a deeper level.
You will also be able to spot FAKE Tarot decks (yes, they do exist) and I will have a whole Blog Post dedicated to this soon, so don’t forget to subscribe to my e-mail list to get notified when the new post comes out.
My recommendation is to stick to the Traditional decks for at least a few months and also, I am sharing with you this amazing Tarot book that I believe is a MUST-HAVE for every Tarot beginner.
This book may not have the best Tarot cards meanings, I am telling you that right away. I think they are quite philosophical and may not be most helpful with basic Tarot cards descriptions.
But what I LOVE about it is that it gives an explanation of every major detail that makes up a card, including the colours. It also gives you the key information about every card AND the description of every card as a Card of The Day!
This is actually very cool and important and I’m going to talk more about it below.
I have this book as one of my MOST GO-TO BOOKS because it is so easy to navigate it and sometimes, I need to remind myself why the certain features of the card are there.
Click here to buy The Ultimate Guide to the Rider-Waite Tarot by Johannes Fiebig & Evelin Bürger
2. HAVE 5 BASIC SPREADS TO WORK WITH
You don’t need to know big spreads when you are just starting out. In fact, I’d recommend to skip them in the beginning stages because you really need to know how to work with them.
What you need it is to practice as much as possible and not to overwhelm yourself with 15 Cards Tarot Spreads in the beginning.
Tarot is a story and you need to be able to connect all the cards together to tell this story.
Here is what I am offering to you: have 5 basic spreads that you will master and that will be able to cover any area of person’s life + have 1-2 RELATIONSHIP Tarot spreads.
The reason to have separately a few relationship spreads is because, in all the honestly, about 80% of Tarot readings you do for people will be love & relationship readings.
So, if you are planning on reading cards for others in the future, you better get a hang of those spreads.
Here are a few other spreads you can use as a beginner:
1. Basic Three Cards Spread
This spread is a basic problem-solution-conclusion spread that can actually give you quite a lot of information and can be used for any life area.
The best way to work with it is to have a first card give you the context – what the problem is about, what really is going on.
The second card gives you an advice, what you are going to focus on based on the context of the first card.
And the final card is the conclusion or outcome of the situation.
Alternatively, you can replace problem-solution-conclusion for past-present-future, depending on what kind of answers you are looking for.
2. Basic 5 Cards Spread
This spread will give you a bit more information, as it kind of combines the two variations of the above spread.
You will have your past-present-future line, where the past in position #1 is really what has brought you where you are right now. What was the core issue, where you went wrong, who was the person that caused the problem in question at the first place.
The present position of the cards #2 is where you are right now. What the issue in question really look like today.
The card #3 in the position of the near future will tell you where you are headed if you continue on this path.
“What influences are in the effect” for the card in position #4 will give you an opportunity to see what is affecting your outcome.
For example, you may not have enough money to go on a trip, your partner may be cheating on you, your boss doesn’t like you and hence, you can’t get a promotion. You get the picture.
The final card in the position #5 is the outcome of the situation based on all these events and influences.
Overall, this spread allows to understand a problem on a deeper level and from here you can move on to asking for suggestions on how to improve the outcome or what steps to take to avoid a particular outcome.
3. Celtic Cross
I do suggest on learning some variation of the Celtic Cross but I want to give you a few suggestions on how to improve it make it work for you.
First, do not do a general Celtic Cross.
Saying it again, do not do a general Celtic Cross.
Just going to let this sink in…
Most advanced Tarot readers will say that the most annoying thing is when the client comes and says “I don’t really have a question, just do a Celtic Cross and tell me something”.
And it’s not that I can’t tell you “something” is that for a quality reading it is always better to focus, if not on a particular problem, at the very least on a certain area of a person’s life.
You will have a much better reading if you do a Celtic Cross for love life, career, finances or even personal well-being and development.
Just give your reading a purpose.
Another thing I like doing when I take a well-known spread from the internet is to make sure all card positions make sense to me.
For example, long ago I replaced Hopes & Fears position of a Celtic Cross that my teacher used with “Intention”.
Why? Because I want to see the true intentions of the person I’m reading for. Not what they say to me they want, but what their soul truly wants and what they intend to do to get there.
If a person says they want a to get a job but their intention says they are doing 0 effort to get one…well we need to work on that mindset and set our goals first. Because cards are not going to find anyone a job, they will simply point out that a person won’t find one any time soon.
This is my personal way of dealing with clients. Eventually you will find something that works for you.
3. It is important to learn how to read cards for yourself to become a good Tarot reader for others.
This is the basic Rule of any divination but is especially true with Tarot cards.
You MUST be able to reads cards for yourself.
Why? Because this will teach you to give an unbiased independent Tarot advice any time to anyone.
You will be able to read cards to your friends and family without giving unsolicited advice that have nothing to do with the cards.
You will learn to avoid telling your best friend that her boyfriend is a loser and a jerk just because you don’t like him and how he treats your bestie.
You will learn to become a Tarot Reader first and a friend second. And this is very important to become a professional. You need to be able to take a position of an observer and to simply convey the message of the cards to any person on front of you.
And I am telling you guys it is NOT as easy as it sounds. Bias is our human nature and we will always be inclined to connect the cards to something we “think” is happening or “want to think” is happening.
This can create a situation when you start giving your personal advice to the clients based on your life experiences and values and not theirs. And what it can cause is devastating life decisions your client or even friend will make and later regret about. And guess who will be the one to blame?
RELATED POSTS: TAROT FOR BEGINNERS: 3 MOST COMMON MISTAKES that you should avoid. Part 1
I talk more about this in my blog post on 3 Mistakes Beginner Tarot Readers make because I have seen even EXPERIENCED TAROT READERS doing these mistakes over and over again and I really want you guys to avoid them right from the very beginning.
The easiest thing to do as a beginner to practice a lot reading for yourself is to have a daily card draw. Just pull one card for yourself in the morning that will be your “Tarot Card of the Day”.
By the way, here comes to book I've mentioned above. It is amazing because it gives you a short Card of the Day message that is easy to remember and understand while you are practicing.
Some people also keep a journal where they record the card in the morning and their events in the evening and really see how that card played out for them throughout the day.
It will also give you an AMAZING CHANCE to remember Tarot card meanings FAST.
And when you are doing situation spreads for yourself, really try to take a position of an observer or truly pretend that you are reading cards for someone else.
The good way to do it is read your cards out loud. Imagine that there is a person sitting in front of you and read the cards for them. Describe the situation sincerely and give an advice from the cards. It will take some time to get a hang of it but it will be so beneficial to you.