Using Intuition To Read Tarot

Have you been wanting to read tarot but it is so hard to memorize what all the cards mean? Well, there is a better, easier way to read tarot. Using your intuition, trusting what you see, and calming your own energy support a helpful, intuitive reading.

Here I will share some tips to help you begin to trust your readings even when you can’t remember what the 7 of cups means.

1. Clear your space and your energy before you begin. Having anxiety or high energy when going into a tarot reading can get in the way of seeing what the cards are saying. You can relax your energy by doing a quick breathing exercise, a short meditation, or a bit of sound therapy. In addition, tarot should never be read when under the influence of a mind altering substance. When putting these substances into our bodies we lose protection of our energy and the messages that come to use during a reading. Similar to clearing your energy, your space can be cleared as well. I like to burn some palo santo and ring a bell or play my song bowl before I begin a reading.
2. Use a simple spread to start. I love the basic 3 card draw. The cards can ultimately represent what you want them to, but most commonly they represent the past, present, and future. I sometimes like to use beginning, middle, and end for specific events I might be asking about. Once you feel comfortable with a 3 card spread, expand. Find another spread or two that you’d like to integrate into your practice next. The more you practice the more intuitive it feels.
3. Use the faces on the cards to tell the story. This is my favorite thing to keep in mind when reading tarot. I learned this from listening to The Biddy Tarot podcast. I have used what Brigit shares in the podcast and altered it to fit my own style. You can do that, too! When I read a 3 card spread I look at the cards like they are on a timeline from left to right. The times depend on what I chose the cards to represent in the reading. So, if I was doing a past, present, future spread, that is the timeline I lay out from left to right. If there are faces in the spread I use the direction they are looking to guide how I see the energy flowing from the card. For example, if I pulled the magician for the past position and his face was looking to the left (all decks are different, so it is good to try out different ones when you are ready), I look at the magician’s energy as being from something in the distant past, not the immediate past. When the face is looking forward, I see the card representing the immediate past, not having a long history. I also understand it as the card’s energy/message was left safely in the past. If the face is looking to the right, I feel that some of the magician energy from the past is being carried into the present. This takes time. Maybe you would feel more comfortable looking at the past, present, future from right to left. That is fine! One of my good friends and tarot reader reads her spreads that way. Being different from another reader is ok. It is all about finding what works for you. Again, the more you play around with it, the more comfortable you will feel with it.
4. Use the numbers on the cards. Numerology is a useful tool in tarot. Not all tarot readers use the numbers in their readings, but it’s not wrong to do so. I almost always take the numbers into consideration. A simple google search can give you a basic rundown of the numbers 0–10 and the energies they represent. For example, the number 9 often symbolizes endings. Taking the whole tarot spread into consideration and the question that was asked, you can understand where the ending fits into the reading.
5. Not a surprise, but you can also use the colors of the cards. You can look at them individually and as a story. If the reading goes from dark to light colors, maybe a weight has been lifted over time, or an understanding was reached where there was confusion before. If the cards are all the same color or tone, you can use an understanding of what basic colors represent. For example, red often means passion, or anger. So, if the spread was mostly red, this could be the underlying energy of the topic or question being asked.

So much goes into tarot, so it is easy to get overwhelmed. The best thing to do is pick up the cards. Play with them. You might even try just laying a few out in order and telling a story with the pictures, numbers, and colors you see. It doesn’t have to be for a reading. Let me know if you have any questions or want to learn more about tarot.

Thanks for reading!