Interested in Tarot, But Don’t Know How to Start?
A quick start guide on diving into the art of Tarot!
Just over a year ago, I found myself admiring a tarot deck while I was out Shopping. Tarot is something that had interested me since I was a child, but I had been discouraged from things like tarot for fear of it being “evil”. I felt a strong nagging that I should purchase the deck. After some internal back and forth, I ended up listening to my gut and was shortly on the way home with little did I know, a life-changing deck of cards.
Tarot is a method of divination. This means that you can ask questions and get answers by drawing cards. You’re probably asking yourself “what kind of questions… and what kind of answers?” Truthfully, there are few limits on what you can ask your deck. Now, what you should ask your deck is up for debate. I avoid questions like “How will I die?” and instead ask questions like “what should I focus on for today?”. I ask my deck every morning (or I try to) what is one thing that I should focus on for the day. It helps me calibrate myself and gives me a concrete thing to be mindful of.
There are 78 cards in a standard tarot deck. There are 22 major arcana and 56 minor arcana. The major arcana deal with larger parts of our lives; the big picture. The major arcana tell the story of life. Each person starts out as Card 0, The Fool, born into this world with naivety and as you reach your full potential and contentment, you reach card 21, The World. The minor arcana deal more with the day-to-day problems; the more immediate issues at hand.
Common things to ask about are love, finances, and career choices. Most basic guidebooks will give you a general interpretation of the card while more detailed ones will give insight into these more specific categories. There are many guidebooks available; some very detailed and some only offer a few sentences on each card. My suggestion is to browse through several and see what one you connect with the most. Many decks come with their own guidebooks as well.
The reason tarot is so valuable is because, at its core, the human experience comes with universal struggles and feelings. Tarot brings these feelings into the light and causes you to think about yourself in a way you otherwise might not even have been aware of. Each deck has its own flair and personality with varying art and symbolism. I have a dragon deck that is a very straight-to-the-point, grumpy old man; I do readings with this deck when I know I am in need of some tough love.
How and who you read with is totally dependent on you. You can ask the deck itself (they all have different personalities and perspectives), or in my case, I often ask my spiritual guides and advisors for advice. Tarot allows you to connect with these guides and receive messages from them. You can even ask yes or no questions!
So, you’re saying, okay Jordyn, I get what it is, now how do I do it? My honest answer? Just start. When I first started, I had absolutely no idea what a single card meant. It can be intimidating and deters many people. For the first few months, I had to look up every single card meaning. But as I practiced and read the cards more, I started to see patterns and symbolism. My intuition started to develop, and I could almost feel what a card meant without looking it up just by studying the artwork. Now I can read completely intuitively.
To do a reading, first, cleanse your deck to get rid of any residual energy. You can do this by running it through incense smoke or even just holding the deck and focusing your energy into it. Shuffle the cards (there are many ways to do this, you can look up different methods online) as you focus on the question you would like to ask. When you feel ready, place the deck face down on a table or flat surface and draw the desired number of cards off the top. I typically do 3 cards at a time but started out only drawing one card at a time. Lay the drawn cards out. Pick them up one at a time and study them. How do they make you feel? What colors, symbols, and signs do you see? I recommend a journal specifically for your tarot readings, especially just starting out.
It is going to feel overwhelming at first. You may feel silly asking questions to a deck of cards. But honestly, I think tarot can be beneficial no matter who you are, no matter what faith you are. Because at the end of the day, tarot is a reflection of the human experience. It captures each human archetype as we move through life. You can use it as a self-improvement tool as easily as you can use it as a divinatory tool.
My best advice for you is, to find a deck that calls to you and practice, practice, practice. Find a deck that when you look at the artwork, you can “feel the vibe”. Finding a deck you can get to know and connect with makes the process much easier (I have bought decks that I used once, then never used them again because I just didn’t feel connected to the imagery on the cards.) Set a goal to do one reading a day. Journal your results and interpretations; this way you can build your own guide of what tarot means to you. The best way to start- is to start! Happy Reading!
