How to read tarot like a pro with little to no experience
Tarot reading has been round for hundreds of years. They come in many different art forms, the most popular, especially for beginners is the Rider-Waite decks. The pictures on these cards are steeped with seemingly hidden meanings and symbols. As a tarot reader myself I know how daunting it can be to start out. Especially given that there are 78 individual card all with their own meanings and reversed meanings if you choose to interpret them as well. But it isn’t as scary as it first appears. And you don’t need to memorise each card as flash cards. In fact I would recommend against doing that as it stops you from really examining the cards themselves. Now I am no experts but I have learned a few things since I started reading a few years ago. And that is to look closely and note three key things; the Elements, the Numbers and the Colours that are present on the cards.
Elements:
As you most likely know, in European magic there are four elements that make up the world. This is also true for your Tarot deck. Each of the four suits of the minor arcana represent a different element. And each the card of the Major arcana are also associated with an element.
The suit of wands represents the element of fire. The element that symbolizes passion, spirituality, inspiration and energy. It is an element that burns quickly so therefor represents events coming to pass within days. There are seven cards in the major arcana that are symbols of fire. They are the emperor, strength, the wheel of fortune, temperance, the tower, the sun and judgment. In a normal pack of playing cards this suit would be clubs.
The suit of Cups probably has the most apparent of connections; to water. Water symbolizes relationships, emotions and creativity. As its associate with the moon, cups represent the passing of months. There are five card in the major arcana that are associated with water; the high priestess, the chariot, the hanged man, death and the moon. In a normal pack of playing card this suit would be hearts.
Air is represented by the suit of swords. Similar to an athame. This suit symbolizes intellect, action, change and power. Air represents the passing of weeks. There are five cards in the major arcana that are associated with this element; the fool, the magician, the lovers, justice and the star. In a normal suit of playing cards the element would be represented by the suit of spades.
Lastly there is earth, represented by the suit pentacles. This element represents the more material aspects of life such as finances, career and material possessions. Earth is the most immovable of the elements so is associated with the passing of seasons and years. There are five cards in the major arcana that represent earth; the empress the heirophant, the hermit the devil and the world. The suit of a regular deck of playing cards associated with earth is the suit of diamonds.
Numbers:
Numerology is an important part of divination and is also a big part of tarot. It’s not just the minor arcana that are assigned a number but each card of the major arcana also have a number. The numerology correspondences of tarot go from 0 – 10. Whiles these numbers range from 0 – 21, like in numerology the digits of multiple digit numbers are added together to get a number within this range. (For example the sun is number 19, so the 1 and the 9 are added together to get 10.) the meanings of these numbers are as follows…
0 – the only card in the deck with this number is the fool. And both card and number represent infinite possibilities.
1 – is a number of new beginnings, possibility and potential. Usually represents the start of a new endeavor.
2 – represents partnership, duality and balance.
3 – expression, groups and growth
4 – manifestation, foundation, stability. Four represents the four elements or corners of the world
5 – conflict, change and instability.
6 – harmony, cooperation, healing
7 – reflection, assessment, control
8 – mastery, accomplishment, action
9 – attainment, fulfillment, fruition
10– end of the cycle, completion, renewal
The sequence of these numbers represent a journey with 0 being before the journey starts and 10 being the end of this journey. When associated with the elements the meanings become clearer. If we use the suit of cups for instance, 1 could represent the start of a romance, the meeting of someone new, 5 could represent a big disagreement that needs to be worked through to save a relationship and 9 could mean that the search for the right partner is over and theta the relationship will be a long lasting one. This is one possible meaning of these cards. It is important to interpret them in relation to the question being asked; these interpretations will not be the answerers to a question about a career. Instead the five of cups could represent a conflict of feeling about ones job or a conflict with a colleague.
While the court cards themselves could be associated a number, pages being 11 and kings being 14. They more commonly represent a person in the life of the person asking the question. Each of the court cards have their own qualities…
Pages – messages and lessons to be learned
Knights – travel, changes, challenges, transformation
Queens – creation, compassion, intuition and personal connections
Kings – focus, management, leaders, commanding, active, assertive
Colours:
As you will have come across time and time again, colours have important meanings in witchcraft. And just like in other areas of magic, the colours on the card represent the different intentions or messages that the cards give us. When you read the cards that you pull take note of the first colours that you notice and the dominant colours of the cards. Focus on the backgrounds and the clothes that the figures in the pictures are wearing. This will give you insight into what the cards are trying to tell you. The nine of cups for instance; the meaning of the yellow background is reflected in the face of the man sitting in the center of the card. While the red of the curtain behind him and the stripes of his cloths is also reflected in his posture. He is a man that is certain in his position and is happy where he is.
Black – possibility, protection, transformation, endings
White – innocence, mysticism
Red – power, passion, strength, confidence
Orange – creativity, fun, joy
Yellow- change, positivity, intellect, consciousness
Green – growth, fertility, prosperity abundance
Blue – communication, subconscious, sexuality
Purple – intuition, spirituality
Reverse Cards:
If you choose to read reverse cards, which you don’t have to. It doesn’t mean the opposite of the upright meaning of the cards. It usually means that there is a blockage or something preventing the upright meaning from coming to pass. If we go back to the nine of cups, this could mean that there is something that is preventing you from achieving you goal or obtaining your wishes in the way that is best for you. If you don’t read reverse cards, make sure to consider the possibility of a revers meaning in the cards and think critically about what the cards are trying to tell you.
Do not forget to use you intuition. The cards are a way for us to communicate with out deeper selves and subconscious. They may bring to light things that we may not be ready to face. If you are unsure of what they are trying to tell you you can pull an extra card or to for clarification. And always keep a record of your readings and come back to them in the future. Learning is not an easy process but the tips above will help your understanding and hopefully make the process a little bit easier