Tips To Start Reading Tarot
1. Pull a card every day and do your research on it. Use BiddyTarot to read up on the card’s imagery and interpretations for both the upright and reversed card. That website has the best info on the cards in my opinion.
2. Meditate on the card and see if you can discover any meanings beyond just what it means superficially. Personal symbolism is so much more important when you’re reading because your Guides/the Universe is going to communicate through the subconscious more than through the cards themselves. For instance, in terms of interpreting dreams (which are messages from the subconscious to the conscious mind), you really can’t rely on things like dream dictionaries to help you figure out what they mean because what your subconscious gives you is based on personal symbolism.
Let’s say you dreamed about a bunch of flowers. There are tons of websites that can give you meanings of flowers, but your personal symbolism might be way off. When you were a kid maybe you were picking flowers and got stung by a bee, so now, subconsciously, you associate flowers with pain and hidden danger. We all know the common symbolism of a dove representing peace, but what if at one point in time you held a bird in your hand and it shit all over you, so now ALL birds subconsciously are associated with aggravation and disgust.
See what I mean? Personal symbolism. Trust yourself to know the answer before you trust a book or a website. (but definitely use those when you have absolutely no idea what it means)
3. Read for yourself first. I’ve always said this and a lot of people disagree, but everyone can read for themselves, but not everyone can read for other people. You really want to practice reading for yourself, understanding the cards, understanding the energy attached to them, learning how to apply context, and of course, developing your connection to your subconscious (and eventually unconscious) mind from your conscious mind. There’s always a good chance that you can misinterpret things and it’s better to misinterpret for yourself than it is for other people. Give yourself time to get your feet on the ground with and build up a personal connection before you worry too much about reading for other people.
4. Apply correspondences. Giving yourself as much room as possible when it comes to how many ways a card can be interpreted makes it easier for your Guides/Gods/Angels/Universe to give you straightforward answers. Learn about the suits and what they mean, numerology, the astrological correspondences - these will help you get a broader understanding of tarot cards specifically.
5. Watch other people read. Sometimes seeing people in action can give you an idea of how to go about doing it yourself. You can see the differences in readings styles - some people use spreads, some don’t. Some use one deck, some use many. Some only read for one subject, some keep it broad and general. You can learn a lot and get things flowing when you watch other people. Here’s a list of my favorite people to watch: