Tarot 101: Introduction

Tarot is one of the hottest topics on the internet. You will find a flood of information about tarot with a single google search and it can be hard to know where exactly to start. If you are just learning about tarot, it can be a bit daunting if you don’t learn your basics and branch out from there as you become comfortable. So what exactly are the basics?

Tarot is a divination tool that has been used for hundreds of years by thousands of people. It is important to know that ideas will vary from person to person and everyone will settle into a certain way of doing their readings. In some ways, the healing properties of tarot can be much like a therapy session. Think of it as though you’re giving sound advice to a friend, that they’re more likely to utilize considering they’re paying a sum of money for it.

The first step is to study your cards! Nothing will break someone’s confidence in their reader, quite like watching them flip through a book to find the upright and reverse meanings of the tarot card they’ve drawn. You can also do intuitive readings that don’t rely so much on study, but you need to make sure you’re confident in what you’re saying. Divination is a skill, honed over time. Nobody will be great off the bat. I highly recommend finding friends and family that would be willing to allow you to do their readings for practice, until you become comfortable with the energy and vocabulary that comes along with this realm of divination.

The next step is infinite and is never really over. You should also get to know at least one new spread every day. You never know what your clients are going to request that you read to them. If you’re really focusing on learning one spread a day, maybe recommend it to anyone that might not be set on anything in particular. You will learn dozens of spreads in no time this way.

The third step is something that every tarot reader will recommend to you. Whether you’re reading from a purely scientific standpoint or you truly believe in the energy of your space and cards, you need to set up your space. Have an area with no distractions around, no clutter. Have a place that feels neutral in energy whether it’s your kitchen table or a space you’ve cleared out in the garage, specifically for tarot readings. You need to be able to feel relaxed before a reading so if you have children talking to you and you’re stressed, that stress doesn’t bleed into your reading. Your inner mind will always provide the right intuition, but you need to be able to hear it through the chaos around you. An extra tip you’ll find to be helpful is a lot of readers practice meditation to help them sift through their thoughts and ideas, prior to attempting any divination.

The last thing to remember is that there is no game over in tarot. There are many different ways to read different card pulls, but your way of intuiting and explaining is just as valid as anyone else’s. Relax, get to know your cards and start in a neutral space and suffice to say— the cards will fall into place.