How to read tarot cards on your own: a beginner’s guide

How to start reading tarot

To begin you need a complete deck of 78 cards and a space where you can concentrate without interruptions. Candles, crystals or rituals are not essential: they can help create an atmosphere, but they don’t replace study and attention.

For beginners, a deck with illustrated scenes on the Minor Arcana is often recommended, because it offers more visual details to interpret. Decks inspired by the Rider-Waite-Smith system follow this principle; in the Tarot de Marseille, by contrast, many numbered cards mainly show the symbols of the suit and call for a different method.

Before using the deck, look through all the cards without immediately searching for definitions. Notice which images attract you, which make you uneasy and which seem to tell a story. This first impression does not replace the traditional meaning, but it helps you build a personal relationship with the language of the deck.

To learn about the history, structure and paths dedicated to the cards, visit our main tarot section.

The meaning of the tarot cards

The meaning of tarot cards depends on several layers: the group they belong to, the number, the suit, the figures shown and their position in the spread. A card does not have a single interpretation that works for every question.

The traditional deck includes 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana. The former represent great archetypal passages; the latter describe situations, reactions and experiences closer to everyday life.

The meaning of the Major Arcana

The Major Arcana form a symbolic journey that runs from the Fool, associated with beginnings and untapped potential, to the World, an image of completion and integration. Between these two extremes you meet figures linked to will, choice, justice, transformation and awareness.

When a Major Arcanum appears in a spread, it tends to point to a central theme or a particularly significant passage. That doesn’t necessarily mean an extraordinary event must happen: it can also describe an inner change, a decision or a lesson that needs attention.

Cards such as Death, the Devil and the Tower should not be read literally. Death often speaks of endings and transformation; the Devil of attachment, desire or dependence; the Tower of the sudden collapse of a structure or a belief.

The meaning of the Minor Arcana

The Minor Arcana are divided into four suits. Each suit contains ten numbered cards and four court cards, for a total of fourteen cards.

The number modifies the theme of the suit. The Ace generally represents the source of an energy; the Two introduces relationship or choice; the Three growth; the Four structure; the Five crisis or change. The meanings continue up to the Ten, which brings a cycle to its outcome.

The court cards

The Page, Knight, Queen and King can represent people, attitudes or stages of maturity. The Knight of Wands, for example, can indicate an impulsive person, but also the need to act quickly or a situation full of enthusiasm and instability.

Before deciding that a court card represents someone in particular, check the question and the neighbouring cards. In readings about your inner life, court cards often describe parts of your personality or the ways you approach a situation.

Preparing the question and shuffling the cards

A clear reading starts with an understandable question. Open questions help you explore a situation, while questions designed only to get a certain prediction limit the interpretation.

You can ask:

• which dynamic is shaping this situation;
• what I should understand before choosing;
• which attitude can help me face this moment;
• which aspect of the relationship I am overlooking;
• which possible development the current path is leading towards.

Focus on a single topic. If your question contains different problems, split it into several readings. Also avoid repeating the same reading until you get an answer you like: new cards would only risk adding confusion.

How to shuffle tarot cards

There is no single correct way to shuffle tarot cards. You can use a traditional shuffle, split the deck into small piles or spread the cards face down on the table and move them slowly with your hands.

Keep going until you feel you are done, then gather the deck back together. You can cut it once or several times and draw the cards from the top, or choose the ones that catch your attention. What matters is deciding on the method before you see the result and sticking to it for the whole spread.

If you don’t want to use reversed cards, keep the whole deck facing the same way while you shuffle. Reversals are not compulsory: especially at the beginning, you can work with upright meanings only.

How to lay out a tarot spread

A spread is a layout in which each position has a defined function. When you are learning, it is better to start with just a few cards: an overly large layout multiplies the relationships to interpret and can hide the core of the question.

One-card spread

A single card is useful for exploring the theme of the day, receiving symbolic advice or looking at one essential aspect of the question. After drawing, describe what you see before checking the written meaning.

Ask yourself what action is taking place in the image, where the figure is looking, which colours dominate and what feeling comes up. Then compare your first impression with the traditional interpretation.

Three-card spread

The three-card spread is simple enough for beginners and rich enough to create a narrative. Before drawing, assign a precise function to each position. You can use one of these layouts:

• past, present, possible development;
• situation, obstacle, advice;
• thought, emotion, action;
• what you know, what you can’t see, what you can do.

Don’t change the meaning of the positions after turning the cards over. A structure set before the spread stops you from bending the result to fit your expectations.

How to interpret tarot step by step

To understand how to interpret tarot, imagine the cards are words in the same sentence. Knowing them separately is not enough: you have to look at the order, the connections and the overall message.

1. Reread the question and the meaning assigned to each position.
2. Describe what is happening in the images without interpreting it straight away.
3. Identify the traditional meaning of each card.
4. Link each meaning to its position in the spread.
5. Notice any elements, numbers, suits or figures that repeat.
6. Look for contrasts and narrative steps from one card to the next.
7. Sum up the reading in a few concrete sentences.

If many Cups appear, the heart of the reading may be emotional; plenty of Swords can point to thoughts, communication or conflict. A majority of Major Arcana suggests that the question touches a broader passage than everyday circumstances.

Don’t automatically classify cards as positive or negative. The Sun can show clarity, but also a need to put yourself forward; the Hermit can point to solitude, but also to searching and inner listening. Meaning always emerges from context.

Upright and reversed cards: do you need them?

Reversed cards can point to energy that is blocked, turned inward, excessive or not yet recognised. However, they are not simply the opposite of the upright meaning and should not automatically be treated as negative.

Beginners can read every card upright and pick up tensions and nuances through the question, the position and the surrounding cards. Once you are familiar with the deck, you can add reversals without making the reading needlessly confusing.

Learning to read tarot through practice

Memory grows more easily when each meaning is linked to an image and an experience. Draw one card a day, note your first impression and reread the note in the evening. Don’t force yourself to find a matching event: also look at moods, decisions and recurring themes.

You can keep a journal that records:

• the date and the question of the reading;
• the layout and the cards drawn;
• your first visual impression;
• the final interpretation;
• any reflections added a few days later.

Comparing your first reading with what you understood later helps you spot forced interpretations and associations that are genuinely useful. The goal is not to guess every event, but to build a consistent symbolic language.

When you want to practise without a deck at hand, you can use our free online tarot reading and apply the same method to the cards you draw.

The limits and ethics of reading

Tarot can help you look at emotions, alternatives and dynamics, but it does not replace medical diagnoses, psychological support, legal advice or financial assessments. It should not be used to make decisions about a person’s health, safety or rights.

When you read for someone else, ask for their consent and respect their privacy. Avoid absolute statements about death, illness, betrayal or inevitable events. A responsible reading opens up understanding: it does not feed fear or take away freedom of choice.