Gain insight and guidance in your life by learning how to read your own tarot cards. Find out everything you need to know from when to do a reading to how to interpret the cards.
Can you learn how to read your own tarot cards? Yes, absolutely! Tarot is a tool that you can use to gain greater insight into what’s going on in your life, as well as tap into your intuition. However, while anyone can do their own tarot reading, it takes years of experience to truly understand the cards and how best to interpret them.
It will require a lot of practice to get the hang of it and to interpret all of the cards and their different meanings, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t start learning now!
When should you do your own tarot card reading?
There are several different reasons that you might want to do a tarot reading. The cards are typically used to seek guidance when making decisions about any number of issues in your life. This can be anything from small decisions, to major life shifts. Typically, the most common questions are about:
- Relationships
- The year ahead
- Major life-changing decisions
When reading the cards, you’ll need to learn to interpret their meanings. The deck is divided into the Major and Minor Arcana cards. The Major Arcana cards symbolize the big picture, major lessons, and fate. These are events in our lives that are outside our control and are there to help us grow. The Minor Arcana cards symbolize our day-to-day activities. These represent things we can control, as well as people in our lives who may be influencing us or situations around us.
Before doing a tarot reading, prepare yourself mentally and prepare your physical space. Cleanse your space and get into a relaxed state of mind by taking a bath, lighting a scented candle or essential oil diffuser, or creating calming energy with your favorite crystals. Sit somewhere comfortable, close your eyes and clear out any mental clutter. Visualize a protective energy surrounding you.
How to ask the right questions during a tarot reading
Before you draw the cards, come up with a question that you’d like guidance with. Stay away from any yes-or-no-type questions and keep it open-ended. Phrase the question in a way that invites insight and reflection and the opportunity for the cards to offer something more than what a yes-or-no answer might bring. Instead of asking “will I meet my soulmate this year?”, try something like, “what are the obstacles blocking me from meeting my soulmate?”.
Before you begin reading your cards, it’s best to decide on how to pull and arrange the cards. This all depends on how deep you want to go with your cards. The more cards you pull, the more complex insights will be revealed. However, bear in mind that larger card spreads are difficult to interpret without the necessary experience so keep it simple at first with a three-card pull or one of the less complex spreads mentioned below.
The tarot spread
A three or five-card spread is best for beginners, as it will offer clarity without any confusion. Read all of the cards individually and then look at how they connect together. What story they’re telling, and what are the meanings behind them?
Here are three basic tarot card spreads for beginners:
Three-card pull
Ideal for beginners learning how to read tarot cards. When three cards are pulled, they capture a snapshot of the past, present, and future energy of your current situation. Themes often relate to gaining clarity around love, work, or spiritual purpose.
Another option is the three-card relationship spread which gives an energetic overview of a romantic situation. This doesn’t only have to be used in romantic relationships, but can also be used on friendships, colleagues, or any sort of connection to gain more insight into the connection’s energy.
The first card shows your energy in relation to the other person. The second card reflects the other person’s energy towards you, and the third card shows the combined energy in the connection. The spread can help you understand what’s going on if someone is acting strangely or being distant, helping you to gain insight before approaching the other person.
12-card general read
If you’re looking for insight about the year ahead, then try the 12-card pull. Each card represents a month of the year and will reflect the energy of the month. This is a good one for the start of a calendar year, a birthday, or a new chapter in your life.
When you draw 12 cards, you’ll gain insights about the lessons ahead, and obstacles you may need to overcome, along with guidance for your long-term goals.
Celtic Cross
If your question is complex and requires more depth, try the Celtic Cross spread. This widely-used spread consists of 10 cards and is complex to interpret. Before attempting it, practice using the more basic spreads to hone your skills and become comfortable with them.
You can gather insight from all different angles in this spread, meaning that it can be used without a specific question in mind. Rather, you can see what the cards want to tell you.
The first six cards are laid out in the shape of a cross, representing a current issue, and the last four cards lie in a vertical line, which reflects additional influences.
How to interpret your reading
When reading a tarot spread, you won’t receive any yes or no answers from the cards. The reading will show you insights and clues about your life based on your current situation, but that doesn’t mean that everything is set in stone. You still have the power to change your circumstances.
A tarot reading is based on an interpretation of the cards and how you choose to understand the information you’ve been given.
To get a more informative result, it’s best to really get to know the cards and their different meanings. Practice with smaller three-card spreads and as you build confidence, expand to more complex spreads. Reading the cards is a chance for you to get in touch with your intuition and inner wisdom, which will help guide you through your life with or without tarot card readings.
Find your soulmate
It is this inner guidance and wisdom that I tap into when creating soulmate sketches. I use the same intuitive process to interpret and draw the soulmate I see coming into your life.
These sketches may highlight someone already in your life, or maybe even your next long-term romantic soulmate. Perhaps it will show you someone that will come into your life briefly, but leave you with an important lesson. With a sketch of that person, you’ll be ready to recognize them when you’re guided towards them.
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