I've covered some of this information in the primer page about my daily divination, but I wanted to actually dive in and go into a bit more depth about the tarot for those of my readers who would like to learn more about reading it for themselves. By the end of this page, you'll be able to do a very simple tarot reading for yourself, with no memorization required at all. I want to reiterate some important things to remember when you're looking at reading the tarot in terms of what you can (and, arguably more importantly, what you cannot) expect.
First, and most important,
the cards do not tell the future. This is a hangup for a lot of people getting into occult spirituality for the first time, and they often give up after the first few times of reading the cards only for things not to happen as the cards "predicted." The purpose of the cards isn't magical foresight or clairvoyance, and if you're using them for those purposes, you'll quickly become disillusioned.
Second, the cards do not tell you what to do. When you seek answers in the cards, you should think of them less as answers to "what should I do?" and more of answers to "where should my focus be?" Ultimately, the purpose of the cards is to help you figure out your own thoughts. While that certainly can take the form of guidance for your actions, you need to be careful.
A card that is traditionally associated with a "Yes" answer (for instance, the Sun or the World) doesn't necessarily mean "yes, you should do the thing you're considering doing." It can also mean, "You're stuck on the drawbacks, so don't forget to also consider the potential advantages of doing the thing you're thinking about." They may be able to help you resolve difficult decisions, but they won't resolve those decisions for you. They're nothing more than printed card stock; when we talk about "magick," we're usually talking about the ability to use tools to focus our own willpower as opposed to ascribing some Hollywood supernatural power to various objects, and the cards are no exception. You're not going to get Live and Let Die style powers from reading the cards.
Finally, it's okay to "cheat." You're not committing some kind of blasphemy by looking up the meaning of a particular card instead of just having it memorized. If you're doing your daily reading and you just cannot handle the Tower today, draw another card instead. (Now, keep in mind, the energy of the Tower is still there, and you're gonna have to wrestle with it sooner or later, but if you can't handle that right now, that's okay! If you're missing some important message, don't worry - your tarot deck is definitely going to bully you until you get it. Trust me on that one.) There is no wrong way. The main point is, the tarot deck is a tool; if you're finding that it's distracting you from grounding your thoughts rather than giving you clarity, then maybe today isn't the best day to use it. Try a candle ritual instead and maybe burn some lemongrass incense.
One of the main reasons I'm writing these entries is because I'd like to give you a resource that you can use for your own readings - a little bit of a "cheat sheet" that helps you with keywords and the like. I'll be doing a more detailed breakdown of the cards in subsequent posts, but I'll give a basic overview here.
History
The preeminent tarot format in use today is the Waite-Smith Tarot, sometimes known as the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, or the Rider-Waite tarot, or sometimes simply as the Rider tarot. It was created by British mystic Arthur Waite and artist Pamela Smith. The "Rider" part of the name comes from publisher William Rider & Sons, by whom the Waite-Smith Tarot was first published in 1909. This deck has been reiterated with many different styles by a multitude of artists, and has inspired many other tarot decks that are based on it, with some slight variations (the most prominent of which probably being the Thoth Tarot created by Aleister Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris in 1944).
Since the decks I use are all based on the Rider Tarot (and I often even use the Rider Tarot itself), it's what I'll use in these articles as my frame of reference, but just to reiterate: there's no wrong way. Just because your deck may not match exactly with what my notes here say doesn't mean it's a bad deck.
The Minor and Major Arcana
The tarot deck consists of 78 cards in total: 14 cards in each of the four suits (ten "pip" cards and four "court" cards) that make up the 56 cards of the Minor Arcana, and 22 cards in the "trump" suit of the Major Arcana. If this all seems overwhelming, just start by thinking of a regular deck of playing cards: the Minor Arcana is basically just a variation of that. Instead of spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds, you have swords, wands, cups, and pentacles. Instead of three court cards in each suit (jack, queen, king), you have four (page, knight, queen, king). Pretty straightforward, right?
Okay, but where does the Major Arcana fit into that? Well, think again about a deck of playing cards: you have one card (or sometimes two) that usually is a "wild" card that can be anything (and often effectively outranks all the other cards): the Joker. The Major Arcana is, effectively, an entire suit of 22 Jokers. The difference is that instead of having one Joker that can represent anything, the Major Arcana has cards that represent specific things. In fact, in sequence, the Major Arcana tells a story - specifically, the story of the Monomyth, which you may have heard of in school referred to as the "Hero's Journey." Most of your favorite fiction, from Star Wars to The Lord of the Rings to The Odyssey, follows some variation of the Monomyth. In the Major Arcana, it's the Fool's journey: starting a new journey with childlike innocence, meeting mentors, overcoming hardships, and reaching their destiny. Each card of the Major Arcana tells a part of that story.
The Symbolism of the Suits
Each of the 78 cards is generally attached to certain concepts. Most people start with the Major Arcana, but I actually like to start with the Minor Arcana because even though there are more cards in it, I find it's a little easier to digest because of the fact that it's broken into suits, and the suits themselves represent elements and concepts. It's easier, I find, to start by learning four general concepts (one for each suit) than it is to memorize twenty-two specific concepts.
Start by learning the four suits of the Minor Arcana and what they are associated with. I'll give a more detailed breakdown of each card in upcoming entries, but for now, start by just learning the suits. You can do simple tarot readings just by knowing the four suits. You'll see a common theme in a lot of occult spirituality of these four things, even if you set the tarot suits aside.
- Swords. (Sometimes arrows, knives, or blades.) The suit of swords is about intellect and reason. In other words, the mind. It's also associated with the season of spring, the element of air, and the cardinal direction east.
- Wands. (Sometimes rods, staves, or scepters.) The suit of wands is about passion and desire. In other words, the will. It's also associated with the season of summer, the element of fire, and the cardinal direction south.
- Cups. (Sometimes chalices or vessels.) The suit of cups is about feelings and emotions. In other words, the heart. It's also associated with the season of autumn, the element of water, and the cardinal direction west.
- Pentacles. (Sometimes coins or plates.) The suit of pentacles is about resources and basic needs. In other words, the body. It's also associated with the season of winter, the element of earth, and the cardinal direction north.
A Simple Tarot Reading for the Absolute Beginner
Now that you know the four suits, you know enough to do a simple tarot reading without having to know anything else. If you've read this far, and you've got a tarot deck handy, I want you to do a simple reading. In fact, even if you don't have a tarot deck handy, you can still do this with a standard deck of playing cards; the individual cards don't even matter for this reading - we're just working with the suits for now.
Start by just sitting comfortably, closing your eyes, and taking deep, even breaths. Clear your mind completely as you start shuffling your deck using whatever shuffling method you prefer. While you're shuffling, consider your intention. In this case, your intention should be something in yourself that you want to improve: perhaps a bad habit you want to stop, or a good habit you want to start, or an improvement to yourself that you want to accomplish. Once you have that in your mind, say it out loud as you finish shuffling your deck: convert your thought to will. You can say, "I intend to form better eating habits." Or, "I intend to stop talking so negatively about myself." Or, "I intend to talk more kindly to other people." It can be anything that you want to improve.
Now draw two cards from the deck and place them face-down in front of you, left and right. You don't have to draw them off the top of the deck if you don't want; you can fan the deck out and just let your hand pick the ones that "feel right." The important thing is that you don't look at them yet.
Fix the question in your mind: "What holds me back from achieving my intention?" Then flip the left card face up, and that will be your guidance. Remember: swords (or spades) are the mind, wands (or clubs) are the will, cups (or hearts) are the heart, and pentacles (or diamonds) are the body. If you happen to draw a card from the Major Arcana (that's any card with a name, like the Hermit, the Emperor, or The Sun) or the Joker, let it represent your whole spirit. Remember, this is guidance, not a solid answer. If you drew a card from the suit of swords, for example, consider how your mind might be holding you back. When you look at your intention, are you perhaps overthinking? If you can't see improvement that you want, are you maybe getting a little too deep inside your own head?
Now fix the second question in your mind: "Where can I find the strength I need to achieve my intention?" Flip the right card now, and consider how that part of you might help you achieve your goal. This is the counterpoint to what holds you back, where you look instead at what will help you move forward.
Remember, although this reading is simple, don't rush through it. Take time to really think about what the cards have shown you; at its heart, the tarot is a form of meditation. You've been given guidance on how to focus your thoughts, but now you need to take time and actually consider them. It's entirely possible, for instance, that you'll draw two cards from the same suit: the revelation that the same thing that is holding you back from your goals is ultimately what you'll need. If you're using a tarot deck, really take a good look at the illustrations on the cards you drew and consider how they speak to you and to the questions you asked, given what you know about what the suits represent. Sit with your thoughts for a while, really ponder them - maybe write them down in a journal (any excuse to get yourself a fancy blank book so you have some cool mystic tomes on your shelf, right?), or snap a picture of your reading so you can refer back to it later on your phone if you don't have time right now.
That's your starting point - if you've managed your first tarot reading from that, congratulations. You can repeat that reading any time you want, and you can even come up with other readings of your own.
Going Deeper
As you start digging deeper and looking into the keywords and individual meanings of the cards, it's is really important to remember that the cards aren't omens or commandments. It’s easy to draw a card such as (for example) the Ten of Swords, with its disturbing imagery and its themes of failure and defeat, and see “bad omens” in it that instill a sense of dread in you, and that is very self-defeating. In the same vein, you shouldn’t look at the cards as a way of validating bad habits or bad feelings, either; sometimes you need to take time and sit with your discomfort so that you can more closely approach your higher self (the better version of yourself that you’re trying to listen to).
This isn’t fortune-telling; it’s mindfulness –
a way to structure the thoughts and energies that are already
inside of you. The
purpose of this entire practice is self-empowerment; if it’s making
you feel worse about yourself, you need to take a step back and
reconsider your approach. Similarly,
though, in order to get the benefits of this self-empowerment, you
have to be honest with yourself, even when it’s uncomfortable.
There’s an old aphorism here in the Appalachian South that says
“there are three people you should never lie to: your doctor, your
lawyer, and yourself.” (Having
been an independent artist who’s had to have Schedule C on my taxes
for years, I’d probably also add “your accountant” to that
list, but I digress.) The point is, the
tarot is entirely between you, your own mind, and whatever deity or
patron you may have (if you have one at all). Every reading should
include some way that can bring you closer to your higher self.
A Note about Reversals
In many tarot apps and books, there is a distinction made between
“upright” and “reversed” (that is, upside-down) cards. First
and foremost, as I’ve said many times already, there is no wrong
way. Reversals are entirely optional (I only rarely use them
myself, in fact). In fact, many tarot decks don’t even support
reversals. Look at the card back: does it look the same upside-down
as it does right-side-up? If you can tell a reversed card from an
upright card before you even flip it face-up, there’s little point
in including reversals in your readings with that deck.
If you do choose to
include reversals in your readings, don’t look at reversed cards as
bad luck or as simply the “opposite” of an upright card; instead,
look at ways in which that card may be speaking to you differently
from how it normally would. Does it represent a reversal of fortune?
Does it represent an internal struggle or some kind of denialism?
Reversed cards aren’t always (or even usually) bad things; a
reversed card might even indicate that you’ve finally released a
struggle or burden you’ve been carrying for a long time.
Readings are Personal
While every card has a “traditional” interpretation and keywords
associated with it, you should always consider how the concept of
each card applies to you or your query specifically. Most tarot
guides present the cards as a set of static meanings and definitions.
They don’t really have any way around that. Tarot writers have to
write very general concepts because, obviously, the deck itself
doesn’t change; the reader changes with each reading, and their
circumstances might be different, but the human experience is what
makes the tools work.
A writer can only work
from their own experiences and their academic knowledge of the
tarot – they can’t adjust their writing to something that fits
every querent in every conceivable circumstance. This series (and
indeed, this entire blog) is no exception to that, so bear in mind
that while this resource can be a valuable “cheat sheet,” you
need to take time to sit with your thoughts and consider not just
what the card is saying, but what it is saying to you and your
particular circumstances. It’s like I said before: the
cards themselves are nothing more than paper and ink. The human
element (along with the energy of the universe, or the divine, or
whatever higher power you might ascribe to) is what makes it work
effectively as a tool for reflection. The cards are meaningless
without the framework of your own life.
That's all for Part I of this little guide! I'll be going more in-depth on the individual cards next, starting with the Suit of Swords.
You can read that entry here.
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