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Tarot cards are a great spiritual tool for personal development, inspiration, and providing insights into your daily life, but it can be easy to become overwhelmed when diving into a new world of divination.
Here are my top five tips for seekers who are curious about using tarot cards:
The artwork on the cards should illicit a response from your intuition. If the card imagery is too vague, you might find yourself scrambling to look at the guidebook and frequently losing the personal message meant for you.
A tarot deck typically consists of 78 cards, divided into two main parts: the Major Arcana (22 cards) and the Minor Arcana (56 cards).
The Major Arcana represents significant life events or spiritual lessons, while the Minor Arcana deals with everyday events.
The Minor Arcana is further divided into four suits: Cups, Pentacles, Swords, and Wands, each corresponding to different aspects of life. Be sure the Minor Arcana cards have distinct imagery instead of just 8 cups on a card. When you’re starting out, you really need more for your intuition to grab onto.
Each card in the tarot deck has a specific meaning, often the card’s imagery and symbolism reflect the core meaning.
Start by learning the general meanings of the Major Arcana cards, as they are often focused on events in your life and therefore significant in readings.
For the Minor Arcana, focus on understanding the meanings of the suits:
as well as the cycles or numbers (Ace - 10) on the cards. In The Practical Tarot Method book, you’ll find charts to help you visualize these Minor Arcana cycles to keep them straight in your head, along with the court card (Page, Knight, Queen, and King) cycles.
While learning traditional meanings is important, tarot is a tool for your intuition. We all have different life experiences, which is reflected in the way we each “see” the cards. This is valid and welcome. Pay attention to how the imagery and symbols on the cards resonate with you.
When you draw a card, take a moment to reflect on what feelings, thoughts, or ideas come to mind before consulting a guidebook.
Begin with simple tarot spreads like the one-card draw (for daily guidance or a daily focus) or the three-card spread (past, present, future).
As you gain confidence, you can explore more complex spreads involving more cards.
Bonus tip! Practice regularly and keep a tarot journal.
Consistency is key in tarot. Regular practice will help you become more familiar with the cards and deepen your connection to them. Keeping a tarot journal to record your readings, interpretations, and personal insights will help you track your progress and understand your unique reading style.
These foundational steps will help you build confidence and skill as you explore the world of tarot. The Practical Tarot Method also contains many practical ways to incorporate tarot cards into your daily life and exercises to build your confidence.
Remember, the more you use the cards, the faster you will trust your intuitive response to the cards, and you’ll get clear insights without reaching for a guidebook.
Lisa Kessler is the author of the Practical Tarot deck and The Practical Tarot Method: Learning to Read Tarot Cards Intuitively and has been a professional tarot card reader for nearly twenty years, reading for clients all over the world. She’s a passionate teacher of tarot and has taught her Practical Tarot courses in the United States as well as online to international audiences. Her Tarot for Writers course has been presented at writer’s conferences and groups around the country to help creatives connect with their intuition through tarot cards. She also posts free weekly tarot readings on her YouTube channel. You can find out more about her books at AuthorLisaKessler.com. When she’s not reading tarot or writing books, she’s coaching others to manifest the life of their dreams. You can learn more about her Metaphysical Manifesting at metaphysicalmanifesting.com.
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