There’s a lot of tip posts out there but I thought I’d just post a few of my own. These work if you’re just getting started or just thinking about getting started.
IT IS NOT BAD LUCK TO BUY YOUR OWN DECK! Please, it’s alright, and it doesn’t have to be new either. Take your time, shop online and/or offline at local book stores or metaphysical shops, find the deck that really calls to you and buy it. DO NOT steal a deck. I shouldn’t have to tell you that it’s immoral (especially when it comes to taking from shops that are probably struggling to stay afloat) but it’s also illegal. If you still feel weary of buying your own deck, have a supportive friend or family member buy it for you.
Shop around for your deck, there are lots of places to look. I could provide you links but honestly, google is your friend.
Don’t feel pressured to get a standard Rider-Waite over a stylized one. Get whatever speaks to you. Tarot is very visual, and so if the visuals on the cards don’t speak to you, you’ll have a harder time reading the cards. A standard RW deck will fit more book definitions and imagery, but by no means is it the deck you *have* to start off with.
So you have a deck, now what?
First thing you’re going to want to do is charge and cleanse your deck. What do I mean by charge? To charge is to attune the deck to your personal energy. You can do this many different ways:
Leave the deck under your bed/pillow for a few nights (I have never done this, sounds uncomfortable, but w/e floats your boat.)
Leave it on your altar with some personal items/crystals/trinkets for a night or two.
Wrap it in a cloth or place it in a bag or box of your choosing, maybe add some personal items or touches and leave it there for a little while, maybe carry it in your purse or bag, whatever feels right.
Once it’s charged/attune you’ll be ready to give it some good shuffles and start reading. If you bought it used or you think it might have been handled a lot before you got it, you’ll want to cleanse it. Cleansing is great before you charge it to get rid of any lingering energies or in-between readings to keep it fresh. You can do this a few different ways:
For a light cleanse pass the cards through some incense smoke. Lot of people ask, which kind of incense? And honestly, I’m sure there are people that will tell you a certain one is better than another, but I just use whatever I feel like using.
For a medium cleanse use the incense and then leave the deck out (on your altar or dresser for example) with some quarts crystal on top of it. Quarts is great for absorbing negative energies.
For a heavy duty cleanse (and keep in mind, I’ve only had to do this once), use the incense, then place the deck on a plate or flat surface with the quartz on top. Then put a salt circle around the deck (around the edges of the plate, try not to get too much on your cards since salt may damage them.) How long you leave it there is up to you. You might want to give it another pass through incense afterwords and re-attune it to your energy again.
All charged and ready to go, what now?
START READING. Shuffle cut and deal, my witches. It’s as simple as that. If you want to read the booklet that came with your deck (most do, but not all) then go for it. (If it didn’t include a booklet, you can easily find the information online for free.) You might find some test spreads in that book. By all means, try them out! But don’t feel trapped by using spreads–free styling is good too!
Read for yourself and anyone that will let you. Do a morning reading to see what your day will be like, or ask any question you feel like. Do readings for your friends and family! Practice practice practice!
Don’t be afraid of getting it “wrong”! Even people (like me) who have been reading Tarot for years get stumped on the meanings of the cards sometimes or misread the message they were trying to send. It’s okay!
Follow your gut. Your intuition is what will help you read the cards way better than just memorizing the meanings you found in a book or online. It takes time to trust that gut feeling though, so don’t be hard on yourself if you struggle in the beginning.
Record your readings! Be sure to include what you asked, what deck you used, what the book says it meant, and what you think it means. It’s great to go back (sometime later) and see how you were right or if the cards meant something else.
Take it one card at a time. Tarot has a lot of cards, each card is full of dozens of meanings and interpretation. It’s daunting at first, so start slow, one card at a time. You could pull a card daily to study, or just go in order. While you study traditional/book meanings, make sure to leave room in your notes for your own thoughts and feelings about each card. There is no right or wrong way to read a card.
Having trouble narrowing down the meaning of the card? I see a lot of beginners struggle with this part, and I don’t blame them. There are a few things that will help you narrow it down. First is what was the context of your question? How can it apply to the situation you were inquiring about can help narrow it down. Taking into consideration the cards around it may also help (assuming you pulled more. If you didn’t, some people pull a clarifying card, which is another card to help narrow down the answer.) If all that still has you stumped, write it down and come back to it later, it may come to you.
Patience is a virtue. Time is your friend in tarot, especially when it comes to growing, understanding, and learning. There will come a time when you need to step away from Tarot, and that’s okay. Give yourself time to understand it, and know that as soon as you think you’ve “got it figured out”, the cards will always come back to surprise you.
I hope these tips helped. Like I said, there are a lot of great tip posts out there that go into more detail. A search through the #tarot tag should help! Best wishes! <3
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