#tarot reading tips

[slaaverin]

Thank you so much for your reading, it felt so nuanced and respectful and has given me so much to think about! I’m very new to tarot and am curious if you have any suggestions for resources or ways of becoming more familiar with the cards, and how to develop a feel for determining meanings? Or just any thoughts about your personal process, I can tell it’s a very intuitive thing but it does seem like some knowledge would be helpful!

Thank you so much 🥹💕

I started my tarot journey by reading "the way of tarot" by Alejandro Jodorowsky. It's about Marseille tarot, but it gave me a good feel of the "scholastic" meanings of the cards.

I prefer the rider-waite though because it stimulates my intuition more because of the images. I would recommend starting with the rider-waite because it will be easier to memorize the meanings.

But then, I read and watched many many readings, and each time someone talked about a card and their personal interpretation, and that I resonated with it, I added it to my list of possible meaning. Over time my understanding of the cards became more layered as a card could have several different meanings, and my intuition told me which one it was each time, or sometimes it would have several at the same time.

Knowing the scholastic meanings can be great as a foundation, but actually when you do a reading you don't have to follow the inherent meanings. If a card gives you a particular feeling that is completely different you can follow it. It's great to remain flexible ~ Over time you may also have personal connections to certain cards that will mean something specific to you, and your spirit could use more your own way of understanding it.

And most of the time, when I look at a card, I get a particular feel, and then my intuition makes me focus on a particular detail on the image. Like suddenly I might be attracted to the water, or the image of the Sunflower of the Queen of Pentacles for example. So it's gonna deepen the layers a particular card can have and expand the message further. I also look at placements, if some cards are looking at each other, what it could mean ect..

I don't follow rules on how many cards I need to pull. Usually I just know, a certain number feels right and others do not.

I think the more knowledge you have about spirituality, the elements in the cards (fire, water, earth, air), astrology, and how cosmic consciousness actually works, the deeper and more nuanced your readings can become.

With more knowledge and your ability to make connections between concepts, your own matrix of belief system and understanding will grow and you will be able to make more layered readings.

It takes time and it is a learning curve. So be patient with yourself and trust your intuition, even at first!

The stronger your connection to Source/your higher self will be, the more precise and clear your intuition will become. So nurture this connection as much as possible through your heart.

Often times I also receive messages but not through cards. I receive them through dreams, songs, syncronicities, my own thoughts, inner visions, clairaudience ect... Cards are just a tool, a support you can use, but I would advise to remain alert to anything that comes accross your consciousness, even signs on the streets, as it can also carry messages for you.

I wish you luck on your tarot journey and if you have more questions you can always DM me or send me an ask 🤗💜🫂

[brujamala-aka-gigi]

Tarot card interpretation tip's

A short list on possible meanings of the same minor arcana card but from different suits. Kinda like this:

· · ────── ꒰ঌ·✦·໒꒱ ────── · ·

( I transcribed an old cheat sheet from when I was learning tarot myself, I think this one is from 2014 I do kinda keep this in mind to this day tho)

Please take into consideration that this is overly simplified and its most likely that you will have reversed cards and upright cards on the same reading, and that you should always be able to read the whole context and see the full picture even if having one minor arcana repeating itself in all suits. And, as usual, whenever you're learning new ways of interpreting don't loose your own ways and don't take them as something set in stone. Having your own personal interpretations based on the concepts already associated with the cards (by tradition or by experience of other readers) is always valuable and it enriches the learning experience for you and if you read for others, also for them.

✦✦✦THE LIST✦✦✦

✦ 4 KINGS: great honour // INVERTED: celebrity

✦ 3 KINGS: doubts // INVERTED: commerce

✦ 2 KINGS: minor advice // INVERTED: projects

✦ 4 QUEENS: great debate // INVERTED: bad company

✦ 3 QUEENS: deceit  // INVERTED: indulgence

✦ 2 QUEENS: honest friends // INVERTED: work

✦ 4 KNIGHTS: serious matters // INVERTED: alliance

✦ 3 KNIGHTS: intense debate // INVERTED: conflict

✦ 2 KNIGHTS: intimacy // INVERTED: susceptibility

✦ 4 PAGES: risky situation // INVERTED: obstacles

✦ 3 PAGES: dispute // INVERTED: stillness

✦ 2 PAGES: instability  // INVERTED: community

✦ 4 TENS: condemnation // INVERTED: event

✦ 3 TENS: new condition // INVERTED: disappointment

✦ 2 TENS: change // INVERTED: expectations

✦ 4 NINES: a great friend // INVERTED: earnings

✦ 3 NINES: success // INVERTED: imprudence

✦ 2 NINES: deep comprehension // INVERTED: small victory

✦ 4 EIGHTS: revival // INVERTED: mistake

✦ 3 EIGHTS: union // INVERTED: spectacle

✦ 2 EIGHTS: new knowledge // INVERTED: bad luck

✦ 4 SEVENS: intrigue // INVERTED: aggressiveness

✦ 3 SEVENS: illness // INVERTED: lust

✦ 2 SEVENS: news // INVERTED: gossip

✦ 4 SIX: abundance // INVERTED: nurture

✦ 3 SIX: success // INVERTED: satisfaction

✦ 2 SIX: irritability // INVERTED: fall

✦ 4 FIVES: regularity // INVERTED: order

✦ 3 FIVES: determination // INVERTED: confusion

✦ 2 FIVES: vigilance  // INVERTED: resurrection

✦ 4 FOURS: travel // INVERTED: strangeness

✦ 3 FOURS: reflection // INVERTED: insecurity

✦ 2 FOURS: insomnia // INVERTED: dispute

✦ 4 THREES: progress // INVERTED: great success

✦ 3 THREES: unity // INVERTED: serenity

✦ 2 THREES: calmness // INVERTED: security

✦ 4 TWOS: nurturing // INVERTED: reconciliation

✦ 3 TWOS: security // INVERTED: apprehension

✦ 2 TWOS: agreement // INVERTED: distrust

✦ 4 ONES: favourable opportunity // INVERTED: dishonour

✦ 3 ONES: small success // INVERTED: indulgence

✦ 2 ONES: minor obstacles // INVERTED: enemies

✦✦✦✦✦✦

i hope this is helpful to someone <3

check my blog for some more tarot related content if you're into that!

byyyeeee

much love, gigi.

[raevenlyreads]

How I "reset" my decks

Sometimes when I'm reading, a deck feels "sticky" or "stuck". Whether it needs cleansing, or I just need a chance to clear my own head, my favorite way of "resetting" a deck is to literally put it back in order.

I start by making five piles, one for the majors and one for each suit

A lot of the time this step is enough, especially if it's just me that's stuck and not the deck itself. But if I'm doing the whole shebang, the next step is to put each pile in order

This has the added bonus of laying out the whole path of each suit, showing you an overview of the progression and how each card relates to the whole "story" of its suit.

If you have the luxury of a clear kitchen table, I highly recommend spreading out the entire deck and making note of how all the suits fit with themselves but also how all the twos fit each other, the threes, fours, etc. (I first learned this concept from this post). It's a great way to get to know your deck, and to focus your interpretations.

For more posts like these, check out my kofi page! I have informative posts, beautiful deck selfies, and readings available for commission.

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[soaringwide]

Tarot Spread - Map of your Mind

This is a ‘’know yourself’’ type of tarot spread, created to analyze the different layers that make your mind and self, and help you move forward on the path to individuation and self actualization.⁠

If you're looking to do some introspection and self-reflection, this is the perfect spread for you. I tried it a few times already on myself and others, and it works wonder to do a little general psyche check-in so to speak.

Note that I offer this as a paid reading (ko-fi link) in case that interests you.

Here is a breakdown of the cards’ placement and meanings:

1. Your Current State

The first card represents your current inner state, as in, where are you currently on your self development journey, and what approach you have to it. It's pretty much about taking the temperature to see what's the current weather like.

2. The Past you Carry

The second card is here to let you know what part of your past is currently influencing you the most. Note that cards 1-3 will communicate with each other and help you understand why this specific message is coming up.

3. The Future you Seek

With the third card you'll get to look at where you're consciously drawn in matter of self-development. Basically, where you would ideally like to be in the future. It's the realm of hopes and dreams.

4. Your Conscious Self

The fourth card looks at your conscious self, or the part of you that you are presently aware of and that is influencing the problem at hand the most. It's about what you know is here and that you may already be working on. Note that cards 4-6 work as a trio and are important to look at together.

5. You Subconscious Self

Here we'll look at what you are either barely aware of, or hardly at all. It may be something that pops into your mind from time to time but that you have a hard time looking at. It's the realm of the shadows for those who use that concept, or the things you tend to discard.

6. Your Highest Self

In the sixth card position, we'll dive into what the part of your psych that is the most evolved and balanced is pushing you towards. Whether you're into the concept of higher self or not, take it as an advice from your best and healthiest self in all cases.

7. What you're Transforming

Here with the seventh card, we'll look at what self-development work you're currently doing. What's in the process or changing. It's quite important to have a broad gaze in this reading as one theme will undoubtedly rise up and help you understand what this is about exactly.

8. What you've Transformed

Here will be what you've already transformed. The work that has already been made in relation to the other cards. Really interesting whether you are new to introspection or not, as it will highlight the progress you've made already.

9. What you're going to Transform

Finally, this is about what will be transformed in the future. Taking a look at cards 3 (future you seek) and 6 (highest self) will help you see if you're aligned with that or if it's a step in this direction. This can also be taken as your advice position. The supporting guidance that will help you progress further.

Check out my other spreads here

[hermit-x-la-hedge]

I’m trying to get more into tarot reading.

Any tips? Or good books to read? (I feel like most of the tarot reading stuff I see is all about love readings.)

[tarot-by-starlight]

I’d like to share a card / deck study technique. Works well for both tarot and oracle cards, of course, although the more cards in the deck the more time it’ll take. The idea came to me spontaneously after laying out a 3-card reading for myself (the cards in the rectangle) and feeling like I needed more clarity on their meanings.

It’s based on this; when we get stuck on asking what a card means, we can instead try to ask: what does this card not mean?

1. Most cards in a deck will have other cards which convey messages which are similar on the surface, sometimes even “the same”, but reveal important subtle differences on closer examination.

2. The greatest intuitive block when reading for oneself tends to be that there are certain answers we are hoping for or expecting, certain ways the cards could speak to us which we are more open to than others. Getting a card that invites a perspective we’ve never considered before may be confusing to interpret, especially when we’re reading for ourselves.

So here’s what I did: after laying out the spread, I went through every card in the remainder of the deck and, - If the card is very similar to a particular card that showed up in the spread, place it above the card. This could be similarity in the traditional or book meaning, similarity in art or image, similarity or relatedness in concepts, etc - take a look at my examples! - Otherwise, if the card is one that I would have expected, or felt it would have made [potentially more] sense if it showed up in a particular position, instead of the card that actually showed up, place it below that card.

At the end, I found that my bottom piles had many more cards than my top piles - this seems reasonable, as there were a lot of cards representing the various perspectives to the enquired situation which I had considered quite thoroughly. My focus is much more on understanding the cards I did get by contrasting with the similar cards which I didn’t get, but it felt important to also acknowledge my expectations (#2 above) so I can let them go, and concentrate more fully on the first 2 rows. So I left the top card piles spread out to reflect on further and collapsed the bottom piles, but shuffled each pile and “randomly” (to the extent that randomness exists) drew one card to be the top. 

You can see, that the reading really showed me a new and different perspective! But it was for that exact reason that it has been so helpful and refreshing for me. This feels like one of the most successful self-readings that I’ve done - because I really took the time to work through it. I hope this technique can help someone else too!!

Now, I look forward to doing this with a tarot deck and seeing how the process might differ.

[resonance-of-libra]

As a reader ...

It's often put out there that it's totally normal and acceptable to rephrase a client's queries to be easier for you to read, or to be a "better" question in the tumblr tarot community's collective eye ...

But I say ... be careful of that. Sometimes the question that is asked is actually the question that needs an answer. A common example - "does x have a crush on me?" or "how does x feel about me?" is almost always rephrased as "how do I make x like me more?" with this assumption that that is the actual query. Right now, I've got this friend, I have no romantic interest in him but he's been tossing vague signs pointing towards him liking me. It's not a big enough thing that I'm going to be like "yo dude, don't be falling in love with me ok?" in person, but I MIGHT consult tarot for a confirmation. If I WERE to check in with a tumblr reader and they just switched it to "how do I make him like me more?" Well. That's a useless question for me. Another situation I came across was a client asking the same thing - does x have feelings for me - and the cards showed a current relationship being hidden away from them. A reading telling them how to chase that person would just not be helpful! They needed to see that the person, despite all signs, wasn't available.

Point is. Check in with querents to flesh out the situation before making assumptions & changing the question, if you don't like how it's worded. Or - make sure your guidelines are covering that to begin with ("when asking what someone feels towards you, please include the current nature of your relationship & source of confusion for you." for example). Not doing so could lead to your answers not being as helpful as they could be!

As well - a lot of my growth as a reader came from challenging my limits as a reader. Places where I wanted to go "no, I don't do that sort of reading" and instead tried it - I've had amazing results and was able to pinpoint where my personal boundaries actually are, instead of limiting myself to the common lines of "what tarot can do." Trust me, it goes SO MUCH FURTHER than you know, if you let it.

[tarotforbeginners]

five beginner tarot mistakes that make a reading harder asking five questions at once. ignoring card position. reading fear before meaning. pulling more cards to avoid the answer. forgetting the actual question.

check the full reading