In the world of psychic readings, there exists a belief among some people that Tarot is a ‘lesser’ form of psychic art, that it is somehow rigid, and based upon specific meanings of the cards.
There’s no doubt that Tarot cards reflect archetypal experiences that we all, as human beings, share, regardless of culture, language, gender, or age. But reading a Tarot card is so much more than this.
The card comes alive through your personal interaction with it. By using our own intuition, the message in the card takes on a specific meaning in that moment and for the particular person having the reading. There’s no ‘getting it right’ or ‘getting it wrong’, only a sharing of knowledge, which is accessible to everyone.
If you’d like to start learning to read Tarot cards for yourself, first of all, take some time to choose a pack which ‘feels’ right to you. Go into a shop which will allow you to actually look at cards from different decks – the imagery, colours, style, etc. need to suit you and your own personality.
Take some simple steps to reading Tarot cards for yourself.
Once you’re chosen your deck, pull out the cards known as the ‘Major Arcana’ – these are the cards which have titles, such as ‘The Emperor’, ‘The Chariot’, ‘The Lovers’, ‘Death’ etc. Get to know your deck – which cards appeal to you most, which cards make you feel uncomfortable. The feelings you have in response to your cards are your first signs of connection, the first level of feedback, which will help you to ‘know’ what your cards are telling you.
Try the exercise in the box below to begin to build your own intuitive link with your cards. Take your time to get to know your cards – learn to listen to them and you’ll soon be discovering all sorts of guidance coming to you from your cards.
Discover the power of gazing
Take a few moments to close your eyes and quiet your mind. Sit with your feet flat on the floor, and take some slow breaths and relax down into a receptive state. When you are quite relaxed, pick up your cards, and shuffle them. When you feel ready to, stop shuffling, place the cards face down, cut them once with your left hand, place the lower pile of cards on top of the upper, and turn over the first card.
Now, simply gaze at the card – take note of what your first impression is. What stands out to you most? Do you notice any colours? Is there a part of the card which stands out more? If there are people in the card, what do you notice about their faces?
Do any words or phrases come to you? It could even be the lyrics of a song. Anything at all is valuable. Practise gazing at a different card each day, and keep note of what comes to you in a journal. You’ll be surprised at how much information you uncover.