How do YOU read your cards.

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 07 Aug 2001, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Smalloli	07 Aug 2001
I am confused as to how to read the cards best. I am still a beginner (for a very long time now) so reading don't come easy. I don't remember too much of the meanings of each card. Sometimes I read straight from the little booklet that came with my pack of cards, sometimes I look at the image and try to relate to the question that i ask. So, I ask, how do YOU read your cards. =)

lost01	07 Aug 2001
hi, im a beginner too and have had similar questions. ive never done a reading for anyone else because it wouldnt seem right if i pulled out the book every few seconds;) how i try and go about it- usually i try to it out on my own (from the pictures or whatever i can remember about the meanings) and for the cards that didnt seem to click, ill look in the little book. i almost always write the reading/spread in my journal and write what i thought about each card (including what the book suggested, if it made sense) or anything else that called out to me. i guess that is the newbie method;-) though as of late, ive been trying to pay attention to more of how everthing fits together or how cards relate to one another, rather than reading each card by itself. good luck, im interested in what anyone else might have to say. mike

catlin	07 Aug 2001
Hi, Welcome here, I am an intuitve reader. I let my imagination flow and try to listen to my inner voice. I also got plenty of books on tarot, but basically I stick to what I feel when I see the cards.

Yarnie	07 Aug 2001
Like you, I am also a newbie to Tarot. What I am doing is journaling my research into each card. I don't always succeed in my plan, but I try to do at least one card each day. Here's my method of analysis: Draw the card to be analyzed that day (for me I do this as a random drawing and re-draw if I draw one that I've already done). Look at it carefully and completely, observing every detail, trying to find each and every possible symbol in the image. Pay attention to the colors, the background, the setting, everything has importance. I notate everything in my journal and then research the meanings of each item. I then look at the image as a whole and note the impressions that it gives me. Next, I tie all this together in my own interpretation of the card using everything that I've learned (research) and observed about the card. Sometimes, I will also write down the interpretation from the LWB for comparison and contrast--although, if it differs from my own, I still use my own--at times it will give me added insight into the card. I keep my journal on my computer, so I also include a scanned image of the card. I then print out the pages to keep in my binder. A few times each week I will leaf through the pages in my binder to review and refresh my memory of each card's interpretation. Any card with which I have a problem remembering the interpretation, I will read my notes out loud--that puts it into the brain multiple times: eyes seeing, brain comprehending, voice speaking, ears hearing, and brain comprehending (again). Hope this helps!

Rhiannon	07 Aug 2001
I understand how you feel about pulling out the books! I won't read for anyone but my friends because I still rely on them so much. I've tried to memorize as many of the meanings as I can so that I don't have to do that as much. Some cards I know on sight but others I still have to look up. Especially the ones that don't appear very often. What I generally do now is lay out the cards and get my general impressions from them. I tell the querrent what I think and then we double-check it against the book. Sometimes I'm dead on, but sometimes they'll hear something in the book that makes more sense to them. This has helped me with my intuiton and with my confidence. Hope that helps! Rhiannon :)

.dc	07 Aug 2001
first off, there is no right or wrong way to read or "learn" the tarot. i have taken a class, signed onto this board and read and participate in the discussions on the cards themselves, read the lwb and other books but i also listen to my intuition and get a pheel for what the cards mean to me, rather than others. like anyone else learning them, i stumble on some cards and that's when i refer to my lwb or my notes. usually tho, there meaning of that card can be found or placed into meaning by reading cards that lay next to it. so, do whatever pheels natural to us. learning tarot is also like discovering what you want. if something works for you use it, if it doesn't...don't sweat it and move on. welp, off to go finish my daily 3 carder. blessed be, .dc

EveAnna	07 Aug 2001
I only do one or two readings a week, and mostly either past, present and future spreads or just a general 6 card spread. I look at the cards first to get an impression then write down the entire spread and what I get from the cards - then I check with my books to see the meanings of each card. The only problem I had was when I bought my deck the Original Rider Waite and tried to read through the little booklet that came with them, I found most of the meanings very negative so I never looked at it again.

Melvis	07 Aug 2001
In regards to lost01's comments about bringing out the book while reading for others... In my few reading experiences with others, there seems to be an innate respect that people have for those who delve into reading Tarot cards. When I would bring out the book during readings and then tell another interpretation of the card that could be made, it usually generated a good discussion about alternate meanings. But in the end, everyone would always quiet down and let "the Reader" have the last word. So in some cases, the book can be a good tool for discussion as well as a good reference. Peace to all, Melvis ______________________________ Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things. Diderot

StarShine	07 Aug 2001
I definitely understand about checking the book. I am a reformed book checker. A dear friend told me once that I had an incredible amount of intuition and the time had come for me to rely on it. I did not understand what he meant until I was doing a reading and realized that I was looking up the next card before I had even LOOKED at it. From that moment on, I ignored the book. I still have a page at the front of my spread book for quick reference if a card is giving me no impression at all, but I use it less and less. Since I quit looking at the book, my friends have been telling me that I am becoming more and more accurate. I even gave one girl a bad case of the chills! So I guess my answer would be, I don't read the cards, I listen to them.

KyrieSummer	07 Aug 2001
I started off reading the little black book and then veered away from it. Then when I got a new deck I got a book on how the author went about creating the symbolism on the deck and loved reading that book to help me gain even more insight. Soooooo . . . started with the book, rely more now on intuition, but still like to go back to books in study and then put it away in meditation, allowing the images to join with my own. Whatever works best for you is best for you. A daily journal is a good way to learn the cards, choose a card a day, study it in perhaps books or other means, then meditate and write down your impressions. Lots of different ways to do this. Best is to practice practice and practice.

Silverstar	07 Aug 2001
I'm a beginner as well and I've been overly confused by meanings listed in various books. There are so many meanings, from so many people for each card. I usually get an inner tug or inner pull to a meaning as I lay out each card in a spread. I usually piece together all of my first, brief impressions and then I go over the spread again and dig deeper. I do refer to the books every now and again but I've found the more I refer to the books, the more confused I become. My inner voice seems to be more reliable. Sometimes a card will strike a real weird, off the wall meaning with me and when that happens, my intuition is usually right. Awww heck, I'm still trying to figure out how to read the cards with competence.

RiotFemme	10 Aug 2001
When I was a beginner, I used to whip out that little instruction booklet as well as some other books all the time. But with time, I learned the meanings of each cards until I no longer needed the intruction booklet or other books. I remember one day in particular, I suddenly understood everything. It was like *aaaaaaaa* the clouds have parted. LOL. Now my understanding of the cards are based on a combination of that book knowledge, intuition, mythology, etc.

Mojo	10 Aug 2001
First of all, let me say that .dc is 100% on the money... there is no right way or wrong way to read the cards. I almost never see the "book meanings" when I read the cards. I've read so many books and I find their explanations of the cards interesting and sometimes amusing. But seldom do the traditional meanings of cards scream out at me during a reading. My eye is often drawn to the less significant symbols on a card. This is enhanced by the deck I use, the Royal Fez Moroccan deck. On this deck, the central "action" of a card is printed in full color, but the background detail is left in black and white. I love this feature of them! My eyes are always drawn to the stark backgrounds where I find details that almost always define the meaning of the card. For example.... on a recent reading about a financial matter, the Heirophant came up reversed in a position concerned with actions the querent needs to take. My eyes were drawn to the bare feet of the Heirophant. The message here was humility. I asked him if he was usually pretty smug about his investment ideas and he admitted that he was. So I told him that the cards were telling him that he needed to be a little more humble with this next venture. I never would have gotten that meaning out of a book. (by the way, in a follow up reading he told me that he was let into the deal because the guy who offered the opportunity was impressed that he was able to put his own ego aside for the sake of the deal!) The point here is to rely on your own intuition and imagination instead of trying to get a textbook meaning out of the cards. Reading books to get other people's insights is great, but in the end, the really powerful readings are the ones that come from the heart.

nexyjo	10 Aug 2001
Quote: starshine says: I don't read the cards, I listen to them. very well said. in most cases, i'd have to agree. on ocassion, i'll check through a few different books to gain insight into a card that i may not be "hearing" very clearly. and with some cards, the keywords i memorized infringe on my "hearing" as well, so i'll check with the book. but for the most part, i just trust what the cards say. i will add that sometimes, i'll look at a card or a spread, and just get a general feeling. it may not be specific at all. and sometimes, that's exactly what i'm looking for. no words, no "meaning" per se, just a feeling or emotion. sometimes, those are the most insightful of all. and there are other times that i'll get a definate word or suggestion. i remember one morning, i pulled the devil as my card of the day. i had planned on going out to the club that night, but when i pulled the card, it clearly indicated that i'd be better off staying home. who knows what trouble i avoided that night... luv and light, nexy

tarotbear	11 Aug 2001
smalloli- first step -- take the little white book ( LWB) that came with the deck and throw it away. second step - keep a journal and write, write, write! Do meditations on the cards and record what YOU see in them. There is nothing wrong with buying a book or two ...or dozens... but the interpretation is UP TO YOU. Do not try to 'memorize' what someone else (even me) has written. third step- keep doing readings. Tarot is an interactive process. There is no 'passing a test' better than doing a reading and not using a book. Stop worrying that you will make a bad call and the world will spin backwards on it's axis. It takes time - I worked with the cards for almost two years before I felt comfortable enough to do a reading for someone else. When you are ready, you will know. step four- keep learning. That is the purpose of this forum - to spread the knowledge. I learn something new every day here. Tarot is a life-long process. Get on board and have fun!

Smalloli	14 Aug 2001
Thanx for all the reply. They are all appreciated. Just another question though. ( though i think i'm suppose to start a new tread...) anyhows, I started learning the tarot with books on the Rider-Waite Deck, from which I basically nearly remembered all the meaning of each card (by it's symbols suggested on the card itself) but, I thought the deck itself was very edge-y, unappealling so when I actually brought a deck, I brought the witches tarot (thanx to this site, I actually went through every deck on the site!) but, when I read it, it has different meaning to the RW deck, and when every I see a card, I will read it as the meaning by RW deck, the the LWB that came with Witches Tarot... I don't know if it's 'right' for me to do so... because I can't tell if it FEELS right or not... Any suggestions?

nexyjo	14 Aug 2001
i have the witches tarot as well, and i sometimes find myself looking at that deck for a "second" opinion, when i don't get a clear meaning from my robin wood. however, i think one achieves "success" when one does NOT rely on previously memoried meanings, or what any book happens to say about any particular card. one achieve success when one can look at a card, and *know* what it's saying, without having to "translate" a meaning in your head. it's a lot like learning a new language. when one first learns, one often literally translates each word mentally into their native language. after a while, the new words, in the new language, make sense in and of themselves, without the need to translate them into ones native language. the same goes for tarot. further, one cannot simply read a few books, memorize each meaning, and expect to perform perfect readings. (well, there are exceptions, just like some people can learn a new language overnight). it takes time for us "normal" people to learn. each deck is like a different dialect. the robin wood has a "new england" accent as an example, where the witches tarot has a southern accent. each deck has nuances and different phrasings which the reader should familiarize themselves with before using the deck. just like when the new englander goes to the south, and has to learn what grits are, and what "that dog don't hunt" means. it's english, but it has a different meaning than the literal words would suggest. oh, and please pass the "chawda"... the most important and effective study tool i've come across is pulling a card of the day and writing ones impressions in a journal. and of course, using the deck for readings. luv and light, nexy

StarShine	14 Aug 2001
Tarotbear suggested pulling a card a day and meditating on it and then recording what YOU feel the card is saying. I agree completely. Eons ago I downloaded Joan Bunning's course on Tarot. In one of the first lessons she suggests the same thing and gives questions to ask yourself about the cards. I took these questions and typed them out to make a "worksheet". I made several copies and keep these in a separate section of my journal. Although I am a little lazy about pulling a card for this purpose every day, I will use this worksheet if I notice a particular card coming up often in readings or if I pull my daily card and have trouble "hearing" it. Hope this helps!

tarotbear	14 Aug 2001
I am going to guess that you have the Witches Tarot by Ellen Cannon Reed. If you aren't a Wiccan/Pagan or at least have an understanding of them, that deck will definately confuse you if your only brush with tarot is the Rider-Waite! I dislike the deck, but it didn't stop me from reading BOTH her books and using the deck from a Wiccan/Qabblic standpoint. When you understand the designs are based around their placement on the Tree of Life (which also explains those obtrusive colored spheres in the drawings- they're called Sephiroth), the deck might make more sense on a whole.

Smalloli	15 Aug 2001
Thanx YET AGAIN for the suggestions. =P I will of course try to look for that book that the creator of the Witches Tarot wrote. What's a pagan anyways?

tarotbear	15 Aug 2001
Smalloli- there are two books - one about the paths (The Witches Tarot) and one about the spheres (The Witches Qabala), published by different publishers. What is a pagan? You will do better to look up pagan sites than try to discuss it here! As soon as one person states what they believe they are, someone refutes it. Paganism is an umbrella term; Witchcraft is a group of religions; Wicca is a witchcraft subgroup. If you go to AOL under 'religion' you can find pagan bulletin boards where people post venemous postings about what is a pagan/Wiccan/witch and argue about who is and isn't. Good Luck!

.dc	16 Aug 2001
i just wanted to amend my post to this thread. i do read a lot of tarot books. mostly on perceptions, things to do with the cards and whatnot... but as far as interpretations go, i really try and rely on what i think as opposed to the billions of books out there. i hate memorizing things, and it's so much more personal when you spend the time to think about the meanings of the imagery themselves and how they relate to the spread. blessed be, .dc

Aeon	16 Aug 2001
Quote: tarotbear (16 Aug, 2001 00:27): What is a pagan? If you go to AOL under 'religion' you can find pagan bulletin boards where people post venemous postings about what is a pagan/Wiccan/witch and argue about who is and isn't. Good Luck! Sorry, I thought that bore repeating. A little less abrasive board to start on would be Beliefnet. AOL boards are seriously rough, even for the long time regs. Things get twisted really easy. Don't get me wrong, if you have a particular interest there are great minds to pick on there, you just have to be careful. IMHO Aeon

tarotbear	18 Aug 2001
AEON- ROFLMAO! Those boards are how XCOTYS & I met-- diametrically opposed to each other! As you can tell, things have cooled down some since then. :-D

Major Tom	20 Aug 2001
Every journey on the path of tarot is defined by the traveller. Here's a brief history of my journey so far: My first tarot book was The Magick of Tarot by Denning & Phillips. The book provided short chapters on each of the major arcana (& only the briefest of descriptions of the minor) and encouraged the student to start reading with just the 22 cards. I did this and found within the space of a couple of weeks that I could read those 22 cards with astonishing accuracy. Three months into it and I was reading for people in public for $5 each! (Boy was that a learning experience back in 1983) ;D Nonetheless I still read for other people only using the major arcana - there's just so many other things to do with the cards! I've only recently found I want to learn the minor arcana. So I'm really only a beginner }> For tarot use as a personal oracle I've been using a book previously recommended by Tarotbear: Tarot in Ten Minutes by R.T.Kaser. All you have to do is consult the book! :D

divinerguy	12 Oct 2001
Rather than go to "the book." I've started writing my own book, sort of like a Wiccan's Book of Shadows. Its in my own writing, and contains the meanings and correspondences of the deck author. However, I also write down my own feelings as well. When I refer to it, it has become my own body of knowledge. Writing it down also helps me memorize some of the more important details of the cards.

truthsayer	13 Oct 2001
how i learned to read the cards... 1. experiencing life; experience the cards 2. read and view a wide variety of things 3. journaling 4. practice, practice, practice and then practice some more! 5. learn to trust yourself more than what a book tells you. 6.i'm a student for life--always in school to learn something. but nothing in a book has ever taught me as much as actual hands on experience and the school of hard knocks. 7. fake it til you make it! 8. looking at my life metaphorically and trying to see where i'm at in terms of what major arcana, suit or minor arcana card. it's fun to write about those perceptions. 9. communicate w/ the cards via art and your own inner imagery. i've drawn pictures from memory of what i think a card should look like. i'll never forget the time i created a set for the high priestess, dressed up like her and had a friend take pictures of me. that really honed meanings and personal relations w/ the HP to me. i'm thinking it might be interesting to try temperence next because i want to understand balance and moderation in all things better. 10.you don't have to be an artist or a writer to experience the tarot in creative ways. make up stories or poetry about cards you feel particularly drawn to. take pictures, do collages, draw, etc. 11. most of all learn to trust your intuition/your gut feelings of what a card is really saying. all a book is is a collection of another person's tarot experiences. don't be afraid to look w/in and face yourself instead of leaning on external factors. it feels like being blind and feeling around in the dark at first but eventually your other senses and intuition will kick in to guide you. you won't have an external guidepost but those inner ones are even better.

deso	13 Oct 2001
For me, I was finally able to read intuitively when I finally learned to fully trust the Universe and that the Universe UNCONDITIONALLY loved me - and was incomplete without me. Now I have no problems reading. Yeahhhhhhh - no more need to rush to the books every 5 seconds. No more palpitations of the heart and sweaty palms and second guesses whenever I read for another. Yeeeeaaaahhhhhh!

cj	13 Oct 2001
Smalloli I don't remember too much of the meanings of each card. I'm still learning and what I did was make a a few cheat sheets that I keep with my cards. I only use them when I am absolutely stuck. 3 sheets are from learntarot.com. 1 is my own - it's my journal of sorts..things I have learned about different suites, cards and majors. It might be better to make your own-typing it helped me remember it. cj

The How do YOU read your cards. thread was originally posted on 07 Aug 2001 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.