The basics of Tarot

Hi y'all I'm not sure if I'm posting this on the right part of the forum, but I have a question. I bought a Tarot Card deck about a month ago and I'm loving it. Reading about their meanings and such. But I still have a hard time fully grasping how to lay down my cards, what kind of question(s) I should ask and how to read some of the cards as a response. Do you guys have any starting tips?

In the beginning I recommend starting with questions like "What do I need to know about ______" and reading just three cards in a row and seeing them as a narrative of beginning, middle, end.

Also, Tarot For Yourself by Mary Greer is an amazing resource for a reader at any skill level.

The kinds of questions you ask are very important. Tarot cards are almost impossible to read if you ask yes/no questions.

Those questions are often "will he..." or "will I...." or "is X going to....", etc. Other yes/no questions start "is there any chance....."

Second only to yes/no questions are 'How likely' questions: "how likely is it that I'll get the job", "how likely is it that she will contact me", etc.

As suggested above, read a good basic book that helps you learn to craft good questions for the cards. It will make interpreting them go much more smoothly. Asking a good question is an artform.

It's possible to do yes/no readings with Tarot. It's just that there's a necessity of some skill and experience with knowing which the Tarot is advising. Sometimes, depending on the issue, it helps to do a "What if I do/what if I don't", drawing three cards for each option to get your answers. Or "what if I choose A?" or "what if I choose B?" Then you just read the cards and choose based on the illumination the cards are sharing with you.

In my opinion, the best questions are those that give you something to do or more insight or both. Like others said: "what do I have to know about..." or "what can I do to..." "what is going on in the background of..." etc.

Questions of the kind "what does he think about me", "what does he feel about me", "what does he think about my haircolour" etc are IMHO nearly useless because of the strong projections we all do (if you have to know such a thing, maybe ask someone else to read for you) and also because of the defenses "he" might have. Which is anybody's good right.

Just like in communications, messages that focus on the effect something has on ME make for better interaction with the cards. they are IMO tools of reflection and useful to recognize tendencies, potentials, challenges, blockades etc. They're much less suited as private detective's tools.

The answer NO to the question "will I get this job" doesn't help me much. It's IMO much better to ask "what do I have to do to get this job" or "what is the root of my professional troubles" or "what don't I see about my problems at work".

It's a matter of style of course and many, many people ask the tarot "will she call me" or even "when will she call me"... and they're doing fine. So ymmv.

Wow! Thank you guys for the response! I'll definitely look up the book, I also read somewhere that drawing one card a day for that day and then writing down the meaning of this card would be a good way to learn. And just to make sure I grasped the context of question good, it's best to never ask yes/no question and keep the questions emotion based such as "what should I", "what will he", "how will I", "When can she" and such?

Etje said:

And just to make sure I grasped the context of question good, it's best to never ask yes/no question and keep the questions emotion based such as "what should I", "what will he", "how will I", "When can she" and such?

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It's perfectly fine to read on these for yourself, but when you're starting out it's better to ask more open-ended questions that allow the cards to give advice rather than closed answers.

Additionally, daily draws are a good learning practice. You can draw them in the morning to see what you should pay attention to for the day or at night to reflect on the lessons learned from the day.

It's a great idea to keep a journal or a record of all your readings. This will help you learn more about the cards and you can reference it later if you get stuck.
This is a good thing to keep track of for learning card combinations as well.

It's best to start with 1-3 cards per spread just so you don't get overwhelmed. Most books and LWBs will include spreads like the Celtic Cross that utilize 10+ cards, but for now, the simpler the spread the better.

It's also a good idea to look at the symbols used in your deck and do further research on them. This can add multiple layers to a reading and help you hone in on the card's meanings quicker.

Etje said:

Wow! Thank you guys for the response! I'll definitely look up the book, I also read somewhere that drawing one card a day for that day and then writing down the meaning of this card would be a good way to learn. And just to make sure I grasped the context of question good, it's best to never ask yes/no question and keep the questions emotion based such as "what should I", "what will he", "how will I", "When can she" and such?

Click to expand...

Even better when you are starting is to pull a card at the END of the day and see how it relates to the way the day was for you. You have sort of instant verification (or not !) of what you see an the chance to try and see what did happen in the card you have pulled..

I also find exercises "the other way around" very helpful, in addition to the daily card that you connect with the events in your day.

If you want to "activate" a certain quality or feeling within you, go through the deck and choose the card that best expresses this quality for you. Optimism, patience, courage - don't look at the book definitions, go through the deck and pick the image that speaks most clearly to you. Look at the card, make it yours, try to connect to its energy, and take it with you.

Or you ask yourself: which card expresses most closely my mother's energy, my feelings for my job, my disappointment at being left out of the invitiation etc. Go through the deck and pick one or two cards who give you a picture of the feelings, experiences, cards that illustrate these energies. Write down which cards you picked and what you could sense from the card.

This will help you build a relationship with the cards where you can take initiative, not only wait what each card has to tell you at its turn.

I learned this active approach on Nina Lee Braden's mailing list many many years ago and found it a great boost to my interaction with the cards.

Etje said:

Hi y'all I'm not sure if I'm posting this on the right part of the forum, but I have a question. I bought a Tarot Card deck about a month ago and I'm loving it. Reading about their meanings and such. But I still have a hard time fully grasping how to lay down my cards, what kind of question(s) I should ask and how to read some of the cards as a response. Do you guys have any starting tips?

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You know what? Don't be hard on yourself. In fact, that's Tip Number One.

You are right at the very beginning of a long and beautiful journey. You will continue learning for years, for decades. I've been reading since the 1970s, since 1981 professionally, and I still get surprised and I still learn new things all the time. So Tip Number Two is to enjoy the journey itself instead of being too eager to get to the end and be some kind of Tarot expert.

Tip Number Three is the only practical one I have for you. Keep the images of your deck in front of your eyes. People will tell you to sleep with your deck - you learn nothing by sleeping, except, possibly, that your pillow is too thin and liumps under it cause sore necks! <laughter> You learn by seeing the images constantly, and thinking about them. So dcarry it around with you. Whenever you have a moment: on the bus, perhaps, or during TV commercials, pull it out and shuffle it. Pull a few cards out and look at them, without necessarily thinking too hard about them. Enjoy the artwork, the colours, the composition. What does the scene say to you? Spend *months* doing this at every opportunity.

And now I come to Tip Number Three-A <grin>. Hang around this forum a lot. Read other people's questions, and all the answers offered, even if you think you know that card or card-combination. I guarantee you, you will learn heaps that way.