Learning how to read the cards in a spread

[clywking]

Ive spent some time learning the meanings of each card and im really overwhelmed with how to go about learning how the cards interact in a spread and the meaning of them in whatever position they occupy. Im not sure what to do because ive searched what to do and i have heard many things and really dont know which one to start with, especially because some people advise to do one thing while others discourage it. I see people say to lay a simple spread out like a 3-card spread but im not sure if i should if i should just use an example question that im not really inquiring or if i should ask a legitimate question. If it is the former, i really don't know what to ask about because if i misinterpret the cards after asking about something very serious im thinking about, im just gonna feel extremely confused and discouraged from trying to read again. Like i said, im really overwhelmed with what to do. If anyone can give me some advice or clarify what to start with, it would really help.

 

[rwcarter]

Welcome to Aeclectic, clywking!

First thing, take a breath. The world isn't going to end if you get an interpretation wrong. Just like you probably fell when you were learning how to ride a bike, you will probably get an interpretation "wrong". Even seasoned readers get an interpretation wrong here and there.

To see how other people interpret cards (and the myriad ways that different readers can interpret the same cards), look through the threads in the Your Readings forum.

When you're ready to try reading in a safe environment, you can try the Newbie Exchange over in the Reading Circles subforum of Reading Exchanges.

And when you're ready to post your own reading for help, do so over in the Your Readings forum.

Check the Tarot Study Groups forum to see if there is a study group for the deck you're using. (Or if you're using the Rider Waite, Thoth or a Marseilles, check out their forums over in the Tarot History & Iconography forum.

Peruse through the Using Tarot Cards forum to see how different cards can be interpreted in different situations.

If I could only give you one piece of advice, it would be to not be too literal -

• women can be Kings
• men can be Queens
• a man can express Empress or High Priestess energy
• a woman can express Emperor or Hierophant energy
• Pentacles, Swords and Wands can just as easily discuss love and relationships as Cups can (and the same is true for all the other suits)

As you've already encountered how different people have different opinions on how things should be done, my general rule of thumb is to accept what resonates and discard what doesn't. You need to find the shuffling method that best suits you. You need to find the way of selecting the cards that best suits you. There are very few, if any, right ways to do things in tarot. We're all different people and we use the tarot in many different ways.

After 21 years, I still consider myself a student of tarot. When I started there wasn't anything like Aeclectic (or even the internet as it is today), so my journey started in a vacuum. Congrats on starting your tarot journey. You have a lot of resources available to you here at Aeclectic. Make use of them.

Rodney

 

[clywking]

Would it be a good idea to use self reading to get use to reading the cards in a spread? i see many people saying its a good idea so you are used to it before reading others but i also see people saying its not the best thing to do because you could just be seeing what you want to.

 

[rwcarter]

One good way to get to know your deck's language is daily draws. Pull 1-3 cards either at the beginning of your day (or the night before) for the day ahead or at the end of the day as a recap of the day. I prefer the end of the day as a recap because that way I don't have any preconceived notions of how the cards should express themselves thereby causing me to miss the actual expression on that day.

 

[Disa]

clywking, Welcome to AT.

When I was just beginning I had many of the same issues you are describing.

As far as questions, you can even ask things about your pets. Why is my pet acting this way today? Why is my pet going outside so much? Why isn't my pet going outside at all? Things like that- not too serious, but good enough to get some readings going. I had a hard time asking questions too, so I practiced on my mean old cat, Tom. I learned he isn't really mean, just a loner This is how he is and just deal. (self readings are fine if you have enough questions-it's going to be up to you if you enjoy doing them or not-it's just when the questions are really serious for yourself, sometimes it's hard to be objective, but for practice it's fine)

As far as putting the cards together, James Ricklef's books "Tarot tells the Tale" and Tarot Get the whole story" really helped me to begin to make connections.

Putting the cards in actual spreads with actual questions and trying to see how they related helped me more than anything else.

You can look at the cards after interpreting them with the positional meanings and see what they have in common or how they relate. Do you see a pattern in the number of each suit that appears. Are there any suits missing in the spread? What does it mean to you in a love spread if there are no cups? Why are there 6 out of 7 cards pentacles in this spread? That sort of thing.

Also, are the faces in the cards looking at each other, looking away, all facing to the left or the right? What does that mean to you?

Do they all have the color red in them? What does that mean to you?

Basically, look for patterns.

Other than this, unfortunately I have to say (and I hated hearing this over and over when I was starting out, but it's absolutely true) you will just have to practice, practice, practice. Nothing will teach you more than actually doing it. You will begin to see connections you never saw before and no one can really teach those in a book.

Hopefully though, you're getting some good direction in this thread as to how to get started. Learn as much as you can, and just DO it.

Oh, P.S. It's supposed to be FUN, don't forget the FUN part . Enjoy the process and don't get too stressed trying to reach the destination. That was SO hard for me to learn.

Best of luck!