Interpreting your tarot card spread can be daunting in the beginning. Especially if you’re an over-thinker like me. For a while I would only go to someone else for my reads in fear I wouldn’t do it right or something. One day my soul was pulling for me to take the plunge, buy my own deck, and it turns out it’s an easier option for divination in my opinion. Reversals, hidden meanings, self-doubt, and generally feelings of disconnection with your deck can hinder your experience. Follow me as I go through mistakes I’ve made and my tips to being more comfortable with your readings.
Find the right deck
Finding tarot cards have never been easier while choosing the right deck for you has never been tougher. My first deck was actually a self -care deck (Neo Tarot by Jericho Mandybur, a Very good deck btw) instead of a general one so no wonder why I felt like my responses were almost always off. Just when I was about to give up on tarot I purchased another deck (Classic Waite deck) and things started to take off! I prefer always buying my divination tools in person when possible but online does give a greater picture of what to buy. Tip: Take advantage of the reviews section to check for the quality of the deck. Are the cards super thick and uncomfortable to hold? Are they super thin and tear easily? Do they shuffle well or is there too much friction? Does it come with a booklet or interpretation guide? Did the manufacturer accidentally misprint cards or leave them out entirely? Take your time and don’t rush the process.
Building a connection
Hooray! You picked out a deck and brung it home. Now what? It’s time to bond with your new cards. After purchasing your deck and cleansing it, take some time to just be with the cards before actually using them. Let the deck soak up your energy. They will feel really foreign at first and in my experience, will produce “off ” readings. Tip: Watch tv, sleep with them under your pillow, ask the Universe or whomever you wish to help you to connect with the deck, or just look through and enjoy the artwork (all things I have done). It sounds crazy but trust me it makes a difference. Now I feel like my cards and I are one and can begin the fun.
Stop second guessing
I remember feeling really nervous after asking a question that the cards wouldn’t show me what I wanted to see. I would flip over a card and be disappointed. Doubt started creeping in that no one could hear me or at least wanted to help guide me. The biggest thing I had to come to terms with was to let go of control and the outcomes. I trust my Spirit Guides, Ancestors, etc, so there is no use in worrying. I suggest getting your energy in a calm and peaceful state before a reading. Now I can only speak for how I do things so of course do what’s best for you. Tip: Light a purple candle and maybe have some amethyst at hand as well. Cleanse your self, space and deck with whatever works for you. Ask your particular entities for guidance and protection.
Close your eyes, breathe deeply and meditate for around 5 minutes or whenever you feel comfortable (gets easier the more you do it). When you feel confident, open your eyes and shuffle your deck with the question you have in mind. Decide if you are just doing upright or reversals too. Ask aloud your concern or ask for anything they want you to know to be revealed. Right before flipping a card over, say “Whatever card I pull, is what I’m meant to see”. Then flip and listen to your intuition. Read the booklet if needed as well for extra clarification but it’s still up to you to understand. This technique has done wonders for me over the years but sometimes the over thinker in me can’t resist herself.
If you MUST overthink
When the math just simply isn’t “math-ing” or want to see if my interpretation matches up with someone else’s, I have a few go-to resources for back-up. * These sources will give an automated general understanding and is not a live human interpretation so take it with a grain of pink salt. The first site I like is atarotcards.com if you’re working on large spreads. You can input up to 13 cards and choose upright or reversal. Now while they do have a premium version, I only use the free option and the results are limited but does the trick for me. For those doing a Celtic cross, powerfortunes.com can help you out there with their tarot calculator specifically for that. Simply scroll down and choose the card and click if it’s reversed or not and await a response. Now this site really breaks it all down card by card and how they relate to each other which I really appreciate. This method is free as well. The last free site I recommend is for 2,3, & 4 card spreads is tarotnauts.com. I’ve used them the most and the results are my favorite. It gives out keywords, general meaning, the meaning of the cards together and interprets the numbers as well. The only draw back is that they do not have a reversal feature but the 4 card spread is new so I see they’re updating the site often so maybe reversals are on the horizon.
Not that bad huh? Tarot can be easy, fun and a resourceful divination tool with patience and consistency. Pull a single card once a week in the beginning to just get comfortable with the deck, and it’s fun to see what awaits in your upcoming week…sometimes. *I pulled the tower as my weekly card a few weeks back and was scared s#*tless so I tried to act like I didn’t pull that card and redo it lol but I stopped myself. Long story short my car was stolen days after that, was totaled, and they never caught the dude. But I do believe the tower has a bright side too. The payments were killing me and it wasn’t in the safest driving condition to begin with (which is why I’m still shocked someone would even want it) and now I get to get a better car soooo idk. What do you think? Keep practicing and thanks for reading!