How to Get Started with Tarot

Awesome! You've just decided you want to learn to read Tarot. But where on earth do you begin?

Well never fear, dear Tarot beginner, because I've got you covered. Do these four things and you'll be reading Tarot in no time!

Buy a Tarot Deck

You can't read Tarot without a deck of Tarot cards! So your first step is to buy a Tarot deck.

First, decide which cards you want to use. For beginners, I recommend the Rider Waite deck because the images are highly visual and literal and there are a ton of resources available for this deck.

Or, if knights and castles and royalty aren't your thing, then check out the vast array of other Tarot decks that are available. You'll find Tarot deck reviews at Aeclectic, Benebell Wen's site, and Amazon. And you can also do a Google image search to view the different decks available.

Once you've selected your deck, you can buy it at Amazon or your local new age shop or book store. Simple as that.

Familiarise Yourself with the Cards

Your Tarot deck has just arrived and you rip open the packet. Now what?

It's time to familiarise yourself with the cards.

Go through each card, one-by-one. Look at the imagery of the card. What grabs your attention? What energy do you feel? What words or phrases come to mind? You don't have to interpret the card – just notice what comes to you as you gaze at the card and allow the image to rest gently in your memory.

Spend a couple of minutes with each card and work through the entire deck.

Now, go through the deck again, but this time, bring out the Little White Book (LWB) that accompanies your deck. For some decks, this might just be a few keywords. For others, it might be a complete book. (Not digging your LWB? Get my Ultimate Guide to the Tarot Card Meanings here.)

Go through card-by-card, reading what the LWB has to say about each card. What new information does this give you about each card?

Group the Cards

First, pull out all the Major Arcana cards (the Fool all the way to the World) and lay them out in order. Cast your eyes over the cards and look for patterns and themes between the cards. Do you see symbols that are repeated in some of the cards? How do the cards flow from one to the other? Can you see a story emerge from the cards?

OK, now pull out the numbered cards, from Ace to 10, and lay them out in order, organized by suit (i.e. Cups, Pentacles, Swords, and Wands). Again, look for patterns and see if you can tell the story from Ace to 10.

You can also look at the numerological groups. For example, put all the 2s together. What do you notice? And how are the 2s different from the 7s or the 9s?

Finally, pull out the court cards (Pages, Knights, Queens, and Kings) and lay them out in suits. What do you notice?

See how the cards start to come to life, even more, when you look at them in the context of one another!

Draw a Daily Tarot Card

This is where the rubber hits the road!

At the start of the day, ask your Tarot deck, “What energy do I need to connect with today?” and draw a Tarot card.

First, look at the card and connect with your intuition. What do you feel when you see this card? What is the story in the card? How might it relate to you today? Write it all down in a special notebook (AKA the Tarot journal).

Next, look up the card in your LWB or favorite book or website. What new information do you receive about this card?

Now, go about your day just as usual, but take notice of any situations or people that might relate to the card you drew. What do these experiences tell you about the Tarot card?

By the end of the day, pull out your notebook again, and jot down everything that happened that could be related to the card you drew. Now, what do you know about this Tarot card?

Do this simple task each and every day, and soon you'll start to create a personal and intuitive connection with your Tarot cards. You'll build a personal library of meanings and experiences associated with each card. And most importantly, the Tarot will start to come alive!

Start Reading!

Trust me, it's never too early to start reading the Tarot cards.

Keep it super simple with a 1-card reading. Just ask the Tarot a question and draw a card. What comes up?

Remember to read the card intuitively first, then if you need to, look up the card in your favorite book.

Record your readings and keep building that personal library of meanings.

And once you have mastered a 1-card reading, try 2 cards, then 3 cards, and even more!

In no time, you'll be reading the Tarot with so much confidence!

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