Tarot questions

Witchy Wisdom
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So I have had my tarot deck for about 6 months or so. I am doing readings on myself, have done a few for friends. I’m more the type to online readings. I don’t feel confident enough to do one in person as of yet and don’t know anyone that I feel comfortable to do for anyways.

How do YOU (those that have more experience than me) interpret cards? tricks and tips that you use for youself, not just the common stuff you learn online or in books.

I find my deck is pretty accurate with me. She a bit of sassy one too, the type of deck to tell it like it is, even if you don’t want to hear it. I love the connection I have with it. And she wasn’t gifted-- I bought the deck online. I get mixed msgs on the ‘gifted’ vs 'buy topic.

Reversed card too. How do you figure those ones out. I guess I just want to hear from those that use tarot for longer than I have, as love my cards and want to learn how to use them better and have better readings.

thanks ahead of time

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I just use the base knowledge and what I look up along with intuition. Tarot is definitely a process, right? There is so much symbolism and so many options for interpretation. I sometimes wonder how many years it will take until I really feel like I have mastered it. Right now, for the sake of simplicity, I align the Tarot readings I do with what I know about planetary astrology and the qualities of the signs. So for example, the Moon card is associated with Pisces and I am very familiar with Piscean traits, so that helps me when that card surfaces in a reading. When I have a reading, this is pretty basic, but I look to see overall what is the spread – how many Pentacles (Earth), Wands (fire), Cups (water) and Swords (air). I think about what I know about the four elements and those properties and apply that. It helps me to remember that 2s are often about duality, choices, partners, etc.; 5s are often conflicts or struggles; 10s are completions, Pages are often messengers or young people, etc. Those are just generalizations. The easiest way to read reversals is just to think of it is opposite in meaning or energy. So the Devil might be addiction and reversed Devil in a reading might be recovery from addiction, or freedom from it. So I guess what I am saying is that I look at the individual meaning of the cards but then I look to see if there is a story or meaning in their inter-relationship. My readings I have done with my sister have been the most compelling because we look at things in different ways but usually with the same conclusions. So, the meanings are more complex. I do readings with just me but I really like the energy of doing a reading with another person (where they are actually there) because it feels like more of a combined effort and the energy is often, I don’t know, amplified for want of a better word.

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I agree with @mary25 – tarot is definitely a process! There is so much to learn and interpret that it can sometimes feel like you’ll never know it all. Chances are there will be things that stand out to you years later! That happened to me with the Seven of Swords a while ago – I wrote about it in my own blog if you’re interested. :sword_tarot:

I interpret the cards in a number of ways.

  • What is the traditional meaning of the card? – the number, the face, the Major Arcana, whatever it is

  • Where is the card placed in the spread? – this can give you a clue about extra meanings of the cards

  • Which direction are the people facing in the card, if at all? – depending on what I feel intuitively, someone facing to my left might be looking into the past while someone facing to the right might be looking into the future

  • How many cards are reversed versus upright? – a lot of reversals in my spreads tells me that a lot of energy is being blocked and there are big obstacles coming to the querent

  • How much of each suit is present? – too much of one element in a reading can point to a lot of focus on that particular area of the person’s life, e.g. too many swords means the person is all in their head and could also point to an issue with their mental health

  • Were there any jumper cards? – I don’t always take a card falling out of my deck as I shuffle as a jumper card, but when a card is a jumper I give it a bit more weight because it really needed to be seen

This is a common misconception about reading tarot. It may have been true in the past that it was better to be gifted a deck rather than buy one yourself. However, there’s not really an occult meaning behind it. It was probably likely that it was for secrecy reasons.

Reversals can be tricky and sometimes I still struggle with them depending on the card. Some people read reversals as the complete opposite of the upright meaning as Mary demonstrated with The Devil. some people read reversals as a blockage of the upright meaning of the card. For example, if you pull the Ace of Cups Reversed and you read reversals this way you might see that the person’s emotional freedom and creativity is being stifled by something going on in their personal life. I think the reversal meanings are personal preference.

Keep in mind that this is just how I do it and there are a million different ways that people read tarot. I hope I helped to answer your question :blush:

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@Dierna_Nimue_Selene I do things a bit different than I have seen others… I also haven’t learned the intuitive reading part… but I am also working on some things & relearning to trust my intuition so there’s that…

I have bought my decks… I have never been gifted one. So my first deck was the Rider-Waite deck. As I went through them, I bought the Light Seer’s Tarot which is really straight up with me & then the Tarot of the Divine. It’s straight but not tell it like it is… then I found the Celtic Tarot… that one pulls no punches & is just not abrupt but definitely tells it like it is.

The first thing I do is smoke cleanse my decks & say a blessing, prayer, chant, not sure what to call it. That is based off one that I had gotten & I changed it a bit for myself. Then I place clear quartz in with the cards & sleep with them in my pillowcase for a few days.

Once I have started that, I over hand then bridge shuffle the deck 3 times. I take the top 3 cards off the top & place them within the deck. I flip the next card as the card for the day or question.

I start with one card drawn for myself each day. It’s usually a question like:

  • What is the outlook for today?
  • What is the energy for me today?
  • Is there anything I should avoid today?

If there is a “jumper” I will read that one first then the card I’ve drawn as a pairing or clarification card.

As time goes by I will start 2 card draws up to a 3 & sometimes I get to a 5 card draw… usually I stop at a 3 card draw & will do 4 if I have a specific situation.

I also have a pdf file of a Tarot Journal, that has different spreads starting with 1 card through I believe 5 maybe 6 & then a Celtic Cross. There are kinds of templates though for each draw… there are suggested readings for the number of cards & it tells you which card is for which part of the spread. Then there is a section to write the card names & positions & a page for your interpretation of the cards based on the situation or question(s).

At first, I didn’t read reversals… honestly, I was afraid to & would get confused. It took me a little bit to start reading the reversals, usually there is an upright & reversed meaning for each card. The meanings of the reversals for me I relate to the question(s), situation, or spread that I’ve chosen.

When I do a 3 card spread for the day it’s usually something like:

  • Card 1: What is the energy of the day?
  • Card 2: What can I look forward to?
  • Card 3: Something I should avoid or be aware of.

Biddy Tarot is a good resource for all of the above & will have free lessons/training on the cards or reading intuitively. I am currently enrolled to learn more about reading them intuitively. There is a workbook that goes along with the workshop. If you sign up for the email list they also send you a pdf of each card keyworfs of the meaning upright & reversed to kind of help you along.

Tarot.com also has a part where you look up the cards & it will give you the upright, reversed, & advice meanings for each card.

The lovely @Amethyst has also made up::flower_playing_cards: Tarot Poems by The Gifted and Talented Amethyst for each card in a traditional deck.

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I, too, am just learning tarot. I’ve purchased one deck and have been gifted two others. I find I have better luck interpreting the deck I purchased. It came with a really in depth book that actually made sense to me.

I’m also reading Kitchen Table Tarot by Melissa Cynova, which I’m really enjoying. She goes over the meaning of all the cards in the Rider Waite deck.

I got a bit bored with the same old spreads and found Tarot by the Moon by Victoria Constantino.

Everything I read that resonates with me, I put into my tarot journal. I keep track of all my spreads I’ve done so I can go back and see if I interpreted the cards correctly. It’s been a great tool for learning and seeing my progress.

I would say keep doing what you feel works for you. It sounds like you’re doing great!

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Sorry it took a while to reply.

I love the input from everyone. It actually was more helpful (sounds so negative) to what I found in my research online, just wandering the interwebs. It’s helped me see things a lot more clearly.

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I’m glad we were all able to provide you with some insight! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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