If you are new at reading Tarot cards, try some of these easy lay-outs for beginners.
A good way to begin familiarizing yourself with your Tarot deck is to begin by choosing a single card every morning. Go somewhere quiet, take your deck in your hands, and relax. Hold the deck, close your eyes, and regulate your breathing. Think of your question- for a single card draw, it should be something general, such as:
- What aspect of my life should I focus on today?
- What challenges will I face today?
- What should I be aware of today?
Begin shuffling the cards as you hold your question in your mind. Keep shuffling until you feel like stopping. Trust your intuition to know that whenever you stop, it will be the right time.
Spread the cards, face-down, in front of you, or fan them out with the back of the cards facing you. Reach out and select whichever card you feel drawn towards- you may feel a pull in a certain direction, or a tingling sensation when you pass over a certain card, or simply see one that catches your eye. Pull the chosen card and examine it.
What does the picture, the suit, the number mean to you? Is it a trump, or a major arcana card (which could indicate a major life issue), or a suited card (which may indicate a particular aspect of your mundane life)? If you are unsure, research the common meaning behind the card and ask yourself how that may apply to your life at this time.
THE THREE CARD SPREAD:
This mini-reading is helpful in teaching you how to look at the story that the cards are trying to tell about the seeker's life or situation. The three card spread is pretty linear and uncluttered, so it is easy to find the straight-forward trend within the reading.
Go to a quiet place, take the cards into your hands, and relax. If you are reading for someone else, you should be holding the cards, and have the seeker relax with you. The seeker should think of a general question about a particular aspect of his or her life. Instruct the seeker to avoid yes/no questions, questions revolving around other people, or questions asking what the seeker should do. Some examples of poorly phrased questions are:
- Will I ever be rich? (Yes/no question)
- Is Harvey being faithful to me? (Revolves around someone else rather than seeker)
- Should I quit my job and move to Calcutta? (Asking for advice)
A better way to phrase such questions are:
- How can I improve my financial situation?
- What should I be aware of in my relationship with Harvey?
- What would be the most likely outcome if I quit my job and moved to Calcutta?
These are open-ended questions that focus on the seeker's situation in a neutral way. Remember, you can always do more than one reading to see different possible outcomes. For example, after doing a reading to find out the outcome of moving to Calcutta, perform another reading to try and discern the outcome if the move is not made, or if a move is made elsewhere. If you discover that there is deception surrounding the seeker's relationship with Harvey, you might do another reading to find out what the best course of action regarding the relationship would be in the seeker's best interest. You can do as many readings as you wish, however try to focus on just one question in each reading. It may help to record the cards drawn and the impressions they gave you at the time so different readings can be compared later.
As both you and the seeker consider the question, shuffle the cards. You can ask the seeker to tell you when to stop shuffling, or you can decide this for yourself- whatever method you prefer. When you stop shuffling, lay the deck down in front of you.
Instruct the seeker to cut the cards into three piles in the following manner: take some from the top of the deck, and lay the new pile, face-down, to the right of the deck. Go back to the first pile, take some more cards off the top, and set them down to the right of the second pile. When the cards are cut, take the middle pile, put it on top of the pile at the far right, and then place those cards on top of the pile on the left. You can alter your pattern of cutting if you choose, to one that feels more natural to you. Experiment with different methods if you wish.
Take three cards off the top of the deck and lay them out on the table- the first on the left, the second in the center, the third on the right. You can turn them over all at once, or examine them one at a time. The first card (on the left) represents the past, the root of the problem, or the events that led up to the present. The second card represents the seeker's present situation or state as it is. The third card represents the future, the events that will unfold, or the outcome of past and present actions should the seeker remain on their current course.
When reading a three-card spread, think cause and effect. A (past) led to B (present) which will lead to C (future). Start with the past. What were the underlying actions, emotions, or obstacles that brought the seeker to this particular point? Move onto the present; how is the seeker handling the situation? What are his or her strengths or weaknesses? Where does he or she stand in the situation? Finally, move onto the future. If the seeker continues his current line of action (or inaction), what will be the likely outcome? Is it a desirable outcome, or one the seeker wishes to avoid?
THE FIVE CARD SPREAD:
This spread will shed light on additional forces at work, both internal and external, as the events are unfolding. It is a bit more detailed than the three-card spread, and is good for when a reader is becoming comfortable with the meaning of the cards. This will help a beginner become more adept at interpretation.
The reader and the seeker should prepare themselves in the same manner of the three-card spread- go somewhere quiet, relax, focus on an open-ended, neutrally phrased question, shuffle and cut the deck. Lay the top five cards out before you, one at a time, from left to right. Some readers like to put the cards in a "V" formation, with the center card in the position of the bottom point, however this arrangement is not necessary unless it feels more natural to you. Laying them out in a straight line will suffice. The first card (on the far left), again, represents the past. This is the root of the issue, or the catapulting event that led to the current situation. Consider how the events that have unfolded have brought the seeker to his current state.
The second card represents the external forces that were at work. This card will indicate if there were any obstacles, opposition, or aids in bringing the seeker to his or her current situation. Was someone working against the seeker, causing things to go sour? Was there a helpful person in the past that has brought the seeker to a better position in life? Was there an obstacle in the seekers path that kept him from attaining that which he wanted- lack of education, financial difficulties, forces of nature? Have these forces impeded the seeker's progress, or fueled it?
The third, or center, card represents the seeker in his or her current situation as it is now. It could relate to position, emotional state, or a particular stage in the seeker's life or growth. Consider whether this is a good position, bad, neutral, stagnant, precarious, or on a good track.
The fourth card represents the seeker's expectations or concerns. What outcome does the seeker dread or hope for? This could be the ultimate fear or most intense desire; it could be conscious or unconscious. How will this card affect the outcome of events? Will it cause the seeker to be crushed because his or her goals are unrealistic? Will it paralyze him or her from taking the appropriate action? Address the seeker's expectations or concerns and consider how they relate to the reality of the situation or possible future.
The fifth and final card represents the outcome. This depicts the likely future should the seeker not change his or her course of action. Remember, however, that the future is yet undetermined; what this card reveals is not set in stone- it is simply the likely conclusion if things continue as they are going. If the outcome is desired, the seeker has the power to stay on his current path and propel himself towards those events, or alter his path to direct himself to another possible outcome.
Treat the first, third and fifth card in this reading much like you would the cards of a three-card spread-- view them as a cause-and-effect relationship. Treat the second and fourth cards as though they were bridges, considering each one's relation to the cards that come before it and after it.
ON CARD INTERPRETATIONS
Remember that trump cards usually deal with major life issues or universal themes in the human experience, and should be given particular weight because they indicate that the situation is potentially life-altering. Suit cards are usually in relation to a particular event or issue in the seeker's day-to-day life.
If you are unfamiliar with the meaning of the cards, you may wish to consult a Tarot guide that will explain the common meanings associated with each of the 78 cards. However, don't feel you must fit the reading to accommodate those meanings. Trust your instincts, or your "inner voice," to interpret the meaning of a particular card, depending upon the question, placement and relation to the seeker.
A NOTE ABOUT REVERSED CARDS
There is some dispute among readers on how to treat cards that appear upside-down in a reading. One school of thought follows that if a card is reversed, it actually indicates the opposite meaning of what it would in the upright position. To another way of thinking, the reversed card does not mean the opposite, but shows that the influences are to a lesser extent or have less emphasis in the reading- minor inconveniences rather than difficulties. Finally, there are those who feel that, in a standard 78-card deck, each card holds a specific meaning and should be interpreted as such, no matter which way it is pointing. These people hold that, if there were revealing discord in an area of a person's life, a card that indicates discord would be drawn, not one showing peace and harmony in a reversed position. These people simply ignore reversed positions, put the cards all upright and proceed with the reading.
As you can see, there is no agreement about reversed cards. My philosophy is that the deck is a tool, and the reader should experiment with it and see what works best for himself.
