Unlocking Intuition: A Beginner's Guide to Tarot Card Reading Techniques

Tarot reading, an ancient practice steeped in symbolism and intuition, can seem daunting to newcomers. The multitude of cards, each with its own set of meanings, might feel overwhelming. However, with the right approach, anyone can learn to read tarot cards with confidence and insight. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to learning tarot, empowering you to connect with your intuition and unlock the wisdom within the cards.

Connecting with the Imagery

Forget rote memorization. The first step is to truly see the cards. Instead of immediately reaching for a guidebook, take time to observe the imagery. Every element in the tarot artwork is intentional, and the symbols provide deeper meaning.

Describe the Card Out Loud: Before consulting any resources, verbally articulate what you observe. What is the character doing? What emotions are conveyed through their body language and facial expression? What objects, symbols, or colors stand out?
Visual Connection: When you eventually look up an interpretation, don't just blindly accept it. Instead, consider which elements on the card confirm or deny your initial impressions.

Example: Consider the 10 of Wands. Its common keywords include burden, responsibility, hard work, and completion. By observing the card, you see a figure weighed down, exhausted, and struggling to carry a bundle of wands. He’s almost at his destination, but at what cost? Making this visual connection helps you internalize the card's message. The next time you see this card, you’ll recall the imagery and its meaning more naturally.

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Deciphering the Symbols

Every detail in tarot artwork is intentional, and the symbols provide deeper meaning.

Example: Take Death, a card often misunderstood. It symbolises transformation and rebirth. The Robin Wood tarot deck, for example, shows Death standing in a birch forest - birch trees represent renewal. A butterfly flutters nearby, symbolising metamorphosis. The caterpillar doesn’t simply grow wings; it dissolves and rebuilds itself. This physical transformation mirrors the message of the card: letting go of the old to embrace the new.

When you study the details of a card, it strengthens your understanding and makes the meaning easier to recall.

Understanding the Suits

If you’re struggling to understand a card, return to its suit and number. The Minor Arcana is subdivided into four suits, each containing ten cards and four court cards. Learning the Core Meaning of Each Suit is a useful step in understanding the cards.

Wands (Fire): The energy inside us that lights us up and drives us.
Cups (Water): Our emotional world and relationships with ourselves and others
Swords (Air): Our mind and how it has the capacity for knowledge as well as the ability to trap us in harmful narratives based on past experiences
Pentacles (Earth): What we want to create in the material world, and lessons of hard work and perseverance

Example: The 10 of Wands belong to the Wands suit (our energetic fire) and represent an overload of responsibilities. The fire element reminds us that too much energy scattered in different directions leads to burnout. Think of it this way: when we have too many wands to juggle, it becomes impossible to carry them all efficiently. We might try to do everything at once, but eventually, something will drop. This card reminds us to evaluate where we’re investing our energy-are we holding onto responsibilities that no longer serve us? Are we trying to push through exhaustion rather than prioritising what truly matters?

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By understanding the suit’s core lesson, you can interpret cards more easily without memorisation.

Choosing Your Deck

The first step, of course, is procuring a tarot deck-and there are many options. Beginners may want to start with the influential Rider-Waite-Smith deck first published in 1909, as its artwork inspired many later iterations.

Psychic medium and tarot reader Sarah Potter recommends researching the decks' artwork on sites like Aeclectic Tarot prior to buying, since the design conveys the cards' significance. "Being able to connect with the imagery is so important. Select a deck that you find yourself in and offers the right mirror," she says.

Caring for Your Cards

Bri Luna, the creator of the Hood Witch, stresses the importance of caring for your cards. For Luna, that means storing them in a pouch or a box and cleansing them with crystals, like a Selenite wand. “Tarot isn’t a toy. It’s a tool,” Luna says. “There should be some reverence when you’re calling upon your higher self to lead you in your readings and to give you insight into the information you want to know.”

That said, Tea cautions against feeling like you need certain materials, like a silk pouch or crystals, to read. “Some of these traditions create a more ritualistic space around the tarot practice. But I don’t like feeling like people have to do those things,” Tea says. “You can meet your tarot cards right where you are. Your tarot is always there for you.”

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Utilizing Resources Wisely

Got your deck? Great. Now, it's time to become acquainted with the cards. Luckily, you're not on your own: There is an abundance of information about the tarot on the internet and bookstores. Further, most decks come with guidebooks that interpret the deck’s particular artwork. That said, professional tarot readers recommend trusting yourself above all the supplemental material.

As a first step, Luna recommends writing a journal entry for each card. “Sit with each card first. Write out your thoughts and impressions, and see how they align with the books’ interpretations,” she says.

For astrologer and tarot reader Lexi Ferguson, the process of learning the cards is never-ending. “Don't ever assume you have the final answer about each card. Just because you read it in one little book doesn't mean there’s an ultimate answer for cards. The beauty of it is there are always more layers,” she says.

Exploring Tarot Books

There are a few books I recommend starting with. The ones I recommend are WTF is Tarot and How Do I do it by Bakara Wintner, Kitchen Table Tarot by Melissa Cynova, and 78 Degrees of Wisdom by Rachel Pollack. I chose WTF is Tarot and Kitchen Table Tarot because they are easy to digest in a short period of time, and they use modern language to explain the cards with great life examples for each card. 78 Degrees of Wisdom is the main source people usually start with, as this book has been in print since 1980 and is a staple on the shelves of most tarot readers.

Biddytarot.com is a free online resource that I used to learn the card meanings when I first started out. I find this is one of the easiest ways to learn each card. As you pull a card, google the card and biddytarot.com comes up as the first result almost every time. Her meanings for the upright and reversed meanings are concise and easy to understand. This is such a valuable site for beginners because it is online and free. Check it out!

Connecting with Your Cards

To connect with your cards, you can sleep with the cards next to your bed at night or under your pillow to bond with the energy of the deck and to help the cards soak up your energy as well. If you have an altar, you can place your cards on your altar.

Shuffle as much as possible. This infuses the entire deck with your energy. It will start to feel like the cards are part of you, and you will work as one. It starts to feel like a natural fluid motion. The only way to get to that point is to shuffle as much as you can. I spent many nights shuffling as we watched tv to get comfortable with the feel of each deck I’ve bought. This really works!

I think it’s best to jump right into pulling cards for yourself as you get to know the meanings. Start with 1 card pulls daily to help you learn each card and read the meaning in your preferred resource book. When you feel comfortable advancing, move to pulling 3 card spreads.

Shuffling Techniques

When you first start working with the cards, you may be wondering how to shuffle and pull the cards. There are several methods you can choose from.

Many readers riffle shuffle, which is when you shuffle 2 piles of cards into each other casino style. This can be hard on the decks and cause some decks to wear out quickly. It can also create a bend in the middle of the decks. It can be awkward to learn and even difficult for those of us with arthritis and carpal tunnel.

The method I prefer to that is corner riffle shuffling, where you just overlap the 2 piles of cards at the corners and gently fold them into one pile. This is less harsh on the deck and can preserve the cards for a longer period of time. It is also better on the hands. Another method I prefer is over hand shuffling. You can either do this by holding the deck in your hand horizontally in landscape position OR you can stand the cards up tall in your hand and shuffle them vertically in portrait position.

For larger decks it is easier to hold them upright, so you don’t stretch out your hand too much. Then you just fold the cards from the back over the top and let the cards fall over each other to mix them up. In this method you use your thumb to help grab and stabilize the cards in the front. You can even alternate and let the cards fall in the front and then the back of the deck to further mix the cards up, whichever feels more natural.

An easy shuffling method is to deal cards into piles to randomize them or hold the whole deck and gently drop portions of the cards into different piles. Then you can combine the piles back into one pile and pull cards. This is great for beginners.

Some readers spread the cards around on a table or desktop to mix them up and then pick cards randomly from the piles of mixed cards OR you can gather the mixed cards back into a pile to pull the cards. This is called the washing machine method and great for getting reversal cards. This is easy for those that struggle with the other shuffling methods, and it is easy to spin and mix the cards up quickly.

Card Pulling Methods

Just like shuffling there are multiple methods for pulling cards. Below I will cover a variety of these methods.

One simple method is just to start shuffling the deck with any method you prefer and pull any card you feel drawn to as you are shuffling or sometimes you will feel or hear the word “pull.” Then you know to pull that card. You may feel the need to stop shuffling because it feels complete, and you know to pull a card at that time either from the top or middle of the deck. Go with your gut.

Or cards may fly out while shuffling. I always read those jumpers because I feel those are important messages! If you are pulling cards in a particular spread, you can put the jumpers to the side and still consider them after you pull cards for each position. There are times when I use all flyers or jumpers for the entire reading. There are just some decks that produce flyers easily, and it is a lot of fun to watch the cards fly. It feels pretty magical too. And clients LOVE flyers! There is a flair to it!

You can split the deck after shuffling and choose the middle card, which would be the top card of the remaining cards after you pull the top half of the deck off. If you are pulling multiple cards, just keep pulling cards from that spot in the deck.

Another method is to shuffle and divide the deck into 3 piles and turn over the top card on each of the piles, especially if you are doing a 3 card spread. This is quick and easy! Or a slight variation on that method is to divide the deck into those 3 piles, and you can stack all the piles back up in the order that feels right to you and turn over the top card and continue pulling all cards from the top of the deck. Experiment with which version you like better. Another option is to shuffle the deck and then hold the deck in your dominant hand and use your nondominant hand to lift the deck up and pull the cards that feel right from different parts of the deck. This is my preferred method with decks that easily separate, which are usually those with thin card stock and don’t easily stick together. It becomes instinct on which cards to pull. I like this method with worn in decks because you can easily slip your hand into the deck and pull multiple cards quickly and it is completely intuitive. After you get the hang of it, your hand knows exactly which part of the deck to pull from.

An extremely easy way to split the deck is to hold the deck in one hand after ample shuffling and let the deck slide gently into your other hand, and where the cards naturally split is where you pull cards from. This is like letting a book gently fall open to a random page. You just find that natural break in the cards. Again, this is great for beginners because it is easy.

I use this next method quite a bit. When over hand shuffling vertically, some cards will pop up at the top and are obviously sticking out from the rest of the cards. Sometimes, I pull my cards from those cards. A general guideline to use is that if a card draws your focus while shuffling, you pull those cards. They are vying for your attention. Remember the cards are speaking to you. When they stand out, listen!

Traditionally in pop culture, you will see the tarot reader shuffle the cards and fan them out on a table and pick cards from the fan. The reader or querent can wave their hands over the cards and scan the cards and choose when they feel their hand get hot, cold or tingly. That is energy you are feeling in your hand. Typically, you do this with your non-dominant hand because is your intuitive hand. So, if you are right handed you would use your left hand and vice versa. A very creative way to pull cards that I have just learned about from Ethony is to use dice to determine how many cards to pull in your spread. So, if you roll a 3, you pull a 3 card spread. Then you roll each time to determine how many cards you will count off the top of the deck until you pull the card for each position. So, if you roll a 4 you, then count off 3 cards and pull the 4th for the position. And you keep rolling for each card position. You return the discarded cards to the bottom of the deck each time. Ethony Dawn’s youtube shuffling video shows this cool method in action. That video link is at the bottom of this blog. This is a new method to me, and I want to experiment with it because it seems like a creative way to spice up my readings. I’m always looking for new methods to try out.

Factors Influencing Your Method

The are some factors that will inform the method you choose for shuffling and pulling cards. Cardstock and the size of the deck are the factors that matter the most to me. Bigger decks can be hard to handle as they stretch your hands and will put strain on your hands over time. Those larger cards may need to be shuffled with the overhand vertical method. Thicker card stock can make it difficult to riffle shuffle because the cards don’t have much give and aren’t flexible. If the cards are too stiff or sticky and hard to break apart, you can use fanning powder to help the cards slide better, and this helps break in the cards to make them easier to shuffle. I have had success with this on some indie decks with thick card stock. I found fanning powder on amazon. Walmart also carries this product. You sprinkle the powder on each card and rub it in with a cloth and wipe off any excess powder. Then the cards slide over each other perfectly.

Reversals

If you read reversals, you may want to split the deck and take one pile and turn it around before shuffling the cards together to help randomize them. Do this as many times as you feel necessary. Some decks have non reversal backs. So, you can tell if the cards are reversed, which can be difficult if you want to pull cards with no clue if they are upright or not. I will note here that if you do read with reversals, you want to put the cards back upright before reading for another client so that the previous reading doesn’t impact the new reading. This resets the deck. Then you have to start the whole process of reversing cards again, but you want it to be randomized. This takes extra time but worth it.

Ah, reversals. We have arrived at one of the most debated topics in tarot. Everyone has an opinion on whether or not readers should place extra significance on cards that are positioned upside down. Here’s the long and short of it: If you choose to read reversals, you’re going to have to learn another 78 meanings. "When a card falls in a spread in reverse, it’s most often a modified meaning of its upright position meaning," Blue June, a professional tarot reader, tells OprahMag.com. June gives the Fool as an example: One of its upright meanings is spontaneity, yet in reverse it means recklessness. Still, June recommends placing the reversals in context of the "story" of the spread. "One common mistake is to go straight to the opposite meaning but it’s not usually so black-and-white. This is where intuition comes in," she says. While most of the professional tarot readers OprahMag.com spoke to use reversals in their readings, everyone has a different approach. Tea, for example, considers them arbitrary and chooses to forgo them entirely. "I find reversals add more negativity to the tarot deck. Good cards become bad. Bad cards don’t become good-they become differently complicated. You end up with more bad news when you reverse the cards,” she says.

Finding Your Style

Now that we have covered a variety of shuffling and card pulling options, my advice is to try all of these methods and after practicing with them see which method or methods you gravitate towards. 1 or 2 methods may feel more natural for you. That is most likely the method you will stick with. Of course, you can even mix shuffling methods if you feel like it. Much of the time I will corner riffle shuffle a few times and then over hand shuffle until I am ready to pull cards. What is important is that whatever option you decide to go with set that intention as you start to shuffle the cards for your reading. But don’t over think it. Feel into the cards and lean into the process. You will intuitively feel what is right for the deck or spread you are working with that moment. I work intuitively with my decks. So, I shuffle differently with each deck. They all have a different feel in my hands, so I handle them differently. But each reader is different in this regard. You will find your own style.

If you are forcing it, it won’t feel natural. Think of tarot as more of an art than anything else. You get better results when you go with the flow and follow the energy where it naturally flows. Forcing things blocks that creative flow and connection with the cards. When in doubt let the cards and the energy guide you and shut your analytical mind off for a while. Tarot is my main form of meditation so shutting my brain down is one of the first things I do when shuffl…

Performing Readings

After becoming acquainted with the cards, start doing readings for yourself and others.Learning the cards’ meaning is the first step. Putting them in conversation is the next one. According to Tea, doing readings for yourself, others, or even imaginary friends is the only way to learn. “The art of reading tarot is connecting the cards-not only remembering what each card means, but gaining deeper intuition and understanding about the way that they would influence each other in a spread,” Tea says.

Ferguson compares tarot to a speaking a language. “You can only take so many classes. You have to jump in, and that's how you’re going to get fluent,” Ferguson says, adding that-if reading for others-you should inform them you’re a beginner. Ironically, doing readings for yourself can sometimes be even more complicated than doing readings for others. “What’s challenging is remaining unbiased,” Potter says. “Before doing a reading for yourself, be open-minded to whatever comes through.”

Mallorca-based tarot reader Caitlin McGarry recommends consulting other readers, as well. “There are so many ways of interpreting cards when you arrange them with other cards. Going to different readers can help you see that,” McGarry says.

Asking the Right Questions

Before pulling the cards for a particular spread, you’ll need to formulate a question. Think about your intentions for the reading and what you really want to know about your love life, career, family drama, or wherever else you're seeking clarity.

Ferguson recommends starting questions with the word “how” or "what," instead of “will," and avoiding simple “yes or no” questions entirely. In this way, Ferguson says, you can inject agency into your reading, and have a hand in creating your own future. “It gives you something actionable. Instead of just sitting around, waiting to see if the tarot was right, you could actually do something to make change in your life,” she says.

While shuffling the cards, meditate on the question you're asking. There are multiple shuffling techniques: Spread the cards out in front of you, shuffle them casino style, or hold the deck in one hand and use the other to shift chunks from one side to the other. “Do whatever feels right,” Potter says. “I recommend closing your eyes, taking a deep breath, and clearing your mind.” As for when to stop? Similarly, Potter says to trust your intuition (sense a theme?). "I just know when the cards are throughly mixed and ready," she says. If you’re doing a reading for another person, you can also have them shuffle. “I like people putting their energy into the cards,” Tea says. Or, Ferguson suggests a compromise between the two: She shuffles, and her client cuts the deck into three piles, selecting one. Just as there are methods for shuffling, there are as many options for cutting the deck. Ultimately, how you divide the deck comes down to intuition.

Choosing a Spread

Be sure to pick a spread, like the Celtic Cross, before you shuffle the cards. When using a tarot spread, each chosen card will correspond to a certain position, like “past,” “present,” and "future." Ferguson emphasizes the importance of picking a spread prior to dealing the cards. “You need the context of the spread to have meaning. I don’t think cards have very much to tell us without relationships. If a card is in the past position, why is that?”

Beginners may gravitate toward one-card readings or three-card readings, like: past, present, future; opportunities, challenges, outcomes, and mind, body, spirit. The 10-card Celtic Cross is also a popular spread, giving a more comprehensive look at a certain question. There are boundless ideas for spreads to be found online and in books. You can even make up your own. By repeating the same spread daily, you may glean deeper insights. True recalls the summer she pulled a Celtic Cross spread daily, to illuminating results. “I would draw a diagram for the Celtic Cross every day. I’d write it down. After a month you start to see things like, Oh my goodness, I keep getting the Justice card in the same position all the time, or, I keep getting the Justice card, but it's moving around the spread.”

Journaling Your Journey

No tarot practice would be complete without a journal to track the cards you pull-and what you learn from them along the way. “The most important thing is your journal,” Cardenas says. “What the journal does is give you receipts. You’ll write something down and you’ll see, six days later, that you were correct. You’ll start to see how many days it’ll take for your visions to come true. You’ll have a record that this is real.”

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