Reading of Tarot Cards

 How do I read the cards?

If you found yourself asking what a “three-card spread” is, this is the section for you. There are lots of ways to read tarot cards, and often the directions that come with your cards will include pictures of the most popular spreads. These include the simple three-card spread, the Celtic cross, and a seven-day spread, but you’ll soon learn that there’s a spread for any situation, and you can always make up your own, too.

A three-card spread has the reader pull three cards from the deck after it’s been shuffled and halved by the querent (more on that in a moment). Usually, the first called pulled represents the past, the second represents the present, and the third represents the future. How those timelines are interpreted depends on the reading and the question being asked — “future” might mean tomorrow or it might mean 10 years from now.

Another common use for tarot cards is a daily card reading, wherein a single card is pulled from the top of the shuffled deck and used as a reminder or a guideline for the day ahead. This can be a very helpful practice for anyone looking to familiarize themselves with the tarot deck and the cards’ meanings.

But what does it mean?

It’s important to consider each card’s individual meaning, but it’s essential to consider the vibe and symbolism in the spread as a whole, too. Especially in larger spreads, there’s as much information to be gleaned from the overall picture as its pieces. If you’re reading for someone else, this is an opportunity to work with them — the more pressure you feel to mind-read, the more challenging this will be. Reading tarot doesn’t make you psychic, which should come as a relief: It’s okay to ask the subject questions about the cards and to brainstorm together ways in which the cards might apply to their original question. Sometimes the cards won’t match up at all — the querent asks about money, but you pull two cups cards and “the lovers.” This might suggest what they really wanted to ask you about was their love life. (Who doesn’t?)

There are lots of ways to read tarot, but all of them require practice. Learning 78 distinct cards takes time, particularly when so many of them have multiple possible meanings. But the more you read and touch the cards, the more familiar they’ll become and the easier it will be to use them as a tool to better understand yourself and others.

I use the Thoth (Crowley) deck, which is similar to Rider-Waite. I use the Tarot correspondences with the Quaballah Tree of Life.

Major Arcana:
Fool: following a foolish impulse, this is the element "air"
Magician: craft and skill
High Priestess: natural cycle of ebb and flow
Empress: beauty and feminine traits
Emperor: power and masculine traits
Hierophant: a teacher. sometimes a priest or spiritual teacher
Lovers: being in love with someone or something
Chariot: a vehicle to convey you where you want to go
Adjustment: having to adjust to the reality of the situation
Hermit: turning away from others to be introspective
Wheel of Fortune: random chance
Lust: passionate about doing something
Hanged Man: self-sacrifice, this is the element "water"
Death: death of the personality, self-transformation
Art: artfully combining two opposites to synthesize something new, sometimes success or escape after elaborate maneuvers
Devil: obsession with material things, blind to the spiritual side of life
Tower: destruction of your plans
Star: unexpected help, inspiration
Moon: deception, madness, drug use, the scary side of the unconscious and of nature
Sun: honesty, good health
Aeon: closing of a chapter of your life, and opening of a new chapter - a major milestone/change in your life
World: what you asked about, and the solution (when applicable)

Minor Arcana:
Aces: the pure force of the element of the suit:
Ace of Wands: Willpower
Ace of Swords: Intelligence (thoughts)
Ace of Cups: Emotion
Ace of Disks: Material things: money, physical health, etc.

2 through 10 moves from the more spiritual (pure idea) to manifestation, for the specific suit

Manifesting intelligence (thoughts) is a VERY painful thing, 10 of swords is like having so much worry (thoughts) inside your head that it manifests in your physical/outward life causing health issues, anxiety, etc.

Manifesting material things means you have taken your plan/ideas through to manifest them in your life, 10 of disks is a very positive thing (wealth, good health)

Manifesting emotion is a very happy thing, 10 of cups is happiness

Manifesting your will is very oppressive to others, 10 of wands is oppression

6 is a very balanced part of the Tree of Life, "as above, so below" meaning that spiritually your are a reflection of what you have manifested in your life (and vice versa). So, 6's of each suit are all good and balanced meanings for the corresponding element of the suit.

2's are like the germ of an idea, the start of a plan: looking upon the face of God

3's are the bitch, the whore - this is THE REAL WORLD, nasty and brutish, that you must deal with. This is where worldly wisdom lives.

4's are where your idea starts to have some solid foundation, but still just in the idea phase. This is what you were given by your father, you didn't have to work for it.

5's are like Mars, the god of war: the rubber of your plan/idea hits the road here, and you fight to keep it from being destroyed (but it may be destroyed - this is a difficult phase that an idea needs to successfully pass through before it can be manifested)

7's are like you are on your last gasp but still courageously persevere, you feel like this task requires superhuman ability (and you are only human) but you try anyways

8's are difficult like getting a college education: you work hard at it and you will succeed

9's are the subconscious

10's are manifestation of your idea/plan (which started as part of your spirit) in the physical world

I do not pay attention to reversed cards, except for Knights, in which case the direction they face (and the cards they face, or face away from) indicates either something coming or going.

Cards are affected by the cards surrounding them: Wands are weakened next to Cups (and vice versa - think "fire" next to "water"), and Swords are weakened by Disks (and vice versa - think "air" next to "earth"). A weakened meaning is similar to a reversed meaning, i.e. the more negative meanings for that card.