by Wendelynn Gundarson
So you want to learn to read the tarot and the books you’ve looked at you just don’t seem to be in synch with what you really want to know about tarot? Do you need answers yesterday? I started reading tarot as a 13 year old and have been at it now for 40 years. Here’s my
top tips for getting to the good stuff about tarot and getting good results fast.
Tarot “Cheats”
Wouldn’t it be great if there were cheats for tarot just like your favorite online game? Well, in a manner of speaking, there are! Some tarot decks are designed with beginners in mind, letting you do a fast easy reading as soon as you shuffle the deck. The two best of these decks are Quick & Easy Tarot and the Starter Tarot, both published by U.S.Games, Inc. Both decks are readily available in your local bookstore or online.
Both of these decks have the meanings for upright and reversed placement printed right on the card! With the meanings printed right on the card, there is no need to look each card up in a little booklet. You can be giving a tarot reading in a matter of minutes. Want to be an instant hit at your next party? Open one of these decks and let the fun begin.
The Quick & Easy Tarot is my first choice for a helper deck. The illustrations are bright and contemporary, based on a classic tarot deck, the Universal Waite Tarot. In addition, this tarot deck can grow with you if you decide to really study the tarot. The background of the cards is split diagonally with each section a different color. This makes it incredibly easy to read the correct meaning for an upright or upside down card.
The Starter Tarot also has the meaning for both upright and reversed printed on each card. The illustrations of this deck are medieval woodcut style with a pretty colored pencil look. Because the style of this deck is woodcut, the people of the tarot really have very little expression, and that is the only drawback I find with this deck.
Make Your Own Cheat Sheets
Already have a tarot deck you love and don’t want to get another? Make your own cheat sheet and you’ll find your readings going much faster. Your tarot deck probably came with a little white booklet in the box. Did you have to squint to read it? In that little booklet are the basics for each card and probably even a tarot layout or two. Why not take all that great info and make your own cheat sheet. If you write small enough or use a small font on your computer, you can get all the basic info on one double-sided sheet of paper. When I was first learning tarot, I did this and laminated my cheat sheet. Using your own cheat sheet is much faster that stopping with each card to consult the booklet that came with your deck.
Do the same for tarot layouts. Layouts or spreads are the patterns that you use when you deal out the tarot cards to read. In each layout, the card position has a special meaning. Until you know all the meanings, don’t be afraid to sketch out the diagram and write the meanings into the card positions. The classic tarot spread is the Celtic Cross. It is also one of the most complicated to learn, so help yourself by making a cheat sheet.
I also suggest that you start with a 3 card spread, and use the positions as Past – Present – Future. This type of simple spread is very handy and you can assign all sorts of meanings to the positions. Some common ones would be: Body – Mind - Spirit, You – The Issue – The Other Person, What I Can’t Change – The Issue – What I Can Change. The possibilities are endless with this simple yet powerful way of looking at an issue.
At the end of this article, I’ll include some basic keyword or meaning info to get you started. To learn more, consult a basic tarot book or Google “tarot correspondences” or “tarot meanings”.
Be The Mystery
A large part of tarot is myth and ritual. By creating a special atmosphere for your tarot readings, you are signaling your intuitive mind that it is time to tune into the tarot. You’ll find that your readings will become richer and more accurate each time you create the same ritual as you read the cards. A tarot space and ritual doesn’t have to be ornate and complicated, but it does have to be meaningful to you and easy enough so that you’ll do it every time. Some tarot readers adopt a special shawl or other article of clothing or jewelry that they always wear when doing a tarot reading. Others arrange their space with crystals and a candle. Some prefer total silence and others like soft background music. Creating your own tarot space can be as simple as setting up a TV tray in your bedroom and covering with a special scarf. I knew one teen that actually had a large enough closet to sit inside, and that became her tarot space. Use your imagination and become part of the mystery.
Fast Answers to Important Questions
Most tarot teachers will tell you that the most important cards are the first 22 cards of the deck. These are called the Major Arcana. They are very significant but for fast answers to your daily life questions, they aren’t very helpful. Take them out of the deck and set them aside for now. Here’s my method for a focused, fast answer. It’s the 1 Card Reading.
Separate the cards into their four suits, Cups, Pentacles, Wands and Swords, making a separate pile for each. Shuffle each pile thoroughly but keep them separated. Next, state the question you want an answer to. If it is about love, family, pets, or feelings, choose the Cups pile to work with. If the question is about money, moving, or health, pick up the Pentacles pile. If the question is about wishes, dreams, goals, or spiritual matters, choose the Wands pile. If the question is about school, gossip, arguments or technology choose the Swords stack.
Allow yourself to become quiet and focus on your question. If you are reading the cards for a friend, ask her to do the same. If anyone else with you is giggly and silly, ask him or her to please be still and help you focus. Select the appropriate stack of cards and think of your question. Remember to only ask one question at a time. It’s better to ask, “Will I do well on my math exam?” than to ask, “Will I get an A on my math exam and get to go out to the movies?” The question may be stated aloud for all to concentrate on or it can be kept secret between you the card reader and the one you are actually reading the cards for. Shuffle them until you feel that it is enough and then allow the person asking the question to also shuffle. There is no exact number of times to shuffle and it is ok if some if the cards are turned upside down.
Carefully fan the cards out, face down, in front of the person that’s getting the reading. Allow them to choose one card and turn it over. Simply read the one card as the answer to the question.
If you are asking a yes or no question, yes can be interpreted as either a right side up card or an even numbered card: 2,4,6,8 or 10. A no would be an upside down card or 3,5,7,9. In addition to the numbered cards, you will have the Ace, Page, Knight, Queen, and King. The Ace, Page, and the Queen can be read as “Yes” answers, while the Knight and the King can be read as “No” answers.
Telling Time
One of the big things we always want to know from the tarot is when something will happen. Unfortunately, this is one of the areas that the tarot is not especially good at predicting. Keeping in mind, that time is relative to the tarot here are some of my suggestions for deciding on a time frame. In telling time, you can be discussing hours, days, weeks, months, years, and even seasons.
Go for the most general time association you can. If you pull a Cup card, that means summer. Wands mean spring, Pentacles mean autumn, and Swords mean winter.
If you really must be more specific, remove the Page, Knight, Queen and King from your stack of cards so that all you are left with is the numbered cards. Decide before you choose a card if your answer is in weeks, days etc. The number of the card you draw is your answer. For instance, if you ask “When will I get asked to the dance?” and you have decided to interpret the answer in days, drawing a two would mean in 2 days.
Learning More
At some point, you’ll want to learn more about the tarot. The wisdom of the Major Arcana and the Court cards of Page, Knight, Queen, and King are vital to a full understanding of the tarot and in this short article, we have not even touched upon it. There are hundreds of web sites and books with information and it’s easy to become overwhelmed. I suggest that you limit yourself to just one or two good tarot books at the beginning. Really work with your deck of cards and do the exercises in the books. Memorize the meanings and practice, practice, practice.
My top recommendation for a tarot book is Learning the Tarot by Joan Bunning. She has also created an extremely useful website that mirrors the book entirely, so if your budget is limited, you can still read her book. Google Joan Bunning or “learn tarot”.
As a tarot reader of 40 years, I really do encourage you to take the time to study the tarot, learn as much as you can about the traditions and illustrations. Read lots of books and work with as many tarot decks as you can. Each one has something new and exciting to share fast and easy tarot is perfect for getting your feet wet, but it is a lot like having a bite out of a small brownie, you always want more.
Break All the Rules
Now that I’ve given you some of the bare bones of tarot, here’s the most important tip of them all. Break all the rules. Yes, that’s right. Tarot is the ultimate do your own thing tool. You see, the images on the tarot cards will mean different things to every tarot reader including you. Don’t be afraid to make up your own meanings or keywords for the cards.
The 9 of Cups card may say that it means your dreams will come true, but if when you look at it all you see is an overstuffed, guy that looks dumb and happy, he needs to go on a diet and reminds you of your Uncle Frank, then that is the meaning you should stick with. The feelings and thoughts connected with Uncle Frank will be more real to you than anything else will and you will remember this card.
As you allow yourself to assign your own meanings to the cards and become consistent in using them, you will be tapping into your own symbolic language and your readings will become amazingly accurate.
Basic Tarot Keywords Cheat Sheet
Here are some basics tarot meanings to help you get started. Use them to help you understand the card and then remember to break the rules and go with what works for you. As we have not touched on the Major Arcana, I will not include them in this list.
Suits:
Wands: Spring, Fire, Inspiration, Intuition, Big Ideas, Aspirations, Careers
Cups: Summer, Water, Romance, Family, Pets, Social Activities, Love
Pentacles: Autumn, Earth, Health, Security, Creativity, Tradition
Swords: Winter, Air, Intellect, Power, Obstacles, Control
Court Cards:
Page: Child, Beginner, Innocence
Knight: Young Person, Energetic, Daring
Queen: Motherly, Teacher, Wisdom
King: Fatherly, Boss, Control
Numbered Cards:
Ace: Potential, Sparks of Ideas, Conscious Thought
2: Planning, Balance, Judgments, Decisions
3: Parties, Working Together, New Life, Fertility,
4: Maturity, Cooperation, Reliability, Resting, Security, Conserving
5: Challenges, Obstacles, Things Going Wrong, Broken Dreams
6: Success, Memories, Looking to the Future, Charity, Harmony
7: Unexpected Set Backs, Personal Challenges, Strife, Mastery of Situations
8: Strength, Maturity, Mastery in Career, Health, Security, Home, Food
9: Culmination of Ideas, Retirement, Resting on Your Laurels, Generosity, Opulence
10: Transition, Change, Starting Over, Taking a Breather, New Careers