How do you read tarot?

[Armelle]

Hey guys.

I was wondering the different ways that people read their tarot.

For me I have never read a book on it or taken a course. I usually just find a spread that fits the reading, know what each point on the spread represents, ie. past, present , and future. Then read the cards with my intuition.

This means that if someone puts a card down in front of me and asks me its meaning, I would not be able to tell them as each time it is completely different. I hope that makes sense. I just look at the card and say what ever comes into my head, no matter how stupid it sounds to me.

This has really worked for me but I know that a lot of people usually study the cards before hand and use their set definitions as a guide.

I'm interested to hear people's views on which ways they prefer.

Armelle
xxx

[onyx]

Hi there, I've been reading tarot off and on for years now. I have been interested in the symbolism and the meanings they represent. The deck I use has about 80 cards so I find it hard to remember both the meanings. Mostly they just give you a hint which is then more often than not confirmed by the preson you are reading for. It's more like being an agony aunt and confidant rather that 'fortune telling' so much is just common sense.
After quite a lapse I took up my cards again at my place of work, to my surprise I wasn't as rusty as I had thought and colleagues have been asking fore readings since. The things you find out about people!

[MankyCat]

I used to play a game with my sister. Take two different decks. Find the same card (number/suit) from both. Compare the cards. See where the similarities are and where the differences are. Knowing the traditional meaning behind the individual cards and suits can be very useful. Also having a pool of knowledge on how other cards would depict the scene can be useful. I know I've run into cases where the image of the same card from another deck pops into my head to aid the reading. I rarely use a book unless I need an extra perspective. That is rare when I'm reading for someone else, but when reading for myself, I do it a little more... simply because I know I'm too close to the situation at hand.

So... if someone lays a card out in front of me... I will read it two ways. I will be able to tell them the traditional meaning, possibly even the historical meaning (centuries back), and tell them what the symbols are saying to me (because what the typical meaning is might not be what the card is telling me).

Hope this helps.

[business voodoo]

i study the symbols involved in the numbers, suits, the particular card, position of the spread, and then i study the history and meanings other people ascribe to the various cards ... then i throw it all back in the closet and let the cards that present themselves speak to me, albeit with an informed intellectual study of the symbols presented ... sometimes the card will present the symbolic meaning and sometimes there's a whole different story coming out from that card usually triggering from one or more of its symbols, but definitely a tangential meaning away from the "written meaning" for sure.

as is often the case in both astrology and tarot, we get caught up on "keywords" or a locked memory of the meaning of a card ... when that happens, usually the card shuts-up and says nothing ... gives me no meaning or anything that seems relevant ... that's when it forces me to start studying again to dig out the nuance of the symbols or the meaning of the card that is yet unlocked. so the card will stay with me for a while then i'll be reading something (usually completely unrelated) and have my "aha" moment for that card.

[Windsmith]

I learned all of the traditional Rider-Waite meanings, and I use them as a base. But since my cards are so detailed and visually intense, I often end up creating a synthesis of the traditional meaning with the story the images are telling me.

I also consider Tarot an intuitive tool, rather than a predictive one. Its main function in my practice is to offer me (or whomever I'm reading for) a new perspective on the situation, new avenues to explore, rather than a timeline of "what's gonna happen when and how." So my readings are much more open-ended in terms of advice and suggestions: "You would do well to determine what you really want out of this relationship before you make any major decisions," rather than, "You must stay away from dark-haired men whose names start with B. until the next full moon!" In my opinion, that makes the ability to interact creatively and spontaneously with the cards more important than memorizing the little white book definitions.

[Semele]

Well, I let my kids play with my cards and they leave them laying around for me to find at the right time! I have gotten way more divination from the found cards than any I ever pulled for a purpose!

[Bix]

I'm still slowly learning how to read tarot. I've been recording all the spreads I do for myself. I do the spread, and outloud say the general impression I get from the cards. Then I'll go card by card through the spread. I write down my first impressions of the card, then I'll look up the meaning in the LWB to get a sort of second opinion. Afterwards, I'll write down the general impression I get from the whole thing.

[halfwaynowhere]

i read a few books, which is not my normal learning method. the one thing that the books helped me with was learning to look at the pictures and find the meanings within them. First thing i did was go through the book, and read each meaning as i looked at the cards. then i looked to see how the images matched up with the meanings. then i went through the book, and ignored the words, only looking at the pictures. then i applied this to my own deck, and i haven't had any problems with my readings. they have been pretty accurate, although i can't read for myself anymore, because i end up trying to interpret the reading the way i want it to be...

[Shatril]

I study them more than read them. I spend more time learning about them that really reading them. However, when I do read them it is about the story they reveal. This is based partly in their meaning, position, and my intuition about the interpretation of that card in that spot. Knowing the traditional meaning helps with the overall reading. Having said that though, I believe the cards adjust to your method of reading, to give you the message that is needed regardless of your method of reading.

Shatril

[stella01904]

I've read quite a few books over the years, but to be honest, most Tarot books stink. Even if you were to memorise all the stuff in them, all you would be doing is memorising other people's opinions.

Best method is to just look at the cards, know your numerology, know your iconography and let the impressions come. Best practice is to have conversations with the deck - pull cards to represent different events you are familiar with, rather than trying to predict anything, and see how the cards relate. Look at how they lie next to each other, as well - what are the eyes looking at? Is someone's hand near the crank on the Wheel? Whose?

[Windsmith]

Best method is to just look at the cards, know your numerology, know your iconography and let the impressions come. Best practice is to have conversations with the deck - pull cards to represent different events you are familiar with, rather than trying to predict anything, and see how the cards relate. Look at how they lie next to each other, as well - what are the eyes looking at? Is someone's hand near the crank on the Wheel? Whose?Along those same lines, whenever I pull a card where a lot is going on in the image (OK, in the deck I use, that's every card!), I ask myself who (or what) I'm relating to most today. Sometimes I'm the woman in the carriage, tossing coins to the beggars; sometimes I'm the beggars; sometimes I'm the horse that pulls the carriage...even if I pull the same card in every spread I do for a month, I get a different interpretation every time.

[wolf]

I am an intuitive reader. My first piece of advice to anyone learning tarot is ditch the little white book in a drawer and let the cards speak.

I know there are traditional meanings to the symbology of the cards, esp. in the RWS, but my head/spiritual connection doesn't work that way. I have also branched out beyond the RWS template decks, which carry their own energy and meanings.

I make spreads up as I go along to suit the situation. I never had much success with the Celtic Cross and the book meanings methods.