3 Secrets to Reading Tarot Cards

Reading Tarot cards is not really as complicated as it is made out to be – at the same time, it is not that simplistic either. Here we have 78 different cards with a variety of images on them which convey so many things. How can one remember these meanings? How is it even possible to keep a track of all the different interpretations? And in the end, how does one know which meaning to go for during an actual reading?

I am going to tell you a few simple methods of being able to do so. However, it is equally important that one does not remain too rigid in these methods – the lessons in the cards talk about and teach flexibility – they essentially tell us to remain open and aware to what our inner voice or instinct or gut or intuition tells us.

So, are you ready to begin? Here we go:

1. Visual Cues: This is the first step towards deciphering the meanings of the Tarot cards – look at the picture on the card. What is happening in the picture? What feelings does it evoke within you? Pay attention to what are the first impulses in your mind when you see the images. These visual cues will tell you what is going on in your client’s life on the different planes of his existence. For example, look at the image of the 3 of Cups card. We see 3 finely dressed ladies holding their cups high in the air. Around them are fruits and flowers. Straight off, one can guess that they are having a party or a celebration of some sort. So, this may reveal to you that there is a celebration going on in the client’s life.

2. Elemental Cues: Each of the Tarot cards corresponds to a certain element: Wands with Fire, Cups with Water, Swords with Air, and Pentacles with Earth. Each of these elements talks of a different aspect of life: Fire is burning energy and passion, Water is flowing emotions and feelings, Air is the windy thoughts and logical mind, and Earth is solid practicality and money. And of course, let’s not forget the Major Arcana which corresponds to the element of Spirit / Ether, which is the representation of the higher spiritual planes of existence. So, in a reading, when you see a card from a particular suit, you know which aspect of life you are dealing with. And add to it the imagery of the card and its visual cues, and you have your interpretation right there! So taking our previous example of the 3 of Cups, we can see that cups are emotions and feelings.

Plus the visual cues talk of celebrations. So now, we can say that these 3 ladies in the card are also emotionally bonded with each other – they could be friends. This interpretation thus reveals that the celebration in your client’s life is a party with his close friends with whom he can easily share his feelings.

3. How the Card Falls: This is another aspect of the reading – whether the card is upright or whether it is reversed. There are many ways of looking at card reversals – either you can see it as a total opposite of the upright meaning, or you can say that there is a blockage in the situation depicted in the upright meaning. So, continuing with our 3 of Cups card, we can say that in the reversed position this card will mean that either the celebration has gone bust, or that there are problems within the group of friends which does not allow them to bond completely with each other.