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hand doing tarot card reading surrounding by tea light candles

Tarot is a cross-cultural practice that is used for guidance, decision-making, and fortune-telling. There used to be a widespread belief that you can only read tarot if someone you know personally gifted you a deck. Thankfully, that ancient belief is dying down. Today, anybody can purchase their first tarot deck on their own—all you need is to be attuned to your intuition. Once you feel confident in your gut feelings, you’re ready to read!

What Are The Origins Of Tarot?

The exact origin of tarot remains a historic mystery. However, we know that tarot-like games first appeared in Europe between the 14th and 15th century. The origins of the tarot deck are a little more clear, dating back to about 1450 in Northern Italy. These decks were called carte da trionfi or ‘triumph cards.’

Can Tarot Predict The Future?

Tarot can predict what could happen. Yet ultimately, what will actually happen is up to you. “Keep in mind, your future isn’t set in stone. A tarot reading is simply a reflection of what could happen if you continue on your current path,” says professional tarot reader and actress, Alicia. “Ultimately, you will always have free will and hold the power to shape your life’s destiny.”

This isn’t to say that things predicted by a spread won’t come true. It’s easy to find a reader who will end their reading by saying something along the lines of “energy can change,” three magical words that mean the prediction may not actually come true. This may sound like a scam to some, but think of it as a reminder of your inner power.

Tarot is meant to be guidance, rather than a definitive statement. If you don’t like the cards, or the energy around a situation, you have an opportunity to change things for the better.

woman holding a stack of tarot cards during a reading

What Does Tarot Do?

If tarot doesn’t predict the future like in the movies, then what do tarot cards do? The cards are tools that help us along our spiritual path; they are our wise guides. Emily McGill, the creator behind The Broadway Tarot Deck, believes that, “Tarot is like texting yourself a meme – something that your heart or gut knows but hasn’t made it up to your head. The cards help you tap into your subconscious and unconscious minds, and translate whatever comes up for your conscious mind.” It was Emily’s own healing journey that led her to discover her inner magic with the help of tarot.

Using tarot for shadow work—shining light on the parts of yourself that you hide intentionally or subconsciously—is one of the best ways to benefit from this practice. Have you ever said something but you didn’t know where that thought came from? Or have you ever done something you know you shouldn’t, but felt like you had to for reasons you still don’t know? In situations like these, tarot cards can help bridge your subconscious and unconscious.

Do You Need Special Abilities to Read Tarot?

If there’s one thing that Tarot Professor, Annie Aboulian, wants beginners to know, it’s that we are all capable of reading cards. “The first thing I tell beginner tarot readers: you don't have to be psychic to read tarot! The art of tarot reading relies on intuition, which all humans have.”

The art of reading tarot is essentially the art of hearing your innermost self. “Reading tarot helps us learn to silence our ego's desires and fears and listen to our intuition instead to tap into what we truly value and want in life,” says Aboulian. Your alignment with first yourself and then the cards is going to determine the accuracy of any reading, rather than simply knowing what the cards are supposed to mean.

As medium and tarot/oracle card reader, Laura Saltman, says, “Listen to your intuition and let it guide you. It’s nice to hear what other people say about tarot cards, but the answers about your life and experience will come through you.”

How to Read Tarot Cards

First things first, shuffle and cleanse

Many readers will tell you that you should learn the meanings of each tarot card first, but my personal bias is that it is much more important to cleanse your cards as soon as you touch them. Since tarot is a spiritual practice that revolves around energy, you don’t want someone else’s energy interrupting yours at any point to bring about false readings. Owner of Wisdom of the Spirit, Sophia Rose, encourages you to connect with your deck by building a relationship: “Sleep with it under your pillow, shuffle it while watching TV, really get to know it… I even talk to mine sometimes!”

Before each reading, you want to shuffle your cards to make sure that each card has an equal chance of being pulled. After cleansing and shuffling, you should start to feel connected to your deck.

Ways to cleanse tarot cards:

Place a cleansing crystal, like selenite, atop them for at least 30 minutes
Burn sage above them for at least 30–60 seconds
Put them outside under a new moon
Place them in a bowl of salt overnight
Visualize and meditate with them to connect them to your energy

Ways to shuffle tarot cards:

Overhand shuffle (like you’re playing Uno)
Toss the cards on a flat surface and move them around (think: children with toys)
Pile shuffle or split in your deck into rows and mix them up
Riffle shuffle like dealers do in casinos
Fan the cards and randomly mix them up

Learn Tarot Card Meanings

This is where it really gets fun. As a beginner, it’s always advised to start with a standard 78 card deck because those are at the heart of tarot.

Major Arcana

In a standard deck, there are 22 “Trump” cards. These are the Major Arcana cards, signifying important lessons for your life and soul. A Major Arcana card will usually be the most important card in a tarot spread–it’s the card that represents how the posed question could impact your whole life.

Minor Arcana

The remaining 56 cards are called the Minor Arcana. They represent everyday life. They are also the cards least likely to remain true a year from now because their energy is relatively fleeting.

The standard deck type isn’t the only deck out there; there are countless specialty decks that can be just as accurate. While these decks have no set card count, they are typically based on the standard deck that includes the Major Arcana. While specialty decks are fun to use, they can be difficult for beginners to understand. (I’d recommend getting those types of decks later on.)

Learning the meaning of 78 different cards will not come overnight. “My favorite advice for tarot practice newbies is to play with your cards and pull one every day…Spend some time with the card discovering what it makes you feel, if there are any words or symbols that come to mind, and only look at the guidebook description after you’ve spent some time thinking about what this could mean to you,” says McGill.

After you’ve learned your deck’s cards' meanings, remember: listen to your intuition first.

Choose your tarot spread and read the cards

Now it’s time to put the cards together and interpret them as a message. This is where it gets more complicated. There are many spreads that you can use in tarot, but these are a few popular types:

One Card Pull

Pulling one card is ideal when you have one question that you’d like a straightforward answer to.

Three-Card Tarot Spread

This is the spread often used by modern tarot readers where three cards are placed down in a horizontal line. It’s simple enough for all levels of tarot readers and purchasers to understand.

Celtic Cross Tarot Spread

This spread is not simple, but it’s one of the most popular. It’s ideal for a question that you want to know everything about. While it can be difficult to learn, there are many tarot guide sheets on the market to help you interpret it.

Intuitive Spread

In what I like to call an intuitive spread, there is no set card number. Rather, you pull out however many cards you think are needed. That could be two cards or a lucky number seven. It’s up to your intuition. However, as a beginner pulling more than five cards can be difficult to read.

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