When You Learn To Read Tarot, The Best Place To Start Is By Learning The Tarot Card Meanings.
Discover what each Tarot card means, including the keywords, symbolism, and stories in the cards. These are my personal Tarot card meanings that I use every day in my Tarot readings – and now you can use them too!
Let these Tarot card meanings be your guide, not your gospel. There are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ meanings of the Tarot cards(find in our Shop page). Sure, there are traditional interpretations of what the Tarot cards mean, but I encourage you to trust your intuition and go with the meanings that feel right for you.
About The Tarot Card Meanings
The Tarot is a deck of 78 cards, each with its own imagery, symbolism and story.
The 22 Major Arcana cards represent life’s karmic and spiritual lessons. They represent a path to spiritual self-awareness and depict the various stages we encounter as we search for greater meaning and understanding. In this way, the Major Arcana cards hold deeply meaningful lessons on a soul level.
The 56 Minor Arcana cards reflect the trials and tribulations that we experience on a daily basis. These Tarot cards highlight the more practical aspects of life and can refer to current issues that have a temporary or minor influence.
Within the Minor Arcana cards, there are 16 Tarot Court Cards each representing 16 different personality characteristics we may choose to express at any given time. There are also the 40 numbered cards organised into 4 Suits – Cups, Pentacles, Swords and Wands – each with 10 cards, representing various situations that we encounter day-to-day.
Some may say that Tarot cards are simply ink on paper. However, what I have discovered from reading the Tarot cards daily for over twenty years is this:
Tarot is the storybook of our life, the mirror to our soul, and the key to our inner wisdom.
Every spiritual lesson we meet in our lives can be found in the seventy-eight Tarot cards. And when we consult the Tarot, we’ll get shown the exact lessons we need to learn and master to live an inspired life. It’s like holding up a mirror to yourself so that you can access your subconscious mind and tap into the wisdom (and answers) that lives in us all.
Shuffle and Reset Your Cards
While you shuffle, think carefully about the area of your life in which you’d like more clarity for. Shuffling and handling the cards is a great way to physically connect with the deck that you’re using. As intuition is an important aspect of a reading, you’ll need to bring yourself into the cards. Try to shuffle at least once, but however many times you feel is necessary to get the cards “cleared”. You can also cut the deck into 3’s and reorder them. When you feel ready, keep the cards face down.
Try a 3 Card Tarot Spread
Tarot spreads give you a structure in which you can explore your questions. Each position in the spread reflects an aspect of your question to consider. You don’t have to use them for every reading, but it’s a nice way to get started while you learn about the cards. One of the simplest readings you can use to familiarize yourself with the cards is the past, present, future spread. Take the top card from your shuffled deck, and reveal them one by one, left to right.
Practice Reading Tarot Cards
With time, you’ll be able to be more confident in reading. And as you encounter the cards, you’ll start to also notice systems and patterns in how their meanings are set up. For example, how the suits of the minor arcana relate to each other, and how the major arcana tells a story. All these things are beneficial in helping guide you through readings.