How to teach yourself Tarot and read intuitive messages in 10 easy steps
Are you ready to listen and see direct messages from your guides? Well then have no fear for Tarot is here. Unfortunately a good chunk of people do fear Tarot still. In my opinion, Tarot has gotten an extremely bad rap, sometimes being compared to dark or untamed energy. From the view of many other spiritual readers and myself, Tarot is an extremely pure way to connect with your guides and loved ones. It contains art and clear direct messages that you can feel and hold in your hands. The coolest part is these messages are presented to you by none other than your guides! First step to playing with tarot is taking the spook and fear out of it! Tarot is a playful fun energy that you can practice on your own or with friends. Before diving into Tarot I began with an Oracle deck, which is basically just a less structured and more generalized way to listen to guidance. Tarot is much more organized. There is structure to it based on the amount of cards, how they are categorized, and the detailed meaning behind each card. I use Oracle cards every now and then to receive more comfort during an unstructured time in my life. It wasn’t until I began using Tarot where I really felt I was speaking one on one with my spiritual team. Truly, it felt like they were listening to every word I spoke to them when I revealed a very accurate card time and time again. To begin using Tarot I did not study every card, or the groups and their meanings. I just had fun with it and remained very loose! Of course you can read up on them in the guidebook you find in every deck, but I find it more overwhelming to begin that way. When you go to the pool and the water is very cold and uncomfortable do you tip toe in at every step until your at your shoulders? Or do you dive head in without even thinking about it? You might ask yourself which is the fastest way to relieve anxiety and find instant cool relief. For me it’s diving in.
Some tips for playing with your cards and loosening up
Although i’m still not and will never be an expert at Tarot, I do have some quick tips that helped me open up my third eye when using my deck.
1) Choose a deck that speaks to you and has beautiful artwork. My first Tarot deck is very far from traditional and focuses on earthy elements and animals.
2) Feel the card size and thickness, shuffle accordingly. An easy way to get out of the GROOVE when reading Tarot is fumbling with your cards over and over again. Some larger decks may require you to shuffle them on a table, smaller decks may be easier to free handle them! (practice makes perfect and there are a ton of videos on YouTube for this).
3) Cut the deck with your non-dominant hand (this is your intuitive hand). Pick yourself the first number you can think of and cut your deck, this gives me suspenseful pleasure and its just good practice!
4) Don’t expect a certain outcome when pulling a card! If you continuously doubt yourself as you pull, you doubt what your souls wishes. Would you ever doubt your spirit team? Hell no.
5) Pop up cards (cards that shoot out of your deck when shuffling or cutting) are MEANT to be noticed. Our first instinct is to sneak that sucker back into the deck and act like it never happened but let me tell you, these cards always come back up one way or another. I find best to include them in your spread or at least read their meaning.
6) Don’t feel like you are “less” if you need to read from the guidebook. The guidebook is the best way to read up on your deck and its intention. We all start somewhere and the author of your deck took the time and effort to help assist you in understanding the messages intended.
7) When it is time, leave the guide book! I’m still working on this one but I swear I’m almost there. The more you play, interpret, and listen to your gut the better you will get. You’ll be flying solo in no time.
8) Read for others. It might be more comfortable to read for family and friends first but if you really want to stimulate that intuition you got to read for people other than yourself. Reading for strangers will enhance this even quicker.
9) PLEASE NO “yes or no” questions. Spirits don’t talk like this, they’re too deep for that. If you want the juicy stuff, you got to go deeper. I suggest trying to rephrase your question as a “How can I” or “What do I need to do in order to achieve _____.”
10) Pick a card for fun every day, not because you rely on its messages for that day. Opening up your Tarot box daily builds a routine and a better relationship with your cards. Don’t create an unhealthy relationship where you need to ask them how you handle every situation in your life.
I hope this list helped you and will encourage you to begin playing with Tarot. Please remember this, Tarot is a physical tool used to access your inner knowing. Tarot is not fortune telling. Humans are always allowed free will on this earth, and moments can always change. Through a Tarot reading you begin to allow your soul to take a “front seat” in making decisions and acting on them to align with your highest self.
