Tarot cards are associated with the occult, witchcraft, psychics, mystics and all kinds of pop culture. But tarot cards are more than what the media shows, they are a way to ask for guidance and advice. I utilize tarot cards in my spiritual practice often, so, I’ll give you a rundown of tarot cards, how to read them and an example of a reading. 

A basic tarot deck has 78 cards, split into the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. The Major Arcana is the beginning of the deck and consists of 21 cards, all of which revolve around life changing events and shifts. The Minor Arcana is the remaining 56 cards, which are split into four suits—wands, pentacles, swords and cups. Each suit contains 14 cards and is associated with an element—wands represent fire, swords represent air, pentacles represent earth and cups represent water. The Minor Arcana focuses on the more day-to-day events of life, having less impact. 

There are many ways to interpret tarot cards, since you can read into how the card is depicting a situation or who you are. Most tarot decks come with a mini booklet which describes what the card represents, but a simple internet search can provide a suitable answer as well. There are two main positions of reading tarot cards, which are upright and reversed. Upright is usually seen as positive, and is the meaning given by the booklet or other resource. Reversed is often negative in meaning, being the complete opposite of what the upright is. 

There are several methods that you can use to draw your tarot cards. There’s no right or wrong way to draw them. One method is to shuffle the cards consecutively until the cards begin to pop out on their own. Another way is to shuffle and pick cards from the top or bottom of the deck. One last method is to spread the deck out like a rainbow and pick whatever card pulls you in.  

It’s pivotal to have an intention when you’re using tarot cards. There must be a question that can’t be answered yes or no. You can technically ask a yes or no question, since upright is often seen as yes and reversed as no, but tarot is more effective for broader questions. It’s best to ask for advice or what will occur, those kinds of questions are easier to answer with tarot. 

I’ll provide an example reading, just to give you a look at how to read tarot cards. I shuffle the deck, asking what kind of partner I may have in the future. I got The Empress as well as the Two of Cups, both in the upright position. The Empress represents a mature, feminine energy, and the Two of Cups indicates that I need to cooperate with this person and strengthen our bond. What I take from that is my future partner will be feminine, and possibly someone I already know, since I have the Two of Cups saying to strengthen bonds. But the cards can be interpreted differently, so that is only my opinion.  

There’s so much more to tarot than what I can describe, so the best advice for reading tarot is to just try. Get a deck, use a tarot website or app and start to use it daily for advice or for fun.