How to Do a Tarot Card Reading

Tarot Card Reading is Simple.

1. Gather Items
Gather together all the items you will need to do your reading, including tarot cards. You want to stay put once you start your reading.

2. Set the Mood
Before you start your tarot reading, consider lighting candles and incense, quietly ...Tarot Card Reading is Simple.

1. Gather Items
Gather together all the items you will need to do your reading, including tarot cards. You want to stay put once you start your reading.

2. Set the Mood
Before you start your tarot reading, consider lighting candles and incense, quietly meditating, or taking some slow deep breaths. This will help you get centered and open. It also creates a sacred space for your tarot reading.

3. Decide on Your Reading Focus
The focus of your tarot reading can be a question or an issue. The key is to choose a question or issue that is very specific. However, you can also do an open tarot reading, where you do not have any question or issue in mind at all -- you simply want to see what the tarot cards reveal to you.

4. Connect with Your Tarot Cards
Once you have your question in mind, begin shuffling the tarot cards in any way you feel called to. This is when you focus on connecting you, your question, and the tarot cards. This connection will help bring you a clear tarot reading. You can also cut the cards, once you feel ready to stop shuffling.

5. Lay Out Your Tarot Cards
Beforehand, you should have a layout chosen for your reading. Tarot reading layouts can be found in books or online. You can also create your own tarot layout. After you have shuffled and cut the cards & feel as though it is time to layout the cards, do so.

6. Interpreting Your Tarot Card Reading
You have many options. Some tarot decks come with books that contain interpretations for each tarot card. It is acceptable to use the book to understand the tarot cards. However, you have other options for reading tarot layouts. You can look at the artwork on each tarot card, seeing it as a picture-show about your question. You can use symbolism and interpret each tarot card. You can rely solely on your intuition, & let your inner voice tell you what each tarot card means. Or, you can see the tarot cards as a story, with the first tarot card the beginning of the story, and the last tarot card the end. It is important to look at each tarot card individually, and at the layout as a whole. In other words, get two perspectives--see the "forest" and the "trees".

7. Further Interpretation
If there are parts of your tarot reading you do not understand, or parts you want more information about, you can layout more tarot cards. For instance, if you don't understand the third card in your layout, you can lay a new tarot card next to it, asking for clarification. Or, if you understand your tarot reading, but have another question or concern, pull a tarot card or two to focus on the additional information.

8. Remembering Your Tarot Reading
You might consider keeping a tarot reading journal where you record each tarot reading you do. List the date, question, and each tarot card in the layout. The benefit of recording your tarot reading is that you can go back later and reread what your tarot reading contained. It also becomes like a diary of your life. If you do not want to do this additional work, you can stay in the moment with your tarot reading and choose not to record it.

9. Ending Your Tarot Reading
End your tarot reading slowly and respectfully. Thank the Universe (or anyone else) for the gui dance you received and pick up your tarot cards, mixing them back in with the deck. You may say a few words to end your tarot reading and clear the tarot cards of the your old question. The idea is to put away a tarot deck that is clear of energy from the last reading, so that when you do your next reading, you are starting fresh. Put your tarot reading supplies (deck, candle, and anything else) away as if you are ending a sacred ritual.

10. Getting Back to Reality
When you do a tarot reading, you are working in sacred space. You are healing yourself and connecting with spirit. Once you're done, you become re-engaged in mundane life. Make sure you are fully present and back in your body before you go back to doing things like driving a car or making dinner. You can shake your body, stretch, take deep breaths, and do other things that clear the energy of the reading event from your body.