The numbered cards tend to show situations and solutions, while court cards can also represent people you know — even you. And FWIW, tarot never claims to show you some future set in stone. So don’t be afraid of “finding out something” that you don’t want to know.

There are so many questions and with unending content and hashtags on Instagram about tarot readings, it is easy to get lost. Which is why it is important to have a guided introduction to it. A standard tarot deck has 78 cards divided into two groups, 22 major arcana cards and 56 minor arcana cards. The major arcana showcase big life events, while the minor arcana look at the strokes and speak to our daily lives, though much of this, of course, varies on the reader.

Different readers have different ideas of how the right cards for a given subject and her troubles are the ones that are dealt to the spread. Read more about angel cards online here. For many psychics and magical practitioners, the cards are simply a medium to help trigger the reader’s particular talent to sense a subject’s situation and help her understand it. You may want to avoid asking the same question multiple times in quick succession, because you risk muddling their message.

The Three of Cups reversed represents the option of avoiding this hard conversation altogether. The person sitting down with you sees the dancing women on the card and remembers fun times dancing and partying with this friend of theirs. They’re not sure what to do with that information, so you bring up the fact that the card is upside down and ask them to think about what has changed since those carefree days together. Read more about Love Tarot Readings here. This line of questioning helps them conclude that avoiding a hard conversation is a way of keeping this friend at a distance. This card is reversed, meaning it appeared out of the deck upside down.

The Tarot Illuminati deck features cards with vibrant colors and detailed artwork. Is it possible to do Tarot spreads on yourself, even if you’re a beginner? Tarot is a modality that helps us gain greater insight into our current situations, honor our intuition and forecast potential outcomes. It might seem a bit daunting, but it’s really a simple process. While you should have a baseline understanding of what each card means, it’s always best to interpret the cards based on the energy you pick up. You can’t always rely on your memory to come through during a session because a Tarot reading relies heavily on intuition.

Cleanse Your Deck

The transition from traditional playing cards to tarot cards in Italy was more of a stylistic change, with the cards being used similarly. Since artists first started creating custom, ornate tarot decks, there have been many iterations of tarot decks over time.

Pick a tarot deck that speaks to you.

Marmanides says she used to carry her oracle decks in her purse and sleep with them under her pillow. Do whatever feels right to build a trusting relationship with your deck so it can give you the clarity you seek. Tarot Cards were the original playing cards of the mid-15th century from which the more recognizable playing cards used today were developed. Only more recently did tarot evolve into the divination tool as we know it to be today. “Pulling a single card can help you focus on all the complex energies that can be found within each card,” Vanderveldt says. A journalism student who studied the subject only to meet SRK in person, she settled for the best way to meet him.

You can do this with sprays like lavender, as well as by burning incense. People have been finding meaning in tarot cards for centuries, and though there is a lot of ritual to the practice, there is no evidence that tarot cards actually … tell your future. A three-card spread often invokes the past, present, and future energy of your current situation. A five-card spread builds upon this information by pointing out possible obstacles as well as providing additional advice to assist in reaching your resolution. Like other arts, practicing is the best way to gain confidence in reading Tarot for others.

Tarot cards are also all about perception and interpretation. Tarot reading requires you to keep an open mind and communicate with your heart, and not your head.

And the way to personalize your readings is by paying attention to the details on each card. Interpreting these symbols allows you to truly access and apply the insight. Of course, not all of the cards that comprise the major arcana are created equal. Depending on your deck—and they are available in increasing, and increasingly creative, numbers—some card names may be altered. Be sure to read up on your deck to catch all of its idiosyncrasies. There are many cards in your deck that symbolize impending change.