How to read tarot cards: a step-by-step guide for beginners

What tarot is (and what it isn’t)

Tarot is a deck of 78 illustrated cards. It began in 15th-century Italy as a card game and later became a symbolic tool for thinking things through. When you link its images to a question, tarot helps you sort out your thoughts, put a name to what you feel and see your situation from a fresh angle.

What tarot isn’t is an oracle that hands down a fixed destiny. The cards describe tendencies, and you always have the final say. Nor is it a substitute for a doctor, lawyer, financial adviser or therapist: for any serious health, legal or money question, talk to a professional.

The 78 cards: Major and Minor Arcana

The deck has two parts. The 22 Major Arcana are numbered 0 to XXI and represent life’s big lessons. They open with The Fool, the leap into the unknown, and close with The World, the completion of a cycle. When a Major Arcana card turns up, the theme is usually a significant one.

The 56 Minor Arcana deal with everyday life and are split into four suits, each linked to an element:

• Wands (fire): energy, desire, projects and creativity.
• Cups (water): emotions, love, friendship and intuition.
• Swords (air): thoughts, words, conflict and decisions.
• Pentacles (earth): money, work, the body and practical matters.

Each suit runs from Ace to Ten, plus four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen and King) that often describe people or attitudes. A handy shortcut: lots of Cups in a reading point to something emotional; lots of Swords suggest it’s all in your head. You’ll find every card explained in our tarot card meanings.

How to ask a good question

A reading is only as good as its question. Closed questions (“Will they come back?”, “Will I get the job?”) leave little room and put the answer outside you. Open questions work better because they invite reflection:

• “What do I need to understand about this relationship?”
• “What can I do to move my job search forward?”
• “What’s holding me back right now?”

Yes-or-no questions still have their place for small, specific doubts – that’s what the yes or no tarot is for. Ask once and take the answer as guidance, not an order. And keep the focus on yourself: tarot is most useful when it speaks about what’s in your hands, not about other people’s lives.

Set aside a calm moment

You don’t need an elaborate ritual. Find ten uninterrupted minutes, silence your phone and sit somewhere comfortable. Take a few deep breaths and think about your question until you can say it in a single sentence; write it down if that helps.

A clear table and soft light make a difference. If you’d like to refresh the space first, try our simple rosemary energy cleansing. What matters most is coming to the cards with a calm, curious mind.

Shuffling and drawing the cards

There’s no single right way to shuffle: riffle the cards like a pack of playing cards, or spread them face down and swirl them around with your hands. Shuffle while you think about your question and stop when it feels right. Then cut the deck into three piles and put them back together in any order.

Take cards from the top or pick them from a fan, place them face down and turn them over sideways, like the page of a book, so you don’t flip them by accident. Online, the deck is shuffled at random for you – still, focus on your question first.

First exercise: a single card

The easiest way to start is the card of the day. In the morning, ask yourself “What energy is with me today?” and draw one card. Look at it for a minute before reading its meaning: which figures, colours or gestures stand out? Jot down three words.

In the evening, come back to it and run through your day. Perhaps you drew the Eight of Wands and everything moved fast; perhaps the Four of Cups and you struggled to feel enthusiastic. Within weeks you’ll have seen dozens of cards in real situations – that’s how meanings stick.

Second exercise: past, present and future

Once you’re comfortable with one card, try the classic three-card spread: past, present and future. Lay out three cards from left to right:

1. Past: what brought you here and still has an influence.
2. Present: the situation as it stands, what you’re dealing with now.
3. Future: where things are heading if nothing changes. Not a fixed fate, just a likely path.

Read each card on its own, then read them together as a story. Is there a progression? Does a suit repeat? If you don’t like the future card, look at the present one: it often shows where to put your energy to change course.

How to interpret a card

Interpreting isn’t reciting a memorised meaning; it’s combining several layers:

1. The image: notice what the card shows before reading anything. A gesture, a landscape or an object is often the key.
2. The keywords: each card has two or three core ideas. The Star, for instance, speaks of hope, calm and renewal.
3. The position: the same card says something different in the “past” than in the “future”.
4. Your intuition: which memory, feeling or person comes to mind? That first impulse deserves attention.
5. Reversals (optional): an upside-down card often points to energy that is blocked, delayed or turned inwards. As a beginner, you can read every card upright.

An example: you ask what you need to know about work and draw The Tower. Rather than panicking, think of a change that brings down what was no longer standing firm. Is there something you’ve been propping up for too long?

Common beginner mistakes

• Asking the same question again until you get the answer you wanted. Stick with the first reading.
• Being scared of certain cards. Death is almost never literal; it usually marks the end of a chapter. There are no “bad” cards in tarot.
• Trying to memorise everything. A few cards you know well beat 78 definitions crammed in at once.
• Using too many cards. One or three are plenty at first.
• Letting the cards decide for you. Decisions about health, money or legal matters deserve real information and professional help.

Keep a tarot journal

A journal is your best teacher. In a notebook or a note on your phone, record the date, your question, the cards (and whether they were reversed), your first impression and what happened afterwards. Reread them a week later: you’ll spot details you missed.

Over time you’ll see which cards keep appearing and how far you’ve come. And seeing a reading written down makes it easier to treat it as a reflection rather than a prophecy.

Practise for free on Cardaluna

Everything you need to get started, free and with no sign-up:

• Your card of the day, every morning.
• The past, present and future spread, for perspective on a situation.
• The yes or no tarot, for small, specific doubts.
• The meanings of all 78 cards, upright and reversed.
• Three key cards to begin with: The Fool, The Tower and The Star.

When you’re ready for more, explore all our free tarot spreads. Go at your own pace: tarot is a practice, not an exam.