A Laid-Back Guide to Reading Tarot

People often believe that learning to read tarot cards is going to take a lot of their time. They think that everything in the Tarot books has to be adhered to, down to the methods of shuffling and cutting the deck. They believe they must memorize all the card meanings and use only those meanings. If they don't, they may get the "wrong" answer. But what's important to realize is that all these rituals, all the card meanings and all the spreads can be very limiting and counter-effective in the art of reading Tarot. If you're focusing on whether you're going to obtain the truth by shuffling this way instead of that way, then you're not letting your intuition flow freely. If you're stuck beating around one dogmatic card meaning then you might be missing a deeper message that the cards are trying to tell you. Listen, take that Tarot book and chunk it in the trash! You can take it out later, but for today's lesson all you need is your cards. Spread them out and look at them. As you take in their images, keep in mind the only "rules" that will matter here:

1. The Major Arcana represent the world's basic archetypes for people as well as life stages. They stand for the big issues, the important milestones.
2. The Minor Arcana represent the archetypes' stages of development, their journeys in different aspects of life.
3. The four suits of the Minor Arcana correspond to the four elements. Wands are Fire, for creativity; Cups are Water, for emotions; Swords are Air, for intellect; and Pentacles are Earth, for physical concerns (money, home, etc.)

I would recommend choosing a deck in which all the Minor Arcana are illustrated. This way each of the cards tells its own story, a story that may be interpreted a number of ways. Gather the cards back into the deck, all of them face-down, and just shuffle. No special method, just make sure that they're sufficiently mixed up. While you're doing this, think of a question. Try not to choose a one that requires a yes or no answer; those are no fun and life doesn't appear in such black and white terms anyway. Now, pick three cards from the deck. Just whichever three seem to catch your attention, or seem to want to be standing out somehow. Keeping them face down, arrange them on a flat surface in front of you, in the order in which you drew them. Turn the cards over one by one (flip it upright if any come out upside-down, we won't focus on reversals for now), and for simply take them in. Resist the temptation to look up their meanings. Instead ask, what story is each card telling you? What energy is it giving off? How does each card relate to the other two cards? Let me give you an example.

I ask my cards the question, "What do you have to say about my recently unemployed status?" I drew the 2 of Pentacles, the 5 of Swords and the 7 of Cups. The 2 of Pentacles shows a young person on a unicycle juggling two coins. The card is commenting that I've been juggling my finances (Earth) for awhile now, and haven't fallen yet. The 5 of Swords shows a warrior standing victorious on the battlefield, holding all his opponents' swords. It's telling me that I've battled many demons in my own mind (Air), and have come out victorious. The 7 of Cups shows seven chalices in the sky, each holding a different object, some of them pleasant, some frightening. It's telling me that I have many options open to me now, and I must choose carefully among them because I have my emotions (Water) invested in the outcome. I can sum up the answer this way: "Don't worry about money, you'll get by as you always have, and now that you've defeated some of your demons you have so many more doors open to you; choose wisely among them." Notice that no Major Arcana cards appeared in this drawing. This could mean that I'm placing too much significance on the question, because the cards did not see fit to place great significance on the answer. It was a surface question that got a light answer.

As you can see, Tarot isn't difficult. Stripped of its trappings, these basic principles persist: 1) the energies of the universe caused you to draw these specific cards out of all 78 in the deck, and 2) if you don't know their assigned meanings, then you're free to let your intuition do its work uninhibited. It's worth it to note that different Tarot decks will have different art, and so each will have a different perspective even if you draw the exact same cards for the exact same question. Try out many decks, because getting too comfortable with one deck will limit your inner sight as well. As I always say, relax and trust yourself to see the truth. Happy divining!