There is a lot of information out there, but this 8-minute video will tell you all you need to know to get started reading the tarot. (Of course, once you start, you can keep learning for a lifetime.)
Below the video, find detailed info on the 7-card spread from The Witches Tarot and a written summary of the simple steps involved in doing a tarot reading.
How to Do a Tarot Reading
- Relax and center your mind. Call on the Divine in a way that feels powerful for you. Ask for and envision a circle of protective light around yourself.
- Ask a question in an open ended way that will help you gain insight into the situation you’d like guidance on.
- Shuffle the deck.
- When you intuitively sense it’s time to stop (you can’t go wrong), stop. If you’d like to, cut the deck once or twice.
- Lay the top 7 cards out, left to right. When you’re first getting started, don’t worry about reversed cards. Just turn them all so they’re facing up. (This is the tarot spread from The Witches Tarot by Ellen Dugan.)
- Look at each card. From left to right, the cards are: past, present, future, advice, people, obstacles, outcome. Use the guidebook that comes with your tarot deck to learn the meaning of each card and consider how it corresponds with each designated position in the spread. Below, you’ll find more insight into each card position.
The 7-Card Tarot Spread
- Card 1 is the past: factors, patterns, and conditions that have contributed to the object of your inquiry.
- Card 2 is the present: what you are feeling or experiencing now.
- Card 3 is the future: the natural evolution of the current conditions as they stand.
- Card 4 is advice: guidance or insight into how to best move forward.
- Card 5 is people: the people or person who is contributing to or helping perpetuate the condition or challenge.
- Card 6 is obstacles: what you are learning or overcoming in order to move through this challenge.
- Card 7 is outcome: the natural evolution of the current patterns of energy at work, or the way things are likely to go if you make the choice you are inquiring about.
Did you give the tarot instructions in this post a try? What did you think? Please share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
Thank you so much for the help in getting started on Tarot. I was starting to think that it was not for me or that I could never learn without studying all there is before hand. I now am getting the hang of it and I appreciate so much your help!
Heather, that’s great to hear! Thanks so much for letting me know.
Omg I’m only 15 but I recently went out with my aunty and i bought crystals i felt to connected to the store though and my family tell me im an old sole due to me liking old things and knowing alot about this world from before my ages….. i wanna look in to doing something like thing maybe im a sing to the world
I appreciate this spread, and will be doing it in a few minutes.
Thank You Tess…..love your videos. Just started learning about tarot
and confused. Feel better now….
So glad to hear it, Sally! Thanks for watching. 🙂
Thank you for doing this Tess! This was super helpful and informative!!!
Great to hear it, Kristin! 🙂