Tarot Spreads

After you begin learning the meaning of each card you should begin to learn some tarot spreads. It is fine if you haven't mastered the meaning of each card before you start reading. In truth real life practice will probably lead to you learning each card faster. This can be a bit of a moral issue however. If you are doing a reading for another person you should probably not involve any serious matters until you have some experience under your belt. I got most of my original experience doing extremely goofy readings while me and my friends were partying. My biggest suggestion would be to do readings for yourself, such as a daily reading (which I will get into later). Do not necessarily take the advice you get immediately. I believe that you will begin to just 'know' when you are getting accurate readings. This may happen immediately for some people and it might take some practice for others. Like almost all other skills, with tarot you must learn to crawl before you can walk.

The first tarot spread I will start you out with is the tried and true one card spread. I see many beginners jump right into using the Celtic Cross tarot spread and I feel this is totally unnecessary especially for the beginner. The sheer amount of information will likely confuse people who don't have very much experience. I also feel a 1 or 3 card spread can give enough information for the average question. Most professional tarot card readers will even use a 3 card tarot spread for their clients. In the case that the question may be a little deeper only then will they move on to a more complicated tarot spread.

The One Card Tarot Spread

The one card tarot spread is a fast way to consult the tarot and get a simple answer. This spread is very good for on the fly readings or readings that sound like they may have a simple answer.

To begin a reading sit in a quiet comfortable place, if possible. This is more important when you are beginning than when you have some experience. Try and relax and let your conscious mind and ego go for the moment. Focus on the question at hand. Make sure this isn't a yes or no question, or a question worded so the Querent(the person to whom you are giving the reading) is giving away the responsibility of their actions to the cards. For example a question like-"Should I dump my boyfriend?". It may help to think of the “issue” at hand rather than a question.

Begin shuffling the cards. You can shuffle them like they are a deck of playing cards if you have big enough hands however I find this wears cards out significantly faster. Other methods include laying them all out on the floor or a table and scrambling them around or splitting the deck in parts and inserting them together. I find scrambling the cards to look unprofessional so I generally pick the inserting method. Once you feel the cards are properly shuffled you may stop. This is extremely intuitive. While doing readings I usually feel a “spark” or “flash” in my head telling me to stop shuffling.

At this point either you or the Querent may split the deck. Again this is very intuitive, just go with what feels right. Draw the top card, lay it down on the table so both you and the Querent can see it. To the best of your ability interpret the card using the knowledge from the previous pages(Meaning Of Tarot Cards), other lists, and most importantly your own intuition. If the card is upside down remember to read it as “reversed.” Reversed cards have a lessened or opposite meaning. Reversed meanings are also listed on my previous pages. This easy should give a quick simple answer to your question.

More tarot spreads to follow. Always remember if you want to get better with tarot PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.

Good Luck

Part II can be found here
Tarot Spreads Part II