How to Read Tarot: A Guide to Intuitive Learning

You know that feeling when you turn over a card and your mind goes blank. Nothing. You have read books watched videos memorised keywords and still this card sits there annoyingly blank.

So you reach for the book. Again.

What if I told you that every time you reach for that book before you have really looked at the card you are training yourself not to read tarot. You are building a dependency when you could be building a skill.

Real tarot reading is not about memorisation. It is about allowing three parts of your mind to work together. And that takes a bit of trust and a willingness to sit with not knowing for just a moment longer than feels comfortable.

Let me show you how.

Building Your Tarot Foundation Through Fun Exploration, (because learning can be fun).

Enrich your understanding of tarot by enjoying playful research in any way that interests you. Read books & blogs, watch videos, listen to podcasts. Explore tarot psychology, tarot card design, tarot history, fiction based upon tarot... whatever fascinates you.

Explore. Don't consider any information you come across as complete or absolute. And don't focus on holding this information in your short term memory. Remember that everything you have ever read heard seen or experienced is stored in your unconscious mind. By exploring tarot in an enjoyable way you are filling your unconscious mind with a deep, comprehensive library of tarot knowledge.

My ex husband was a bit of a petrolhead and liked to buy old cars do them up a little and sell them. When he was buying a second hand car he would look at the car, then walk away. He would pause, then return to the salesman with some ridiculously specific piece of information like "Oh yes in '84 these were recalled because the oil sump wasn't draining properly. Do you have the paperwork to show that was done on this car- or will you reduce the price."

It took me a while to understand what he was doing. He'd read a lot about cars but could not hold all that information in his conscious mind. By slipping into a lightly meditative state he was pulling information from his unconscious mind.

This is exactly what I do when I am teaching tarot or runes. On Zoom teaching class you may notice that sometimes I look away from the camera. I am accessing information from my unconscious mind to keep the topic rolling without looking at notes.

Learning From Every Reading: Keep a Tarot Journal

Remember that every time you read Tarot for yourself, or someone else, it is a learning experience. Keep a journal. Take a photograph. Keep a few bullet notes. Make a note of anything important that comes to mind. And remember to look back over these notes especially when reading for yourself with the gift of hindsight.

Some of the key meanings I have developed came through this process. I understood the 10 of wands can be moving home- because it kept coming up for the month my husband moved out of the marital home, it is after all a person carrying all their stuff!

The Four of Swords as peace. I have read for many happy romantic relationships with the Four of Swords is a key card. And of course feeling at peace with your romantic partner is a beautiful thing.

Over time as you read for yourself and others keeping even brief notes will teach you more about your personal relationship with the cards.

Reading the Images: Let the Cards Speak Visually

People often overlook that tarot cards have images we are meant to read. Words are the language of the mind images are the language of the soul.

It takes time to read text and if you don't read this whole article you will not understand all I am choosing to share. Tarot is the same. If you do not take time to look at the card and instead cling to memorised keywords you miss the full range of information offered to you be each card.

I find it helpful when doing a spread to turn one card at a time. Look at that card. Then turn the next and look again.

It is easy to turn a card you don't like, or understand, and hit a brick wall. You freeze and think "I do not get that card" then reach for a book.

Stop. Look at the card. Allow yourself to see the images.

If you think you cannot read a card, then you cannot read a card.

If you give yourself permission to look and allow space, something new may come to you.

The Three Portals of Mind: How Intuitive Reading Actually Works

When we are reading tarot cards we are blending information from three parts of the mind.

1. Conscious mind short term memory and learned knowledge about the card.

2. Unconscious mind offering information you are not aware you know. Something you read years ago a conversation, a class, or a reading where this card once meant something similar.

3. Intuitive or psychic mind allowing information to come through that pathway.

When you look at a tarot card you may be receiving information from all three mind "portals." But if you rush, rely only on keywords, or go straight to a book, you do not give these portals time to bring you the information.

I often feel my conscious logical mind is looking at the spread like a crossword puzzle. "Oh look three threes there. Interesting. No Wands. What does that mean?" This logical processing stills and focuses my mind.

Then my unconscious comes in like a wave. "Three years ago you did a reading like this and the Two of Swords showed she was ignoring the issues in her marriage as self preservation."

And then my intuitive mind nudges...

When to Reach for the Book: Trust Context First

It is common that one or two cards do not make sense at first in a spread, trust that context might help.

If I am reading a book and hit a word I do not understand I do not grab a dictionary. I keep reading trusting context. Tarot is the same.

So when doing a spread turning cards one by one. If you reach a card and nothing comes to you do not reach for the book yet. Finish the spread. Understand the whole picture, see if the context of the whole spread helps your understanding. Then return to the cards you were blocked on.

This is the point to reach for the book. Research, understand.

But keep the book or Google as the last part of the reading.

I still explore the meaning of a card, or a particular symbol after a reading, learning never stops. But doing it in this order encourages you to flex your reading skills.

Your Journey With Tarot Starts Here

The approach I have shared here is not just about reading cards. It is about building a relationship with tarot that deepens over time. A relationship where the cards become a trusted guide not just for readings but for navigating your whole life.

Give it a go. Turn one card. Look. Allow. See what happens when you give your unconscious and intuitive mind permission to speak before your logical mind rushes in with memorised meanings.

You might surprise yourself.

If you want to explore how tarot can guide not just your readings but your everyday decisions, relationships, and life path I invite you to read my book Tarot: A Life Guided by the Cards. It is about living with tarot as a companion rather than just a divination tool. About letting the wisdom of the cards infuse your choices and help you see your life more clearly.

The cards are waiting. And they have more to say than any book can tell you.