It was a rainy chilly morning in Amsterdam. I had plenty of french press coffee and huddled in my bulky sweater and leggings. Perched in a crescent shape, an almost vulture like posture with my chin resting on her shoulder, she pulled a yellow and red deck out from her bag. Eyes wild with this new object to behold, she asked “Do you want a reading?” “Yes”, I said, not knowing what path was about to unfold.
We split like two cells in mitosis, forming a small diamond with our opposing knees. She placed the blue argyle stack of cards in front of me and instructed me to swirl them. “Use one hand, the one you don’t write with” I did. I struggled.”Now use two hands” The cards were a chaotic mess in front of me. I struggled to see how this was worth anything, but seemed to her, very ritualistic.
“Put them back together” I fumbled awkwardly, they were cumbersome, just larger than a deck of regular cards about twice in number.
“Make three piles” I did.
“Make one” I restacked the cards. the cards.
Taking the pile into her hands, she laid before me a Celtic Cross, speaking to me in English, though the images were captioned in French.
In the process of thirty minutes I felt my soul had been seen in all of its likeness.
The demons I thought were so obscure were laid bare. The desire, the lust, the narcissistic barriers I had put up around me.
“You’re lustful.” The Devil. “You want to be seen as a rich bitch.”Upside down Queen of Pentalces. “You aren’t in tune to your actual nature at all. You are presenting to the world a silhouette. Your shadow is what you want to be recognized for--and you are--instead of your light.” Knight of Pentacles, the Star reverse, ten of cups reverse, the tower.
This Tarot reading was the first of many rude awakenings that would eventually bring me to this path of transformation.
I leapt at the chance to read my cards once a week, that semester, even not understanding the french booklet of divinations or the captions, the images held a symbol I had only equated before with religion. The ten commandments, the golden calf, and now a fish emerging from a chalice.
Self awareness was something I ran from then. I wanted to be edgy, sexy, and artsy and the rest was projections of that goal. I was not a person of substance on the surface, but the tarot urged me to look deeper. To go within.
To retrieve that soul whose capacity to bear light had remained untouched.
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Tarot found me again, fall of senior year. My two roommates adorned our small common space with a few chairs and a decent coffee table.
The tarot deck appeared again. The same one. But in English. The Magician the magician
I gave myself a reading, then my roommates, then whomever, then whomever, then people came to GET a reading from ME.
It was bizarre. I didn’t know what I was doing. I just started reading.
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The first deck I bought was the Aquarian Tarot Deck illustrated by Dave Palladini. The Lovers and Temperance in a very deco and jewel tone theme resonated to my aesthetic interest.
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The deck followed me through 4 years of transition and growth, through the circulation of almost 100 people--and it continues to have profound resonance with clients returning and first timers.
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Now, I welcome you to sit with my interpretations as a way of passing a flame to others who want to find for themselves a way back home.
I will share a complete module of how to go from A-Z in the tarot way, but tell you that your intuition and what speaks to you is most likely going to get you there faster and better anyway.
This is a lamp in a world of suns and chandeliers, but it is a tested lamp and reliable.
So to light your path:
The tarot deck is comprised of two parts
The Major Arcana
The Minor Arcana
The Major Arcana begins with the Fool, 0 and Ends with the world 23, telling a narrative of the many initiations undergone on the path to enlightenment or experience. I equate this with the first say of freshman year of college versus the day you graduate from college.
Or the first day of a new career versus where you end up at the end of a career.
In any event, these are significant cards that allude to larger themes in life, or more ‘major’ events. The scale being a wedding more than grabbing a cup of coffee.
The Minor Arcana, like a deck of cards, is broken into four suits.
Cups- emotions
Swords- Logic, ideas, intellect
Pentacles- wealth, well-being, material wealth, quality of life/relationships/experience
Rods- Creativity, ventures, work, labor, skill building
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Now how to move forward?
Begin with a question or intention before you interact with the deck. Shuffling the cards is an organic process. The method I apply is arbitrary and I ask everyone to replicate it who I read for--because it works for me--I have seen others do many other varieties of spreading a deck out in lines or a curve and intuitively hand selecting a few at a time before reshuffling and collecting a few more.
I think what matters most is putting the most focus into your intention as possible while shuffling the cards. If you end up with 11 or 12 at the end, you have them for a reason.
Here I add one more piece of advice: trust yourself. Trust your knowing.
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Now how do I read?
For first timers, I suggest a handy guide or booklet. Start with the first card, use the book to find the card meaning; upright or reverse. There is a short description, often a list of words.
Harmony, contentment, completion, joy. Read the whole list but use the term your eyes go to first. I will read the first term I see and move on...that was what ‘jumped out’ and then go on what I see visually in the card to fill in the blanks. So if I was using the ten of cups as an example here, I would say the rainbow and figure with raised arms is the FEELING I get from the card, which in that sense is JOY.
This will be different reading to reading. So if I sat next to a friend and read her cards with another, oh hey, 10 of cups, she may not have JOY as her interpretation but instead it may convey Harmonious bliss in her life.
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What does an upside down card mean?
I would offer that the booklet or guide will instruct you to a slightly different, not opposite, meaning of a card when it is in the upside down or reverse position. The label will appear upside down aka the hanged man will look like he is standing in tree pose ;)
Here I suggest a few other ways to begin thinking about WHY a card might be upside down---sure the seven of swords is upside down, but it really has a more positive meaning than the ‘correct’ side--so I entertain we step away from “positive or negative’ judgement and think deeper into the position.
Upside down can also mean:
-this has already happened, depending on the neighboring cards and where the card is in the arrangement [aka recent past]
-this has not yet been achieved, depending on the position [aka future/immediate future]
-this needs more considering, especially if the other cards are all in their correct position--can be opposite if it is the only upright card in a reading of all upside down cards, too :) context!
-EXCLAMATION POINT. You see it? Don’t ignore this one especially, EMPHASIS. ;)
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How often should I read my cards?
As often as you like, I would say you will be guided into when you’re in need of some card perspective. Once a day and you may see repeat cards, so just take it as a symbol to try giving more space between readings. I love full moon and new moon readings, now that I have a practice, because it aligns with my own life rhythms. You will find your own groove. :)
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What are other resources for learning to read tarot?
There is none better than deep diving with your own deck, babes. You are your own master, and I preach this!! Because!! There are plenty of people who you can copy out there, but no one is as authentic as their own self-driven advice. It makes you a better student to figure out tough questions and work through tough readings on your own--and if that is too much, grab a friend ;) make it collaborative and playful.
Ok. I will drop some of my favorite resources/things to look at!
Biddy Tarot! Has printable online cheat sheets :) And a podcast if you’re into that
Astrolis Horoscope/Tarot app--it’s free!! Every day is a 3 card reading with definitions, which can help you align a day with the 3 cards or try to familiarize yourself with cards 3 a time. A small chunk
The Golden Thread Tarot App--Also free! Has little ‘tarot lessons’ a feature to help you do digital and physical spreads, log them and a daily one card draw--which you can log your response to and see over time how often it pops up. It’s very a e s t h e t i c
The Numinous, has a monthly Tarotscope, which is a tarot card draw for each zodiac sign. I love the intersectional approach to the direct application of horoscope insight with tarot focus--and it’s driven by a killer astrologer Bess Matassa, a personal hero of mine.
Please share your experiences--those too are areas of expertise imho.
Love and blissful vibes,
