So you've got your Major Arcana deck at last and you're ready to roll with the readings! But, you have no idea what you're doing. No worries, here's a quick reference guide to get started.
The best way to start reading the Tarot (and a great spread for parties) is the 3-Card Spread. It's particularly good when you're only using the Major Arcana cards as they represent broad concepts rather than more specific themes. Once you get the hang of the Major Arcana you can move on to more complicated spreads using the Minor Arcana as well - great for detailed guidance to more specific questions if you really get into the Tarot. But for now, this is a spread everyone can do...
- Formulate your Question. The Tarot cannot answer 'yes/no' questions, so think of a question which asks 'how' e.g "How can I improve my chances of a promotion at work?"
- Shuffle the cards. Concentrate on your question while you are doing this.
- Divide the cards into three roughly equal piles (face down).
- Place one card from the top of each pile face down next to each other (like the image above).
- Turn each card over. Don't worry if any are upside down - just leave them as they are.
- The First Card represents the past regarding your question.
- The Middle Card represents the current situation regarding your question.
- The Last Card represents the possible future regarding your question.
Quick Reference Meanings
The Fool
UPRIGHT: birth, new beginnings, fresh starts, journeys and exploration.
REVERSED: blind faith, naivety, foolishness or potential disaster (look where you are going!)
The Magician
UPRIGHT: (representing a person) someone with charisma, a public speaker, doctor/healer; (representing possibilities) power, resourcefulness, action and application.
REVERSED: (representing a person) a trickster or con-man; (representing possibilities) broken or empty promises, inability and obstacles.
The High Priestess
UPRIGHT: potential, instinct, secret knowledge - a mysterious and powerful card.
REVERSED: chaos, indecision, a loss of secrets and knowledge.
The Empress
UPRIGHT: creation, abundance, nurturing, femininity, creativity, assurance.
REVERSED: destruction, neglect, abandonment.
The Emperor
UPRIGHT: control, authority, command, organization and foundation.
REVERSED: childishness, inconsistency, unpredictability, aggression, loss of control and authority.
The Hierophant
UPRIGHT: spiritual guidance, humility, teaching, guidance through troubled times, conformity, tradition, respect, ceremony.
REVERSED: inflexibility, stringent conformity, corruption, controlling and hiding information/power.
The Lovers
UPRIGHT: union, trust, communication, finding that other half of ourselves (be it person, cause, career, religion etc).
REVERSED: separation, wrong choice, temptation, mis-communication, predominantly physical connection rather than mental/spiritual.
The Chariot
UPRIGHT: focus, control, skill, determination, confidence, motivation and leadership.
REVERSED: defeat, cowardice, aimlessness, loss of control and direction, non-action.
Strength
UPRIGHT: compassion, strength, balance, courage, patience, understanding.
REVERSED: cowardice, fear, timidity, taking on more than you can handle.
The Hermit
UPRIGHT: solitude, introspection, investigation, learning, enlightenment, wisdom.
REVERSED: isolation, paranoia, alone and lost in the dark.
The Wheel of Fortune
UPRIGHT: luck, transitions, change, destiny and chance.
REVERSED: back luck, misfortune, good things don't turn out the way you expected.
Justice
UPRIGHT: balance, legalities, fairness, equality, truth, responsibility.
REVERSED: unfairness, injustice, imbalance, corruption.
The Hanged Man
UPRIGHT: new perspectives, sacrifices, vulnerability and selflessness, taking time out.
REVERSED: stubbornness, selfishness, refusing to let go, unwilling to make necessary sacrifices.
Death
UPRIGHT: an end, change, inevitability - a period of darkness to be followed by rebirth.
REVERSED: limbo, eternal grief, disrespect or ignorance.
Temperance
UPRIGHT: synthesis, merging, healing, moderation, balance.
REVERSED: making things worse, inability to integrate, loss of drive/desire.
The Devil
UPRIGHT: addictions, temptations, obsessions we refuse to let go of, loss of inhibitions & restrictions.
REVERSED: eluding temptation, too afraid to take chances.
The Tower
UPRIGHT: downfall, exposure, upheaval, sudden shift.
REVERSED: status quo continues, the truth will remain hidden.
The Star
UPRIGHT: hope, healing, cleansing, rejuvenation.
REVERSED: false hope, pessimism, cynicism, a time of darkness - alone, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually bereft.
The Moon
UPRIGHT: dreams, fantasy, artistic talent, creativity, psychic ability, romance but also hallucinations, insanity, wildness.
REVERSED: wild and primitive, anarchy, order leading into chaos, mental breakdown - bad psychological time ahead.
The Sun
UPRIGHT: reason, light, order, clarity, new beginnings, youthfulness.
REVERSED: poor logic, bad reasoning, ignorance, unable to recapture youth, rejection of logic and reason.
Judgement
UPRIGHT: faith, honesty, resurrection, transformation, letting go of (or freeing oneself from) something that you've been hanging onto.
REVERSED: burden, inability to let go, surrounded and overwhelmed by burdens, no escape.
The World
UPRIGHT: achievement, mastery, completion, traveling to dispense knowledge.
REVERSED: stuck in a comfort zone, agoraphobia, fooling oneself, inability to complete what you've started.
So that's a quick start! The Tarot is many-layered and this quick guide does it no justice. But perhaps it will peak your interest and you'll delve further. Stay tuned for more rounded explanations of each card, it's symbols and meanings and how to interpret it. But for now, happy reading!
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