How To Get Started With Tarot

     Tarot Cards have had both a negative and positive perception placed upon them. An old myth that I've heard some people still hold onto today is a belief that anyone that uses them opens a door to more sinister spiritual activity. There's also a misconception that the pentagram is satanic in nature, but those that dig deeper into understanding its origins and associations realize that's not true. But here I want to dig into how to get started with using Tarot Cards for yourself, because this was the very first practice I picked up that helped my intuitive development... So if you want to learn how to read cards like I do, read onward.

    Many people are at least familiar with the classic Rider-Waite deck - the "full suite" deck that represents the Major & Minor Arcana, and has everything one could possibly expect to have come up for a reading. This deck also offers a negative outcome for each message; but this is always open to further interpretation. Such is the case for all cards of any deck... which is that a reader relies on their intuitive abilities to determine what the message means to the person and how it should be applied. So rest assured if this type of deck is too intimidating for you or you're worried about learning the entire deck - because you don't need to if you don't want to! Frankly, I've always taken the approach of leaning on my intuitive abilities to provide readings, which saves me from having to memorize the booklet that comes with each deck. 

My first deck - the Butterfly Oracle!
I was drawn to it because I've always loved butterflies,
and it's messages served me well during my awakening & time of transformation.

    In the beginning, I only picked up one deck to start. I went with something that really drew my attention and suited my needs, which is a great way to select your first deck. So if you're just starting out, start here. Look online, in metaphysical shops, or wherever you want.. because the truth in today's world is that everyone is able to distribute their decks on a larger scale, so where you get it doesn't really have a significance on it. Where this differs is if you decide to get a second-hand deck; personally, I haven't seen anyone resell their decks, but you'd want to do a lot of [spiritual] cleansing on it before you use it yourself. So that point aside, just get a deck and start practicing pulling cards first.

    This is where your intuition comes in, even at the beginning! Shuffle the deck well, but also rely on your feelers to know when it's sufficiently shuffled. Further to this, you can cut the deck at a certain "mid-point" based on your intuition. You'll usually find that the point where you cut the deck reveals the top card as the message -- so start here by viewing your top card. Read the message in its entirety based on the book provided, but read it slowly enough so that your psychic senses can signal to you where certain words apply specifically. If your claircognizance is strong enough, you'll automatically connect the dots and know what it's saying to you. And if you're clairvoyant, you will see images or scenery of what it applies to. But if you're not feeling confident, consider other ways to pull cards... including pulling as one grabs your attention after shuffling!

A candle, crystals for channeling messages and stronger intuition,
and a crystal pendulum... were among my set up while I was still empowering my abilities.

    I started with simply pulling cards as explained above, but there also came a time where I was banking a lot of messages because they didn't resonate in that moment. This is just another spiritual lesson; wherein sometimes messages are a heads-up on something to come, or serve as a guiding factor on how to approach a situation that will happen in the near future. Keep a diary specifically for this, because only in time will you begin to see patterns and feel more certain that you're pulling the correct cards. This is also why - for the first year - I ONLY pulled cards for myself and kept the practice a secret. I wanted to be sure and feel confident in my capability to read, so I needed to feel like it was pretty close to flawless before I started offering to read others. 

    But since I was a complete skeptic before, and wanted to be damn sure I was capable, I also got myself a crystal pendulum (any other material is fine, as long as it's a pendulum). Whereas you can buy these online, one of the best ways to select one is to see them in-person so that you can pick the one that calls out to you. Some people have found that some pendulums just don't respond to them... so if one just isn't working for you, it could be that you need a new one. Like crystals, pendulums should be stored safely when not in use, and should be carefully handled to ensure it has a longer life.

My crystal pendulum and a map I once attuned it to use.
Pendulums can use any map presented, just give it time to figure out how to move.

    Pendulums are good for more than just pulling Tarot Cards, especially if you're starting out! You can discover many different ways in which to hold it, but the truth is that's there's no ONE way to hold a pendulum. How you hold a pendulum is unique to YOU - and it takes figuring it out to know what your "right" way is. I like to hold it straight up while supporting the arm I'm holding it in (on a flat surface) so that I know it's responses aren't influenced by any muscle movements, but I also figured out that holding it approx. mid-way down the chain works too. Play around with it, but go with a method that feels most natural to you and gives you definitive responses.

    And this is where the fun starts! Begin by asking it to show you what a "yes" looks like, then what a "no" looks like, then what a "maybe/uncertain" looks like. Like Ouija boards, pendulums work using energy that spirits influence.. so they serve as a big assurance to any work you're doing. The only thing to bear in mind is that on its own, it can only answer with yes/no/maybe... and repeating questions can cause you to get unreliable answers (spirits in general don't take well to repeated questions unless you're rewording one for further clarity). So anytime a card pops up, you can bring your pendulum out and ask "is this the correct card?". After the 25th, 50th, 75th (or whatever number) time of asking and getting a 'yes', it's suddenly easier to believe in your capability.

ANY book will do!
I personally chose spiritual-inspiring journals for this type of work.

    But I also mention the pendulum because you can use it to pull your cards! After shuffling the deck, evenly spread it out on a surface and ask your pendulum to show you the card to pull. It'll sway in the direction to look (which you'll know because if it sways to the left first, you know it's to the left of wherever the pendulum is hovering). EVER SO SLOWLY (so that you don't influence the pendulum) move the pendulum in whichever direction, and give it time to recalibrate its swaying before moving it further. It'll start moving itself to say "yes" once it's hovered directly over the card - and you can pull the card out and ask if it's the correct card to be sure.

    My practice of pulling tarot cards developed even further after I was first attuned to Reiki; as my sensitivities were heightened further. As I was shuffling the deck, I'd wait until I felt some resistance to know to move on - it would literally feel as though someone put their hand on my shoulder and said "stop, you're done". Similarly, I'd slowly brush the nail of my thumb down the side of the deck and feel like I was being stopped at a particular card; in which to split the deck at because my thumb was about to hit the message. Nowadays, I rely on feeling led to a card to pull. You've seen me use this method on my Weekly Tarot Readings on Instagram - where I shuffle, spread the deck out, and use my hands to feel where it is. Sometimes you can even see another force push my hand over slightly to get the right card... and this is honestly what it's like to be an energy worker!

My collection slowly grew over the years...
As much as I want to continue collecting decks, it got to a point where I was content
having decks that covered all messages & aspects that I knew I'd need to read. 

    Whichever way you want to get started, know that there isn't a wrong way. This should've given you some ideas to try, along with tools to buy (if you don't have them already) which is enough to set you up for your development. Once I learned to channel spirits, I started invoking Archangels & others to lead my pendulum - which is another idea, but since it's somewhat advanced, you don't HAVE to do it. Know that your development will take time, prove yourself to yourself first, and soon you'll see how you're strengthening your abilities!

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