I stand by this as my preferred way of reading for myself and have been reading like this for almost thirty years.

 But I still enjoy using my intuition to interpret cards and certain spreads. This is called intuitive reading.

Intuitive reading means leaning into what the cards in their imagery and their positions in your spreads mean to you, either outside of or alongside of the traditional meanings.

Some readers swear this is the best (and for some, the only) way to read tarot. You can make that judgement for yourself.

How to Read Tarot Intuitively

Take up your preferred deck.

The deck’s theme will impact how you interpret the cards, so work with a deck with imagery that appeals to you either personally or for the story you’re working on.

Lay your spread. 

You can use a traditional spread or an intuitive spread. An intuitive spread sees you placing the cards however you decide in the moment. Do whatever feels right.

Look closely at the drawn cards.

How do the images make you feel?

What do they make you think?

Are there symbols on the cards, either classic symbols like pentagrams, moons, mountains, water, or other more interpretive symbols? For example, what might a cat symbolize in the context of your spread? What about a person’s clothes? Their body position or facial expression?

Is the coloring light or dark? 

Is the picture playful or heavy?

What stories do the scenes evoke?

How do these elements combine to relate to your question or reading?

Most often, I will do an intuitive reading of a card and then consult the books and other resources to add further nuance to my interpretations of the cards if needs be. 

I find it useful in intuitive readings to not think about expressing or explaining the meanings, like the kinds of explanations you’d read in a book, just feeling through the keywords, emotions and senses. This works better when reading for alone for yourself.

Like everything in tarot culture (and writing), how you choose to approach the practice is up to you. Choose one way, try another, combine multiple ways of reading tarot, and walk your own path through the arcanas. 

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Whether you’re drawing a spread for your story or for your writerly self, there will come times where card meanings just don’t apply.

When we draw a card, we think of all how card might fit our situation. We look for relevance.

Here’s a hypothetical: 

Imagine you’re drawing for yourself. You’re unsure whether to write story A or Story B next. 

You draw the Ace of Cups. This is a concentrated creative energy card, speaks to deep intuition, emotion and flow. So it prompts you to think which of your story options feeds your creative soul the strongest. Alternatively, if you draw the Ace of Pentacles card, a card all about new beginnings in the material world. You might then make your decision based on which project has a better potential market viability.

What happens if you just can’t draw a connection to the meaning, or if what the card is downright wrong for you and your situation?

Say you draw that Ace of Pentacles.

You think about money and markets and material gains and it’s just not appropriate for how you feel about your writing or either of these stories. The card is wrong! The draw failed.

But it didn’t.

Instead, think of it as a reverse prompt.

The card prompted you to think about your decision in one way… To write for money over emotional creativity. And your reaction to that being so wrong has just taught you that no, you need to write for something other than material gain.

So, if you intuitively react negatively to a card and can’t see how it applies, consider why it doesn’t apply and find your answers in the opposite of what the card is suggesting.

The post What To Do When A Tarot Reading Is Wrong appeared first on Tarot Writers.

Do you need to memorize the card meanings?

Can you consult the books and other explanatory resources during a reading?

There’s something mystical about a tarot reader who picks up a deck, lays out an elaborate spread and interprets the meanings of the cards guided only by their memory and intuition.

I certainly enjoy doing these intuitive readings, but for over twenty-five years of reading tarot, I still consult the deck books and traditional meanings for the cards at almost every read.

And you can too, if that’s how you want to do it.

Reading the Cards by Memory and Intuition

Developing your own meanings and significances based on your intuition and interpretations of the art work of the cards is a beautiful way to let the cards lead your ideas. This is the foundation of intuitive reading. 

Often, readers who operate with this method are also using the traditional meanings of the cards (these days mostly derived from the RWS deck) they have committed to memory.

Reading With A Guide Book or Other Resource

Despite what many a tarot resource will tell you, there is absolutely nothing wrong with consulting the deck companion books, or a website like the wonderful Biddy Tarot by Brigit Esselmont, as you’re reading any spread.

By the way, I totally recommend Brigit’s book The Ultimate Guide to Tarot Card Meanings. Her interpretations of the cards blend traditional meanings with a contemporary, usually optimistic worldview that supports both the light and the dark sides of life.

While intuitive, off the cuff reading brings a beautiful personal meaning to a spread, using the traditional meanings gives your reading a grounding in the ancient lore of tarot, layering on significances you might never have otherwise thought of.

Plus, many decks give new meanings to cards by working with all kinds of different visual symbolism, so different decks will give differently nuanced readings. For example, a reading from the Thoth deck will take on an entirely different significance than a reading from the super cute Catittude deck, even if equivalent cards are drawn.

The Right Way to Read Tarot?

There is no right or wrong way to read tarot.

If you’re just starting out with tarot, I recommend reading from the traditional meanings of your deck guide and the classic RWS interpretations first. If that’s how you feel like working.

Many readers insist on memorizing the cards and their reversals. That’s 156 meanings. You don’t need to memorize anything, but if this is the way you want to read, then go for it. If you decide to learn the meanings off by heart, the manner in which you embark on that study is up to you. I know of one reader who spent a whole week focusing on each card, and swears by her practice. Others do a card a day. Some start with 0 The Fool and move numerically through the deck, others go for the images they’re drawn to first. If you’re inclined to these kinds of methodical commitments, enjoy your journey.

There is absolutely nothing stopping you from enjoying a lifelong practice of tarot, working with intuitive readings and still consult the books as you read.

 As you go along and familiarize yourself with the decks, certain cards will take on their personal relevances to you, and those meanings will stick in your head first. Especially if the same cards keep on cropping up spread after spread. It happens – it’s one of those things that makes tarot really seems like magic.

Just start.

Lay your cards out in traditional spreads, consult with books or websites to find these, or make up your own. And then perform your reading by consulting the books. If your memory and intuition take over, great! You’ve found your method. 

Just like writing processes, the paths to a rewarding tarot reading are innumerable and will change from person to person. They’re all allowed, correct, and valuable. And just like writing processes, your tarot methods might change as you change, evolve as you evolve.

Just remember, there is no right way and you’ll never do it wrong.

The post The Right Way to Read Tarot – Consult the Books or Learn From Memory? appeared first on Tarot Writers.