The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Learning How to Read Tarot Cards

Based on the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck

The use of tarot cards dates back to the 15th century and is a popular tool used by fortune tellers, psychics, and therapists. Tarot card reading can offer insight into your past, present, future or even provide guidance during difficult times. I learned them when I was in my late twenties, prompted by my sister, who needed a fortune teller at an event she was catering.

Here, I’m taking a digital inventory of my knowledge base in twenty years of tarot. I’m outlining the way I learned, and while I do, I’m learning more and adding to the collective. This is primarily for personal benefit, for learning and documenting my journey. But anyone is invited who wants to learn.

In my records, I’m referencing the Rider/Waite deck unless otherwise specified.

In this ultimate guide, I’m covering everything you’ll need to know about getting started reading tarot, including:

• The Fool’s Journey Through the Major Arcana
• The Four Suits & What They Mean
• The Numbers in Tarot
• Court Cards
• Color Meanings
• Symbolism
• Animals in Tarot
• Astrological Signs
• The Spreads

The Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana

Your introduction to tarot begins with the Fool’s Journey.

The tarot deck is divided into two parts: the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana. The Minor Arcana are similar to the cards you’d find in a standard playing deck. But the Major Arcana are trump cards that tell a story.

The Fool’s Journey begins with The Fool card and ends at XXI, the World. It is a 22-step journey of initiation and adventure. Think about it as traveling through life learning from those you meet along the way, those characters in the Major Arcana cards.

Each Major Arcana card is a character that you (the Fool) meet on your journey through the adventure of life. By getting to know each character, you can better understand your position in the overall picture. Every card relates to one or more lessons that you can learn by meeting and getting to know each character intimately.

If a Major Arcana card appears in a reading, it outranks the other cards, which then all support and further define the trump card’s meaning.

Card Zero — The Fool: You are about to begin your journey. You may be scared, you may not know what’s ahead; but this is the first step on an adventure of self-discovery, and it begins with you.

Card One — The Magician: You’ve started on your journey. And now you’re discovering new abilities and talents that will help you complete your path. The Magician is the beginning of your abilities to create and manifest.

Card Two — The High Priestess: You begin to learn about intuition, about knowing something without understanding how you know it. This card will act as a guide representing timing, opportunity, or information that you need before moving forward. Passion drives your life now, so use it wisely.

Card Three — The Empress: When you meet The Empress, she shares with you a message of unconditional love and acceptance. This is a time of beauty, creativity, fertility, and abundance in your life.

Card Four — The Emperor: Here, you meet someone (or something) that has power, authority, and rules. This may be about your position in the world; perhaps you are new to a job or trying to make friends at school. You want to be acknowledged for who you are right now, so just own it! He also represents the astrological sign of Aries.

Card Five — The Hierophant: You are not alone on your journey. The Hierophant represents family, community, church, school, or the groups you choose to align yourself with. This may be about seeking assistance from others by asking for help when needed. The Heirophant, in astrology, aligns with Taurus.

Card Six — The Lovers: Love is in the air. Something has just attracted your attention, and it shows that love is around you right now. Your connection with another person could be romantic or even friendly, but either way, it will have a major influence on how you view yourself moving forward. You may also find yourself having to make an important decision. In astrology, Gemini is represented by The Lovers.

Card Seven — The Chariot: Now it’s time to take control of your life and change some things up! No one tells you what to do; instead, things happen, and we react to them. But now, you want to take a small amount of control, and it starts with a journey of self-discovery, physically and mentally. The Chariot, in astrology, is Cancer.

Card Eight — Strength: You find yourself in a situation where someone or something is going through a difficult time. This may be emotional, physical, spiritual, whatever the case, just listen and see if there’s anything you can do to help. In this situation, you will need strength from within. Strength is the Leo in astrology.

Card Nine — The Hermit: You have been feeling lonely lately; that is until now! This card represents being alone or solitude needed when balancing life choices or big decisions about your future. Sometimes we need an outside opinion on things in order to make wise decisions so ask for help if needed, but be careful who you trust. Virgo represents The Hermit in astrology.

Card Ten — Wheel of Fortune: This card represents what is happening in your life right now. It portrays a combination of events that are randomly occurring around you and can’t necessarily be predicted or prevented until it actually happens. Just remember to keep an eye out for the next turn of the wheel; good or bad, it’s coming!

Card Eleven — Justice: You see something that is unfair or causing harm to others around you, and you want to stop this from continuing. Injustice anywhere affects everyone, so when you witness this situation, step forward and take a stand against injustice. In astrology, Libra equates to Justice.

Card Twelve — The Hanged Man: Sometimes we need a time-out. The Hanged Man represents taking a break from your normal routine in order to gain some new perspective on recent events and actions. It’s also sometimes referred to as the card of selflessness because putting others before yourself is what needs to be done in this situation.

Card Thirteen — Death: This is not about death in the traditional sense, but more so in reference to change and letting go of something or someone out of your life. Just remember, even though things end, you can still hold onto memories of what once was. Scorpio represents Death in tarot.

Card Fourteen — Temperance: Are you feeling overwhelmed by how much needs changing around you? Look for ways that you can work with others toward a common goal instead of fighting one another. In unity, there is strength. Temperance is represented by Sagittarius in Tarot.

Card Fifteen — The Devil: You feel trapped in some situation, whether it be work, school, or even a personal relationship. Maybe you are relying on something to make you happy when the truth is that thing is controlling you, not making you happy. It can also represent addiction. The Devil is represented by Capricorn in tarot.

Card Sixteen — The Tower: Things are getting crazy! After all of this upheaval in your life, something will happen to bring things back down to earth — for better or worse. It can represent rest after a time of chaos and rebuilding what has been destroyed.

Card Seventeen — The Star: “Inspiration” was the best way to explain this card. It’s about having hope in the future, not giving up despite how trying times are. Things will get better; you just need to have faith and keep pressing forward! The Star, as you might suspect, is representative of Aquarius in astrology.

Card Eighteen — The Moon: This is a tricky card because it can go either way, depending on what other cards are present with it. On one hand, your emotions may be all over the place, or people around you are less than honest, which can create false illusions of how reality actually is. But wait for the clouds to pass, and things will become clear to you once again! The Moon in the tarot is the same as Cancer in astrology.

Card Nineteen — The Sun: You’ve got this! Just remember that you are awesome and that you can accomplish anything you want if you believe in yourself. Confidence is key!

Card Twenty— Judgement: This card shows that something new is rising from the ashes of old issues. Change for the better, but not without some pain first. Remember to let go of all the bad things from your past, so they do not weigh you down as this new chapter begins.

Card Twenty-One — The World: You have finally reached a place where everything feels complete. Life has come full circle, and now it’s time to take what has been learned and apply it to improve your present situation.

The Four Suits in Tarot and What They Mean

The first element to look at in the minor arcana cards is in the suit. The suit will tell you what type of energy a card represents, and therefore what it means when drawn in a certain position.

Wands: Wands are associated with fire and create an atmosphere of passion, creativity, and maybe some anger too. In astrology, wands represent Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius.

Swords: Swords correspond to the element of air and therefore have to do with thinking as well as mental anxiety. Astrologically, swords represent Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius.

Cups: The suit of cups deals with emotions as well as our surroundings which might be why this suit is sometimes called “the suit of water.” In the astrological realm, cups represent Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.

Pentacles: Pentacles or coins relate to the earth and money. This suit has been known by other names such as disks or discs, but whatever you call them, they deal mostly with money, your home life, and material concerns. Astrologically, pentacles represent Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn.

Understanding the Numbers on the Tarot Cards

The next thing I look at in a tarot card is its number. Numbers play a big part in the cards. The number on a card usually tells you what stage of life the energy represented by that suit is currently at.

Aces: Aces are considered to be new beginnings, pure potentiality. They represent a certain situation or circumstance that hasn’t fully developed yet and needs nurturing to survive/thrive.

Twos: Twos indicate a need for more concrete action. Something has been started but now must be carried out into something more substantial if it’s going to continue further along its path toward completion.

Threes: Threes indicate growth and expansion as well as achievement and success! You’ve got this thing knocked.

Fours: Fours are about stability, structure, and tradition. If you have a bad feeling about this card, it means your outlook might be too narrow or that you’re limiting yourself in some way(s).

Fives: The number five carries with it the energy of change, excitement, risk-taking. This is not always a positive card because just as much can go wrong as right if you’re not careful.

Sixes: Sixes relate to home life and love! They signify good news related to those two things but also emotional upheaval depending on what other cards surround them.

Sevens: Sevens indicate harmony/peace looming near, but only for a limited time — beware of complacency!

Eights: Eights indicate the need for discipline and some careful planning. Focus your energy on what you can control, but don’t forget to be open to unexpected opportunities that may present themselves.

Nines: Nines are about complete transformation, sometimes catastrophic rebirth, or major life changes. This is not an easy time, but if one can persevere through it, then good things will come of it!

Tens: Tens are considered completion cards, so they are most often positive in nature unless surrounding cards indicate otherwise. They also represent being fully mature, having successfully survived a lot of learning experiences/tests up until now.

The Court Cards in Tarot

In addition to the numbered cards, there are also the court cards in the tarot, including the Page, Knight, King, and Queen.

Pages: Pages represent a new friendship or a young person who is at the beginning of a journey.

Knights: Knights correspond to fire and usually indicate someone who is passionate, driven, and full of life.

Queens: Queens deal with water, so they’re often about love even if it’s not being reciprocated! They also indicate emotional needs/connections/fulfillment as well as motherly advice from the universe.

Kings: Kings are associated with earth and therefore have to do with stability as well as authority. In terms of people in your life, they may indicate that you need to let go of those negative patterns you keep falling into because you’re just going around in circles.

Color Meanings in Tarot

You’ll notice a basic set of colors used in the Rider/Waite tarot deck. Some colors represent maturity and wealth, while others represent emotions or purity.

Red: strength, ability, power, leadership, and passion.

Yellow: intellect, wisdom, and alertness.

Green: fertility, nature, growth, business success/prosperity, health.

Blue: serenity/calmness, spiritual love, truth.

Orange: sexual passion/desire.

Purple: higher spiritual qualities such as divine inspiration or aspiration toward perfection.

Black: unconscious forces or hidden enemies (in a reading, this can also indicate a period of anxiety).

White: purity and innocence (this is the color in the scales of the Justice card, which symbolizes balance in your life).

Symbolism in the Rider/Waite Tarot Deck

Some tarot cards have images in them like mountains, villages, rivers, astrological signs, pomegranates, and more. Each symbol lends itself to the story the card tells.

Mountains: A mountain is a very solid, stable thing, so it’s often seen as an indication of material gain, career success, and other mental pursuits. However, they can also represent obstacles to overcome.

Villages: The village indicates that family and home life will be supported or strengthened. It can also indicate that you’ll come into some money soon!

Pomegranates: A symbol of fertility and birth (center of the tree of life), eternal life/immortality (fruits were in the mythological garden of the Hesperides).

Stars: Stars are associated with hope, spirituality, aspiration toward perfection. They represent your guiding light when all else is lost.

Wheel/Scythe: These cards are about karma or events that are happening in your life right now. They can also represent balance, whether it’s good versus evil or love versus fear.

Fruits: Fruit can be associated with cycles of rebirth and therefore has the same symbolism as the pomegranates listed above. It’s also seen as a reward for hard work (which makes sense since harvesting crops took such an enormous amount of effort back in the day).

Water: Water equals emotion, so this one represents all kinds of things tied to how you feel. That could be moods or just anything related to your emotional well-being.

Animals in Tarot

On tarot cards, you’ll find cats, birds, goats, wolves, horses, and more. Each animal has its own symbolism and meaning.

Cats: Cats represent intuition, magic, secrets, independence, and solitary endeavors/travel.

Birds: Birds are about communication of all sorts, but they’re also associated with air which represents thoughtfulness or intellect. This is why you’ll see angels represented as having bird wings in paintings! They can indicate inspiration or the voice of God, for example.

Goats/Sheep: As herd animals, these cards refer to your family life or your connection to others (or lack thereof). Also, make sure to check out the goat-like demons on some of the cards, which bring up issues around temptation and addiction.

Wolves: Wolves might indicate that you are being protected or defending yourself in some way. They may also indicate the need to come together with others to support a common cause.

Horses: Horses represent movement, energy, change! However, they’re often about positive changes, so don’t worry if you get one of these cards in your reading because it indicates that something good/exciting is happening soon.

Astrological Signs in Tarot Cards

Each astrological sign has its own symbolism. Watch for their symbols to appear in the backgrounds and forefronts of some of the cards. By understanding the timing of the astrological signs, you can also begin to use tarot cards to determine a specific time for something to occur.

Aries: Courage, action, energy, vitality, spontaneity.

Taurus: Stability, stubbornness/tenacity (in a good way), grounded nature.

Gemini: Communication! Thoughts are formed into words that are sent out into the world to be received by others. It can also indicate that you’re getting multiple messages or having to multitask right now, so take care of yourself!

Cancer: Emotions just under the surface but also family life and career aspects related to home or nurturing things in general. Places ruled by Cancer include Iceland and the moon! The moon was traditionally considered Cancer’s ruling planet for this reason.

Leo: Great strength and power, vitality and success. These cards can also indicate career success or a strong current of energy focused on the home front.

Virgo: Purity, intelligence, perfectionism. People with Virgo as their sun sign tend to be really into order and organization, so these cards may indicate that you’re getting organized mentally/emotionally at this time.

Libra: Balance! But not just balance between two things because Libras crave harmony among many things, so if there’s a Libra card in your reading, it can tell you where to look to find balance (or what changes need to happen for you to achieve balance). It might also represent someone who is balancing out an emotional situation for you.

Scorpio: Transformation and change, intelligence and passion all wrapped up into one intense package. It can also represent an intense relationship with someone else.

Sagittarius: Optimism, hope! Maybe even a trip is coming soon (depending on the card). These cards indicate positivity as well as exciting opportunities for growth! Check out Sag’s ruling planet Jupiter which is known as the “greater fortune.”

Capricorn: As a cardinal sign associated with ambition, you’ll find these cards more often when there are changes needed in relationships or your career. They can also show that you’re ready to take on more responsibility and aim higher than ever before.

Aquarius: The first air sign of the zodiac; these cards indicate mental activity/communication. They can also show that someone in your life is seeking freedom in some way.

Pisces: The Pisces card brings an energy of idealism and dreams, spirituality (pagan or non-denominational), gentle nurturing.

The Spreads in Tarot

There are limitless ways to layout your cards for a reading. In fact, there are as many ways and more as there are tarot readers. But there are some basic spreads that can get you started.

Past, present, and future: A good starting spread for answering a specific question or focusing on a particular topic. You can lay out three rows of cards and ask your question before the reading to direct the reading. Or, you can shuffle and cut the cards and then lay them down in this order: past, present, future.

The Relationship Spread: Some people feel that there are different types of relationships, and these should be separated from others. In other words, romantic vs. family, etc. As such, they will use what’s called a Relationship Spread, where they lay out seven rows of seven cards. Each row represents a different type of relationship or part of your life. For example, you might lay out seven rows like the following: family/friends, romantic relationships, career choices/job-related things, home life/environment, spiritual life, health & wellness.

The Career Spread: For when you want to know more about what type of career or work is coming up for you. You can lay out five rows like the following: past experience in this area, skills, and talents related to this, opportunities opening up in this area, obstacles/challenges that may arise, future plans/changes in this area of your life.

The Action Spread: This spread asks, “What should I do?” instead of “What will happen?” This is especially good if there’s something you need to take care of right now (and don’t fantasy yourself into thinking that nothing will change in the future, but it’s okay for you not to make any decisions).

You’ll lay down seven cards like the following: Something I’ve learned from my past in this area, something I need to release or let go of, the current situation/what’s happening, what I want to happen instead, advice for doing better in the future, advice for when things get difficult (i.e., how do I stay motivated?), and overall sentiment about all of this.

The Garden Spread: This is a great spread for when you feel like there’s too much going on and you can’t see your way out of it. The garden represents growth and cultivation (like an actual garden), and this spread shows how all the different pieces (represented by the cards laid down) work together to create something beautiful.

You’ll lay down five rows like the following: What I want to let go of, what I need to continue doing, things that could be improved, opportunities that will come into my life as a result of all changes/improvements (i.e., new ways to grow), future plans or goals related to this area of my life.

A few other spreads you might want to check out include A one-card draw (and the meanings), a three-card spread representing yourself, your partner, and your relationship; a four-card spread (past, present, future, advice); and a Celtic Cross.

Also, remember that you can create spreads based on what’s going on in your life at the time. For example, if someone close to you has died recently and you’re trying to understand some of the things that have happened as a result of that loss or figure out some next steps, then you could create your own spread specific to those circumstances.

Conclusion

Tarot is more than just reading cards. It’s also about building relationships with them and getting comfortable enough to ask them questions instead of having to rely on others for guidance. As you become more familiar with them, you’ll start to see how different cards relate to each other and get insight into what could come next in your journey.

Spreads help move the reading along, helping us narrow down broad questions so we can get tangible answers. It’s important to remember that spreads are just tools to help guide us — it’s still up to us to choose which ones work best for us and when they should be used.

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Another writer worth reading is Kat Medium. Here’s her story that drew me in: