How to Read Tarot Cards: A Beginner's Guide
Last updated: July 2026
Learning to read tarot is less about memorising fixed meanings and more about building a personal relationship with the cards. This guide walks you through the basics: choosing a deck, understanding the structure, doing your first spread, and trusting your own intuition.
1. Choose a deck that speaks to you
The Rider-Waite-Smith deck is the most common starting point because its imagery is rich and widely explained. But any deck you feel drawn to will work. What matters is that the pictures spark something in you, since you will be reading those images, not just reciting textbook definitions.
2. Learn the structure
A tarot deck has 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana that mark big life themes, and 56 Minor Arcana split into four suits that cover everyday matters. You do not need to memorise all 78 at once. Start by getting a feel for the difference between Major and Minor cards, and the mood of each suit.
3. Start with a simple spread
A one-card or three-card spread is perfect for beginners. For three cards, a popular layout is past, present, and future, or situation, action, and outcome. Pull the cards, look at the images, and ask yourself what story they tell together before reaching for any reference.
4. Trust your intuition
Reference meanings are a starting point, not a rulebook. The most meaningful readings come from combining what you know about a card with what you notice in the moment. Tarot works best as a mirror for reflection, helping you think through a situation rather than predicting a fixed future.