Interpreting Tarot Cards

Rider Waite

There are so many books out that give suggestions of the meanings of each card. How can you possibly know which ones to go with? The best advice I can give is take what you can from the different opinions, but don’t be afraid to form your own. Through time and experience, you will experience the card and come to know what each card means to you.

The worst thing you can do is change the meanings of the cards with each reading because you’ve just read a new book on the subject. Sometimes the meanings will change slightly in relation to the other cards, but use your own intuition for this, not the guidance of someone else’s opinion.

The cards work through you not the writer of a tarot guide. It is very important to establish an ongoing meaning for the cards for them to work properly.

Let’s take The Fool for example. Here are a few meanings from different books.

Innocence, risk taking, new adventures, foolishness

A trusting nature, seeking answers to hidden messages, unconventional, a need to be carefree, spontaneous

Courageous, optimistic, having faith in self, listening to our inner self, leaping into a new phase of life

An innocent and daring personality

A beginning of a journey, a leap into the unknown, a new chance, an important decision, time for a change, purity of action, being born again, all things are possible, trust in a higher power, an unexpected influence

And the suggestions go on and on. Try to remember all of this and you are going to end up with either a headache or a puzzling reading.

Do yourself a favor. Pick two key words, stick to them, and wrap your intuition around developing a full-fledge interpretation at the time of the reading. Make yourself a journal and use it as a guide if you need one rather than searching through your various guidebooks.