Most Tarot decks consist of 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana, and 56
Minor Arcana cards. The Minor Arcana consist of four “suits”,
just like a deck of regular playing cards. The four suits are,
Pentacles or Coins, which deal with work/money/success issues,
the Wands, or Staffs, which deal with more spiritual issues, the
Cups, which deal with emotional issues, and the Swords, which
some see as representing negative experiences and loss. If you
want more of an explanation of these cards, then check out a
Crash Course in Tarot #1. When starting out, I highly recommend
making your life easy, and getting the person to ask you a
question out loud. Both parties should focus on the question
while you shuffle the cards. As you get more experienced or
confident with the cards, you won’t care if they ask a question,
but repeating the questioner’s question out loud yourself does
seem to assist the divination process. Shuffle the cards until
the person you are reading for feels it is “right” to stop or
until you feel it is right to “stop”. After you are done
cutting, you need to cut the deck. Most readers divide the deck
into three piles. At this point you can either have the person
you are reading for pick which pile to pick up as the top of the
deck, or you can pick them up in an order that feels right to
you. Another option is to fan the cards out face down, and have
the person you are reading for pick out the cards they want you
to read. Then lay them out in the order they are suppose to
appear for the spread. The One Card Spread The One Card spread
is the most concise of all spreads, intended to provide a quick
take on a situation, or to reduce it to a single issue that you
can meditate on. . Simply ask a question and then draw a card to
divine the answer to your question. It is surprising to what
extent these types of one-card readings can be exact, or even
solve your problem for you. The Three-Card Spread This spread is
good for yes or no questions. After you are done cutting the
deck lay the cards out from left to right. 1 2 3 The first card
to the left represents the past/issues affecting the problem.
The second card in the center represents the present/problem.
The third card to the right represents the future/outcome. A
variation of this is to read the three cards as the Mind, the
Body and Spirit. This is more like a “personality read” and can
give you a good indication of where “someone is at.” The Celtic
Cross Spread Lay out the cards on the table in the following
order 10 4 9 5 1 /2 6 8 3 7 The first card is placed face up it
represents the person asking the question and the foundation of
the matter. The second card is placed across sideways the first
card and represents obstacles or issues dealt with the person in
the present. The third card, placed beneath the first two
represents what is on the subconscious mind of the questioner
and everything he or she has been through with regards to the
matter. The fourth card, placed above of the first two
represents the potential and the best that can be accomplished
given the choices the questioner has made so far in his life
regarding that matter. The fifth card, placed to the left of the
center card represents what has transpired in the past. The
sixth card, placed to the right of the first two, represents
what will take place in the immediate future. The next four
cards are laid out from bottom to top to the right of these
cards. The seventh card represents the fears of the person.
Generally, this card will show you what is inside of them that
is blocking him or her from reaching the desired outcome. It can
also represent the atmosphere or influences that strongly affect
the questioner. The eighth card represents how others see the
person or the situation. The ninth card represents the hopes and
fears that the questioner might have for the future. The tenth
card represents the predicted outcome of the situation or the
actual answer to the question. Some individuals like to keep
pulling an addition six to ten cards after this cross is laid
down to determine what will happen in the future. The
Relationship Spread The Relationship spread provides insight
into the interaction between two people or entities. It is the
spread of choice for questions about partnerships, be they in
romance or business. 1 2 3 7 4 5 6 The first card (top left)
represents how you see yourself and your role in the situation.
The second card (top right) represents how you see your partner.
The third card (center left) represents how you feel about your
partner. The fourth card (center right) represents what or who
stands between you and your partner or the obstacles in your
way. Position five represents how your partner sees you.
Position six (in the lower right) represents what your partner
feels about you. Position seven in the center represents the
present status or challenge faced by the two of you in the
relationship. It is important to remember, that no matter what
maps or directions you are given, Tarot reading is an intuitive
art and after you do it enough you will begin to develop an
intuitive sense of what the cards mean when they are placed in
relationship to each other.