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Learn to read tarot

Six short guides that take you from your first card to confident readings: how to read the cards, how to ask a question, what reversed cards mean, the numbers from Ace to Ten, the court cards and how to shuffle the deck.

  1. 1. How to read tarot cards

    A beginner’s guide: how the deck is built, how to look at a card and how to turn a few cards into one story.

  2. 2. How to ask tarot a question

    Why the question decides the reading, open and closed questions, what not to ask and examples for love, work and money.

  3. 3. Reversed tarot cards

    What an upside-down card means, five ways to read it and whether you need reversals at all.

  4. 4. Numbers in tarot

    The ten steps from Ace to Ten that run through every suit, and how the numbers link the Major Arcana.

  5. 5. Tarot court cards

    Pages, Knights, Queens and Kings: what the ranks and the suits mean and three ways to read a court card.

  6. 6. How to shuffle tarot cards

    Four ways to shuffle a deck, how to cut it and draw the cards, and how to look after your tarot cards.

How to use these guides

Read the guides in order if you are just starting: each one builds on the previous. If you already know the basics, go straight to the topic you need. Every guide links to the cards it mentions, so you can open a card’s full meaning at any moment, and to the spreads where you can practise right away.

The best teacher is still practice. Draw one card a day, write down what you noticed, and after a few weeks the cards will begin to speak to you in your own language.

Questions and answers

How long does it take to learn tarot?

You can do simple readings after a few days of learning the structure of the deck. Feeling confident with all 78 cards usually takes a few months of regular practice.

Where should a beginner start?

With the guide on how to read tarot cards, then a card of the day every morning and a three-card spread when you have a question.

Do I need a physical deck to learn?

It helps, but you can start online: every spread on this site uses the 1909 deck and links each card to its full meaning.

Try it now: choose a spread and lay out the cards