Six Tarot Practices for Beginners: Unlock Your Intuition and Deepen Your Connection

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Want to unlock your intuition and deepen your connection to the cards? Learn six powerful methods that are proven to grow your skills as a beginner tarot reader. If you’re new to tarot and wanting to grow your abilities, these methods will help you hone your tarot practice.

Daily Draw – I’m starting with this foundational practice for a reason: it is truly one of the best ways to grow as a reader. A daily draw can be built into your daily routine in a way that works for you. Many beginner readers find the process of learning tarot to be overwhelming. There are so many cards to learn. There are so many correspondences for each card. Understanding the ways your intuition speaks may feel new. A daily draw creates a framework that supports your growth in a manageable way. It allows you to commit yourself to your learning even with a busy life. It’s a practice that you can tailor to your own preferences.

Here is a simple example of a daily draw: Set aside a few moments in your morning routine. Quiet your mind and center yourself. Focus on a single question. A popular option is “what do I need to know today?” Draw one card. Sit with the card, allowing any initial intuitive hits to come through. Reflect on the card throughout the day.

This is a small way of bringing the tarot into your life. It allows you to make associations that help you not only understand the meaning of the cards but also begin to see your own personal lived experiences of the cards. It builds up your ability to see the guidance coming through for you.

If you have busy mornings, it may be that pulling a card at night is a better fit for you. When drawing at night, you can either reflect on how the events of the day align with the card you've pulled, or you can reflect on that evening’s card during the next day. Try not to go overboard with too many cards for a daily draw, particularly in the beginning. A single card is the best way to start. Pulling too many cards works against the goal of keeping it manageable as a maintainable practice. You can experiment with the question you use for your daily draw.

The power of this practice comes in its repetition. The more you read, the deeper you will integrate tarot into your life. Creating a habit of reading builds the connection. Readers who read daily grow exponentially faster than readers who only read occasionally.

If you want to enhance the power of the daily draw, combine it with the next method.

Journaling readings – Journaling readings is a powerful way to deepen your connection with the cards. Even starting off with brief comments and reflections is a great way to begin. Journaling what comes through for you first when you pull the card will specifically deepen your intuition. The practice of writing what comes through encourages you to listen to your inner knowing. It helps you build confidence in your intuitive messages, which encourages more of them to come through.

The more time you can devote to journaling your readings, the richer and deeper your readings will become. The time you invest in journaling your readings is time you are investing in your growth as a reader. In the beginning, brief notes and bullet points may be all you feel inspired to write down. With continued practice and time those brief notes will grow into full pages. Sitting with cards through writing opens the door for richer downloads to come through. The process of writing out a reading gives space for you to see new meanings and connections. You may also expand into pulling more cards for some of your journaled readings.

Again, you can tailor this practice to what works for you. Some people like a physical journal they can devote to their tarot readings. Some people prefer to use a digital note-taking app. Some people prefer to record voice notes for themselves. Your tarot journal is your own, so choose the format that most speaks to you and works for your life.

If you are short on time on your workdays, you might choose to jot down brief notes on the days you’re working but make the time for longer journaling sessions on days off. Remember that it doesn't have to be all or nothing. Any amount of time you spend journaling your readings is investing in your skills.

Try to be non-judgmental with yourself and write whatever comes through. Everything that comes through can hold meaning, unexpected card interpretations can hold deep power. Over time your discernment will grow, and you will see why different messages came through for you.

Taking time to review your readings – It is a powerful practice to periodically review your prior readings. This practice can increase your accuracy by evaluating how things have played out compared to how you interpreted the cards. Looking back and comparing what happened vs. what you wrote can help you see if you’re being objective with your readings. For instance, newer readers who are struggling with anxiety may tend to catastrophize cards or interpret them in harsh ways. Reviewing their readings can show them where their anxiety took the lead and where they are being too harsh. If we did miss something in our readings, the process of review may help us to see what that message was.

In addition to helping us become more accurate and objective with our readings, this process can help us to become more mindful and kinder to ourselves. Tarot is meant to support you in your life. The process of reflecting on our readings can help us to grow not only as readers, but also as people. Reviewing readings can show you how much you have grown, accomplished, learned, and gone through. And if you’re trying to write about tarot publicly or read for others, reviewing your own readings can help you improve your overall writing style.

Reading for others – It is not a requirement that you ever read tarot for others. You are valid as a tarot reader if you only ever want to read for yourself. Many readers begin reading tarot solely for themselves and are unsure whether they will ever want to read for others. Other readers know quickly that they want to share this experience with people they care about. Many readers grow into it. The decision to read for others is personal, and there is no set timeframe for when readers are ready. Each person's journey is their own, and some people feel called to explore it earlier than others.

As a word of caution, rushing into this is a very bad idea. Readings carry a massive amount of significance. The words we choose matter tremendously. Readers who rush into reading for others before they are ready run the risk of harming others with poor quality readings and may have their own feelings hurt by harsh feedback.

When you feel ready, it is a good idea to begin with people who will be supportive of your growth. This may look like reading for close friends and family if they are supportive of your spiritual practice. Another option is to read for others in a development community where you will receive honest feedback in exchange for your reading. You might swap readings with someone else who is developing or you might practice reading with a mentor. If you choose to read for others who are passionate about tarot as well, you will benefit from hearing their personal interpretations of the cards (and they will benefit from hearing yours). However you begin reading for others will bring tremendous growth for you as a reader. It helps you to see the ways the cards show up in other people's lives, enriching your understandings of the cards and helping you to see them in new ways. Direct feedback from sitters is invaluable for growing, it is the cornerstone of developing as a reader who reads for others. Reading for others will help you strengthen your accuracy, deepen your readings, and grow your confidence. It may also help deepen your connection to the spiritual realms.

Reading for others is profoundly rewarding. Supporting others with your spiritual gifts brings a deep sense of purpose and meaning. Supporting others and being of service to Spirit can be a powerful motivation to continue growing as a reader.

Developing your own interpretations – Guidebooks can be useful for many readers to understand common interpretations of cards as well as the intended symbolism included in each specific deck. Alternatively, purely intuitive reading that does not necessarily consider common interpretations is also a valid reading style in its own right. Both are valid practices, but I feel that we deepen our ability with the cards when we develop our own personal interpretations and understandings of the cards through focused reflection. Each card has many different interpretations, and the meaning of the card varies between each individual reading. (For example, the 8 of Cups carries very different connotations in a reading focused on spiritual growth versus a reading focused on whether a relationship will last.) Developing our own personal interpretations based on our lived experiences and our personal relationships with the cards creates a much richer well of knowledge to pull from than a standard guidebook can offer. Your tarot practice is meant to be your own, your interpretations and understandings will reflect your unique views. That is a reflection of your voice, your growth, and your perspective. It is a beautiful part of what you offer to the world.

If you have a tarot grimoire or tarot journal, you might focus on journaling personal interpretations. Keep an open mind and remember that you will continue to develop more personal interpretations as you grow. Leave space for more meanings to develop, including multiple personal interpretations for the same card. This is where your relationship with the cards becomes even more personal and deeper.

An exercise that some new readers find helpful for developing these personal interpretations is to hide the guidebook and not use it at all in their readings. Leaning too heavily on guidebooks can become a crutch for some readers who are struggling to trust their intuition. Instead of sitting with a card, they may feel the desire to turn to the guidebook to “get the answer.” There is no shame for new readers in using guidebooks or needing assistance, but pushing yourself to trust your own interpretations deepens your relationship with the cards, strengthens your intuition, and helps you to develop your personal associations with the cards.

Adopt the Mindset of a Lifelong Student - Tarot is a lifelong skill. There is no limit for how much we can learn or grow with the tarot. Tarot as an archetypal system is always evolving, it has evolved over centuries and still evolves today. Some esoteric readers believe that each person who engages with the structure of the tarot contributes their experiences and perspective to the collective wisdom we can draw from in readings. Certain areas show this clearly. For instance, our modern understandings of significator cards demonstrates growth in the collective understanding of the archetypes of the people in the tarot. Understanding that tarot can always bring us new knowledge empowers us to continue growing for as long as we study the tarot.

The first tarot book you read may feel like a massive amount of information. But that first book is only the beginning. Lifelong students continue reading. Not every book will resonate with you. But as you keep reading, you will find gems that deepen your love for the tarot and remind you why you are called to the cards.

Final comments - Remember that the journey of learning to read tarot is not a race. Rushing your progress can work against you and create frustration. Instead, focus on authentic growth, consistency that is maintainable, and finding what feels right for you personally. No one can master the art of tarot in a day, anyone saying that is misleading you. Pace yourself and remain committed to your growth. If you fall out of the practice of daily readings, you can return to them at any time. You are meant to be your own unique self, with a reading style and tarot practice that fits who you are as a reader.

Keep growing, keep shining, and enjoy the unfolding of this journey. ❤️

Thanks so much for reading this blog. If you are looking for guidance on your tarot journey, it is my great pleasure to offer one-on-one tarot mentorship. Mentorship is tailored to your personal interests, helping you deepen your abilities with the cards in a way that feels authentic for you. I also support clients with custom tarot readings on a wide variety of topics including overcoming obstacles and spiritual journeys.

Sources:

*Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org. The links below are affiliate links. I receive a portion of the purchase of any book through the link. It comes at no additional cost to you. Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

Dean, L. (2015). The ultimate guide to tarot: A beginner’s guide to the cards, spreads, and revealing the mystery of the tarot. Fair Winds Press. Available here

Reed, T. (2020). Tarot: No questions asked: Mastering the art of intuitive reading. Weiser Books. Available here

Wen, B. (2015) Holistic tarot: An integrative approach to using tarot for personal growth. North Atlantic Books. Available here

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