Tarot cards have fascinated people for centuries, and for good reason. A 78 card deck contains the full spectrum of human experience, from triumph and loss to love and shadow, rendered in rich symbolic imagery that speaks directly to the intuitive mind. Whether you’re drawn to tarot as a spiritual practice, a tool for self reflection, or simply out of curiosity, this guide gives you everything you need to start reading confidently.
A Brief History of Tarot
Tarot has a more practical origin than many people realize. The earliest known tarot decks appeared in northern Italy in the early 15th century, where they were used for a card game called Tarocchi, a trick taking game similar to modern bridge. These early decks, called “carte da trionfi” (cards of triumph), featured illustrated trump cards alongside four standard suits.
The association of tarot with divination and occult practice didn’t emerge until the late 18th century, when French occultists began assigning esoteric meanings to the cards and connecting them to Kabbalah, astrology, and Hermeticism. Antoine Court de Gebelin, writing in 1781, claimed (without evidence) that tarot had ancient Egyptian origins and contained hidden wisdom, a myth that persisted for decades.
The pivotal moment in modern tarot history came in 1909 when Arthur Edward Waite and artist Pamela Colman Smith created the Rider Waite Smith deck for the Rider Company. This was the first deck to feature fully illustrated scenes on every card, including the Minor Arcana, making interpretation far more accessible. The Rider Waite Smith deck remains the most widely used and referenced deck in the world today.
Understanding the Structure of a Tarot Deck
A standard tarot deck contains 78 cards divided into two major sections:
The Major Arcana (22 Cards)
The Major Arcana consists of 22 numbered cards (0 through 21) that represent the major themes, archetypes, and spiritual lessons of the human journey. These are the most powerful cards in the deck, and when they appear in a reading, they typically indicate significant, often long term influences or karmic themes.
The Major Arcana begins with The Fool (0), representing the start of a new journey with open hearted innocence, and moves through a sequence sometimes called the Fool’s Journey: the progression of a soul through experiences of learning, challenge, transformation, and ultimately integration. Key Major Arcana cards include:
- The Magician (I): Skill, willpower, and the ability to manifest
- The High Priestess (II): Intuition, mystery, and inner knowing
- The Empress (III): Fertility, abundance, and nurturing
- The Emperor (IV): Authority, structure, and stability
- The Hierophant (V): Tradition, institutions, and spiritual guidance
- The Lovers (VI): Relationships, values, and meaningful choices
- The Chariot (VII): Determination, control, and victory through willpower
- Strength (VIII): Courage, patience, and inner power
- The Hermit (IX): Introspection, solitude, and inner guidance
- Wheel of Fortune (X): Change, cycles, and fate
- Justice (XI): Fairness, truth, and consequence
- The Hanged Man (XII): Surrender, new perspectives, and pause
- Death (XIII): Transformation, endings, and renewal (rarely literal death)
- Temperance (XIV): Balance, moderation, and alchemy
- The Devil (XV): Bondage, materialism, and shadow
- The Tower (XVI): Sudden upheaval and revelation
- The Star (XVII): Hope, healing, and inspiration
- The Moon (XVIII): Illusion, subconscious, and emotional depth
- The Sun (XIX): Joy, vitality, and clarity
- Judgement (XX): Awakening, renewal, and reflection
- The World (XXI): Completion, integration, and fulfillment
The Minor Arcana (56 Cards)
The Minor Arcana deals with the everyday events, emotions, and circumstances that make up daily life. It is divided into four suits of 14 cards each, with each suit further divided into numbered cards (Ace through 10) and four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, King).
The Suit of Cups
Element: Water | Themes: Emotions, relationships, intuition, the subconscious
The Cups suit governs the emotional landscape. Cards here relate to love, relationships, feelings, creativity, and the inner life. The Ace of Cups represents new emotional beginnings, while the Ten of Cups depicts the culmination of emotional fulfillment and family happiness.
The Suit of Pentacles (or Coins)
Element: Earth | Themes: Material matters, work, finances, physical health
Pentacles govern the practical, material realm. These cards relate to career, money, health, and physical well being. The Ace of Pentacles signals new financial or material opportunities; the Ten of Pentacles represents generational wealth and lasting material security.
The Suit of Swords
Element: Air | Themes: Thought, conflict, communication, truth, challenges
Swords are the intellectually sharpest suit. They relate to mental processes, communication, conflict, and the double edged nature of truth. The Ace of Swords represents clarity and truth; the Three of Swords depicts heartbreak and grief; the Ten of Swords can signal the painful end of a difficult cycle.
The Suit of Wands
Element: Fire | Themes: Passion, creativity, ambition, energy, career
Wands carry fiery, ambitious energy. They relate to passion projects, career growth, creative endeavors, and the spark of inspiration. The Ace of Wands signals a new creative or entrepreneurial beginning; the Three of Wands represents expansion and looking toward the horizon.
The Court Cards
Each suit’s four court cards (Page, Knight, Queen, King) can represent either personality types, aspects of yourself, or other people in your life. Pages are curious beginners; Knights are active and sometimes impulsive; Queens are emotionally mature and established; Kings are mastery level figures with authority in their domain.
How to Read Tarot Cards: Getting Started
Step 1: Choose Your Deck
The Rider Waite Smith deck (or a close derivative) is strongly recommended for beginners. The illustrated scenes on every card make intuitive interpretation much more accessible than decks with purely geometric patterns in the Minor Arcana. Popular beginner friendly derivatives include the Universal Waite, the Radiant Rider Waite, and Morgan Greer Tarot.
Step 2: Spend Time with Your Cards
Before diving into readings, spend time simply looking at your cards. Pull one card each morning and journal about what you notice. What images draw your eye? What feelings does the card evoke? What symbols stand out? This practice, called a “daily card draw,” is one of the fastest ways to build an intuitive relationship with your deck.
Step 3: Learn the Basic Meanings
You don’t need to memorize 78 card meanings before you start reading. Begin with the Major Arcana, then learn the suit themes of the Minor Arcana. From there, the numbered cards follow a natural progression you can intuit once you understand the suits. Most experienced readers rely on a blend of learned meaning and in the moment intuition, and the balance shifts toward intuition over time.
Step 4: Set Your Intention
Before shuffling, hold the cards and set a clear intention for the reading. You might ask a specific question, request guidance on a situation, or simply invite whatever messages are most needed right now. Clear intention sets the tone for the reading.
Step 5: Shuffle and Draw
Shuffle in whatever way feels right. Some readers use an overhand shuffle; others spread cards on a flat surface and mix them intuitively; others do a simple riffle. Trust your hands. When you feel ready, draw cards for your spread.
Popular Tarot Spreads
The Single Card Draw
The simplest spread: one card for a daily message, a yes/no question, or a theme to meditate on. Perfect for beginners and experienced readers alike. Ask your question, draw one card, and spend time with whatever comes up.
The 3 Card Spread
The most versatile spread in tarot. Three cards are placed in a row, and the positions can represent many things depending on your question:
- Past / Present / Future
- Situation / Action / Outcome
- Mind / Body / Spirit
- What to embrace / What to release / What to focus on
The Celtic Cross (10 Cards)
The most comprehensive and widely used spread for in depth readings. The Celtic Cross uses 10 cards placed in a specific formation:
- The central card: the heart of the matter
- The crossing card: what challenges or crosses you
- Foundation: what underlies the situation
- Recent past: what is just passing out of your life
- Crown: potential highest outcome or what you aspire to
- Near future: what is coming in the immediate period ahead
- Your inner state: how you see yourself or feel internally
- External influences: what others or your environment bring
- Hopes and fears: what you most hope for or fear
- Outcome: the most likely conclusion if things continue as they are
The Celtic Cross takes practice to read well but provides an unmatched depth of insight for complex situations.
Choosing Your First Tarot Deck
For most beginners, we recommend one of these excellent starter decks:
- The Classic Rider Waite Smith Tarot: The original and still the gold standard. Every learning resource uses this deck as its reference. Clear imagery, symbolically rich.
- The Everyday Witch Tarot: A charming, beginner friendly deck with illustrated scenes and a touch of whimsy. Excellent for those drawn to a more playful approach.
- The Modern Witch Tarot: A contemporary reimagining of the Rider Waite with diverse, modern figures. Highly accessible imagery.
- The Light Seer’s Tarot: Beautiful, inclusive artwork with emotionally resonant imagery. A favorite among newer readers for its warmth.
Whichever deck you choose, the most important thing is that the imagery speaks to you personally. If you can browse images online before buying, do so. A deck you feel connected to is one you’ll actually work with.
Common Beginner Mistakes
- Expecting certainty: Tarot shows possibilities and tendencies, not fixed outcomes. Approach it as a tool for exploration, not a fortune telling machine.
- Obsessive re reading: Pulling card after card on the same question, hoping for a different answer, is one of the most common beginner pitfalls. Draw once, sit with the result.
- Ignoring reversed cards: Many beginners read all cards upright to simplify. That’s fine, but as you advance, reversed cards add nuance worth learning.
- Memorizing before intuiting: Over reliance on memorized meanings can block your natural intuitive response to the imagery. Balance learned knowledge with what you actually feel when you look at a card.
- Forgetting context: No card has a fixed meaning in isolation. The meaning of any card shifts dramatically depending on the surrounding cards, the position it occupies, and the question being asked.
Developing Your Intuition with Tarot
Tarot is one of the most effective tools available for developing intuitive ability, regardless of whether you believe in psychic phenomena. The practice of sitting with an image and noticing what arises, without immediately reaching for a book definition, trains a form of attentiveness that extends far beyond the cards.
A few practices that accelerate intuitive development:
- Daily card pulls: Consistency matters more than length. Even a 5 minute daily practice builds connection faster than occasional long sessions.
- Journaling: Write about what you notice, what memories or feelings arise, and what the card seems to be saying specifically for today. Review your journals monthly.
- Reading for others: Reading for friends is one of the fastest accelerants. The practice of articulating what you see builds confidence and fluency rapidly.
- Meditation with cards: Choose a card that interests or puzzles you. Spend 10 minutes in meditation, imagining you enter the scene. What do you experience? What messages come?
Complete Major Arcana Index
Every Major Arcana card has its own dedicated meaning guide on PsychicNetwork.com. Each guide covers the full upright and reversed meanings, symbolism, key combinations, and how to interpret the card in different reading positions. Click any card below to go to its full guide.
Cards 0 to 7
The Fool (0) | The Magician (I) | The High Priestess (II) | The Empress (III) | The Emperor (IV) | The Hierophant (V) | The Lovers (VI) | The Chariot (VII)
Cards 8 to 14
Strength (VIII) | The Hermit (IX) | Wheel of Fortune (X) | Justice (XI) | The Hanged Man (XII) | Death (XIII) | Temperance (XIV)
Cards 15 to 21
The Devil (XV) | The Tower (XVI) | The Star (XVII) | The Moon (XVIII) | The Sun (XIX) | Judgement (XX) | The World (XXI)
Ready to practice what you have learned? Use our free AI Tarot Reading tool to pull cards and apply these meanings to real questions in real time.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many cards are in a tarot deck?
A standard tarot deck contains 78 cards divided into the Major Arcana (22 cards) and the Minor Arcana (56 cards).
Do I need psychic ability to read tarot cards?
No. Tarot reading is a learnable skill that combines knowledge of card symbolism with intuitive interpretation. Most people find their intuitive sense develops naturally with practice.
What is the best tarot deck for beginners?
The Rider Waite Smith deck is almost universally recommended for beginners because every card features illustrated scenes. Most learning resources also use this deck as their reference.
How do I shuffle tarot cards?
There is no single correct method. Common approaches include overhand shuffle, riffle shuffle, and spreading cards face down on a flat surface. Set a clear intention as you shuffle.
What is a tarot spread?
A tarot spread is a layout where cards are placed in specific positions, each representing a different aspect of a situation. Common spreads include the 3 card spread and the 10 card Celtic Cross.
Ready to explore specific cards? Read our deep dives on The Death Tarot Card and The Tower Tarot Card. For personalized guidance, visit our guide to the best online psychic reading sites.
Entertainment Disclaimer: Tarot and psychic content on this site is intended for entertainment and personal reflection purposes only. It does not constitute professional advice. Individual results vary. Please consult licensed professionals for medical, legal, or financial guidance.
Ready to go further? Try our free AI tarot reading tool, or read our guide on Death tarot card meaning to understand one of the most misunderstood cards in the deck.
For more tarot fundamentals, read our guide to The Death tarot card meaning and check our top psychic reading platforms for live tarot readers.
