For beginners in tarot, the best way to start is by selecting the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. This classic deck is recommended because its imagery is highly symbolic and clearly illustrated, making it easier to interpret. Most importantly, it is the industry standard for study, meaning nearly every book, online guide, and course for absolute beginners uses this deck as the primary reference, simplifying the learning process.
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1Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot DeckThe Rider-Waite-Smith deck is the ideal choice for beginners. Because it serves as the foundation for most tarot literature, learners benefit from consistent visual references that match instructional materials.
Starting your tarot journey is an exciting process! Instead of trying to memorize all 78 card meanings overnight, the best approach is to build a personal relationship with the cards through structured steps.
Step-by-Step Starter Guide
Choose a Rider-Waite-Smith-based deck. Start with a classic deck like the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot or any independent deck that follows its foundational imagery. Most modern books and online resources are built around this system, making it much easier to learn the visual cues.
Learn the structure of the deck. Divide your learning into manageable chunks:
Major Arcana (22 cards): Represent major life themes, archetypes, and spiritual lessons.
Minor Arcana (56 cards): Represent day-to-day life, broken into four suits: Wands (fire/passion), Cups (water/emotion), Swords (air/mind), and Pentacles (earth/material world).
Pull a "Card of the Day." Draw a single card every morning. Look at the imagery, write down your first intuitive impressions in a journal, and see how that card's theme plays out in your day.
Absolutely. The easiest way to learn tarot is not to memorize 78 definitions. Treat it more like learning a visual language: learn the structure, look closely at the pictures, practice small readings, and gradually build your own interpretations.
1. Start with a Rider-Waite-Smith-style deck
For a first deck, the Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) tradition is especially practical because its imagery is used by a huge number of beginner books and online resources. The deck has 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana.
The best way for a beginner to start reading tarot cards is to choose a classic deck like the Rider-Waite-Smith , start with simple one-card daily pulls, and focus on building an intuitive connection with the imagery rather than memorizing rigid definitions.
Essential Steps for Beginners
Choose Your First Deck : Start with a traditional deck like the Rider-Waite-Smith or a beginner-friendly alternative like the Easy Tarot Kit . The rich symbolic artwork on these cards makes it much easier to interpret meanings visually.[1]
A good beginner approach is to treat tarot as a symbol system to study and reflect with, rather than trying to memorize 78 meanings immediately. Many beginners get overwhelmed because they start with lists of definitions; it’s usually easier to learn the structure of the deck first and build familiarity through practice.
1. Choose a beginner-friendly deck
A common starting point is the Rider–Waite Tarot Deck (or a deck based on its imagery) because many books, courses, and guides use that system as their reference point.
The best way for a beginner to start learning tarot is to purchase a classic Rider-Waite-Smith deck, pull a single card each day , and keep a dedicated journal to record your impressions.[2][3]
Starting your tarot journey can feel overwhelming with 78 cards to memorize, but the best approach is to build a personal relationship with the deck rather than trying to cram it like a textbook.
A good beginner approach is to treat tarot as a symbol system and reflective practice rather than trying to memorize a dictionary of 78 meanings all at once. A standard tarot deck has 78 cards: 22 Major Arcana cards (big themes and life patterns) and 56 Minor Arcana cards (everyday experiences divided into four suits).
Here’s a practical way to start:
1. Choose a beginner-friendly deck
Many beginners start with the Rider–Waite–Smith Tarot because its imagery is widely used in books and courses, making it easier to find explanations and examples.
Starting your tarot journey can feel overwhelming with 78 cards to memorize, but the best approach is to build a personal relationship with the deck rather than trying to cram textbook definitions.
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Start with simple 1-to-3 card spreads. Don't jump into complex 10-card Celtic Cross spreads right away. Practice a daily 1-card draw or a simple 3-card spread (Past, Present, Future or Situation, Action, Outcome) to see how cards interact with each other.
Keep a tarot journal. Recording your questions, the cards pulled, and your reflections helps you spot patterns and develop your own intuitive language with the deck over time.
Community Advice
Check out these perspectives from experienced readers on Reddit's r/tarot community:
The traditional card meanings are great basic guides to how the cards can be interpreted, but I have found that eventually, the more I use a deck and the longer I read in general, the more I start to also interpret things more intuitively
Grab a notebook and go through your deck writing down first impressions for each card. Don't think too long, work quickly. What hits you right away about each card?
Would you like me to recommend a few beginner-friendly tarot books or help you set up a simple 3-card practice spread to try out?
Absolutely. The easiest way to learn tarot is not to memorize 78 meanings. Treat the cards like a visual language: learn the structure, practice small readings, and gradually develop your own interpretations.
1. Start with a Rider-Waite-Smith-style deck
For a first deck, I’d recommend a Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) or RWS-inspired deck. The imagery is highly standardized, and most beginner books and online resources use it as their reference point.
Pick one whose artwork you actually enjoy looking at—you'll be spending a lot of time with it.
2. Learn the basic structure
A tarot deck has 78 cards:
22 Major Arcana — broad themes, archetypes, transitions and significant experiences.
56 Minor Arcana — everyday situations, divided into four suits:
Wands: action, energy, creativity
Cups: emotions, relationships, intuition
Swords: thoughts, communication, conflict
Pentacles: work, money, home, physical/material life
This structure is enormously helpful because you can start deducing meanings rather than memorizing isolated definitions.
3. Do one card a day
This is probably the best beginner exercise.
Each morning:
Shuffle.
Ask something open-ended, such as "What should I pay attention to today?"
Draw one card.
Look carefully at the picture before consulting a guidebook.
Write down what you notice: mood, characters, colors, symbols, movement, and your immediate reaction.
Then look up the traditional meaning.
That evening, write down how—or whether—the card's themes appeared during your day.
Doing this consistently teaches you much faster than trying to memorize a giant list of meanings.
4. Then learn the cards systematically
Once you're comfortable pulling individual cards, learn the number patterns and court cards.
For example, within the Minor Arcana, you can think of the numbers as a progression:
So rather than memorizing Five of Cups = X, you might think:
Five = disruption/change
Cups = emotions
→ emotional disappointment, disruption, or loss
The traditional meaning gives you the foundation; the imagery and context refine it.
5. Start reading three cards
After you've practiced one-card readings for a while, move to a simple three-card spread.
Try:
Card 1 — Where am I?Card 2 — What should I understand?Card 3 — What can I do?
I particularly like this format for beginners because it encourages reflection rather than trying to predict an inevitable future. Three-card spreads are also a good way to learn how cards interact as a story.
6. Don't worry about reversed cards yet
You can initially read every card upright. Once you're comfortable with the basic meanings, introduce reversals if you want to.
A reversed card doesn't necessarily mean "the opposite." Different readers use reversals to suggest things like blocked energy, an internal experience, excess, or a less-developed expression of the card.
7. Keep a tarot journal
This is where you'll really improve.
For every reading, record:
Date → Question → Cards → Initial impression → Traditional meaning → Your interpretation → What happened afterward
After a few months, you'll have your own record of how you tend to understand particular cards.
A simple first-week curriculum
Day 1: Explore all 78 cards without studying them.
Day 2: Learn Major vs. Minor Arcana.
Day 3: Learn the four suits.
Day 4: Learn the Major Arcana's overall journey from Fool to World.
Day 5: Pull your first daily card and journal it.
Day 6: Do another daily pull and compare it with yesterday's.
Day 7: Try your first three-card reading.
One other useful principle: you don't have to regard tarot as literal supernatural prediction to learn it. Many people use it as a symbolic or reflective practice—essentially a structured way to explore a question, notice patterns, and generate perspectives.
If you'd like, I can also teach you tarot interactively, one card at a time, starting with The Fool and working through all 78 cards with exercises and practice readings.
You don't have to believe that a deck has supernatural powers to learn tarot. Many people use it as a symbolic or reflective practice: the cards provide images and themes that you interpret in relation to a question.
2. Learn the basic anatomy of the deck
Don't try to memorize every card immediately.
Major Arcana — 22 cards
These tend to represent larger themes, transitions, archetypes, and significant experiences.
Examples:
The Fool — beginnings, openness, taking a leap
The Magician — ability, initiative, using your resources
The Hermit — solitude, introspection, seeking wisdom
Death — endings, transformation, letting go
The Tower — disruption, revelation, structures breaking down
The Star — hope, renewal, inspiration
The World — completion, integration, accomplishment
The sequence from Fool to World is often taught as the "Fool's Journey," which gives you a useful story for remembering the Major Arcana.
Minor Arcana — 56 cards
There are four suits, each running Ace through 10 plus four court cards.
The numbered cards also have patterns, so you can eventually figure out unfamiliar cards without having memorized their textbook definition.
3. Do one card a day
This is probably the single best beginner exercise.
Each morning, shuffle and ask something like:
"What theme should I pay attention to today?"
Draw one card.
Before looking it up, spend a minute examining the picture. Ask yourself:
What catches my attention?
What emotion does this card evoke?
What appears to be happening?
What might the characters be doing?
What could this card represent in my day?
Then look up the traditional interpretation and compare it with your first impression.
Keep a little tarot journal:
Date → Card → My interpretation → Traditional meaning → What actually happened
Over time, you'll develop an intuitive vocabulary rather than simply memorizing keywords. A daily one-card practice is commonly recommended as a starting point.
4. Move to a three-card spread
Once you've practiced one-card readings for a week or two, try three cards.
A very simple structure is:
Past → Present → Future
But I actually recommend a less predictive version for beginners:
Situation → Challenge → Advice
For example, if you're asking about starting a new job:
Situation: What's going on?
Challenge: What should I be aware of?
Advice: What approach might be useful?
Three-card spreads are much easier to interpret than something elaborate like the Celtic Cross, and they teach you how cards interact with one another.
5. Don't start with reversed cards
You'll eventually encounter cards appearing upside down, called reversals.
You don't need them initially.
Learn the upright cards first. Once you're comfortable, you can experiment with reversals and decide whether they add something useful to your reading. There isn't one universally mandatory way to handle them.
6. Learn to tell a story, rather than reading three separate definitions
This is the skill that really makes tarot "click."
Suppose you draw:
Eight of Pentacles → Five of Cups → The Star
Instead of:
"Eight of Pentacles means work. Five of Cups means sadness. The Star means hope."
Try asking what story connects them:
Someone is putting serious effort into developing a skill, becomes discouraged by something that doesn't work out, but ultimately finds renewed hope and direction.
You're combining card meaning + imagery + position + relationships between cards.
That's tarot reading.
7. Practice with questions that give you something to work with
Good beginner questions tend to be open-ended:
"What should I understand about this situation?"
"What am I overlooking?"
"What can I do to handle this better?"
"What energy should I bring to this situation?"
"What might be useful for me to reflect on?"
You don't have to treat tarot as a mechanism for predicting fixed future events. In fact, approaching it as a reflective tool can make it easier to learn because you're practicing interpretation rather than trying to get a definitive yes/no prophecy.
A simple 2-week beginner plan
Days 1–3: Learn the Major Arcana and look through all 22 cards.
Days 4–7: One-card daily readings. Write down your observations before consulting a guidebook.
Days 8–10: Learn the four Minor Arcana suits and their general themes.
Days 11–14: Continue daily cards and start doing one three-card reading each day.
After that, start studying the numbered cards and court cards more deeply. Save complicated spreads like the Celtic Cross for later; beginner guides generally recommend mastering simpler one- and three-card layouts first.
One final tip: don't worry about being "psychic." You can become quite good at tarot simply by getting better at recognizing symbols, patterns, human experiences, and narrative connections.
If you'd like, I can also teach you tarot interactively, one card at a time, starting with The Fool and giving you little exercises until you can do your first full reading.
Learn the Structure : Understand that a 78-card tarot deck is split into the Major Arcana (22 cards representing major life themes and spiritual lessons) and the Minor Arcana (56 cards reflecting day-to-day experiences, divided into four suits: Cups, Pentacles, Swords, and Wands).[1][2][3]
Practice Daily Card Pulls : Draw a single card each morning and ask an open-ended question like, "What do I need to focus on today?" Observe the colors, symbols, and figures on the card before looking up its meaning in a guidebook.
Keep a Tarot Journal : Write down the date, the card you pulled, your initial visual impressions, and how its traditional meaning played out or resonated in your day.[2]
Progress to Simple Spreads : Once you feel comfortable with single cards, move on to a straightforward three-card spread (representing Past, Present, and Future, or Situation, Action, and Outcome) before attempting complex layouts like the Celtic Cross.[1][2]
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If you'd like, let me know:
Do you prefer a traditional artwork style or a modern/minimalist design for your first deck?
Would you like recommendations for beginner-friendly books or online resources?
Make sure it’s a full 78-card tarot deck (not an oracle deck if you specifically want to learn tarot).
Don’t worry about rules like needing to receive your first deck as a gift; that’s a tradition, not a requirement.
2. Learn the “map” of the deck
A tarot deck has two main sections:
Major Arcana (22 cards): Big themes, archetypes, and major life experiences.
Examples: The Fool, The Lovers, The Tower, The World.
Minor Arcana (56 cards): Everyday experiences, divided into four suits:
Cups: emotions, relationships, intuition
Wands: creativity, energy, action
Swords: thoughts, communication, challenges
Pentacles: work, money, physical matters
Learning the suits gives you a shortcut: you can often understand a card’s “area of life” before knowing its exact traditional meaning.
3. Start with one card a day
For the first few weeks:
Shuffle your deck.
Pull one card.
Write down:
What images stand out?
What emotions does it evoke?
What might this card suggest you pay attention to today?
Look up traditional meanings afterward.
Keep a journal. Over time, you’ll build your own relationship with the imagery instead of relying only on a guidebook.
4. Move to simple spreads
Once one-card readings feel comfortable, try a three-card spread.
Example:
Situation — What is happening?
Challenge — What needs attention?
Advice — What perspective or action might help?
Three cards are enough to practice storytelling without getting lost in a large layout.
5. Learn meanings through patterns, not memorization
Instead of memorizing:
“The Five of Cups = exactly this one thing”
Try:
What is the suit telling me?
What is happening in the picture?
Is the card upright or reversed?
How does it interact with the other cards?
Tarot reading is largely about connecting symbols into a narrative.
6. Don’t rush into advanced techniques
You can leave these for later:
Large spreads like the Celtic Cross
Reversed cards
Astrology correspondences
Detailed historical systems
They’re interesting, but they add complexity before you’ve built your foundation.
A simple 30-day beginner plan
Days 1–7: Learn the suits and pull one card daily.
Days 8–14: Study the Major Arcana.
Days 15–21: Practice three-card spreads.
Days 22–30: Read for yourself and write interpretations before checking references.
One helpful mindset: tarot is most useful when it helps you explore questions, perspectives, and possibilities. It doesn’t have to be approached as a tool that gives guaranteed predictions; many people use it as a reflective or creative practice.
If you’d like, I can also give you a beginner’s cheat sheet for all 78 cards or walk you through your first tarot reading step by step.
Choose a Classic Deck : Start with a traditional deck like the Rider-Waite-Smith or a modern equivalent based on its structure. Most learning resources, books, and online guides use this imagery, making it much easier to cross-reference meanings.[1]
Do a Daily Draw : Pull one card every morning . Ask an open-ended question like, "What energy do I need to focus on today?" or "What do I need to know?" [1]
Study the Imagery First : Look at the colors, symbols, and figures on the card before looking up its literal meaning in a guidebook. Notice what feelings or memories the picture brings up for you.[1][2]
Maintain a Tarot Journal : Write down the date, the card you pulled, your initial intuitive reaction, and a brief summary of how that theme played out in your day.[2]
Learn in Chunks : Do not try to memorize all 78 cards at once. Start by familiarizing yourself with the 22 Major Arcana cards (which represent big life themes) before moving on to the 56 Minor Arcana cards (which cover day-to-day situations).[1][2]
Here is a step-by-step roadmap to get you started:
Choose a classic deck
Start with a Rider-Waite-Smith (RWS) style deck (like the Smith-Waite Centennial Edition or the standard Universal Waite ). Almost all beginner books and online guides use this imagery, making it much easier to learn the foundational symbolism.
Pull a daily card
Every morning, draw a single card. Look at the colors, the characters' expressions, and the symbols. Ask yourself, "How might this energy show up for me today?" At night, reflect on how the day matched the card.
Keep a tarot journal
Write down your daily draws, the card's traditional meaning, and your intuitive impressions. Looking back at patterns helps your brain connect the symbols to real-life situations.
Learn the structure, not just individual meanings
Instead of memorizing 78 rigid definitions, break the deck down:
The Major Arcana (22 cards): Big life themes, spiritual lessons, and major turning points.
The Minor Arcana (56 cards): Day-to-day life, broken into four suits (Wands/Fire, Cups/Water, Swords/Air, Pentacles/Earth).
The Court Cards: Personalities, approaches, or messengers.
Start with simple spreads
Don't jump straight into 10-card Celtic Cross spreads. Begin with a 1-card pull (daily guidance), a 3-card spread (Past, Present, Future or Situation, Action, Outcome), or a 2-card pull (Pros and Cons / Advice and Obstacle).
Community Advice
Learning tarot is a personal experience, and fellow readers on Reddit share how they built their confidence:
Pick one card per day to study. Select it in the morning, research or meditate on it throughout the day, and reflect on it before you go to bed
the best way to learn is just to start pulling cards, doing spreads, reading books, exercising your intuition, and building your relationship with your deck
Would you like recommendations for beginner-friendly books or guidance on choosing your first deck?
A good beginner path is to treat tarot as a symbol system and reflective practice rather than trying to memorize 78 meanings all at once. Many readers start by learning the deck’s structure, practicing simple spreads, and building familiarity with the images over time.
1. Choose a beginner-friendly deck
A common starting point is a Rider–Waite Tarot–style deck because many beginner books and resources are based on its imagery.
When choosing a deck:
Pick artwork that you enjoy looking at.
Make sure it is a full 78-card tarot deck (not just an oracle deck).
Avoid worrying about rules like “your first deck must be gifted”—that’s a tradition, not a requirement.
2. Learn the basic structure first
A tarot deck has two main sections:
Major Arcana (22 cards): Bigger themes, archetypes, and life transitions (such as The Fool, The Lovers, The Tower, The World).
Minor Arcana (56 cards): Everyday experiences divided into four suits: - Cups: emotions, relationships, intuition
Wands: creativity, motivation, action
Swords: thoughts, communication, conflict
Pentacles: work, resources, practical matters
You don’t need to memorize every card immediately. Start by learning the “language” of the deck: suits, numbers, and recurring symbols.
3. Practice with one card a day
A simple exercise:
Shuffle your deck.
Draw one card.
Look at the image before checking any guidebook.
Write down: - What do you notice?
What emotions does it bring up?
What situation could this card represent?
Check a traditional meaning afterward.
Keeping a tarot journal is one of the fastest ways to notice patterns and improve your interpretations.
4. Start with simple spreads
Skip complicated layouts at first. Try:
One-card spread
Question: “What should I pay attention to today?”
Three-card spread
Examples:
Past — Present — Future
Situation — Challenge — Advice
What I know — What I’m missing — What I can do next
Three cards are enough to practice telling a coherent story rather than just listing definitions.
5. Learn to interpret, not recite
A beginner mistake is thinking every card has one fixed meaning. Instead, combine:
The card’s traditional symbolism
Your first impression
The question being asked
The card’s position in the spread
The surrounding cards
For example, The Tower might suggest disruption, revelation, or a necessary change depending on the context—not simply “something bad.”
This gives you clues even when you don’t remember a card’s traditional meaning.
3. Start with one-card readings
A simple daily practice:
Shuffle your deck.
Ask: “What theme should I pay attention to today?”
Draw one card.
Write: - What do I notice in the image?
What emotions does it bring up?
What traditional meanings fit?
How might this apply to my day?
Many beginners find a daily one-card practice helps them build familiarity faster than trying to study everything at once.
4. Move to a three-card spread
Once you’re comfortable, try:
Situation — Challenge — Advice
Past — Present — Future
What I know — What I’m missing — What to explore
A spread is just a framework; the skill is learning how the cards relate to each other as a story.
5. Keep a tarot journal
Record:
Date
Question
Cards drawn
Your first impressions
Your interpretation
What happened afterward
Over time, you’ll develop your own relationship with the symbols.
6. Don’t worry about “doing it wrong”
There are many traditions:
Some readers use reversed cards; some don’t.
Some focus on intuition; others focus on traditional meanings.
Some use tarot spiritually; others use it for creativity, meditation, or self-reflection.
You can experiment and find a style that works for you.
A simple first-month plan
Week 1: Learn the four suits and Major Arcana themes.
Week 2: Pull one card daily and journal.
Week 3: Practice three-card spreads.
Week 4: Start reading for a friend who understands you’re practicing.
A helpful beginner mindset: don’t ask “What does this card mean?” so much as “What story is this card inviting me to consider in this situation?” That shift is where tarot starts becoming much easier to read.
Start with a classic deck like the Rider-Waite-Smith or a modern clone of it. Every single symbol, character, and color on these cards was intentionally designed to convey meaning, making them much easier to intuitive-read than abstract or minimal decks.
Learn the Core Structure
A tarot deck is split into two main sections:
Major Arcana (22 cards): Represent major life themes, karmic lessons, and big transitions (like The Fool, Death, or The World).
Minor Arcana (56 cards): Reflect day-to-day life, categorized into four suits: Wands (fire/passion), Cups (water/emotion), Swords (air/intellect), and Pentacles (earth/material world).
Pro tip: Understanding basic numerology (1 through 10) and element associations can help you decode the Minor Arcana instantly without memorizing every single card.
Establish a Daily One-Card Pull
“Now you can do this as a daily card which is just perfect for bringing more intention and awareness into your life.”
, as noted in The Beginner's Guide to Tarot Card Reading . Every morning, draw a single card and ask an open-ended question like, "What do I need to know today?" or "What energy can I lean into?"
Keep a Tarot Journal
Write down the date, the card you pulled, your initial intuitive reaction to the imagery, and a brief check-in at the end of the day to see how that card's theme manifested in your life.
Graduate to Simple 3-Card Spreads
Once you feel comfortable with single cards, try the classic Past-Present-Future spread. Lay out three cards horizontally to read them like a short story, noticing how the energy flows from the first card to the last.
Would you like recommendations for specific beginner decks , or help learning the meanings of the four suits?
