Beginners Guide to Tarot - Your First Readings

So if you’ve been reading along in this series you’ll know we’ve covered the meanings of each card, choosing your deck and cleansing your deck. You can find all of those posts here. Today I’m going to talk about two reading types which I recommend being the kind of readings you start with, purely as they can be easier to work with and help you learn your cards’ meanings. I still mainly use these readings today and they are honestly my favourite to do.

Spread 1

Spread one is my favourite to do, it’s also my most commonly requested reading type. It follows a simple three-card spread, with each card holding a different use. This one is always a good spread to use your first time reading someone as well as it will give you a better insight for what they may be experiencing.

The first card represents the past. This can be recent past or further back.

The second card is their present. What is happening now or is about to be happening.

The third card is the future. Much like the past card, this can be soon in the future or later.

As an example of this reading, three cards I pulled were 8 of pentacles, page of swords and king of pentacles. This reading would show a past of mastering their craft and enjoying what they do, potentially even becoming well-known within the circles they work within. The present is represented as being filled with gossip and prying eyes, maybe something has changed or something has come out about them, it can also represent travel by air, so they may have made a trip or be making one soon. Lastly, their future card shows security and abundance as well as a practical leader, this shows things going well again and can also be representative of a fatherly figure, which is worth noting in some readings too.

Spread 2

This spread focuses more on a specific problem, or situation, obstacle and advice to give. Like the above spread, it focuses on a three-card pull making it much easier to remember for beginners. I personally love using this for myself when things have been going wrong or I want to ask my deck for advice.

An example pull for this spread is 9 of Swords, knight of Wands and Page of Swords. So the situation in this case is most likely nightmares, anxiety, grief, worry or depression. This could be a new situation for the person or could be a long-standing issues. The obstacle in this case is that they have passion and creativity which is being blocked by these issues. It can also mean that they want to be free-spirited and this is being held back by their problem. The advice card in this case means that there may be a need for travel or news will come their way. New ideas may also play a role in overcoming it all as well as truths coming to the surface.

As I said at the beginning these are two spreads I use myself regularly, and I do really recommend giving these a try even if you’re just reading for yourself to get used to the meanings of the cards.

Let me know if you give these a go!