I’m sure I’ve mentioned in some post or another that the best way to learn how to read tarot cards (or any card system, for that matter) is simply to do just that — read tarot cards! On a daily basis!
If you’re remotely serious about improving your ability to read tarot cards, you must commit to the practice of casting daily tarot card draws and recording them and jotting down your impressions in a notebook or journal dedicated specifically to card reading. Later, you can review your notes and observe where, why and how you got it “right” or “wrong.”
Just like learning a language, over time, you will learn how your cards speak to you. As you gain “fluency,” your ability to correctly ascertain the cards’ messages in any given daily draw will increase.
That said, remember:
“No matter how talented a reader you may become, you won’t always ‘get it right’.”
Three Reasons Why You May Not ‘Get It Right’
- Taking the information too personally, especially when your draw contains tarot cards that scare you. Your mind might automatically race to worst case scenarios, which, in addition to being a lousy way to start your day, typically don’t manifest in real life.
- Forgetting that some daily card draws are fairly mundane. The cards could be showing you something as simple as a weather report (literal or emotional). Perhaps they are describing a local or global event that comes to your attention later in the day or week.
- Failing to take “the prevailing winds” into account. Sometimes the energies surrounding a “prediction” shift enough to cancel manifestation at a later time. In those instances you may have correctly interpreted the cards but you probably won’t know it because of lack of feedback.
A Daily Tarot Card Draw with Scary Cards
Early last week I pulled some cards in my daily draw that illustrate points #1 and #2 above. I decided to share the reading with you because I think it’s something that card readers experience more often than they care to admit. We get so used to asking for (and expecting!) relevant, personal information that we tend to forget sometimes the cards just want to give a heads-up on a freak thunderstorm or, as you’ll see below, a fatal accident that comes to your attention.
At the time of the draw, having no particular question in mind, I decided to ask one of my go-to generic questions: “Heads up/ need to know/ will happen.” I pulled the following cards:
Q: Heads Up/ Need to Know/ Will Happen:
It took me about a nanosecond to realize that Chariot + Tower is a classic combination for an automobile accident. Having the Wheel of Fortune in the spread (literally, “wheels”) only seemed to solidify the interpretation.
Unsettling at best.
Of course, I took the “prediction” personally. My mind went directly to myself and my family, including a loved one who would be embarking on a road trip later in the week.
As my anxiety levels multiplied, I found myself grabbing another card to represent the Probable Outcome.
I pulled Death, making me wish I’d never done the darn daily draw in the first place…
I then proceeded to worry myself half to death (pun intended) for at least two minutes. After getting a grip on myself, I re-boxed the cards and returned them to some storage container or another, amidst the firm resolution of getting on with my day. (I definitely do not recommend fixating on dire predictions!)
I actually succeeded in not giving the reading a second thought until a news story on the next day’s 6 o’clock news came to my attention: a fatal car crash in a neighboring town. Why the previous day’s tarot card draw had pointed that out to me is unknowable. As the Death card indicated, there was absolutely nothing I could have done to prevent the tragedy.
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Could the cards have manifested in some way other than a tragedy? Of course. To a large degree, it would depend on the question. For example, if you pulled these four cards as an answer to a question concerning taking a new job in another city, the cards could be suggesting that this course of action (Chariot) might be interrupted (Tower), thrown off-course (Wheel) and come to naught (Death). The Death card in this example could also suggest you don’t get the job offer in the first place. Regardless of the question, the fact that all four cards in this particular draw are Major Arcana suggests the outcome is out of your control.
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Notes
The cards pulled in this daily tarot card draw predicted a fatal motor vehicle accident. While my interpretation was technically correct, I took the information too personally, causing myself unnecessary angst. It didn’t occur to me at the time of the reading that maybe the cards were foreshadowing a story I’d see later on the 6 o’clock news. Should I pull another set of equally dire cards anytime soon, I’m fairly confident I’ll be able to keep this error in mind.
Because this particular reading left an impression, I probably would have been able to bring those four cards to mind once I saw the news story whether I’d recorded the draw or not. But I’m glad I did. You might think you’ll remember your tarot card readings, but unless you have a photographic memory, you won’t. It’s crazy how easily tarot readings slip your mind when you don’t record and notate your readings.
Don’t let your fear or apprehension of “bad Tarot cards” keep you from performing daily card draws and recording them in a notebook or journal. Keep the three points I made above in mind (Three Reasons Why You May Not ‘Get It Right’) and always remember that there isn’t a card in the deck that does not provide useful information, even if it’s something you don’t particularly want to hear or address.
Blessings,
Mary Hawkins
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