Interpretation

[Jessica]

Hello all, I’m fairly new to reading tarot and was wondering how you accurately interpret each card. I always go with my gut interpretation then find out I was completely wrong when I look up the meanings. And when reading for someone else should I know what their question is?

Discussion

[Annabloem]

When I just started I paid a lot of attention to details in the cards (I followed a guidebook that helped me a lot with questions to answer like how foes this card make you feel? What are some of the detsils that stand out to you and what do you think they represent, how do you feel about them, etc) then I’d combine my meanings with the “common” meanings. When I started out I gave higher priority to the “right” meanings, but the desk I had didn’t follow rider waite so some “right” meanings were completely off. The more I practiced the more confidence I had in my own meanings. There are no “absolutely correct set meanings” to the cards, they change per deck, per person reading it etc. Your instincts matter.

[obake_ga_ippai]

If you go with your gut and then the meanings you look up are different, that doesn’t make you wrong. If you only read according to what other people think then you’re missing out on an essential part of tarot IMO.

[honorthecrones]

I’m gonna go with a little of column A and a little of column B. Don’t totally discount your intuition, but, I’d be careful if your intuition is “completely wrong” it’s important to have a basic understanding of the archetypal imagery. Intuition informs that and brings the nuance to the reading. If you are going to just make up random meanings, why do you need to buy a deck? You could just use random scraps of paper or paint your own marks on rocks and call it runes. If all you want is a springboard for your intuition, literally anything works.

I am a traditionalist. I value the archetypal imagery and the progression of energy and process that is depicted in the Tarot. It’s not just a bunch of random designs. Now, sure, you do you. If you want to use Tarot, astrology, I Ching, runes or chicken entrails to practice your art, you are absolutely entitled to do so. But, to me, Tarot has so many layers, such history and tradition, it seems a little wasteful to ignore that . You are limiting the use of the deck. Kind of like buying a muscle car and never taking it out of second gear.

About knowing the question, I prefer not to, at least at the start of the reading. I find that the way someone presents the question can be too prejudicial. For example, “ I need to know if that dirty bastard is cheating on me” can make it more difficult to see his actual innocence in the reading. So, I tell my querent that I’d rather not know in the beginning, but as we interpret the reading together, they can share information if they wish.