4. Tarot is not a tool for prediction.
As I’ve explained, like a lot of people I came to the tarot with the idea that it is mainly used for “fortune-telling,” and that this is where a lot of my initial fear came from. If my fate were somehow written irreversibly in the cards, what if I got a “bad” one? Rather, like with astrology, I’ve come to understand the tarot as a system of symbols that can be used to tap the Universal consciousness and access information from our highest Self. The cards and the messages imprinted on them are the “bridge” between our guides, God, the Universe, and so on, and our human understanding, and it is the reader’s job (whether it’s me or somebody else reading for me) to simply act as an interpreter for the information being delivered.
5. The tarot is YOU.
What a brilliant metaphor for helping to understand your deck! After all, you know better than anyone what a weirdo you are, right? Or rather, how many seemingly different weirdos you can embody in any given day, relationship, situation—veering from one emotion to the next, from crazy to rational thoughts and back, from lovable to needy and manipulative. (Please tell me this isn’t just me.) Anyway, how about imagining each of the seventy-eight cards as a different facet of your/our intricate human state? Like how the Fool is the naive part of us that will just say yes to anything and dive in with little regard for the consequences, or how the Two of Swords represents the way we can endlessly argue a point—with ourselves! According to Lou, “The more I look at the tarot, the more I understand myself, because I’m really just learning about the human psyche and our experience.”
6. Pick a word, any word.
As you get to know your deck, Lindsay also suggests choosing one word that best represents the energy of each card for you. In the Thoth deck, the creators of the deck have gone ahead and done this for you—for example, the Six of Discs is also “Success” (representing material gain and power), while the Three of Swords is “Sorrow” (melancholy and unhappiness). You can also attribute actual characters to the court cards. When I asked another reader friend, the New Age Hipster, to write about the Queen cards for The Numinous, she attributed the Queen of Pentacles to Beyoncé, and the Queen of Cups to Bridget Jones. So you can see how choosing a character for each card can make it even easier to connect with its individual nature.
7. There’s no right or wrong way to read the tarot.
Since the messages delivered by the tarot are all in the interpretation, it makes sense that each of us will see something different in the cards. Beyond the basics—such as the different suits representing the different elements/areas of life—how we deliver and therefore interpret the information in a reading will depend entirely on our own life experience and unique worldview. In other words, what our higher Self chooses to show us is the message.
8. Because the tarot is also a mirror.
While the best readers I know wouldn’t necessarily call themselves “psychic,” they are gifted intuitives—since being tapped in to your inner Voice / higher Self is a prerequisite for delivering an authentic reading (see above). In this sense, the tarot, and the reader delivering the information, can also be understood as a mirror—reflecting out what’s going on within the person getting the reading. Lou sees the role of the reader as an interpreter, as well as a teacher. As she puts it, “The cards are showing you something you already know, but perhaps aren’t aware of because of all your anxieties layered on top. A reading is really an opportunity for my client to be reminded to look at their life through their own loving lens, which they may have forgotten is always available to them. In a session I also encourage them to be part of the reading. I am not there to ‘tell’ them things. The days of disempowered fortune-telling are well and truly over, and it’s time to trust the power we have within.”
9. The tarot is an invitation to evolve.
In Buddhist philosophy, the only constant is change—as illustrated beautifully by the cards of the Major Arcana. The Majors are said to represent the different stages in the evolution of consciousness, from the Fool depicting birth/inception (of, say, an idea, project, person, or relationship) to the World signifying completion, fulfillment, mastery—or even enlightenment. This process shows up throughout different spiritual traditions and is also sometimes called “the hero’s journey.” Meanwhile, the Minors depict the cycles of said evolution. Seen this way, the message in every card, Major or Minor, carries an invitation to step into and participate with the evolutionary process of being human. Not all of which was ever going to be easy, rewarding, or pretty.
10. We still get to choose.
Because of free will, the tarot is still only an invitation to evolve. In the same way astrology can be viewed as a sort of cosmic road map, with plenty of opportunity for self-directed detours, whether we choose to follow the guidance offered by the tarot is entirely up to us. Pull the Fool when you’re wondering if you should quit your job and start your own business, and the Universal energies are suggesting that the time is right to just go for it. But you totally get to keep your cubicle if for whatever reason you still don’t feel ready. A.k.a. free will!
11. Pick a pretty deck.
Along with the Wild Unknown by Kim Krans, three of my favorite decks are the Starchild Tarot by Danielle Noel, the Serpentfire deck by Devany Wolfe, and the Invisible Light Tarot by Brandy Eve Allen. Visually enchanting (to me at least), they are also infused with a sexy, upbeat energy I find attractive, inspiring, and compelling. The imagery of the Rider Waite deck never really resonated with me, and it’s no surprise really. It was designed in 1910, and although it must have seemed modern then, dumbing down the even heavier religious overtones of previous decks, times and attitudes have certainly a-changed. But again, each to their own. Lou loves the Rider Waite, finding infinite meaning in the artwork. Which leads me to …
12. Let your deck choose you.
Lindsay says decks are like the wands in Harry Potter—they choose who they want to work with. The Thoth deck found me through PR guru and America’s Next Top Model judge Kelly Cutrone, who I persuaded to give me a reading while on a press trip in Denver. In a past life (not literally—it was back in the 1990s), Kelly worked as a professional tarot reader on Venice Beach. To this day, she ONLY reads with the Thoth, telling me how the illustrations actually shape-shift in front of her eyes to deliver specific pieces of information.
Lou says the same thing about her favorite deck, the Cosmic Tarot: “The archetypes—the people cards—actually come to life for me. The faces morph into the faces of people I’ve known. Sometimes they even appear to turn their heads to look at me.” Cosmic indeed! And most readers will say that once you truly connect with a deck, it will in some way “come alive” in your hands.
The Starchild Tarot has actually become my go-to—first because I find the artwork to be truly enchanting, and second because every single card I pull, for myself and others, offers an immediate and (what feels like) true answer to the situation in hand. In other words, it just speaks my language.
13. Begin with a one-card pull.
Perhaps the simplest way to get familiar with the energies and symbolism of the seventy-eight different cards is to commit to a daily one-card pull. As in, ask a question, pull a card, and interpret the message. (And then don’t get too attached to it, continuing to exercise your free will!). What I have found completely fascinating about this practice are the patterns that emerge: like pulling the same card for myself day after day, but in relation to seemingly different situations. It’s also totally cool to pull a second, or even a third card if you’re not getting what