Main image courtesy of Amazon.
Learning to read the tarot is a journey, and it takes time, experience, and patience to learn the ins and outs of this popular form of divination. A lot of readers start out doing readings for themselves, however, many choose to expand their horizons and form another layer of understanding the tarot by reading for someone else. You don’t have to read tarot for other people, but sometimes it can be a fun way to deepen your relationship to the cards by seeing how they respond to the questions of a querent (who you’re doing the reading for).
If you want to learn more about reading for others, including some of the top ways to gain more confidence in your abilities, we’re discussing that and more including:
Reading the tarot is a great way to learn how to trust your intuition and glean messages from your higher Self, which is why it seems to be more popular than ever. A lot of folks get into tarot because they’re working on themselves, as it’s a great way to hold a mirror to your inner self/unconscious mind that may be trying to tell you something—you just have to be open to hearing it! Once you’ve got some practice pulling cards or doing spreads for yourself, you may want to start sharing your knowledge and your love of tarot with others by doing readings for friends and family. This is a fantastic way to start getting more comfortable with the cards, their meanings, and the messages you can interpret for your client.
You don’t have to stop at just casually reading either, the more practice you get and the more confident you are following your intuition to say what the cards are suggesting, you may want to start accepting paying clients. While this isn’t for everyone, all readers have to start somewhere, so if you think you might be interested in reading for someone else (whether friends or future clients) then you should get acquainted with how to do a tarot reading for someone else.
Every reader of tarot has their own process for getting into the right headspace to do a reading. And while they may casually pull cards for themselves on a daily basis, if they’re reading for someone else, they’ll want to take time to prepare. You don’t have to do any specific ritual to prepare, just something that feels right to you, and allows you to clear your mind and be open to all possibilities.
If the querent has a specific question, ask them to keep their focus on that. If they don’t and just want a message from the cards, they can focus on relaxing and keeping an open mind. Providing a little context can be helpful, especially for new readers so they know the area of the client’s life they should focus on. This is also a good time to let your querent know if you’re just starting out doing these kinds of readings, and to try and keep things light. This is supposed to be fun after all!
You can shuffle the cards in any way that feels comfortable to you! Lots of readers like the traditional back and forth shuffle like you do with a deck of cards, while others have specific ways they move the cards. As a reader, you can be the only one to touch the cards, or you can enlist the help of the querent to cut the deck. There’s no one right way to shuffle everything, just as long as it feels good to you and you get all the cards mixed.
Pro tip: If you’re a reader who wants to work with reversals, consider spreading all the cards on the table and mixing them in all directions (like the game 52 pick up) to infuse a little chaos that you’ll bring order to as you put the deck back together.
After you’ve spent some time shuffling and thinking about the querent’s question or what area of life they’re looking for advice on, it’s time to start the reading. There are all kinds of tarot spreads you can go with, from simple 3 card readings, to the more elaborate Celtic cross, and everything in between. What spread you go with depends on how much information your client is looking for, as well as what you’re confident doing. If you’re just starting out, doing a 3 or 4 card spread is a great way to gain confidence in your reading ability.
Draw the cards yourself, or have the client choose the cards they’re called to. The cards should then be laid face down in the spread so you can pull them back one at a time. Spreads place meanings behind the positions of the cards, for example, past, present, and future for a simple 3 card spread. This can help give your reading direction as you start to tell the story of the cards that came up.
This simple 5 card draw can give a lot of information to the client, and allows the reader to follow a clear path of interpretation. Image courtesy of Daily Tarot Draw.
Most readers like to turn over the cards one by one, until they are all face up. They then can start to analyze the images, and start to pay attention to anything that pops out right away. You may notice that there are repeating numbers, suits, colors, or more than one major arcana card. These are all important things to take inventory of, and if it’s helpful, you may want to write down some of your first impressions. This can help you start to see what the cards are trying to say. As a reader you’ll always want to pay attention to any physical sensations, or feelings/vibes you get from some of the cards. There is a reason you’re drawn to a card or a color combination, so make sure you consider all these signs.
Start to tell the story of the cards, and relate it to how the querent can take this advice and use it. If they came to the reading with a specific question, this is the time to give them something to take away, to be aware of, to work on, or to delve deeper into. You are interpreting what the cards are saying for your client, but you can’t make them follow the advice unless they want to. Remembering that it is not your job to fix anything in your client’s life can help you stay objective.
If something isn’t clear or the client asks for clarification on a particular theme or card, you can always draw additional cards. Sometimes this is a great way to give a little extra encouragement to the client to consider taking heed of the guidance the cards are offering.
When it’s time to wrap up the reading, collect all your cards and place them once again in one pile. You can quietly thank your deck and any guides/ancestors you called into the reading, and thank your client out loud. Hopefully the reading went just as well for them as it did for you, and they’ll be back again!
No matter if you’re a beginner or have years of experience with your tarot deck, reading for someone else is always different than reading for yourself. Once you get these tips down solid, the best piece of advice is to keep practicing, and keep listening to your intuition! What’s your favorite spread to do for others? Let us know in the comments!
