One of the biggest mistakes I made when I started reading tarot was relying on the reference meanings in the book.

I still remember getting my first deck at thirteen. It was a square, palm-sized stocking stuffer with quick and easy meanings in the little booklet.

Unlike the Rider-Waite and its frustrating booklet of seemingly nonsensical meanings, this was a friendly deck.

And I didn’t know how to use it. Because I wasn’t reading the cards, but parroting abstract meanings whenever I shuffled.

I don’t want you to make the same mistake. So let’s get started by learning the most important lesson in tarot.

Read Intuitively, Not Intellectually

You’re going to be tempted to read tarot with a set of memorized meanings in your head. It’s not that the cards don’t have clear meanings contained within them, but that the meanings need to be applied using conceptual thinking.

One of the creators of the Rider-Waite deck, Arthur E. Waite, described it like this:

The true tarot is symbolism; it speaks no other language and offers no other signs — Arthur E. Waite

We’ll practice this with my favorite card in tarot, the Ten of Pentacles.

Generally, most people and sources describe the meaning of this card as great wealth, legacy, stability, success, and material achievement.

It’s one of the more straightforward cards in the tarot visually too. You wouldn’t disagree with these definitions the first time you saw the card.

But reading symbolically requires more than just reconciling the book meanings to what you’re seeing on the card itself. The meanings aren’t arbitrary — this deck, especially a minor arcana card like this one, was designed to convey a spectrum of meanings.

Imagine you’re reading for someone who asked the question, “Will my sick puppy live a long life?”

If you only engage with your memorized meanings of the card, you might be confused by the Ten of Pentacles when you pull it.

But take a look at that card again. There are two dogs and they’re both looking at the old man.

I would probably answer like this: “Your dog will live a long life and you’ll probably adopt another animal companion along the way. See how the two dogs are staring lovingly at the old man? That’s you — you’ll spend many happy years together with so many chapters.”

Reading tarot isn’t about parroting the memorized meanings, but looking at the cards and considering how and why certain symbols are igniting your intuition.

That means flashcards will only take you so far.

Try This

Grab something to write with or start recording on your phone. Then ask this question before shuffling your deck: “What’s something I need to know right now?”

Pull just one card and lay it down. Then write or speak about whatever comes to your mind that seems to be in answer to your question. Don’t stop until you run out of things to say. Make sure that you look at everything on the card.

It’s okay for this exercise if you don’t know the meaning of this card or any in the deck. You’ll also find that not every symbol on the card will activate your intuition for the question.

But this is what engaging with the tarot symbolically is all about. If you get confused or need to look up the meaning, do so — but only after you’ve looked at the card and considered what in the image stood out to you the most. Even if you can’t put it into words.

Syncretizing Meaning and Symbolism

Let’s go back to the Ten of Pentacles example. Let’s say someone pulled this card for the question, “Should I move to another country?” and they don’t know the card’s meaning yet.

But when they look at the card, they can’t help but focus on the buildings in the background beyond the walled property. It reminds them of skyscrapers and they’re planning to move to New York City.

There would be a lot going on in their question that may seem at odds with the rest of the image, but I’d probably interpret it like this:

You’re going to move to New York City, but you’ll relocate to the suburbs when you have kids. This will be after starting a successful career that you profit from. You’ll be financially comfortable and enjoy your suburban home and the ease it brings, but you’ll still love New York City. You’ll visit it often and you don’t move far away because you have so many positive memories of the place. You just wanted more space for your family.

When you’re at a loss, seeing the story in the card and feeling how it pertains to your question is especially useful.

Sometimes, the answer to your question isn’t a quick answer, but a narrative of symbols that are usually anchored on a particularly important one. Be prepared not just for an answer, but also for the possibility of a length or circuitous one.

A Final Note

You should know that sometimes, the answer to your question is straightforward and will match a memorized meaning of the card 100%. When this happens, you’ll feel it right away and won’t even feel the need to look at the details on the card.

It might still be worth it though. You‘ll’ find nuances within the card itself that are answered without asking additional questions and pulling more cards.

You don’t want to just give context to your memorized meanings by just associating the best fit with the question you ask. Trust your intuition to point your way to the right nuanced meaning.

Tarot is easier than you think it is. You don’t need to have every possible meaning of each card memorized. You should learn these meanings, but understand that what makes tarot rich in meaning is also what makes it easy.

If you look, you’ll see with your intuition.

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I’m writing a book on how to use tarot in everyday life! This article is part of a series based on my research in the writing process called Learn Tarot with Emmarie.

If you found what you read helpful, be sure to let me know. You can also support my writing by leaving a tip on Ko-fi.