Learning tarot can be hard enough, right? There’s so many tarot reading problems, and so many card meanings to learn, plus you have to figure out how to read them together in a tarot spread. And there’s so many outside pressures on how to do it the right way, right? Wrong.
There’s no right way or wrong way to read tarot cards. There’s only your way and the ways that work for you. But I do have to tell you that I have seen some of my students, especially beginners, make some common mistakes over and over.
I’m not going to tell you that this is the wrong way to read tarot. I’m just saying that if you make these mistakes, it’s might be more difficult to learn how to read the cards. I want to save you from that and make it as easy as possible so I put this video together for you.
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I have been teaching tarot for over five years online and I’ve seen new students make these same mistakes like over and over and over, and it really holds them back. Not just from making progress with tarot, but also it hold people back from living their best life.
I know that sounds kind of dramatic, right?
It probably is. But tarot is always a really good mirror. If you’re making one of the simple tarot learning mistakes, it’s likely that you’re also making that same mistake in the bigger aspect of your life. And that pattern might be holding you back.
Mistake Number One
One of the most common tarot reading problems is that you feel as a beginner pressured to do it the right way. Someone else’s right way. Really, you’re just you’re searching for answers outside of yourself.
My way is just one way and I teach a lot of people, so I know what tends to work for most people. But that’s not a guarantee that it’s going to work for you. You need to find your way. So mistake number one is feeling pressure to do it someone else’s way or feeling pressure to do it “the right way.” Do it your way and try to make it as much fun as possible for you.
Mistake Number Two
The second thing I see as a really common mistake is that people, especially tarot beginners, are overwhelmed when they see 78 cards and they’re trying to memorize them.
Those card meanings don’t need to be memorized. Honestly, they don’t.
One of the great ways to do this is to cheat by getting a tarot cheat sheet or using The Simple Tarot Deck that’s got the card meanings printed right on the cards. You can also get just sort of like a throwaway deck and a sharpie marker and write your own meetings on the cards.
Mistake Number Three
The third of the common tarot reading problems is waiting to understand everything perfectly. So this kind of divided into two problems. First is waiting to understand everything perfectly, meaning you don’t feel comfortable really diving into tarot spreads until you know the tarot card meanings.
You don’t need to know the tarot card meanings to read spreads. Use the cheat sheet. Use your notes, use those flashcards you made, or the deck with keywords. Use whatever tools you can so you can just dive right into the deep end. You’re going to be fine.
If you’re waiting to understand everything perfectly before you start, you’re never going to get enough practice to actually start getting good.
So I do know that it is really intimidating and terrifying really to read tarot for other people. But you are going to become a better tarot reader, the more you practice.
The second half of this is waiting to understand everything perfectly. You will never know everything perfectly. Tarot is so complex and deep. You’re not going to find any of that complexity or depth really at The Simple Tarot. My job here is to keep it simple, easy and fun and get you to the point where you know the card meanings and feel really confident reading them so that you can then start diving deep on your own or with some other tarot teacher.
Tarot is a lifelong journey. And you’re going to keep growing and changing and learning with tarot. As you keep learning more information, there is no like perfect end. So don’t wait start right now because you’re never going to find perfection. You definitely will find growth though, if you start today.
Mistake Number Four
Sort of related to these three earlier mistakes is the fourth mistake, which is trying to do too much at once.
Tarot can be overwhelming, I’ll give you that. You’ve got the card meanings. You’ve got the cheat sheet. You’ve got a deck. You’ve got spreads. Do you read for yourself? What about your tarot journal? Do you read for other people or not? What about reversed cards?
I know it’s a lot. It really is. But it doesn’t need to be complicated and you don’t need to do it all at once, although I do suggest you dive right in with tarot readings.
You don’t need to read complicated spreads. You don’t need to read reversed cards, and you can totally cheat on the court cards. Just start with a simple one or two or maybe even three card tarot reading, but you don’t need to dive into a complicated spread right away like the Celtic Cross.
Remember that learning tarot is a long journey. You’re never going to learn it perfectly, but you are going to continue to grow and learn over time. And the longer you stay with it, the more you learn.
So really, you don’t need to cram all that information into your brain right now. You just need to dive in and do it.
For the additional mistakes I see beginning tarot readers making, watch the above video and then leave a comment there if you see yourself making any of these mistakes. You’re not alone! Making mistakes is how we all learn and grow, and you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be right now.