TL;DR: Self-teaching Tarot starts with an accessible deck like Rider-Waite, learning the Major Arcana first, practicing simple daily spreads, and journaling to build intuition over time.
What Is Tarot, and Why Can You Teach Yourself?
Tarot is a 78-card deck that has been used as a tool for reflection and inner exploration for centuries. Each card carries a symbolic image tied to a particular facet of human experience, love, career, challenge, opportunity. Contrary to what many assume, Tarot doesn't require an innate "special gift" to learn, it's a skill built gradually through memorizing symbolic meaning, practicing regularly, and developing an intuitive sense of how cards connect.
Summary table of Tarot card groups, suits, and spreads for beginners.
| Group | Number of cards | Components or suits | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major Arcana | 22 cards, numbered from 0 to 21 | Major themes and lessons in life, easy to remember | |
| Minor Arcana | 56 cards | 4 suits: Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles | Learn by each suit |
| Wands | Wands, fire | Passion, action | |
| Cups | Cups, water | Emotions, feelings | |
| Swords | Swords, air | Thinking, conflict | |
| Pentacles | Coins, earth | Material matters, work | |
| Draw one card each day | 1 card | Draw in the morning and reflect | |
| Three-card spread | 3 cards | Past, present, future |
Which Tarot deck should a beginner choose?
For beginners, the Rider-Waite-Smith deck (often just called Rider-Waite) is the most widely recommended, since every card depicts a specific, symbol-rich scene, making it easier to associate images with meaning than decks with purely abstract patterns. It's also the foundation for most modern Tarot decks, so mastering it makes it easier to switch to other decks later.
How do you learn the Major Arcana first?
The 78 Tarot cards split into two groups: the Major Arcana (22 cards, numbered 0 to 21) and the Minor Arcana (56 cards, divided into four suits similar to a standard deck: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles).
The Major Arcana represent life's big themes and lessons (such as The Fool for new beginnings, The Tower for upheaval, The Sun for joy), making them generally easier to remember and more clearly symbolic as a starting point. Beginners should spend real time getting familiar with these 22 cards before moving to the Minor Arcana.
How do you learn the Minor Arcana suit by suit?
Once you know the Major Arcana, learn the Minor Arcana one suit at a time, since each suit corresponds to a life domain and an element in the Western elemental system: Wands (fire, passion, action), Cups (water, emotion, relationships), Swords (air, thought, conflict), Pentacles (earth, material matters, work). Understanding each suit's "theme" lets you guess a card's approximate meaning even before you've memorized the details.
What are simple Tarot spreads for beginners?
Don't rush into complex spreads. Start with:
- One card a day: Draw a card each morning and reflect on how it might relate to your day.
- Three-card spread (past - present - future): A basic layout that's easy for practicing each card's meaning within a specific context.
Regular daily practice, even with just one card, builds recall far faster than trying to memorize everything at once.
How do you keep a Tarot journal?
After each reading, note the card you drew, your first impression of the image, and then compare it with the meaning in a guidebook. Over time, this journaling helps you notice the personal connection between a card's imagery and your own intuition, this is the shift from "memorizing" to genuinely "reading."
What should beginners know about Tarot?
Treat Tarot as a tool for reflecting on your thoughts, sparking new perspectives, and self-inquiry, rather than an absolute prophecy of the future. Don't be discouraged if you need to keep checking a guidebook at first, even experienced readers regularly reference card meanings. What matters most is consistent practice and an open mind when interpreting each card within the context of a specific question.
