Learn Tarot with Amanda Goldston

When you want to learn how to read tarot cards there are two basic types of reading. One is a psychic reading, where you probably only need a card or some personal connection in order to trigger your intuition and a flood of information.

The second way to learn to read tarot cardsis to look at the colours, pictures and symbols. You notice what is happening in the card and observe any feelings that you might get.

For most people, especially when you start to read tarot cards, the second way is the easiest to work with. You will be surprised at the accuracy of your readings.

Choose a deck of tarot cards that you feel comfortable with. There is a lot of choice, with decks based on almost every conceivable aspect of life, culture, history or mythology.

A good starting point is the Rider Waite deck of Tarot cards because those tarot cards have clear pictures and the imagery is not frightening.

In a new deck, the cards are generally ordered with the 22 cards of the Major Arcana first, usually beginning with the Fool card (numbered 0) and then the four Minor suits of Cups, Wands, Pentacles and Swords in the order of Ace, cards 2-10 and the court cards.

Take your cards out of pack and have a really good look at them. If you have enough room, it can be very useful to lay out all of the cards on a table in front of you. Otherwise, lay them out in the sections of the Major Arcana and then each of the suits.

One of the best ways to learn to read tarot cards is to look very carefully at each card. Notice what you can see and if anything jumps out at you, look at the colours and see if they are bright and cheerful or more dark and challenging. What is happening in the card? A picture really does speak1000 words.

How do you feel when you look at the card? Do you hear any voices in your head or do you suddenly think of a person or a situation?

Notice and observe your own thoughts, feelings and reactions and make a note of those because those will be your intuition speaking to you and those will be the perfect and right answers for you personally.

Then you can check with your favourite book to add extra meaning to your own interpretations.

Your reactions to a tarot card may be different from what is stated in any book and that is quite natural because the tarot cards speak to everyone in a different way.

On your journey to learn how to read tarot cards, a book or a course can be great starting point and can fill in the gaps where you are not sure of a meaning.

Keep practising and have fun. Learning to read tarot cards is a wonderful journey.

When you would like to learn to read tarot cards, one of the first decisions to make is which deck you are going to work with.

The tarot deck that you start to learn with is often not a matter of a conscious choice. It may be that the deck of tarot cards was a gift from someone else or it may be that you have had readings over time from a Tarot Reader and that is the deck that the reader has always used. It may be that the deck has been well reviewed somewhere and you have bought a deck sight unseen.

Many people, who acquire a deck of tarot cards in any of those ways, often find that they really don't get on very well with the cards when they try to learn to read them.

This can be especially difficult if the deck is based on a particular time in history or a certain culture or a mythology or ideology. Some of these decks are exquisitely beautiful to look at, yet are not very practical unless you know a lot about the topic they relate to.

If you feel you are already quite psychic and intuitive, you may get on well with cards which are more like traditional playing cards, in that they are purely symbolic. That may be enough to trigger your psychic card reading skills.

One of the easiest decks to work with when you are starting to learn to read tarot cards is the Rider Waite deck. This deck is probably one of the most popular ones; it certainly has most books and material written about it.

It is not tied to any specific set of beliefs, although it draws symbolism from most of the major world religions and cultures dating back into time immemorial. Each of the cards has a picture, rather than merely symbolism. This means that you can look at the card and observe what is happening in the image.

As the human mind thinks in pictures, this can be a very effective way to learn to read tarot cards. It really is the case that a picture speaks a1000 words.

In addition to clear pictures, the Rider Waite deck of tarot cards does not have scary images, as is the case with some decks of tarot cards.

Ultimately, it comes down to your personal choice. Pick a deck where you like and understand the images and you feel comfortable with the cards themselves, as you are going to be building up a long term relationship with them on your journey to learning to read tarot cards.

Amanda Goldston
Tarot Author, Coach and Reader
© 2009 Amanda Goldston

Develop Your Intuition Through Tarot

Tarot cards can be a fantastic way to develop your intuition or give you the confidence to trust that inner knowing.

Our minds think in pictures and the Tarot consists of 78 colour images and symbols, many of which are very ancient, which makes it one of the most powerful ways of connecting directly with your subconscious mind.

Pictures are the oldest form of teaching and learning, as they tell stories and tap straight into the right side of your brain, which is all about creativity, imagination, inspiration, ideas and insights. The more you can trigger the can trigger the right hand side of your brain, the more you can tap into your intuition or gut feeling.

Different people can look at the same cards and give a different interpretation because the cards speak to everyone individually.

The Tarot is one of the best tools for developing your Intuition.

Find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed and sit comfortably.

Take a few deep breaths. Breathe out any tension form your day. Breathe in confidence and peace.

A useful breathing exercise is to breathe in to a count of 7, hold the breath for 7, and then slowly release to a count of 7 and then hold for 7 before taking another breath.

When you feel calm and relaxed, pick up your deck of cards and shuffle them. A good question to ask would be something like, "What would be most useful for me to know about my situation right now?"

When you feel ready, stop shuffling, cut the cards, spread them out in front of you and choose one. Notice the first thoughts, feelings, impressions that come to mind.

Do you hear any words? What is said? What is the tome and volume of the voice? Is it inside your head or outside of you?

What feelings do you get when you look at the card?
Are there any sensations in your body and if so where are they?
Do you get any pictures flash through your mind?

Trust those first answers as they will most likely be the right ones for you.
Don't look at the card for too long because your logical mind will probably start to analyse and may end up rationally talking you out of accepting those first insights.

When you are ready, relax, calm your mind and pick another card.

Put a couple of cards of cards side by side and notice the impressions that you get. Observe how the story changes when one card is next to another.

It is helpful to have a Tarot journal, so that you can keep track of any insights that come from your cards.

Once you have recorded your own wisdom, it may be useful to consult a tarot book to see if there are further distinctions that can be added. However, the definitions in a book are the view of that author and may contradict your own insights.

The messages from your Inner Wisdom will be the right ones for you personally, so it is important that you follow those first.

You start to develop a relationship with your cards and begin to trust them as a tool to access your intuition whenever you want and need it.

Practise and have fun!

Amanda Goldston
Tarot Author and Coach

© Amanda Goldston 2009

If you have a tricky decision to make, or are wondering whether you should trust someone, Tarot cards can be a great help..

They can help you to quickly access your intuition and all your inner resources to help you to make the best choices for you. It is very likely that you already know the answer in your heart.

Take a few deep breaths to relax and calm your mind and then ask your question. Ask that the answers will be for the "highest good of all concerned".

The most commonly asked question is a question requiring a Yes/No answer, such as "Will I get that job?" "Will he ask me out on a date?" "Should I move house?" "Is my daughter going to pass her exams?" "Should I marry that man?"

These can be very difficult questions to answer because they have an underlying presumption that our life is mapped out for us, that everything is pre-determined by someone or something and that we have little or no influence over it, other than just showing up on the day.

This is obviously not the case, as we have free will and make our own choices.

There may be situations that come into our lives, over which we appear to have no control, however we can always choose how we react to them.

Be very careful with trying to answer a Yes/No question, as it may be more be more appropriate to ask a question such as
"What would be the likely outcome if I did this or that?" or
"What do I need to know to make a decision about?"
"What would most help me to move forward in this situation?"
"How can I improve the communication between me and %u2026?"

The most powerful questions to ask are about what we personally can do about a situation. What actions can we take? What decisions could we make? How could we change our feelings or reactions about something?

When asking about the outcome of a situation, remember that the cards will give you a likely outcome IF you continue on exactly the same path and you do not make any changes. The cards assume you don't change anything. However, as soon as you do something differently, the whole thing will change. This can be very useful for looking at alternate futures.

So you could ask questions such as "What would be the outcome if I took the job I have been offered?" or "What would be the outcome if I stayed in my current job?" or maybe "What would be the outcome if I applied for a promotion?"

You can look at the different likely outcomes and then you can make the decision that is best for you.

When asking questions, it is important to remember that we cannot change the behaviour of someone else and it can be difficult to get information about another person because they might change their mind and do something completely different.

The clearer you are about what you want to know, the easier it will be to get a meaningful answer and some helpful guidance.

Amanda Goldston
Tarot Author and Coach
© Amanda Goldston 2009