Reading tarot cards can feel overwhelming at first. You open the box, see all 78 cards, and don’t know where to begin. Here’s the simple truth: you don’t need to learn the whole deck at once.

When I started, tarot only began to make sense when I stripped it right back. I focused on fewer cards, fewer rules, and real-life questions. That’s what stopped it feeling confusing.

This guide follows that same approach. We’re keeping things simple on purpose, so you can actually read tarot instead of feeling like you’re studying for a test.

So let’s get into it!

Just Start With The Major Arcana

When you first get a tarot deck, you’ll probably want to keep pulling cards. I did. I kept shuffling, flipping cards over, laying them out just to look at them. That part’s normal, and it helps you get familiar with what’s in the deck.

But that didn’t teach me how to read tarot.

What helped was doing the opposite of what I thought I was supposed to do. I stopped trying to learn everything and focused only on the Major Arcana (the first 22 cards in the deck), reading them upright. No reversals. No spreads. Just those cards.

Every tarot card connects to real life, but the Major Arcana aren’t about everyday stuff. They show up when something in your life is changing and you can’t really avoid it. A decision you’ve been thinking about for a while. A situation that isn’t working anymore. A point where you realise something has to give.

When one of these cards comes up, you’re usually already living it. You don’t have to dig for the meaning. You look at the card and think, “Yeah, that makes sense.”

That’s why they’re easier to learn. I wasn’t guessing or stretching meanings to make them fit. I could see what the card was talking about because it matched what was already happening in my life. Once that started happening, the cards stuck in my head without effort.

And having those first few cards click, is what made me want to keep going and learn the rest of the deck later. And the good news is, once you understand the Major Arcana (The first 22 cards) the Minor Arcana (the suits) have a system you can follow which is also incredibly simple to learn!

If you want to know more about the Major Arcana, here’s a complete guide!

Pull One Card a Day

You don’t need spreads to begin with. One card is enough.

Once a day, pull a single Major Arcana card and keep it upright. Ask something simple, like:

• What should I pay attention to today?
• What’s influencing how I’m acting right now?

Read the meaning, then look at your day and see where it fits. That’s the reading.

If you want to keep pulling cards afterwards because you’re curious or enjoying yourself, that’s fine. Look at them, study them, learn them. Just don’t treat them as part of the same reading. Trust the first card for the answer, that’s the one that sets the tone.

And of course, it’s important to remember that pulling a Major arcana doesn’t mean something crazy is going to happen every day. That’s not how it works. A daily pull isn’t about predicting events. It shows what kind of day you’re in and where the pressure is.

For example:

• The Fool shows up when you know you want to try something, but you haven’t taken the step yet.
• The Lovers shows up when you’re sitting between options and avoiding making a choice.
• The Hermit shows up when you keep pushing yourself into situations around people, even though what you really need is space.
• Death shows up when something’s already finished and you’re dragging it out.

And if you want to make this easier, instead of stopping to flick through a guidebook every time, it helps to use cards with the meanings already on them.

When to Move On To The Minor Arcana

There isn’t a finish line you’re trying to reach.

You’ll know it’s time to add the Minor Arcana when the Major Arcana becomes effortless. When you already know exactly what the cards mean like it’s second nature. That’s when adding the rest of the deck helps, and this is where your tarot readings will really begin to take shape.

And when you’re adding the Minor Arcana the simplest way to think about it is this: the Major Arcana shows the bigger situation you’re in. The Minor Arcana fills in the everyday details. Conversations, moods, small decisions, reactions. The stuff that makes up most days.

In short, the Minor Arcana applies a lot more to ordinary situations.

And as I previously mentioned, the Minor Arcana also follows patterns. Once you understand how the suits work, and how the numbers work, you’ll start seeing the same ideas repeat. You don’t need to learn all 56 cards at once. You pick them up gradually, the same way you did with the Major Arcana.

A Simple Way to Understand the Minor Arcana

The Minor Arcana can look overwhelming at first because there are more cards, but it’s actually more practical than the Major Arcana. Once you see the structure, it stops feeling random and starts feeling familiar.

The easiest way to understand it is to break it into what part of life you’re looking at, and what stage it’s in.

That’s it.

The Suits: What Part of Life This Is About

The suits tell you where something is happening in your life.

• Cups are about how you feel and how you relate to other people. How close you feel, how disappointed you are, whether something feels mutual, and how you’re reacting emotionally to what’s happening.
• Wands deal with motivation, direction and action. What you’re excited about, frustrated by, or pushing toward. These cards often come up when you’re starting things, losing interest, or trying to keep momentum going.
• Swords deal with thoughts, communication, and stress. Conversations, overthinking, arguments, anxiety, decisions that live in your head. If a situation is playing on your mind or feels mentally draining, Swords tend to show up.
• Pentacles deal with practical reality. Work, money, routine, stability, health, and anything tied to time or effort. These cards show what’s actually being built, maintained, or neglected.

So, when a Minor Arcana card appears, the suit tells you which area of life is being affected, not the whole picture.

The Numbers: What Stage It’s At

The numbers tell you what’s happening within that area of life.

Think of the numbers as a timeline rather than individual meanings.

Aces

An Ace is that moment where something new and exciting comes up.

You feel it straight away. Interest, excitement, curiosity, attraction, motivation. Whatever it is, it wasn’t there before and now it is. You don’t know what it’s going to turn into yet, but you can’t un-notice it.

Nothing has played out. You just know something has started.

Twos

A Two is you sitting with it instead of acting.

You’re weighing things up. Going back and forth. Thinking it through again and again. Part of you wants one thing, part of you wants the other, and choosing feels uncomfortable, so you don’t.

You know a decision is coming. You’re just not ready to make it yet.

Threes

A Three is when you stop keeping it to yourself.

You talk about it. You involve someone else. You take a step that makes it real. Even if it’s small, it changes things. It now affects your time, your plans, or your emotions.

You’re no longer just considering it. You’ve started doing something about it.

Fours

A Four is where things settle.

There’s a routine now. You know how this works. You know what to expect. It’s familiar enough that nothing surprises you much anymore.

That can feel comforting. Or it can feel flat. Either way, this is the setup you’re living with right now.

Fives

A Five is when it stops being comfortable.

Something doesn’t go how you hoped. An argument happens. Someone feels left out. You lose something you thought you had. The energy around this has changed and you feel it immediately.

This is where pretending everything’s fine stops working.

Sixes

A Six is the moment things start moving forward again.

Whatever got stirred up in the Five starts to die down. There’s a sense of direction now. You’re not stuck in the problem anymore, even if everything isn’t resolved yet.

How that forward motion looks depends on the suit, sometimes it’s repair, sometimes it’s distance, sometimes it’s recognition.

But the chaos has peaked, and the situation is finding its way on.

Sevens

A Seven is where doubt creeps in.

You start questioning yourself. Wondering if you’re doing the right thing. Feeling defensive or pushed. You might feel like you have to stand your ground or prove something.

You haven’t backed down, but it’s taking effort to stay where you are.

Eights

An Eight is momentum.

Things are happening. Messages move fast. Actions pile up. You’re caught up in it now, whether that means keeping pace, staying focused, or dealing with the consequences of things moving quickly.

There’s no sitting back here. You’re in motion.

Nines

A Nine is when you’re nearly at the end of this particular journey.

Most of what’s going to happen has already happened. The shape of the situation is clear. You’re not discovering anything new anymore, you’re dealing with the final stretch of it.

There’s still something left to resolve, endure, or complete. But you can see where this is going.

This is the last stage before it tips into an ending.

Tens

A Ten is the ending.

Whatever this cycle was, it has played out as far as it can. There’s nothing left to develop inside it. The outcome is here, whether it’s welcome or not.

From this point on, anything new belongs to the next cycle.

The Court Cards: How People Show Up

The court cards aren’t events. They’re people, roles, or ways of behaving.

They describe how someone is dealing with a situation, not what happens next.

• Pages show learning, curiosity, or inexperience. Someone figuring things out, testing the waters, or approaching something without much confidence yet.
• Knights show movement and action. Someone doing something about the situation, sometimes with focus, sometimes recklessly, depending on the suit.
• Queens show internal control. How someone manages emotions, thoughts, or responsibilities privately. This is about self-awareness and emotional or mental maturity.
• Kings show outward control. Leadership, authority, or responsibility in the external world. How someone takes charge or influences others.

Sometimes these cards describe someone else. Often, they describe you, or how you’re being asked to show up.

And remember when a Minor Arcana card comes up, you don’t need to analyse it from every angle.

Just ask:

• What suit is this? → Which part of life is this about?
• What number or court is it? → What stage or role is showing up?

That will usually give you enough to understand what the card is about.

You can always go deeper later. Right now, recognising the pattern is more important than memorising meanings.

Once you see how the suits and numbers work together, the Minor Arcana stops feeling like 56 separate cards and starts feeling like the same story being told in different situations.

Learning the cards and spreads at the same time (how I actually found it easiest)

I didn’t learn tarot by separating everything out and doing it “properly.” I tried that at first, and it just got boring, and it felt like I was learning meanings, not how to actually read cards.

What actually worked for me was learning the Major and Minor Arcana, and when I was confident using a few common spreads at the same time. Seeing the cards in different positions is what made them click. That’s when they stopped feeling like definitions and I could start reading them like a complete picture rather than separate puzzle pieces.

The thing that helped me the most

Honestly, the biggest progression in my reading came from using the deck I made (without sounding salesy).

Having the meanings and keywords printed directly on the cards meant I wasn’t constantly reaching for a book or my phone. I could draw a card and immediately see what it was about. That sounds simple, but it changed everything.

Instead of breaking the flow to look things up, I could stay with the reading. I could focus on the question, the position, and how the cards related to each other. The meanings were right there, so the reading could actually move forward.

That’s when tarot stopped feeling interrupted and started feeling natural.

Even then though, I started with one card

One card keeps things simple. You’re going to get the urge to pull more, but just really sit with the one you’ve pulled. Look at what it’s doing in relation to the question instead of immediately reaching for another card to explain it away.

Then moved to Three cards which made everything feel more natural

Once one card felt easy (after just a few days) I moved to three cards and this is where things really came together.

Three cards show movement. Past, Present Future or Situation, Obstacle, Advice are great spreads to start with. You stop reading individual puzzle pieces and start seeing a small story instead.

This was the point where tarot stopped feeling mechanical for me and started feeling more conversational.

When I felt ready for more, I practiced the Horseshoe Spread

The Horseshoe was a really natural next step.

It gave me more detail without overwhelming me. I could see influences, challenges, and direction clearly, but the reading still flowed in a straight line. It felt like going a bit deeper without losing my footing.

I didn’t use it every time, but it helped stretch my understanding.

The Celtic Cross became my favourite as my confidence grew

And to this day it’s still my go-to.

Not because it’s impressive, but because it taught me the most. Every position asks a different question, and you really get to see the cards as multifaceted rather than one set meaning.

Using it while I was still learning showed me very quickly how much position matters. The same card can say something completely different depending on where it lands, and the Celtic Cross makes that obvious.

I didn’t wait until I felt “advanced” to use it. I just took my time with it.

The main thing I’d say

You don’t need lots of spreads.
You don’t need to rush.

Learning the cards while using a few solid spreads is what makes everything fall into place for me. Seeing the same cards come up again and again, in different positions, is what builds real confidence.

That’s how it stopped feeling like memorisation and started feeling like reading.

How you know you’re on the right track

You stop panicking when a card surprises you.
You don’t need to look everything up.
You can explain, in plain language, why a card matters in that position.

That’s when spreads stop feeling complicated and start feeling helpful.

The thing to remember

You don’t need lots of spreads to learn tarot.

You need a few good ones, used often, while you’re learning the cards. That’s how meanings stop being abstract and start feeling familiar.

That’s how confidence actually builds.

What You Should And Shouldn’t Do

Reading tarot is a practice that grows with time. You don’t have to get everything perfect right away, the most important thing is to stay curious, open, and connected to the process. Every reading is an opportunity to learn something new about yourself and the world around you.

Tarot Do’s

1. Ask clear, open-ended questions to get real insights, like “What steps can I take to improve this situation?”
2. Take your time during readings to focus on each card and its position in the spread.
3. Pay attention to patterns in the cards, such as recurring suits, numbers, or symbols, they reveal key themes.
4. Write down your readings to track your progress and reflect on recurring messages or lessons.
5. Trust your intuition and allow your personal impressions to shape your interpretation.

Tarot Don’ts

1. Don’t pull cards repeatedly for the same question—it leads to confusion rather than clarity.
2. Don’t treat tarot as fortune-telling. Use it as a tool for reflection and guidance, not for fixed predictions.
3. Don’t ignore the card positions. Each card’s placement in the spread adds crucial context to its meaning.
4. Don’t rely entirely on tarot for decisions. Use it to complement your own reasoning and judgment.
5. Don’t assume “negative” cards are bad. They often highlight challenges or opportunities for growth.

And lastly, if you want to make learning tarot easier, this is exactly why I made my deck.

Every card has clear meanings and keywords printed on it, so you’re not constantly stopping to look things up. You can pull a card and actually read, instead of breaking the flow.

If that sounds helpful, you can find my tarot deck here.