The tarot card reading consists of three major elements. The first element of the tarot is the Major Arcana. The meaning of the word arcana is “profound secret”. It was derived from the ancients to mean the secret of nature. Therefore tarot cards are a collection of the secrets that underlie and explain our universe. The second element of a tarot card reading is the Minor Arcana, followed by ‘the Spread’.

The Major Arcana is comprised of 22 cards.

This is known as the heart of the deck. Each card symbolizes some universal aspect of human experience. They represent the archetypes which are the consistent directing patterns of influence that are an inherent part of human nature. These 22 cards used in a tarot card reading are markers on the path of inner development leading from earliest awareness to integration and fulfillment in ones life. The Major Arcana contains many levels and models of experience in the various patterns of ones growth. It is the expressions of universal themes.

The Minor Arcana brings these universal themes down into the practical arena to show how they operate in daily events. These represent concerns, activities and emotions that make up the dramas of our every day lives. There are 56 cards used within the Minor Arcana, which are thus divided into 4 suits with each suit having 10 PIP cards and 4 Court cards. The suit cards are likened to the standard set of playing cards that we are all familiar with. The suit cards fall into the following categories:

Wands, rods or batons- much like the clubs cards in a regular deck of cards

Cups- like the hearts in a deck of cards

Swords-like the spades in a deck of cards

Coins, pentacles or discs- like the diamonds in a regular deck of cards

The basic idea for creating a tarot card reading is to shuffle the cards and create a “spread”. A Spread is where you place the shuffled cards one by one from the top of the pile to lay face up in a certain pattern. The position of a card in the spread will signify a particular subject such as the past or future of the person consulting the cards.

The minor arcana 4 categories are also known as suits wands, cups, swords and coins (or pentacles). Wands relates to your career and intellectual activities. Cups is all about emotions, love, and pleasure. Swords relates to struggles, difficulties and illness. Coins (Earth) deals with the material world, finances and property.

To understand the meaning of each tarot card, first take some time to study the illustrations. Take note that a card could have an opposing meaning if it shows up in a spread upside down. While you can learn the standard meaning of each card, they are not written in stone. You should instead develop your intuition and get your own feeling for what each card means. After you understand the basic card meanings this will become easier.

The cards in the major arcana represent major forces and phases of life. Cards such as Lovers, Death and the World are included. The deck begins with “The Fool” and ends with “The World”. Major arcana cards are the most powerful ones in the tarot deck.

Each of the cards in the 4 minor arcana categories range from Ace to King and include 4 additional count cards.

These 4 count cards represent lesser events in our every day lives. Each suit (wands, cups, swords, coins) represents a different area of life, and each card (Ace to King or count card) lends to interpreting tarot cards.

The suit of swords can relate to suffering or intellectual changes. The swords are cards of action and conflict.

The suit of cups relate to changes on an emotional level or in relationships. They relate to how you perceive the world. They are the bridge between idea and action. Cups can also be thought of as relating to desire, inner experience and spirit.

Wands relates to changes in work and creativity. They are about ideas and growth and are considered the first suit of the minor arcana.

The suit of coins represent money, material goods and career advancement. Pentacles are about results and fruition, the actual manifestation of ideas.

There are 78 cards in a tarot deck. The cards are divided into two parts. These are called “major arcana” and “minor arcana”. It can be difficult at first to gain tarot carts major and minor understanding. The minor arcana contains 56 cards and the major arcana contains 22 cards. And furthermore, the minor arcana is divided into 4 categories. These are earth, water, fire and air and each contain 14 cards. Generally you can gleam the meaning of of each tarot card by looking at it’s picture.

Every card also has a number which is also important to understand. The minor arcana (which has earth, water, fire and air categories) are each numbered 1 to 10 and then also contain a knight, queen, king and page. So this total 14 for each of the minor categories. Then the 22 cards in the major arcana are numbered 0 to 21.

The major arcana cards are considered to hold more importance than the minor arcana cards. When you do a reading, the position is just as important as the meaning of each tarot card. The major arcana cards are often more closely related with the inquirer. They represent major influences, while minor arcana cards relate more to the situations in the life of the inquirer.

So not only do you need to understand the meaning of each tarot card, but how to read tarot spreads as well. Interpreting tarot cards can be challenging but with practice, you will definitely improve to the point where you can perform tarot readings for others.

A lot of people want to learn about reading tarot cards, it’s quickly becoming a popular passion. Finding tarot card reading instructions can be difficult. Most reading instructions aren’t tailored towards beginners so it can be difficult to find.

To learn how to read tarot cards you first have to tap into your intuition. Tarot cards can display insight about a situation and help you to solve problems. It’s very important to choose your tarot deck carefully. Pay attention to your intuition and feelings as you browse through some tarot decks. Tarot card decks for sale can be found at many psychic shops in your area. When looking at tarot decks, look at each picture and get a strong sense of how you feel. Try to find a deck that you feel strongly about. Next you want to take time to understand the meaning of each tarot card. Don’t rush this. Take the proper time to at least get comfortable with the tarot pictures. Eventually you will want to memorize the meaning of each card, as doing tarot spreads will become a lot easier for you.

Don’t try anything complicated at first. Remember you are just learning to read tarot cards. Initially just try a tarot spread of three cards. A three card spread will show you information about the past, present and future that revolves around the question you are concentrating on.

Reading tarot cards is much more complex than anything that could be explained in one article. It’s not enough to simply know tarot card definitions or being good at interpreting tarot cards. There are many techniques to master to truly become a master at reading tarot cards.