Step 1

The first step is to buy a Tarot deck!

My first reading I did was on my father's Tarot when I was very young (probably around 12 or 13), however I recommend that if you are learning to read that you first buy your own deck. This will keep your energies separate from the person's deck that you are borrowing from. There is a myth that you aren't allowed to buy your own deck. This is completely untrue and most of the decks that I use have been bought for myself. There is some sense in this as well. For instance, some decks are appropriate for client readings due to other features (such as types of laminates on the decks etc), so if I was to wait for someone to buy me this type of deck I would be waiting for a very long time. Therefore, it is not necessary to wait for someone to magically buy you a deck to begin reading the tarot cards.

However, there are certain decks that I would recommend for a beginner. These are namely, the Rider-Waite decks. Other decks with the same Major Arcana and Minor Arcana are also ok. The reason I would recommend these particular decks is because the majority of the information that you will need to read in order to learn how to read corresponds with these cards.

I would suggest making it easier for yourself by choosing one of these types of decks at the beginning and perhaps getting more experimental with your decks later on. When you first buy a new deck you will need to shuffle the cards A LOT to get them just right. You might get bogus readings otherwise, where cards will appear together as they appeared in the original order. Just keep shuffling them until you card orders that are out of sync with how they come out of the box.

I have compiled a comprehensive list of decks that I think are appropriate for beginners on my Decks page.

Keeping your deck

There are several methods that are recommended for storing your deck. One is in purple silk or a special wooden box. The theory behind this is that you keep in the energies of the deck in these materials. You may also keep your deck in its original box. I keep my decks in all of these and haven't noticed any difference in the readings.

My suggestion would be to do what works for you and to try and keep your deck (or decks in my case) in a separate area where you will be sure not to lose any of the cards!

Reading for yourself

The best way to practice and to learn how to read the Tarot, I believe, is to practice on yourself. There is a myth that for some reason the Tarot doesn't work on yourself and that you need someone else to do it for you. I have never found this to be the case and unfortunately, I spent many years not reading the Tarot because of this belief. Reading the Tarot for yourself is a great way to learn and it can help you to refine your skills.

The best thing to do with reading for yourself, especially when you are learning, is to remind yourself that your readings might be a little off. That is to say, they would not be as accurate as you would hope because of your learning curve. Even after many years of practice, I have found that there are some questions, if asked repetitively of the deck will produce bogus readings. This is also worth keeping in mind as you begin your learning process, as it may be hard for you to tell what readings are legit and what are bogus cards. The secret of uncovering this and determining which are bogus cards and which are not, is in understanding the spreads, but you will learn that as you progress through your Tarot journey.

Generally the first spread that you do for a situation will be the correct cards. Thus, it is best to remember this and maybe photograph your spread for your first readings. This might help to keep track of the many, many questions that you are sure to want to ask the deck without confusing your learning of the cards with too many readings for the same question. It is also possible to use the deck to read for yourself to provide personal insight and wisdom regarding certain situations or as personal development. As you progress through your Tarot journey you will learn how to do this naturally, as this is something that will come through practice. There is also a book on this interesting topic, which I have included in my books page for your interest.