✨ First of all, it’s important to know there are no fixed rules for reading the cards. Each tarot reader develops her/his style over time. 

As Mary K. Greer has written: “I see rules as being like recipes in a cookbook: follow them when trying out something for the first time, and then modify them to suit your taste or available ingredients.” 

See below 7 steps to read the cards, according to my personal experience:

1️⃣ Get ready. Choose a comfortable environment for you. If you want, you can use candles, incense sticks or a relaxing music in the background. Turn off your cell phone, put away your watch. Adjust your posture and breathe deeply at least 3 times before starting to use the cards. Empty your mind of other matters and focus on the game. If you are reading for someone else, ask them to do the same.

2️⃣ Choose the question carefully. If you have a question, state it as clearly and specifically as possible. Instead of asking “will I be happy in love?” ask “what does the tarot have to say about my new love relationship?” If you don’t have a specific question, you can do a general reading that talks a little bit about every aspect of your life.

3️⃣ Choose the spread. The spread is the way in which you will position the cards on the table and serves to determine what interpretation each card will have, depending on the position it is. There are many types of spread: short ones, such as 1 card (card of the day or a request for advice), and more complex ones. You can choose an existing one or invent your own.

4️⃣ Shuffle the cards. Here you need concentration! Think about your issue as you shuffle.

5️⃣ Cut the cards. I cut the cards into 3 portions, but you can choose to cut them into other portions. If you are reading for someone else, you can ask them to cut them. After cutting, join the portions in the reverse order.

6️⃣Put the cards on the table. Do this in the sequential order of the chosen spread. If you chose, for example, a spread of 3 cards, being: 1. Past; 2. Present; 3. Future, then turn the cards over in that order, placing the first card from the top of the deck in the past position, and so on.

7️⃣Interpret the cards. The interpretation of each card depends on the meaning of the card itself; the position it occupies in a spread; and the relationship between the cards.

🏞 Image credit: “4 – The Emperor”, Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith in 1909.