Start slow, practice, and play with the cards.
Exploring the cards slowly, one by one will build a relationship with each meaning.
Practicing on friends, family, or even strangers will grow your empathy, teaching you how other people connect to the Tarot cards. Play with the cards, make games with them, enjoy them; this is how I learned to read Tarot.
Done correctly, a tarot card reading can make a person feel vulnerable. They will feel seen, heard, and understood by a person that they do not know. This experience of being understood so profoundly is a great relief and releases emotions held behind the mask they sat down wearing.
Sometimes, the person will cry when you read to them, and, if you continue to work at the Tarot, you will have great moments of shared joy and sorrow with the person who sits in front of you.
Learning the Tarot is a brave endeavor because you're going to be wrong. Someone's going to tell you, "That isn't right."
Sometimes, the messages you give aren't ready to be received. Stay humble, be kind, and read what is on the table, not what you perceive in people.
You are mastering an art of divination, not the art of body language.
My grandmother taught me to read the cards like the first paragraph in an essay. The first card, "Past," is the thesis, the theme, and this theme moves through the rest of the spread. The "Past" card is often telling you the most about the message the cards are giving. The Present card shows you what the person in front of you is feeling, it's your 'research.' It's what you know about the person immediately.
Finally, the Future card is your conclusion. It is the healing card or a warning that pulls the theme together from start to finish. This card is like a sword; it can cut the person like a surgeon or deal a blow like a warrior. You must advise them wisely when you give them a glimpse into the future.
To begin the journey, you will need a deck of playing cards. You don't need to go out and buy a Tarot card deck to learn; the Minor Arcana corresponds to a regular deck of cards almost entirely. (We'll be going over the ALMOST part later when we get to it with a brief history of why the Tarot has more cards than a playing card deck.)
Now, what do the cards mean? In this series of posts, I'll teach you the ins and outs of the cards, starting with the Ace of Spades, which corresponds to the Ace of Swords.
In order to grasp how the whole deck works, we'll need both kinds of research into history as well as a deep dive into the symbolism of each card. We will discuss what each card means and how its meaning may slightly change depending on what it is next to.
Let's Begin: Ace of Spades or the Ace of Swords
The Ace of Swords, like all the Aces, is the purest embodiment of the suits. The starting point of the journey through the Suit and the mastery of the lessons to be learned. It is like the 0 of the Arabic numeral system, the start, and completion. It brings you full circle through the Suit. As we move through the Suit of Swords, we will touch more on this.
The Ace of Swords shows a golden arm reaching through a cloud, the divine pushing past the haziness of doubt, and gripping the hilt of a floating sword. To master the sword takes both a light touch and a firm grip.
The Art of War is not only in battle. A great General will try every other tactic before sacrificing a life on the battlefield: Diplomacy, Bargaining, Bribing, and Compromise.
The Suit of swords represents all this, as well as the battle. The sword wears a golden crown which sprouts vines that grow down towards the Earth. The crown represents a goal, inspiration, idea, or plan that you have sudden control over to grow. As the vines lead your eye back to Earth, you can see mountains rise from the base of the card. While the Ace of Swords represents triumph, the Mountains remind us that anything worth having will face challenges.
Please take out the Ace of Spades card from your playing deck. With colored sharpies ( I use both fine-tipped and regular), draw the Ace of Swords over Spades' Ace. Some people write different meanings on it, some only draw, some simply color in the spade.
Take your time. You are learning the meaning through practice and creativity. For some people, the cloud represents God and him guiding your hand to destiny. For others, it means the "Ah- HA!" moment when an idea is birthed and begins to grow. The sword is both the weapon you wield and the scalpel that heals—the crown and wreath your intellect, focus, and determination.
As you move across the mountains, blazing your path forward, you bring these tools with you. Cards sometimes land in Reverse. Does this always mean the exact opposite? Not quite. In Reverse, there is room to breathe. The Tarot is never all bad or all good.
An upright Ace of Swords still comes with some arrogance, not a very humble person, and maybe someone that would be reminded that they must have perseverance, not just brute strength, to finish their quest. If a shy person sat down in front of me and I flipped this card for them, I would give them all the encouragement the card held and also the reminder of the Mountains or Challenges ahead.
Once again, I wouldn't hold back the whole meaning of the card-based on my perceptions of a client. The divination must be given in full. Don't forget that people wear masks, especially to fortune-tellers; they want to know the truth so give it to them.
Reverse, the Ace of Swords represents a lack of ideas or a creative block. A person who the mountains are closer than the inspiration for the journey. They may have started the voyage the Ace of swords suggested and gotten tangled in the vines or caught up in the details.
They may feel the pull to start a new enterprise or chapter of their lives but lack the spark or intellect to find out what they want to do. Please encourage them to work on taking small steps. Not everyone needs divine intervention to do great things. They may have gotten misinformation that has confused them, left them in the haze of the clouds, and is stopping them from breaking through. They must seek out this misinformation and become better informed on the path they wish to choose.
Do you have any thoughts on the Ace of Swords you wish to share with me? Is there something you feel I missed that holds right to you when this card is flipped? Or have further questions about the Tarot? I'm here for you.