How to Read Tarot Cards for Yourself: A Step-by-Step Guide to Developing Your Intuition

Tarot card reading is an ancient practice that can be both a tool for self-discovery and a fun way to connect with your intuition. If you’re looking to develop your ability to read tarot for yourself, you’re in the right place. This guide will walk you through how to read tarot cards on your own, how to clear your mind, and how to tap into your intuition without the need for a professional reading. Best of all, you can use free tarot reading tools online to get started!

Best practices for using tarot

Tarot as a tool for intuition: Tarot is best used as a guide to connect with your inner wisdom and intuition, rather than as an all-knowing oracle or a predictor of fate.
Empowerment: The cards offer insights that help you tune into your thoughts, feelings, and subconscious mind, encouraging self-reflection and personal growth.
Personal insight: Rather than relying on tarot for fixed answers, use it as a way to spark your own intuition and understanding of a situation, helping you make informed decisions.
Not fate: Tarot reflects potential outcomes based on current energy and choices, but it doesn’t determine an unchangeable destiny. It’s a mirror of your current path, not a map of your fixed future.

Upsides of reading tarot cards for yourself

Reading tarot for yourself offers several benefits:

Convenience: No need to book appointments or rely on someone else to interpret the cards for you. With free tarot tools online, or a deck of tarot cards, you can access tarot readings anytime.
Cost-effective: Free tarot reading tools save you money by eliminating the need for paid tarot readings.
Self-empowerment: By learning to read tarot for yourself, you strengthen your intuition and become more attuned to your inner wisdom.
Self-awareness: By using tarot wisely you can become more aware of your own motivations, filters and blockages
Practice: If you’re a beginner, you can hone your skills at tarot reading before you delve into reading for others

However, there are a few things to keep in mind before you begin.

Downsides of reading tarot for yourself

While reading tarot for yourself can be empowering, it comes with challenges:

Personal Bias: It’s easy to let personal emotions or biases influence the reading. Without an outside perspective, you might overlook important details in the cards.
Blind Spots: You may not recognize your own mental blocks, making it difficult to interpret the cards objectively.
Confronting: You may come face to face with your own inner demons or hard truths about certain aspects of your life. This isn’t really a downside but a step on your way to freeing yourself from such things should you choose to do so.

Understanding these limitations is key to getting the most out of your tarot practice.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Read Tarot Cards for Yourself

1. Meditate and Clear Your Mind

Before you begin your tarot reading, it’s essential to clear your mind. Meditation helps you connect with your intuition and block out distractions. Take a few moments to breathe deeply, relax, and release any stress. This process will allow you to approach the reading with an open, clear mind.

2. Focus on Your Question or Topic

Next, focus on the question or topic youâd like to explore through the tarot. The clearer and more specific your question, the better the reading will be.

You can ask simple everyday questions like:

What do I need to know about my career?
What steps can I take to improve my relationships?
Should I take the job offer?

Or delve a little deeper with questions to help you gain insights into your emotional, spiritual, and mental well-being like:

What is blocking me from fully embracing my true potential?
What aspects of my life require healing or transformation?
How can I release old patterns that no longer serve me?
What areas of my life need more balance and harmony?
How can I cultivate more self-compassion and acceptance?
What steps can I take to deepen my connection to my intuition?
How can I step into my personal power with confidence?
What do I need to focus on to evolve into the best version of myself?

Your intention will help guide the cards to give you relevant insights.

3. Choose Your Tarot Layout

There are many different layouts to choose from. These can be the standard ones or your own custom layouts. Once your question is clear, decide which tarot spread feels right for you. If you’re unsure or a beginner, start with a simple 3-card spread like the one we offer on MysticTarotInsights. The 3-card layout is simple and general enough to cover many questions.

Card 1: The past or background of the situation
Card 2: The present or current energy
Card 3: The future or potential outcome

4. Use Your Own Cards or a Free Tarot Tool

Maybe you have many sets of tarot cards to choose from. If you don’t have physical cards you can choose an online tools like our free 3-card spread. You can use these tools to draw cards and interpret their meanings.

You can even make your own cards. There are plenty of free or low cost image generators available or you could create cards with simple words and a home printer. The cards donât need to be fancy to assist you. Here’s a card created with Stable Diffusion, Photopea and Preview (macOS) from an idea I’ve been playing with. He may need a bit more polish if I were to publish the deck and offer it for sale but for my own use he is perfectly fine.

Some people think that online tools aren’t as good as real cards however messages can come from many different sources. Just because you don’t shuffle by hand doesn’t make the outcome inferior. Your own unconscious biases could even influence the way you are shuffling.Â The goal is to stay present and connected with your intuition, regardless of whether youâre using physical cards or an online tool.

5. Take Notes as You Go

As you reveal each card, have a pen and paper handy. Writing down your first impressions, feelings, and thoughts will help you tap into your intuitive insights. Trust what you feel and jot down anything that stands out to you, whether it’s a symbol, a color or an emotion tied to the card.

A “too loud” initial impression may come from the monkey mind chattering away. Writing the initial impressions down can help keep the chatter down so that you can hear the quieter inner voice. It’s a bit like saying “Little monkey I hear you and I’m making a note to get back to your concern or idea later“. A very strong reaction may indicate the presence of a block or filter. Making a note will help you to be aware of it and it’s influence on your reading.

Writing notes also helps clear your mind before moving on to the next card. Use a voice recording app if you prefer to speak out your impressions and insights. If you are beginner then keeping notes, whether written or vocal, can help you see your progress.

6. Focus on Each Card and Stay in a Meditative State

Of course, you can reveal the reading all at once if that is what you prefer however, revealing one card at a time helps break the process down and lets you focus on the individual cards and the positions they show up in.

To receive clear guidance from the tarot, it’s essential to maintain a calm, focused state throughout the reading. Gaze at each card, absorb its imagery, and listen to the thoughts that arise. If you feel distracted or your mind starts to wander, return to a meditative state before continuing to the next card. There’s no hurry and no time limit when you read for yourself.

7. Reflect on the Big Picture

Once you’ve turned over all the cards and connected with them individually, take a moment to step back and view the big picture. What story are the cards telling? Look for patterns, connections, or messages that link the cards together. Trust your intuitive understanding of the overall message. If you’ve recorded your past self-readings you may like to connect the new reading in with the more recent ones you’ve done. Are there any repeating messages or familiar patterns? If so take a few moments to reflect on what the bigger message may be.

Trust Your Intuition and Keep Practicing

Tarot reading can be an enjoyable journey of self-discovery. The more you practice, the more you’ll strengthen your intuitive abilities. Whether you’re using free online tarot tools or your own deck, trust that your intuition will guide you toward the right answers.

And remember, the key to becoming a proficient tarot reader is consistent practice regardless of whether you are reading for yourself or others. The more you read, the more you’ll understand the subtle messages the cards offer. Take it lightly and remember to have fun!