How to Start Reading Tarot

Reading tarot is a simple as shuffling the deck, asking a question, and turning over a card to get the answer? 

Yes…. and also no. It can be that simple, or it can be complex. If you’re just starting out reading tarot, it can be overwhelming to see a more practiced reader make it look simple. If you’re new to tarot, and wondering where to start, read on. Also, if you’re an experienced reader, and want to reboot your practice, 

When you get a new deck, you should start by looking at all the cards; making sure they’re all there. You might come across a few extra cards, and you can lay those aside for now. You’ll see that the cards are packaged in order: first all the major arcana, and then each suit from Ace-King. A large part of reading tarot is the randomness of turning over cards, so you want to mix up your deck. Shuffle the cards. You can do a riffle shuffle or an overhand shuffle, or anything that works to randomize the deck. You can even spread the cards out on a flat surface and just whirl them around in a game of 78 card pickup. Once your cards are nice and mixed up, collect them, and neaten the deck. 

Now, to start reading! Shuffle the cards again, this time do so while thinking of a question. A good question to start with is  “What do I need to know today?” 

When you feel you’ve shuffled your deck sufficiently, stop, and turn over the top card. This will be the answer to your question. 

What’s next? How do you go from the picture on the card to an answer? 

Start by looking at the card. Are there people or characters there? What are they doing? What objects are present? What is in the foreground of the image, and what is in the background? What symbols are present? 

If you want to go deeper into image analysis, check out these lessons from the U.S. National Archives, the Getty Institute, and Understanding Media.

As you’re doing a visual analysis, you’ll be creating meaning. You’re adding your own experiences and associations to what is present in the card. 

I drew the Seven of Pentacles from The Melanated Classic Tarot

Seven of Pentacles from The Melanated Classic Tarot

A young Black man in quasi-medieval European clothes leans on a hoe or shovel or some other garden tool. His head is in his hands. He’s looking at his plants, which are pentacles. They’re full and lush, and have green leaves. But they’re not ready for harvest yet. He’s waiting, maybe impatiently. Or maybe he’s staring at the crops, wondering if it’s all worth it—all the hoeing, raking, weeding, planting. Will it be enough? Will his work be enough? In the background, there are rolling purple hills. The sky is blue, and the man has a bright light aura around him. 

How does what you see help you answer your initial question? Start to to put the pieces together. 

My question is “what do I need to know today?” Maybe my answer is I’m doing a lot of hard work, and I’m not sure if it’s worth it. Maybe my answer is that I still have a lot of work to. 

Next, look up the meaning. Almost all tarot decks come with a little white book (LWB) that will give you a basic explanation for the interpretation and meaning of each card. Read that for your card, and see if it matches up to what you came up with during your visual analysis. 

The Smith-Waite Tarot Deck Centennial Edition showing the cards, box and Little White Book

Add what you learn here to what you learned from the visual analysis. How does the answer to your question change and grow? 

The LWB is a great place to start, but you can go deeper. Some decks have a larger paperback that accompanies the deck, and will go much deeper into symbolism, color choice, artistic layout. If my deck has such a book, I find it to be a worthy investment.  Another option is to get a book that is about tarot in general.  Some of my favorite books about tarot are Rachel Pollack’s 78 Degrees of Wisdom, Michelle Tea’s Modern Tarot, and Mary K. Greer’s 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card. If you have one of these books, or another tarot book nearby, take a look at it. Read the entry on your card. What does it add to what you already know?  How does this new information change the answer? 

The Little White Book from the Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot on top of Modern Tarot by Michelle Tea

Tea’s Modern Tarot entry on the Seven of Pentacles states with the sentence “When the Seven of Pentacles appears, it’s break time” (p.285). This is something I hadn’t considered  or discovered in my visual analysis, and it adds a new layer to my interpretation of the card. Maybe the figure is looking at the pentacles and is pleased and proud of the progress he’s made.  

What do you do with this information? You can start a tarot journal, either in a paper notebook or online somewhere (google doc, instagram handle), where you keep track of the cards you draw and your interpretations of them.  Another idea is to take a notebook and at the top of each page, write the name of the card. Under it, put your notes and thoughts about meaning. 

Experienced readers: What other advice would you give to folks just starting to read tarot? 

Beginner readers: You should be ready to start reading! Find a deck, give it a shuffle, and pull a card!

Want to deepen your tarot studies? Join us for Introduction to Tarot in June!

Meet the Druid: Rochelle New of Home Row Fiber Co.

I met Rochelle on Instagram in 2017 and fell in love with everything about her work. Her Craft Real Magic line spoke to my fiber witch soul, and all her pieces are unique, beautiful, and meticulously handcrafted. I finally worked up the nerve to email her about stocking her project bags, and imagine my surprise when she said she visited my shop a couple of months prior, on her way back from Rhinebeck! Four years later, I'm so happy to call this wonderful human a close friend, and I'm thrilled to share her story with you (and you just might catch her at one of our Virtual Stitch Nights)!

- xo, Ana

Rochelle, I'm so excited to tell everyone how awesome you are! You're the creative force behind Home Row Fiber Co, where you design and make beautiful project bags, dye yarn, and make other gorgeous goodies. Can you tell us how Home Row came to be?

Ana! I'm so thrilled to chat with you about all things magic and making! Those two practices are so powerful and so intertwined, and the way you present both through Circle of Stitches is really quite brilliant. I walked into your shop for the first time and felt I was home.

I think the easiest way to sum up what Home Row is to me is to tell you why I chose that name. If you've ever taken a traditional typing course you know “home row” is the place you begin and it's the place you return to when you get tripped up in your work and need to reset. As a person who struggles with anxiety and mental wellness I find that concept to be so fundamentally grounding, so relevant. I also fancy myself a homebody and a hedge Druid, plus the word “row” is obviously a recognizable and familiar word for knitters. Home Row is where I start and it's where I return to when I'm lost. It's the picket fence that protects and encircles my ...well my everything really!

What do you want folks to know about Home Row and what goes on behind the scenes?

I'm truly a one-woman show, I have two amazing feline familiars (Nancy Thompson and Marie Laveau), I'm super into roller skating, I wear wigs sometimes, I’m a disabled maker (and no, disabled is not a bad word) and I'm utterly obsessed with Lord Of The Rings. ...like, obsessed.

Now on to the witchy stuff! Do you identify as a witch? What does that mean to you?

I'm studying under the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids so I identify as a Druid. Druidry is an earth-based spiritual religion that's similar to Witchcraft in foundation but there are nuances in practice. Druids of old were persecuted as “witches” so you'll hear me refer to myself as both a Green Witch and a Druid. The way history portrays witches, the way society treats witches, is something I've related to as early as I can remember.

You can't always tell by looking at me now, thanks to modern medicine, but when I was a kid it was inescapably obvious I was born with a rare and sometimes debilitating skin disorder called Lamellar Ichthyosis. As a teen I developed a hormone-related disorder called PMDD. Living with rare disorders can be extremely “othering”. I was often an outcast, alone, and forced to wear a proverbial Scarlet Letter. I have always found comfort in animals and nature before humans, I have always had a small coven-like circle of people I trust and keep close.

Growing up with unique medical needs helped me recognize that there is real magic in the mundane. There is magic in simply existing. There is magic in all things that grow. I have always said: What is science if not an explanation for how real magic works? What is making if not real alchemy? I live by that. 

Walking the Druid path helps me nurture and develop that magic. It also allows me to reconnect with my ancestral Celtic roots while paying respects to the spirits of the land I'm on – Onöndowa’ga:’ land.

How does your Druid practice influence Home Row Fiber Co, and how did that start?

Before I launched Home Row I was a sewing blogger and in my bio I always described myself as a Wielder of Needles and used the tagline Craft Real Magic. One of my most popular bag designs features artwork with hands and needles. The earliest iteration of that artwork, which is a digital tracing of my own hand that’s decorated with a feather and moon block print I carved, was the face of my business cards years before Home Row came to be.

Since I'm a one-woman show that “wielder of needles” and “maker of magic” identity seamlessly crosses over into every single thing I do because that's who I am. My Druid practice has awoken in me a fierce reverence for the earth and how I impact it, for better or for worse. That's why I focus on waste-free sewing practices, plastic-free packaging, and organic low-impact yarn dyeing. Druidry has taught me that everything I do has meaning and connects me to everything else. Even the way I make coffee in the morning can become both a ritual and an offering when I treat it as such. 

You recently launched your Merino Moon Magic line, can you tell us about it?

The image of moon phases is undeniably trendy, especially right now. You can't visit any big box store without seeing a moon phases yoga mat or t-shirt or coffee mug. And I get it! The moon is literally a force of nature that pulls you in (refer back to that “science is magic” concept I mentioned earlier), but for me it's more personal than that.

With my skin disorder and PMDD I live my life by literal cycles. The waxing and waning of being is something I experience both physically and figuratively. In the past I have resented those cycles but now I want to honor and embrace them. That's not unique to me, I know, I think every person on earth can empathize with shifting cycles of all types, which is why the image of the lunar cycle is so beloved in the first place. To go back to my Merino Moon Magic art specifically, you'll also find a merino skull, some vintage flora in the background, and the words “craft” and “magic” written in the Ogham alphabet. I've always loved skull imagery as a reminder that death and decay is never the end of life as far as the earth is concerned, it's merely a transformation of cells and a means of nourishing the ground as you return to it. Life is magic. Death is magic. You'll also see a lot of green and greenery in general from me, for obvious reasons.

We've worked together on a few projects, which has been so much fun! You've been a regular contributor to our Fiber Witch Box series, which I launched last fall and is such a heart-centered project for me. This Saturday is Local Yarn Store Day, so I'm very excited to share a sneak peek of our special collaboration for LYS Day! Thank you so much for chatting with me!

Thanks so much for thinking of me for this feature, Ana! It's such a rare treat to be able to talk about all things witch-y and wool-y! I appreciate you so much for how you've encouraged me to grow and evolve my practice since we've known each other. You're a light in my life <3

The feeling is mutual, my friend! I think someone is chopping onions over here…

Cartomancy : Tarot and Oracle and Lenormand and Playing Cards, oh my!

Cartomancy is fortune telling or divination done using a deck of cards. It’s not just limited to tarot. You can use oracle cards or Lenormand cards or even regular playing cards. 

A deck of blue Bicycle brand playing cards, Pixie’s Astounding Lenormand, Amethyst Oracle, Sun and Moon Tarot

Tarot cards are a deck of 78 cards, containing a minor arcana of 4 suits Ace-King (cups, wands, swords,  pentacles) and a major arcana of 22 cards. Sometimes the names are changed, pentacles becomes coins, cups become vessels. Sometimes there’s an extra card or two in the deck.  There are three main styles of tarot cards: Rider-Waite-Smith, Thoth, and Marseille. 

Rider-Waite-Smith (often abbreviated RWS)  is named for the publisher Rider, the author Arthur Evans Waite, and the artist, Pamela Coleman-Smith.  It was published in 1909 and is considered a classic and basic deck. Many tarot books use these illustrations for the cards. Also, many contemporary decks are adaptations of the RWS  imagery. 

The Thoth deck was created in the 1930s and 40s  by Aleister Crowley  and painted by Lady Freida Harris. It wasn’t published until 1969. The Thoth deck has 78 cards, but there are differences between it and the RWS.  In Thoth decks, Strength is 11 and Justice is 8, while in RWS Strength is 8 and Justice is 11. Also, The court cards in RWS are Page, Knight, Queen, King, while in Thoth they are called Knight, Queen, Prince, Princess.  There are other, more esoteric differences between the decks, like astrological correspondence. 

The Marseille tarot is based on a 17th century French deck and is one of the oldest complete versions of the tarot. The art style of modern Marseille is based on early modern woodcuts. Notably, this deck features no illustrations for the minor arcana, only the number of batons, swords, coins, cups of that card. 

Despite the difference in their illustrations, RWS, Thoth, and Marseille decks are all tarot decks and can be read the same way. Labyrinthos has a very helpful chart laying out all the similarities and differences among the three tarot systems. 

The 8 of Pentacles from the Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot Deck, Sun and Moon Tarot, The Gentle Tarot

If you’re determined, you can also use playing cards, and map the tarot reading of the minor arcana onto a modern 52 card deck. Of course, you won’t have the Major Arcana, and you’re missing one of the court cards, but the suits map Hearts to Cups, Spades to Swords, Diamonds to Pentacles, and Clubs to Wands. 

The 2 of Swords from the Smith-Waite Centennial Tarot and the 2 of Spades

Lenormand cards were named after Marie Anne Lenormand, a French fortune teller and cartomancer active in the 18th & 19th centuries. A normal Petit Lenormand deck has 36 cards, each with a specific symbol, and usually with a playing card associated. Lenormand cards are read using very specific spreads such as the Grand Tableau. 

The Fish, The Clover and The Key from Pixie’s Astounding Lenormand

Oracle cards are completely freeform and are up to their creator. They can be any number of cards, on any theme. There are no rules or restrictions around oracle cards. 

Oracle cards from Inquire Within, Amethyst Oracle, and The Threadbound Oracle

You can also combine systems. Sometimes I will use an oracle card as a focus, and then daw 1-3 tarot cards to give it deeper meaning.

The Overwhelm card from the Amethyst Oracle is above a three card reading from the Sun and Moon Tarot: Death, The Sun, Three of Cups

Do you mix card systems? Or do you do tarot in conjunction with another divination system? 

Inspired to try some different decks? Take a look at our collection!

Meet the Witch: Leila Raven of Call of the Raven

I fell in love with Leila’s designs years ago, drawn in by her beautiful stitchwork and witchy aesthetic. I've had the pleasure of getting to know this amazing person over the last couple of years, and I want to share her story!

- xo, Ana

Part of my journey over the last few years has been coming out of the broom closet, and integrating my practice as a witch with fiber arts. Do you identify as a witch?

I'm glad you asked, and I do. It's been a journey in itself to state that without hesitation, for a number of reasons: I grew up with a deep interest in witchcraft, astrology, and tarot, but always felt a bit of an outsider/imposter to the Western European-based pagan traditions that were most commonly covered in the literature available to the average teenager in the 90s. I have kept it hidden from public view for most of my life. It wasn't until relatively recently, when I started digging into my indigenous roots in earnest, that I realized my Native Hawai'ian ancestors were actually witchy as fuck. Their intimate understanding of and reverence for the natural world and the cosmos, and the ways in which they expressed this in chant, ritual, song, dance, and storytelling—their very relationship to the land, and to time and space, on an individual, societal, and spiritual level, intergenerationally—it's just such a staggeringly profound revelation to me. My understanding of "witchy" expanded beyond the deities, spells, and rituals I had grown up with as a near-solitary practitioner. That reconciliation of the history and traditions of my practice and my personal identity was a major turning point in my life, to say the least.

You have such a gorgeous collection of patterns you've created! Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started designing?

Thank you, Ana! I started designing in 2008 on a whim. I self-published a cowl, then a pair of mitts, and then a shawl. Soon after that, I think mostly by luck/chance, I began working at various yarn companies, which spanned the next ten years. My favorite part about that experience is getting to meet and work with so many talented, wicked smart people—designers, technical editors, writers, and knitters—who have become lifelong friends, and who helped me grow in my own design work (particularly garment design). Within the past year I've returned to independent publishing—specifically so that I could be more intentional about who I work with and support in any collaborative endeavor.

As a fellow lover of Ravens (for those who haven't seen me in person, I have a raven tattooed on on my left forearm), I'd love to learn more about your connection to Raven. Would you be willing to share part of your story?

I've had a lifelong love of ravens. They weren't common in the areas I lived in growing up, so whenever I saw one it was a magical event for me. I would take those sightings as messages. I have always had what some might call a "morbid obsession" with death, and our relationship to it, and the concept of the pyschopomp really resonates. Impartial guides between the realms of the living and the dead...what an important role! Lore has not always been kind to the raven, but I love any and all raven stories. They are special kin. Their distinctive call is one of my favorite sounds in the world.

In my 20s I ended up marrying a wonderful person whose surname was a derivation of the word "raven." We eventually parted ways, but when it came time to update my legal name I decided to mark the point I had arrived at in a forward way: instead of reverting to my maiden name, I chose a new last name for myself—Raven. Names are incredibly powerful things.

I'd love to see your tattoo. I have two ravens at my upper chest. They aren't related to Odin's Huginn and Muninn of Norse mythology, but symbolize my Gemini rising nature, which I have definitely leaned into much more as I grow older.

Thank you for sharing this story. I am heavily involved in psychopomp work too, and one of my cats is named Munin! Can’t wait to dive more into this with you in the future.

You recently launched Aroha Aloha, a new collaboration with Francoise Danoy to highlight the work of indigenous fiber artists. What do you want folks to know about this project?

The designs for this project are coming from a completely different place than my previous work (which was equal parts "would I knit this" and "would anyone else knit this"). Reconnecting to my Hawai'ian heritage is a work in progress that was sparked by the Mauna Kea protests that reached a fever pitch in 2019, and my ancestral antenna, like so many others, was "activated" by a call from our most sacred of mountains to protect it. The work I'm publishing under this collaboration with Māori designer Françoise Danoy serves as a prism to reflect that intimate process of learning and reconnecting. The development of these designs is being organically informed by that learning process, which is a departure from how my designs typically take shape. I wrote a little bit about it on our blog.

I wasn't sure if it would resonate with anyone, or if knitters would find it interesting, but the response to part one of our three-part series so far has been immensely heartening. Like Frenchie says, we all have a story to tell. I think there's a universal connection each and every one of us can relate to about the healing that can happen when you seek to have a better understanding of yourself in relation to the world around you—and that each one of us is a waypoint between history, and the future. It's humbling and also empowering.

Part 2 of our Mana Wāhine series is releasing in April, and part 3 is coming later this fall.

I am super excited to collaborate with you on our new Mauna Hat kits featuring Harrisville FlyWheel. Can you tell us about this new design?

I chose triangle motifs in the Mauna hat to represent the mountains and people of Hawai'i. The protectors of Mauna Kea created a symbol formed by raising your hands and making a triangle between forefingers and thumbs—Kū kia'i mauna: Guardians of the mountain. On a more personal level the motifs also represent my exploration of relationship to my family, my heritage, and my home.

I featured FlyWheel because it's one of my favorite sport weight wools...it's excellent for colorwork and the characteristics of its soft, woolen-spun fibers have a lofty texture that isn't found in worsted-spun yarns. I also aim be much more intentional with the yarn choices specified in my patterns, and having known the Harrisville crew for many years, I can confidently work with their materials knowing that they are produced from a good place, by individuals who truly care about what they do. I'll never forget how kind they were to let me hide in the back "panic room" (aka stock room) of their Rhinebeck booth when I needed a breather from the crowds—which is where I believe I first met you, Ana, when you pulled the partition back to beckon me out. :)

And I’m so glad I did! You’re one of my favorite people. Thank you so much for chatting with me and sharing your amazing story! As always, I look forward following your work and upcoming project.

Thank you, Ana! It is truly a pleasure to be invited to this space to talk with you.

That One Card

Why go beyond a classic tarot deck like the Smith-Rider-Waite, the Marseilles or Thoth? What makes you buy a tarot deck? Talk to folks who have been reading tarot for a while, and they’ll all talk about the desire to find a deck that speaks to them. What makes a deck speak to a reader? It could be that they are not cis, white, thin or able-bodied and long for a deck that represents them (Asali Earthwork maintains a wonderful list of inclusive decks at Tarot of the QTPOC). They could want a deck around a certain theme, like crows or cats or Halloween. Or, they could just find That One Card, and that’s it. 

The Hierophant (Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress) from the Fifth Spirit Tarot

The last is how I’ve purchased quite a few tarot decks over the years. When Charlie Claire Burgess first showed pictures of their Fifth Spirit Tarot a few years ago, one of the teaser cards was The Hierophant featuring  Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress. As a librarian myself, I loved this positive reimagining of the Hierophant and knew that no matter what the other cards looked like, I would buy this deck.

Knight of Swords, Vindur Deck

The Vindur Deck is another deck I bought because of That One Card: the Knight of Swords.  My style is definitely not monochrome, art deco, or minimalist, but when I saw the Knight of Swords and the strong “I’m outta here can’t stop got important stuff to do” energy of this card, it was another instant purchase. Never before have I seen such a powerful, yet simple representation of the Knight of Swords. I learned so much, and have such a different and deeper understanding of this card, because of this deck.

Knight of Pentacles, Tarot of the Magical Forest

I love the slightly panicked expression on the boar, and the frightened yet determined look of the fox in the Knight of Pentacles in the Tarot of the Magical Forest. This deck is an RWS clone that has sweet, cartoon big-eyed animals wearing quasi-Renaissance garb, living in the titular Magical Forest. The eyes drew me into this “novelty” deck. 

Page of Cups, Dreaming Way Tarot

My final That One Card comes from the Dreaming Way tarot. Everything you need to know about this soft dreamlike deck by Kwon Shina and Rome Choi you can find by looking at the Page of Cups. The pastel background, the dress that looks like it was made from grandma’s old sheets, the teacup precariously tied to her head - perfection! Until this card, I’ve never had the desire to cosplay a tarot card before. 

What has been That One Card for you? What decks have you instantly purchased after seeing just one image? What have you learned from those decks? 

Browse our selection of tarot decks!