Reading tarot cardsReading Tarot Cards

Interpreting the story of your life

The future is not set in stone … new challenges, possibilities and opportunities are around every corner … 

The tarot is a visual tool for reflection, insight and clarity; a way to gain a better understanding of events and situations affecting our path in life. While the cards don’t possess any power to determine your future; a reading might shed insight and encourage you to use free will to change, grow and make positive choices in life. A tarot reading can be as simple, light, funny, provocative, fascinating, in-depth, curious or serious as you want it to be.

Tarot cards can be used and read in many different ways: You might pick a card each day to reflect on … or delve into more complex readings at special occasions, or times of the year. Let the characters within the deck take you on a journey, where the significance of the stories they tell become relevant to you

Below, you will find some reading examples to help you get started:

shuffling cards

Shuffling the Cards

You have a deck of tarot cards in your hand, now what?
Handling and shuffling your cards is a nice way to centre yourself and pause before a reading. A new deck may take a little while to ‘break in’, so spending time with your cards is the best way to work out how you like to shuffle …

As Tarot cards tend to be larger than playing cards (and may not lend to riffle or faro shuffling), many prefer to ‘step’ shuffle, or simply spread and mix the cards (face-down) on a flat surface.

Asking the Question…

Focussing on What and How can provide more clarity in a reading:

  • What do I need to see more clearly …?
  • What can I do to help …?
  • What do I need to focus on right now …?
  • What are my true feelings about …?
  • How can I improve on my chances of …?
  • How How does X relate to Y …?

Three Card Spread

A three card reading is a simple and effective way of getting to know your cards:

After shuffling the cards, select 3 cards in order from the top of the deck (or spread the cards up-side-down in front of you and select 3 cards that ‘speak’ to you).

3 card reading

[1]Past, [2]Present, [3]Future

A three card spread can be interpreted in a linear (time-based) way, though variations looking at for instance choices, or mind vs body vs spirit, can offer fascinating insights.

Five Card Readings

Sometimes a simple one to three card reading is just right…

Othertimes, more cards are needed to help connect the dots and provide clarity on a particular situation.

Experiment with different spreads and see what works best for you, you may even like to explore further and come up with your own spread.

5 card spread and Horseshoe spread

Five Card Spread

This is one of my favourite spreads for ‘snapshot’ readings; five cards to reflect on a particular event or situation and gain a better picture of current influences, strengths and challenges associated with moving forward.

Horseshoe Spread

This popular spread delves deeper into underlying factors and past influences. The spread may help shed light on what affects a situation, along with advice on possible ways forward or where your strengths and challenges lie in dealing with life events.

Celtic Cross SpreadCeltic Cross Spread for in depth tarot reading

The classic Celtic Cross spread offers even more in-depth detail, with 10 cards telling the story. In essence, the six first cards provide insight on the heart of the matter (the Situation) , both on an inner level (cards 1 & 2) and outer level (cards 3 – 6). The last four cards provide clarity on how influences & environment impact on what is happening.  (cards 7 & 8) can provide insight on ‘How I see myself’ versus ‘How others see me’, as those around us tend to see qualities we might not always be aware of in ourselves. The final card in the spread (card 10) provides possible outcome or advice, which takes into account the previous nine cards.

There are many alternate versions of this spread; the layout shown here, is the one I use. You might come across (or use) a different Celtic Cross, which is totally fine, the main thing is that the reading works for you.

If you want to find more readings and learn more about the tarot, there are plenty of in-depth guides to reading tarot cards, both in books and online … Once you become familiar with your cards you will discover what works for you and likely develop your own ways of reading the cards. Nine Lives Tarot reflects my personal interpretation of the tarot as a visual tool for interpreting and shedding light on the here and now… and I wish you joy on your journey with these cards.

Symbolism in the CardsSymbols in Nine Lives Tarot cards

Nine Lives – the name of this deck is derived from cats and their nine lives; connecting to how tarot depicts cyclic movement through life. At no point does one card speak of finality and physical death, instead the cards work together to weave a picture of the here and now with an open road to interpretation …

  • Cat – often seen as a wise guide, clever enough to take the best route forward.
  • Raven – representing intuition and clarity of mind; the raven acts as a messenger.
  • Water – is the element of emotion and symbolises the flow of feelings.
  • Fire – burns with a passion and speaks of inspiration and action.
  • Clouds – allow the mind to wander and encourages free thought.
  • Mountains – symbolise the challenges and obstacles we meet along the way.
  • Books – hold the key to learning about and understanding the world we live in.
  • Yellow – symbolises intelligence & creativity – associated with the suit of Rods.
  • Red – the colour of blood, linked to the heart & associated with the suit of Cups.
  • Green – symbolises earth and growth – associated with the suit of Pentacles.
  • Indigo – colour of the midnight sky, linked to the mind & associated with the suit of Swords.