How to get started with Tarot and Runes?

[Sakura Blossom]

I used to do the Past, Present and Future readings only and I never had the cards memorized, I always used a book and my own intuition to be able to help myself do readings. They were usually pretty accurate, though.

I just want to get started more now, and get back into it. I was also told that doing tarot could potentially be dangerous as it is a divination tool? And is opening yourself up for possible danger? But not as much as other things can.

So do you need to do any kind of protection before you do this?

I'd love any help I could get, thank you!

EDIT: It was brought to my attention in a rather.... Divine way... That I should start trying reading runes as well. Does anyone have experience in this that they could help me out? Thank you!

[Heartsong]

Personally, I've never viewed it as dangerous, and I've yet to have a negative experience when reading the cards. I can see why some readers may feel that they need protection while performing a reading, but I don't believe it's necessary. What is necessary is that you feel comfortable. It's important to have your mind clear and at ease, and if casting a quick circle or having a protection charm helps you in that regard, makes you feel safe and relaxed, then by all means!

[Sakura Blossom]

Okay, I didn't think so either, someone just told me that it has some danger but not much at all so I wanted to ask! But I have the protection thing covered at least. haha. I just don't know how to get started with the actual reading. x3 Do you have any suggestions for that?

Thanks!

[Heartsong]

Okay, I didn't think so either, someone just told me that it has some danger but not much at all so I wanted to ask! But I have the protection thing covered at least. haha. I just don't know how to get started with the actual reading. x3 Do you have any suggestions for that?

Thanks!

You're welcome.

Hmm, well, the way I started was just by jumping in, sans book, and with just my intuition. I liked to perform the reading first, and then go back afterwards and see what others had to say about the cards I had drawn. It wasn't so much to double check myself, but just to see if what anyone else had similar impressions. I rely very much on what the imagery of the card suggests to me, and (I've said this before on other threads) what I feel like that card is trying to tell me. For me, it's a dialogue, happening at a very rapid pace. I also found that, when I went just with what my gut feeling was about the reading instead of constantly trying to keep in mind the meanings associated with the cards in books, I was more accurate. It also really sharpened my perception, because I was on alert, so to speak, for what I was really receiving versus what I wanted the reading to show. I had to be very thorough in weeding out wishful thinking from genuine intuition.

So, in sum, my advice is to just jump into the first few and see what you come up with. Also, try doing some past readings for people you don't know intimately. I find that to be a great way to measure how in tune you are with your deck and with your intuition.

I hope that makes sense!

[Sakura Blossom]

I will try the past readings, thanks! I only know the Past, Present and Future reading (The three card layout) but I have problems with memorizing things. Dx So how do you think I should handle that?

Thanks for the help! It really helps a lot. (:

[Heartsong]

I'm glad!

If you use a particular reading often enough, it becomes easier, I guess like anything else; takes practice. What I did for a while was make up my own reading format. Basically, instead of asking a specific question about a person's past, I would ask for information that was from the past that was pertinent to the present. I would draw five cards and go from there, letting the information come to me as I read. I know that might seem vague, but I received, and gave, relevant information, so I would count that as successful. Take it slow, use three cards if that's what you're comfortable with at the moment and build up your confidence. When you feel like you've really gotten the hang of that, move up to five cards, and so on.

[loona wynd]

I used to do the Past, Present and Future readings only and I never had the cards memorized, I always used a book and my own intuition to be able to help myself do readings. They were usually pretty accurate, though.

I dont have the card meanings memorized either. I use the book for keywords. Then I look at the keywords and find the ones that jump out for me for this particular reading. One thing I have found is that not every meaning of the cards are applicable in all situations. you need to look at all of them to really see which meanings are the ones that fit together.

I just want to get started more now, and get back into it. I was also told that doing tarot could potentially be dangerous as it is a divination tool? And is opening yourself up for possible danger? But not as much as other things can.

I dont think its any more dangerous than any other divination tool out there on the market or for use. They are simply a tool for us to connect to our higher selves, our guides, and the guides of those we are doing a reading for.

So do you need to do any kind of protection before you do this?
!

I dont use any protection when I do a reading. Though I do a quick cleansing or removal of energy after each individual reading. That way the spirit energies dont get mixed up.

[Sakura Blossom]

Thank you for your help, Heartsong! I will keep practicing and I think using the three card layout will help me get the hang of it again. Though... I'm not feeling a strong connection with my tarot deck anymore. It was my very first deck from many years ago that I thought was the right one for me, but now I'm thinking I need to go out and find a new deck. For now, though, this will work for practice! (:

Thank you, Loona! I do the same thing, honestly, when I do readings. I use the book and read the keywords then take what stands out the most, then go with intuition to interpret the meanings. (: How do you learn different set ups and spreads?

[loona wynd]

Thank you, Loona! I do the same thing, honestly, when I do readings. I use the book and read the keywords then take what stands out the most, then go with intuition to interpret the meanings. (: How do you learn different set ups and spreads?

The celtic Cross spread is the traditional and typical tarot spread. That is the one most books provide you with for tarot cards. I have found other divination and oracle decks have their own layouts as well. I personally could never get the hang of the spreads in the books. I did however find that the elemental spread I have designed works well for me.

So I guess its just trial and error like anything else with magic and spirituality.

[Sakura Blossom]

Alright, I will try that, thank you! (: I'm looking into new tarot sets and I know that one of the ones we have shows different layouts. I have a nice book I use too. (:

[loona wynd]

Alright, I will try that, thank you! (: I'm looking into new tarot sets and I know that one of the ones we have shows different layouts. I have a nice book I use too. (:

Good luck. If you can try and look at the images on the decks before you buy them. Some stores have a display deck of each deck that they have. This allows people to see the images on the cards before they buy them. Its really the images on the cards that speak to our intuition more than anything else. This is why looking at the cards before you buy is important. There may also be an energetic feelings to the deck that you should consider. These are things I look for in my decks any way.

[Sakura Blossom]

Yeah, that's very true! I was just talking about this with my sisters. One of them got this deck that we all agree is just... Awful. It was very misleading on the cover of the box. The art was gorgeous and appealed to her, but the inside was just... A huge let down. It looked so unprofessionally done and the art was just terrible as well as the anatomy of the people being off as well.

[Echo_of_shadows]

The only books that I've read that suggest a ritual (either protection, grounding, or banishing) before any sort of reading are the books that are written with a slant toward Wicca or Witchcraft. I haven't done any pre-reading rituals nor have I felt in danger when doing them. For just a normal run of the mill tarot reading, the only "danger" I can think of is a paper cut. Those are easily banished with a band-aid and some time.
My suggestion is that if at all you feel that something doesn't feel right before during or after your readings, start doing banishing rituals before and/or after you do a reading. If the "not right" feeling persists for quite some time, you should probably step back and stop doing readings for a while to evaluate where you think such feeling is coming from.
I started learning the tarot a couple years before I got my first deck. I would borrow books from the library and copy into a notebook the card meanings that seemed most significant to me. When I do a reading, I lay out the cards, write down what cards came up where, and then look up the card meanings in my notebook. I choose the terms that stick out the most to me and write them in my notes about the reading. Along the way, I pick up a few impressions of things that aren't in the notebook.

I used to do the Past, Present and Future readings only and I never had the cards memorized, I always used a book and my own intuition to be able to help myself do readings. They were usually pretty accurate, though.

I'm pretty much the same way myself.

[Sakura Blossom]

I did a lot last night and nothing happened. Haha. I used to do them all the time too and nothing happened but someone who works within this area told me it was somewhat risky but not much at all so I became a bit paranoid.

I do the readings as practice and last night's reading was... Very interesting to say the least. Haha. I'm going to keep up with one card reading and then also the three card spread. The book I have, though, really speaks to me as it tells you to make your own spreads as well as using pre-existing ones, to tailor it to fit what feels right for you. (:

Thanks for the help! (:

[MistressOfTheMoon]

My cousin thinks it's dangerous to read the tarot being raised a devout Christian. But having worked with my tarot for years, I don't find any danger in it.

There are times when I would read tarot in a cleansed/protected space, other times when I just do a quick reading without prior preparation. So whatever works for you at the moment really

I would suggest practicing on your intuition more by reading tarot cards intuitively first, and then comparing your interpretations to card meanings from different sources to see how they tie up, and how you could have read the card differently. It's something I started doing months ago but stopped as I focused more on my dreams.

I found that practice helps a lot. Read for yourself, and read for other people. It is through practice I realized that card meanings are flexible depending on the other cards that appeared, and could even depict specific people at times.

I'm not an expert and do not claim to be. But I speak from what I've learned so far

As for runes, I'm sorry but they were never really my thing so can't say anything about them