I've been reading tarot since 2007, when I started studying with a psychic teacher in Phoenix, Arizona, for five years. If you're brand new to tarot and trying to figure out where to even begin, I want to save you some of the confusion I went through early on, and tell you what I actually think matters.
Tarot is not fortune telling
I want to clear this up first, because it's the biggest misunderstanding people carry in. I don't read tarot to predict your future, and I'm not trying to prove psychic ability exists. I read as a healer. The cards are a tool, a visual language, for relaying what's already trying to come through, from your own guides, your higher self, sometimes from mine. Potentials and possibilities show up in a reading far more often than fixed predictions. It's less "here's what will happen" and more "here's what's available to you right now, and here's what you're actually choosing."
Once you drop the fortune-telling frame, tarot gets a lot less intimidating and a lot more useful, even as a beginner.
You don't need a special deck to start
There are hundreds of decks out there, and beginners often freeze trying to pick the "right" one. It doesn't need to be complicated. Pick a deck whose imagery you're actually drawn to, one you want to look at, because you'll be spending time with these images. The Rider-Waite-Smith deck is the most common starting point because so much written material references its imagery directly, which makes learning easier. But if a different deck pulls at you, trust that pull. I'll talk more about choosing a deck in a separate post, but don't let deck selection become the thing that stops you from starting.
Learn the structure before you memorize meanings
Tarot has seventy-eight cards: twenty-two major arcana, which represent bigger life themes and turning points, and fifty-six minor arcana, split into four suits that track more everyday, situational energy. Beginners often try to memorize all seventy-eight meanings at once and burn out. Start instead with the structure. Learn what the major arcana as a group represents versus the minor arcana. Learn the four suits and their general flavor. The specific card meanings come faster once you understand the architecture they're sitting inside.
Practice on yourself first
Before you ever read for someone else, read for yourself. Pull one card in the morning and sit with it through the day. Notice where it shows up, not as literal prediction, but as a lens. This is how you build your own relationship with the cards, your own sense of what each one feels like in your hands, rather than only working from a book's definition. Tarot becomes real to you through repetition, not through memorization.
What a real reading actually includes
When I do a tarot and energy signature reading, it's more than cards. I start by tuning into your galactic self, the essence that stays with you across lifetimes, before we even pull anything. Then a general spread, covering what's most relevant right now, followed by your specific questions if you have them. Sometimes loved ones come through. It goes beyond straight tarot into something closer to a healing session using the cards as the visual anchor. You don't need to build toward that as a beginner, but it's worth knowing what's possible once you've got some grounding of your own.
Trust the pull, even when it doesn't make immediate sense
One thing I'd tell any beginner: when a card keeps showing up, or a spread feels unusually resonant even if you can't explain why yet, trust that. Tarot often confirms things people already sense but doubt, especially for people who are already on the right path and carrying some imposter syndrome about it. You don't need to force every reading into a clean, tidy interpretation the first time. Sit with what's uncomfortable or unclear. It often lands later.
Where to go from here
If you want structure and community around learning, I teach tarot classes online and on Hawai'i Island for people who want to learn to read for themselves and others, not just receive readings. If you're not ready for that yet and just want to experience what a reading feels like from someone who's been doing this since 2007, a tarot reading is a good way to get oriented before you start building your own practice. Either path works. There's no wrong door into this.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to believe in psychic ability for tarot to work for me?
No. I don't read tarot to prove psychic ability exists, and you don't need to either. Think of it as a tool for accessing what you already sense but haven't fully put into words yet.
How do I choose my first tarot deck?
Pick one whose imagery genuinely draws you in. The Rider-Waite-Smith deck is a common, well-documented starting point, but trust your own pull over any "correct" recommendation.
Should I learn tarot on my own or take a class?
Both work. Self-study through daily card pulls builds a real relationship with the deck. A class adds structure and community, which some beginners find speeds things up considerably. I offer both paths through readings and tarot classes.
How is a reading with you different from a general tarot reading?
I read as a healer, not a fortune teller. Sessions begin by tuning into your galactic self, and the goal is helping you see more clearly who you are and what's available to you, not predicting fixed outcomes.
Can tarot help with a specific decision I'm facing?
Yes, that's one of the most common reasons people book. After the general spread, we address your specific questions directly, and many people find the reading a useful confirmation when they're already leaning toward an answer but want clarity.
Come find out what your galactic self has to say.
Book a tarot reading