Learning tarot cards can be a lot of fun. Like anything else though, you get out of it what you put into it. For beginners, the best way to learn is to simply start working with your tarot cards on a regular basis. One of the best ways to do this is to put away the keyword book, forget about the descriptions and start going through your deck. See what each card says to you. If you're using an illustrative deck like the Rider Waite deck, the imagery is a great first place to start. Flip each card over, see what the cards say to you. What do you see? What does each individual card mean to you? Once you're comfortable with the deck, checkout the keyword book and you'll probably discover your interpretations of each card was pretty close to the books interpretation. If you're new to tarot, check out this guide on getting started. Getting Started
There are 22 major arcana cards and 56 minor arcana cards. Lets face it, learning the meanings of 78 cards can be a daunting task. With time, patience and regular practice, you'll start picking up their meanings quickly. Once you've gotten comfortable with your tarot deck and the imagery of the deck, it is time to start getting a little more technical. Start slowly, at your own pace. Work on a regular basis but don't burn yourself out. Some days you may not be able to put your deck down and on other days, not so much. When you get tired stop, don't force it! The fastest way for a new tarot reader to get "burned out" is by forcing it. You might want to learn everything at once, but it's just not going to happen. Learn at your own pace, have fun with it, and just put in the effort. It doesn't take long and with regular practice you'll have a great understanding of the cards in no time at all. Here are some keywords, and interpretations to help get you started.
Cards 0 - 21 of the major arcana are basically the archetypes of life. These are the life lessons each of us learn on our life's journey. Some refer to this as the Fools Journey. The fool starts his journey through life at zero a bit naive and innocent. Eventually he comes across each character or archetype of the major arcana as he experiences life. You can kind of look at the major arcana as a short pictorial guide to life itself. Each card representing a different life situation or the type of people we all experience, are, and come across each day in our daily routines.
When the major arcana cards appear in a tarot reading it is a message to pay attention. The card is representing a significant event, situation or person either coming or going depending on the significance of the surrounding cards.
The major arcana represent major energies and situations in the reading directly impacting the person or situation. This is generally a major event, person or situation. The major arcana can also represent psychological aspects of the situation or how the person is reacting to the situation. These are major energies and conditions at play and can set the tone of a reading or shed some serious light on what is happening in the situation.
The minor arcana of the tarot cards feature the 56 cards of the suites. For most decks, this would be the swords, pentacles, wands, and cups. The cards of each suit are numbered 1 - 10 with a set of court cards that add the Page, Knight, Queen, and King to each suit.
The minor arcana tends to focus on everyday life situations. These cards can refer to matters of love, strife, decisions we must make, or actions we must take. The cards usually represent lovers, jobs, or work-related things, family situations and can also show obstacles we may face or the things that could benefit a situation or endeavor.