Whether you are totally new to the Tarot or have been reading the Tarot for ages, if you’re finding some element of the Tarot to be tricky, you’re in the right place.

Knowing how to read tarot cards isn’t something that happens over night. Sure you can learn the basics pretty quickly, but sooner or later something will trip you up. That’s what this post is here for!

I recently reached out to the students of my How To Read Tarot Class to ask what was still feeling ‘tricky’ to them in their tarot reading journey. The answers came in hot and fast in our private facebook group, and knowing that they’re not alone, I resolved to answer these questions via a public blog post to help the most amount of people possible.

Why Does The Tarot Feel Tricky?

Before we answer their particular concerns though, let’s quickly address the question behind this question.

The assumption is that once you’ve learned how to read Tarot cards, and you understand the Tarot basics, you should just ‘get it’, always, every time… right?

“I’ve taken the classes, I’ve done the daily draw, so why isn’t it easy yet!?”

Well, there are a lot of reasons WHY, but here are the top 3 in my experience.

The deck you’re using isn’t the best one for you personally.
I recently gave one of my mentorship clients the task of sending me a daily draw reading BUT they had to switch out their deck for a new one every week.

Well, lo and behold on week 5 or 6 we came across a deck that just ‘clicked’ and my mentee connected with the cards in a way and with a depth I had never seen them reach before. It’s been one level up after another for them since that moment.
You’ve not had enough practice outside of your comfort zone.
The tarot hates the comfort zone. The whole purpose of the Tarot is to show you what’s beyond your current vision, and to guide you to a more aligned life.
It wants you to take action outside of your normal. If you want to stay right where you are, why bother with the Tarot?
It’s a changemaker!

So instead of sitting in your PJs and pulling yet another card for yourself, why not hit up some tarot facebook groups or sub reddits and offer to read for strangers for free (in exchange for feedback of course).

Doing this gives you exposure to a broader range of questions, responses and energies than you can find alone in your bedroom and will help you exponentially in the long run with your Tarot journey. In fact, it’s what I recommend to ANYONE who is wanting to uplevel or considering doing tarot professionally at some point.
Life is simply too much right now
Sometimes life itself gets in the way. Maybe you’re sick, grieving, stressed out, overwhelmed, drowning in parenting woes, dealing with financial hardship or even just really ungrounded.

It can be super tricky to learn or master a new skill like how to read tarot cards under these conditions, not to mention finding the time admist chaos to practice this skill.

It is more than okay to give yourself some grace, and put your Tarot expectations on a mini hiatus whilst you sort youself out. Yes, the Tarot can help us through tough times too, but sometimes you simply need a break to get your feet under you first and that is a-okay baby!

Now for the SPECIFIC questions around what is feeling tricky with the Tarot. If theres a question that YOU have which hasn’t been answered feel free to leave it as a comment for a future blog update!

What To Do When
The Tarot Gets Tricky!

Tricky Tarot Tip #1

Say ‘Fuck Off’ to Fear

“Fear! Not of the cards or what I might read, but I fear doing it wrong, doing a poor reading for someone else, being completely off base on a reading... It's really stopping me from branching out and practicing” - Lolo

As a recovering perfectionist with religious trauma, boy do I understand this fear and guess what, it’s actually a perfectly rational fear to have.

OF COURSE you want to do a good job.

OF COURSE you want to do things right.

OF COURSE you don’t want to give someone the wrong advice.

And guess what? You will never avoid that. No seriously, and this is not meant to make you more scared about it at all, this is to help you claim those fears. See them as a right of passage!

Let me tell you a little story.

About 8 years ago, I was visiting a good friend of mine who was heavily pregnant with their second baby. She was struggling, and was so worried about needing to be induced for going past her due date, and was desperate to avoid that so she asked me if I would pull a card for her on when the baby would come. At the time she was around 35 weeks pregnant.

Now, these days I have an ethical guideline around readings on pregnancies, but back then… I wasn’t yet reading for money and figured it could be an interesting way to check my timing prediction accuracy. I was right in that part at least, because I completely fucked it up and the Universe let me know about it almost immediately.

I pulled a card for her using my shadowscapes deck and even though it was 8 years ago I remember the card as clear as day.

**The 9 of Swords.**

Before reading on, have a think about how YOU would read this card for timing?

I saw this card intuitively as *‘the figure in the card it waiting patiently, but there’s still a ways to go’.* I told her that I didn’t get the feeling she’d need to be induced but that she should be patient as the baby knew when the time was right.
She pushed for more, and since the number 9 was really sticking out to me, I said she’d likely be closer to her due date *(in 4 weeks time which would be closer to the ‘9 months mark’)*.

Imagine my surprise when her baby arrived THAT FREAKING NIGHT!

I felt like an idiot. I felt like the worst tarot reader in the world. I felt like I could never live this down, even if she was the only person who knew about this horrible blunder of mine.

I went to my mentor, CB and feeling very sorry for myself admitted that I was a terrible tarot reader and I had no clue why I got it so wrong.

His advice?

CB: “Ummm, Hana it’s a swords card, they’re always fast, how could you miss that?”
Me: “Don’t remind me, it’s so obvious to me now”
CB: “Plus, 9 of swords often refers to night time. The answer should have been that the baby will arrive in the evening, and very soon”
Me: “Oh the shame, the indignity 😭”
CB: “BUT! Can you imagine if you’d told her that? How do you think she would have taken that news?”
Me: “Oh, knowing her, she would have maybe freaked out? It definitely would have been a stressful concept to accept.”
CB: “Trust that the Universe needed her to be surprised by this and that telling her to be patient was exactly what she needed to hear in the moment”

Cue a HUGE sigh of relief and a very poignant lesson for me at the same time.

Back to the original question and being afraid of getting it wrong.
Yes you will get it wrong, AND sometimes that is exactly what’s supposed to happen.

Guess what, I now know whenever the 9 of swords pops out for a timing card, that it will be fast and likely in the evening.

Guess what else I know?
That sometimes the clients need to hear something else, aside from accuracy.

Tricky Tarot Tip #2

Your job is not to memorise.

“Remembering allllllll the meanings and learning to trust my interpretation around/with/in conjunction with meanings” - Abby

It can certainly feel like the goal of a tarot reader is to ‘know’ the meanings of every single card. And whilst it can be helpful to have a good memory, it is certainly not the only way to read the cards, nor is it the best method to rely on.

In the beginning it can help to refer to guidebooks and cheat sheets and the like… (I even provide a key word cheat sheet to students of my tarot class) but this can also trip you up once you start doing multi card meanings.

For example: If you have memorised that the 8 of swords means restriction and the 5 of pentacles means financial hardship and the ace of pentacles is a new job then you might read all three together as “A restriction in funds will force you to look for a new job” and that might very well be a good reading.

But what if those same cards come up in response to a question about “What is my spiritual gift?” Is your querents spiritual gift going to be in restricting funds, financial hardship and looking for jobs?
No the fuck it isn’t and THAT would be a terrible reading.

Instead, of memorising, the tip you need to take to heart is “Say what you see”.

Let’s take a look at those cards and see how this could work in practice.

Example: What is my spiritual gift?
Say what you see

In the first card (8 of swords) we see a woman who is blinded and bound, surrounded by swords in a harsh environment, on the shore, away from home. It looks cold, barren and ruthless. She is ‘restricted’ and those swords are keeping her in place.
You can then extrapolate from here that swords are of the air element (thoughts, communication, ideas, the mind) and in this case you might say they refer to mental restrictions, limiting beliefs and feeling stuck.

In the second card (5 of pentacles) we see two people out in the cold. Another harsh environment, yet again restricted but this time by disability and poverty. There is a church in the background, and yet they have not sought sanctuary (yet).

In the final card (Ace of pentacles) we see a hand holding a pentacle or coin aloft above a walled garden. The mountain in the background could be the mountain from the first card and the winter snows have all melted away. It could be spring or even summer. The pathway from the mountains has led straight to the garden.

This persons spiritual gift is in helping people to find the limiting beliefs that are keeping them stuck in poverty or pain and guide them on their unique pathway towards safety and beauty in their life.

With two out of three cards being pentacles cards this person leans heavily into the practical steps to help people (looking at finances, health, job, resources rather than just metaphysical), and given the blindfold and physical restrictions shown in the cards their insight will come through not as clairvoyance, or clairsentience but perhaps as claircognizance or clairaudience. (Find out more on those spiritual gifts here)

See how we got to a super nuanced answer WITHOUT relying on rote memorisation of the card meanings?

So give it a go… Say what you see!

Tricky Tarot Tip #3

Have FUN and be PLAYFUL!

“Just relaxing and enjoying myself. I can get too precious and cerebral with things when I’m anxious which is often.” - Amy

I know, we’re supposed to be super serious Witches who are as reverent as priests and always solemn when delivering the messages of the cards.

NOT

Imagine you’re at the grocery store, and the power cuts out right before you’re about to pay.

Scenario 1: You say “I guess it’s free then LOL” like the giant dad joke that you are, and the cashier doesn’t even smile. They look at your groceries like their life depends on you NOT escaping with them sans payment. “Sir/Madam you will have to pay for them, and I will need to ring them all up again once the power is up and running. Please be patient, we will have this sorted shortly.” All whilst looking over their shoulder to make sure their manager isn’t breathing down their neck and never making eye contact with you.

Scenario 2: The cashier says “Whoops, that’s bad timing hey!” and you say “I guess it’s free then” to which they reply “if I had things my way it totally would be! Also, you don’t have to wait around, you’re welcome to continue with anything else you need to get done and I’ll ring this all up once the powers back on, ready for you to pay and collect whenever it’s convenient for you”.

One holds a very serious, hard energy. The other holds a fun and lighthearted one.

Which one is going to get more complaints?

Who is having more fun?

Now imagine that the customer is your intuition trying to have a conversation with you. (I know this is a weird analogy, but I’m a weird person so, there’s that).

Basically, if you’re hard, closed and serious it is sooooo much harder to hear what someones trying to tell you.

If you’re playful and open you become a hell of a lot more receptive.

Students of my Psychic Divination course know that the number one rule I give them in the very first module is to HAVE FUN! If you’re not having fun, what is even the point?

So if you find yourself being a Serious Sally then here are two things I suggest you do.

1: Buy a ridiculous tarot deck.
Yes I mean a totally ridiculous, silly style of tarot deck. One that makes you laugh.
I can suggest something like the Cosmic C*nt Tarot deck, the Disney Villains Tarot deck or even the ridiculous Hieronymus Bosch Tarot which features butt trumpets. No seriously.

2: Do a reading for your pet or a stuffed toy

If you’re reading for your pet, it can be fun to try and get them to actually pick a card.
I lay mine out and make my cat sniff them. Whichever one her nose touches is her card.

The ridiculousness of reading for a pet or a stuffed toy should snap you out of being too in your head about something so you can just return to having fun with the cards.

I’m also a big proponent of reading after a few drinks when I’m with friends. It’s lighthearted and can be a hell of a party if you let it!

Tricky Tarot Tip #4

Assign Characters to Court Cards

“Pages.” - Chantel

Ahhhh the court cards, and in my student Chantels particular words “Pages”. A very frequent tricky spot since, who the hell knows what a page is these days?

Firstly, a book recommendation for you; Tarot Court Cards for Beginners by Leeza Robertson

It’s probably the best book on understanding the court cards that I’ve read, she does a very good job of it.

Secondly, COURT CARDS ARE NOT ONLY PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE
There are so many blogs, graphics and the like floating around the internet that say “court cards are people” but this is such a closed and restricted way to read their energy. So yes, they can be but that doesn’t mean they are.

I recommend assigning characters to your court cards.
Pull them out, and choose either movie/book characters that align with their vibe or you can use people in your life.

For example, the King of Pentacles for me is either my husband OR Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice.
The Queen of Cups is Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones if I want a more ‘negative’ vibe for it, or Mary Poppins for a positive spin.

Have fun with it, and then when you come across the page of swords, instead of trying to connect to some ancient concept, or figure out if you know a childlike person this could be referring to, you can simply pretend the card is Matilda (from, well, Matilda) and ask yourself, how would Matilda answer this? What would Matilda do in this situation?

Tricky Tarot Tip #5

Step into the cards

“I always want to know what to DO, what action to take in just about any situation. Sometimes that’s not clear, as some cards aren’t actionable.” - Glasgavlen

OMG I adore asking the cards what to do in a situation and whilst I’m at the stage in my journey where this is easy for me, I understand it’s not for everyone, so I’m going to share one of my favourite tips. Step into the cards.

Ask your question

Example: What can I do to support my friend through her divorce

Let’s say the 7 of wands pops out.
What action step is that suggesting to you?

Well, let’s imagine we’re stepping into the card, and you sidle up to the dude with the big stick.
If you were to ask him what he’s doing, he’d likely say *“What does it look like I’m doing!?”*
Maybe you ask him why he’s wearing two different shoes?
*”Do I look like I care? I have bigger fish to fry!”*
Then you ask, what do you want me to do? *“Pick up a damn stick and help me fight!”*
Well you have your answer, to support your friend, you can literally jump into the fray and help her fight! She might feel like the odds are stacked against her and she’s totally unprepared, but with you by her side those odds begin to look a bit better and she can suddenly breath easier too.

Now if you have trouble stepping into the cards you can always come up with alllllll the possible actionable steps you could take for a scenario and then pull a card for each option.

Let’s say you want advice on what to do on the weekend.
Think of your current options which might be relax, read a book, stay in, meal prep, go to the gym, hit the town, go on a date etc. etc. the world is your oyster.

You can pull a card for each option, and they’re usually pretty clear as to which one is the best option. Maybe you pull the tower for staying in, and the knight of cups for hitting the town, that’s a pretty clear hint to leave the house!

So there you have it!

Five tarot tips to help you when the Tarot feels tricky!

If there’s anything I’ve missed, feel free to pop it in a comment below this blog post. I’m also a sucker for compliments, so if something here has helped you to ‘unstick’ yourself in your tarot journey I’d love to know!

Want to uplevel your tarot practice? I have an option for group mentorship through the Suburban Witches Society where you can pick my brain on our monthly group calls or anytime via our thriving group chat.

OR if you are serious about your tarot journey you can book in with me for a 3 month mentorship intensive here.

Happy Tarot’ing!

Hana the Suburban Witch

5 Tips for When Tarot Gets Tricky

Why Does The Tarot Feel Tricky?