How do you interpret a tarot reading? Read in order: restate the question, describe each image, read each card in its position, then read the cards together and sum up the reading in one sentence. In French tarot teaching, interpretation starts with what you see, not with what the book says.
Before you read: the question and the positions
A reading rests on two anchors: the question and the place of each card. Without them you only have pictures. A good question is open ("What should I understand about...?"). In the common three-card reading the first card stands for the past, the second for the present and the third for the future; see our three-card spread guide. The "future" is always a tendency, never a sentence.
Eight steps
- Restate the question and the positions aloud.
- Describe what you see on each card before looking for meaning. Posture, gaze, dominant colours.
- Count major and minor arcana. Many majors point to deep themes; many minors to daily circumstances.
- Look at the suits. Wands for action, cups for feelings and relationships, swords for thoughts and decisions, pentacles (Deniers in Marseille) for work and means.
- Look at the numbers. An Ace speaks of a beginning, a five of tension, a ten of a cycle closing; a repeated number insists on a theme.
- Look at the court cards. In our reading, the page learns or brings a message, the knight acts, the queen masters from within, the king masters outwardly.
- Note reversed cards if you use them: the energy is blocked, turned inward or excessive.
- Read the pairs, then sum up in one sentence. Neighbouring cards answer one another; see our guide to card combinations.
A worked example
Question: "What should I understand about my decision to go back to study?" Three cards: past, present, future. You draw the Eight of Cups, Strength and the Ace of Wands. The example uses the 1909 deck, where every card carries a scene; the pictures described below come from that deck.
Past, the Eight of Cups: a figure walks away from eight neatly stacked cups, at night, toward the mountains. You leave something that is still there but no longer nourishes you. Present, Strength: a woman gently closes a lion's mouth, an infinity symbol above her head. Strength is VIII in the 1909 numbering; Marseille places it at XI. It is mastery through gentleness. Future, the Ace of Wands: a hand from a cloud holds a budding wand. A spark, a beginning.
Count: one major arcana in the middle, two minors; the suits are cups, then wands. The number 8 returns, which stresses passage from one state to another. Pairs: leaving (Eight) asks for gentleness (Strength); gentleness prepares the spark (Ace). One-sentence summary: "I left what no longer fed me; now I need patience with myself so the new drive can take." That is not a prediction but a reading you can test in life.
Read with the heart, without inventing
French teachers stress four attitudes: read with the heart, not the book; tell the story of the card as if it were a film scene; notice what it makes you feel; and ask yourself questions. Then check for projection: does the reading come from the card or from what you hoped to find? The cards do not decide for you. For a wider foundation, see our complete beginner guide.
Keeping the meaning in front of you
Reading with the heart assumes some vocabulary, and that is what stalls beginners: you draw three cards, hunt for three pages and lose the thread. Our French-language learning deck prints the meaning on every card, so it stays in front of you. A printed French booklet comes in the box, and the full French course follows by personal link after purchase. Any deck can teach you; the aim is to need the printed help less every week. Its illustrations are the 1909 designs by Pamela Colman Smith; Marseille is a different tradition, with no scenes on the minor arcana.
French-language learning tarot deck, 1909 art
Meanings printed on every card in French, a French guidebook in the box and the full course in French after purchase. Ships to the EU, UK, Switzerland and Iceland.
See the French deckTo keep going, our guide to learning tarot on your own gives a step-by-step route.
Frequently asked questions
How do I interpret a three-card reading?
Read each card in its position, then read the three together as a short story: first, then, so. The middle card is often the hinge. End with one sentence and write it down.
What about the 32-card cartomancy deck?
It is a different system with its own meanings and no major arcana. See our cartomancy meanings chart.
Which is stronger, the knight or the page?
In the card game, the knight beats the page. In divination they do not fight: the page learns or brings news, the knight acts and moves.
Which is the most powerful tarot card?
None. A striking card such as The Tower or Death is neither worse nor better than another; its theme is simply more visible.
In regalo il corso completo di tarocchi in italiano
In regalo il corso completo di tarocchi in italiano
