Reading Tarot For Yourself

I’m thankful that I started my tarot journey with a very open minded mentor.

Breaking Superstition

When you’re reading information online, it can be hard to determine what’s the truth and what’s just superstition.

Usually it’s a weird mix of both.

The first rule I broke?

I bought myself my first tarot deck.

The second? I started giving myself readings.

Two big “no-nos” in some of the early spiritual circles I tried to follow.

I heard it online and asked my mentor how badly I had messed things up for myself.

She smiled her knowing "mom" smile and confided that I had not.

She said that my journey with tarot was mine alone, that I didn't need to follow any other person's rules.

So with that in mind, I let go of all the superstitions.

Expert Level

Fast forward to several years and I’d just joined a group chat I found online about tarot reading (on the app Clubhouse if I might date myself 😅).

The people on the call were asking questions of a proclaimed tarot expert, and she was answering them.

One caller raised their hand and asked about reading for themselves.

The answer was a slightly hostile, hard “no”. Without any hesitation!

My heart dropped.

This person had come to them to learn and had been completely shut down.

It was pretty disappointing and I ended up never going back into that group.

I even felt some of the doubt creep in and I started to rationalize my decisions.

Luckily, I was self-aware enough to catch the doubt, give it space, and then let it go.

My personal practice has been so powerful, I barely needed any time for the whole process.

I honestly believe that people like that are in the minority now.

Rules Shmules!

Tarot is such a personal practice that rules like “only reading for others” have gone out the window.

Almost every deck creator nowawadays include personal spreads for you to do with the guide book!

Now that’s not to say that reading for yourself doesn’t come with its own set of issues.

Common Problems

Some common problems you might come up against are:

• Asking for the answer you want - This happens when you ask specific questions or keep pulling clarifier cards until you get the answer you want. You might pull a card that you don’t like in response to a question, so you either ignore it or you pull an extra clarifier card (or 3) until you get the answer you like.

• Being partial - Sometimes we are too close to the issue and it can be hard to look at the card without a set idea already in our head.

• Ego over intuition - When we let our ego rationalize the cards we pull, we can miss the message that we’re supposed to get. Ego will usually be grasping for the answer that you “want”. While Intuition will be the whisper of the highest good.

• Confusion - You might not be ready for the answer that you’re asking for. When you’re getting a reading from someone, they will usually be able to phrase it in a way that clicks for you, now or later. But when you’re reading for yourself, there’s not a filter and you might not have any idea what it means, or you might not be ready for the answer so you sit in confusion.

Your Benefits

The benefits strongly outweigh the problems.

The biggest benefit is that you are tuning into yourself and your intuition. 

You are building your intuitive muscles so that you can read the tarot better, and so that you can make better decisions in your life.

The more you flex your intuition, whether that’s in tarot reading or just in general, the stronger it gets. 

It’s the same as doing a good workout for your body or learning something new for your mind.

Some other benefits are:

• Self-awareness - Reading tarot for yourself allows you to focus inward and see how you really feel about a topic or issue. Much like journaling can increase your self-awareness, tarot is another great route to introspection. Especially if you’re keeping a tarot journal!

• Practicing impartiality - Whether you’re reading for yourself, a close friend, or a stranger, having the ability to be impartial is helpful in all cases. Being able to separate your personal biases from the messages given will allow you to see more and give more accurate readings.

• Seeing possibilities - The more you practice reading for yourself, the more possibilities you will see in your life. This happens for a few reasons. The biggest is that you are asking questions and making decisions based on the answers you get. When this happens, the Universe starts to provide you with more opportunities in the form of possibilities. You’re also able to see the possibilities clearer because the cards can direct you to new ideas.

• Increased knowledge - When you read tarot for the issues in your life, you get more information about those situations. The cards will illuminate areas you might not have thought of before or give you a new outlook on something that you’ve been dealing with.

Asking for Help

Although reading for yourself has a lot of benefits, there might be times that you can’t see past your own limitations, or you need some extra help.

And that’s ok!

I’ve compared it to being a lawyer before.

Yes, a lawyer knows the law and can advise themselves.

And they probably see things in their daily life that they review and compare against different laws.

But when there’s a huge problem they face, the hire another lawyer.

In the same way, you can read tarot for yourself most of the time, but there will be times when you need help from someone else.

So I suggest you find and sample a few tarot readers in your area and online. Then reach out to them when you’re needing the extra support.

Self Practice

Try the following exercise and see how it goes for you.

1. Determine your spread

   • Start by researching tarot spreads online that will get you the answers you need. Or create your own.

2. Grab your supplies

   • Tarot cards, journal/notepad, pen/pencil, incense/candle

3. Create your sacred space

4. Take a few deep breaths, make a point to let go of any preconceived ideas or answers that you want to get. 

   • Get yourself to a neutral and peaceful mind state

5. Do the reading

   • Journal out the questions, the placements, the cards, and any initial impressions you get.

   • Trust your intuition as the number one source of information.

   • Once you’ve pushed your intuition, check the book. See if the creator of the deck has any gems hiding in the guide.

6. Reflect

   • Take some time to reflect on the reading as a whole and journal out any final feelings, thoughts, inklings.

7. Close your sacred space

I use this same general practice for both personal readings and readings for other people. 

The thought process is the same for both. 

You leave your biases and ego thoughts at the door, and allow for the spirit of intuition to speak through you.

Now get to reading!

What issues are you having and what spreads have you found for yourself?

How did reading your own tarot go for you?