How to Know Which Tarot Card Meaning Applies to Your Situation
- Gem Blackthorn
- Sep 26
- 3 min read
My favorite tarot tip to develop your intuition as a new reader
In this post, I am assuming two things: You are new to tarot and you are new to divination as a whole. This means that tarot is probably your first time dabbling in anything that requires you to flex your intuition like a muscle. If neither of these are true, then this exercise may be too introductory for you.
You may have experienced déjà vu and other funny coincidences here and there, but you have not developed your intuition the way an athlete develops their skill through consistent practice and conditioning.
How Do You Receive Messages
One tarot card may have several meanings. Take the Ten of Swords for example:
The Ten of Swords can mean several things, including back pain, chronic fatigue, slander, or a painful ending. That’s a pretty wide range and getting it wrong can have consequences. (Incorrectly telling a client that they’re going to experience slander in the future will probably make their back pain worse, won’t it?)
Not knowing which meaning to apply hints at a lack of intuition development. You need to learn how messages come to you. Are the messages literal or symbolic? Are they specific to you and your past or more faithful to the traditional meanings of the cards?
Take the The Devil card for example. If you are a literal person, you could be dealing with a person with bad intentions, if not an outright demonic presence (provided you or subject believes that demons are real).
To a person who receives more symbolic/metaphorical messages, this card could suggest the subject feels trapped in a situation with no clear escape.
To a person with a deep understanding of astrology, The Devil represents someone who is a Capricorn.
The Practice Drill
To strengthen your intuitive tarot reading skills, I recommend practicing with situations where you already know the outcome.
Because you already know the outcome, you can concentrate on how the information of the situation is being presented to you.
Let’s say your practice reading is about how your “new job” — that you got a year ago — will work out for you. From where you’re standing, the job is going well.
You pull the Four of Wands. To many people, the Four of Wands is a marriage card. The imagery used in the Rider-Waite deck depicts a wedding. If you’d been asking about a relationship, then I’d say you receive literal messages. But since this reading is about a job, I’d say you’re receiving symbolic/metaphorical messages.
A marriage is a long-term relationship. This card represents commitment and stability. This means that the job you got a year ago is stable and you will most likely remain at the company for several years, if not for most of your career.
The Reader Also Has A Say
As the tarot reader and a person with free will, you also have a say on how you receive messages.
If you believe in spirit guides and that they assist in funneling and interpreting psychic messages, you can ask your guides to present messages in specific ways: literal, metaphorical, astrological, numerical, etc.
Even if you don’t believe in spirit guides and instead believe that messages come from your intuition alone, you can also direct yourself to receive messages in a particular way.
The method is the same: simply meditate with this intention before you begin the reading.
Try out this practice drill a couple of times and let me know if it works for you. Remember, the goal isn’t to replace the card’s meaning with your intuition, but rather to find a middle ground between the card’s theme and your inner knowing.
Thank you for making it this far. If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to my newsletter for more esoteric content, or consider showing your support by buying me a coffee. If you’re a writer, download 300+ writing prompts inspired by the Tarot. If you’re a witch, access my Book of Shadows Notion Template here.
