Hey EnchantMe
I am a 'she'
Don't be too concerned with 'the how' - as people here told you, it is just a matter of practice. I have been reading tarot for 17 years - and still learning! A lot!
This is like dancing - you learn by doing it
You develop your own style, your gestures, movements - and everyone has his or her own unique approach.
I also read books, in fact, I still enjoy reading them, but you need to have a certain distance. Every reader will read from his/her frame of mind. If there is somehting he or herself cannot grasp, he will not be able to offer an insight on that. If he sees things yellow, readings will be yellow
So, a good and profound tarot reader is someone who has a lot of personal experience and understanding of life in general, not just of the cards. It is someone who also understand the human nature.
Read the books, explore, enjoy the adventure - and read the cards
Then read the cards some more, and then some more
This forum is a great place to do that - practice reading for yourself, post the readings, invite people to contribute...then, when you feel more confident, start exchanging readings here, reading for other people, and you'll see how the cards reflect the issues.
After many many years, tarot still surprises you. This is an eternal dance
Also, don't be too concerned with being right/wrong - human psyche and life is so complex that we can never know for sure on what level things manifest. Tarot can be very literal or just symbolic, sometimes the cards reflecting things by the pure image, sometimes by the deeper meaning...it is a flow.
But yes, good reading demands the capacity to observe
the whole, the totality, not just fragments. Also, it demands the development of the so called 'symbolic thinking', which is not strictly linear, not mathematical. It moves not just linearly, but also vertically, to the depth, and also circularly, all around, seeing patterns, connections. This develops over time and experience.
Due to our upbringing and educational system, we are used to think linearly - how to get from the point A to the point B, in a straight line most preferably. So, in tarot, we tend to see the cards in a spread as 'dots' that we need to link, going from the beginning towards the end, preferably from left to right. The mind then studies one dot, then the other, moving forward...this is fine, this is a start, this is the first layer. It is absolutely needed - you need to understand the dots - the cards. So you read about them, you need to learn about them. What does 7 of wands mean, what does High Priestess mean...you need to understand them.
This is the first step. Then, you start connecting the dots - as many experienced readers suggest, start by reading only three cards together. Of course, you try all sorts of spreads and have fun with that - but do try to practice with three cards as well. Practice on everyday things - will someone visit me, will he call, will we go there for the weekend, how will my day be, etc. You can also do a daily draw.
When we connect the dots, we at first do it in a straight and linear way - we are very apprehensive to get out of the rut for which our minds have been trained for years. So, we see past on the left, future on the right, we are progressing linearly. That is fine, and perfectly correct.
But when you are comfortable with the linear connecting,
the interlacing begins. Vertically and horizontally. No card is an island
Here, readers have different techniques – and they are all fine. All readings and approaches work if you are sincere and connected with the cards.
Also, pay attention to your inner feeling, intuitive comprehension. This is another function that has been put aside in the society that insists on practical and intellectual reasoning. The intuition needs to be revived. When reading, don't do it just cerebrally, observe your whole body. Does a card evoque a nice feeling? Does it feel weak, overbearing in the spread, does it scream or it goes unnoticed?
First, it is good to notice Major-Minor cards. Are there many majors, many minors? Then, notice the elements – fire, earth, water, air. Are there many cards of the same element? Are there conflicting elements? Then look at the numbers – are some numbers repeating? Does one card stand out?
And finally, the positions in the spread, the below-above, left-right, loosen up, become fluid. As human life is: )
So, when we start to learn tarot, we usually start with the fragments, that is, individual cards, then positions in the spreads. When we get comfortable with that, when we get to know the stones (cards) we are using to play with, we need to start to understand the patterns. We start dealing with the whole. And this makes you a good reader – because a human being and his story is a whole, and things are interconnected. How to learn the 'whole'? First, by deepening your own whole, your own comprehension of life, but on the practical level, by observing the basic material: elements, numbers, majors, minors. And see how they cohabitate
As with the colours in life: there are only three basic colours, the rest are just the variants. Tarot has its own basic ingredients that mingle and mix and tell stories - elements, numbers, majors, minors, courts. It is in fact quite simple - and very complex at the same time, as all profound issues in life are paradoxical.
So, just enjoy and play
By doing it, slowly a new door opens in the mind, and things start to click and come together.
