When I first started to learn how to intuitively interpret Tarot cards, I did a ton of readings for myself. I was going through a very hard time, and I would do a “million” readings every day. However, the massive amounts of readings I was doing were only useful in helping me quell my anxiety. The readings themselves were of no use due to the bad questions and sheer number of readings. While this helped me learn Tarot, it did not produce valuable readings. There is definitely an art to reading the cards for yourself, but it’s not impossible.

The key to doing a reading for yourself is to put your feelings aside for the “outcome” of the question. Fear or excitement towards what the reading is going to “say” is why people have a hard time reading cards for themselves in the first place. An Intuitive or Psychic can read all day long for other people because they have nothing invested in the outcome of the reading. However, some may find it difficult to do a reading for themselves until they learn to trust exactly what they are seeing within the reading, and not focus on what they want the reading to tell them about the situation. That sort of manipulation of the outcome is what makes the reading you gave yourself incorrect, and this can be discouraging to someone who is just starting to learn Tarot.

Any and all of the tips below can be used to help keep yourself neutral during a reading, and they will also help with many other intuitive readings as well.

• Meditate: It is helpful to meditate thoroughly before doing a reading for yourself. This helps you get rid of any anxiety that may contribute to manipulation of the meanings. When you do a reading you should feel neutral and keep your emotional feelings or fears of the outcome out of the reading. Remember that the future can be changed if you do not like something. The cards are a great way to guide you to the help you need if your reading is less than desirable.
• Blind Reading: You can perform “blind” readings by writing down questions, and placing them in an envelope. All you need is several questions, and similar envelopes to place the questions in. Mix the envelopes up, and mark the envelopes with numbers. This way when you are writing your reading into your journal, you can determine which answer belongs to the envelope. You can mix them up again after you put the numbers on them or flip them over. Pull one envelope out at a time. (Make sure that you are only putting one question in each envelope, so that you are not getting confused as to which question goes to which answer. It works best if you wait a few days so that you have forgotten what you asked.)
• Journal: It is always a good thing to write down all your readings that you do for yourself. This way you can look back at them at a later date and analyze the outcome. This will give you confidence, and your accuracy will improve. Also, sometimes we interpret a card a tad bit differently than what it meant to say. You will be able to see the exact outcome of the reading that you had given yourself, and make changes to what a Tarot card means to you.

In conclusion, if you do readings for others there is no reason you cannot do them for yourself. If you are just starting out, doing readings for yourself is a great way to learn Tarot or any other form of divination. It is easier for you to check your progress, and gain the necessary confidence to begin reading for other people without the aid of a book. Feel free to use a book for your own readings while you are learning. Eventually you won’t need it!

Most importantly, relax and have fun!