Other than the actual game of French Tarot, the tarot deck can also be employed for divination: Interpreting messages from the cards, either for yourself or for someone else.

 I’ve never believed that it foretells the future in the traditional sense, but instead that it can show you several doors or options in your life (and then help you to decide for yourself which avenue to choose). A card reading can sometimes be as cathartic as therapy, and I’ve seen many people work through issues in their life by leaning on the cards for some guidance.

But at the same time, tarot decks can be expensive and so can many tarot readers. Surely there are people who are broke and in need of guidance, too. Because of this, I have encouraged many people to do their own tarot readings – and many more to use a regular card deck.

Many bridge players have dipped their feet into what can be done with tarot. Here’s a quick guide on how you can employ a regular standard issue Bicycle deck for the same amount of insight.

The Suit Correspondences: What Changes?

The suit correspondences are the first thing that changes when using a regular old card deck for a reading. Luckily, you’ve still got the same amount of suits, and the only thing you have to worry about is the fact that the Page & Knave cards from the tarot decks were eventually combined into the Jack card in the regular deck.

Traditionally, the suit correspondences crossed over from cards to tarot and tarot to cards looks like this:

• Spades are Swords
• Hearts are Cups
• Diamonds are Pentacles
• Clubs are Wands

The Joker card is traditionally seen as the 0 card of the Major Arcana – or The Fool.

Card decks, of course, have less cards than tarot decks. The tarot is split up into the Major Arcana – which tells a sort of story in the traditional “tarot” cards people think of such as The Hanged Man, The Devil, The World, etc – and the Minor Arcana, which corresponds to the regular card deck suits.

While you might deal with this differently, whenever I want to do a reading specifically from the Major Arcana, I’ll pick out the right amount of cards from the regular deck (usually in two suits) to make up the same number of cards: That’s 22 of them. Each card corresponds to one of the Major Arcana cards, and I try to keep things as simple as that.

For Minor Arcana readings, I’ll use the entire card deck with corresponding suits as organized above.

The Fool and the Rest

The first thing any novice tarot reader should know about the deck is this: The Major Arcana is used to tell a story of progression.

As you learn every card and its meaning, keep this in mind and it’s a lot easier to spot which card you’re looking at when you’re using a regular tarot deck.

Traditional tarot decks are visual: This also helps the reader to know what they’re looking at. Not sure about the card’s meaning? Before you look it up, look at the card first.

Whether you’re using a traditional deck, keep a little notebook of Card Meanings. Write them down and refer back. Eventually, the need for the use of this list will fade away and you should have the meanings memorized whether or not using a tarot or regular deck.

Spread Suggestions

Spreads don’t have to be complicated or elaborate. It’s usually best that they’re not.

There are a few tried and trusted tarot card spreads used for insight, one of the most famous being the Celtic Cross or the Three-Card-Spread. If you want to use these, go for it, but also don’t let these limit you in what you’re able to get from your reading.

I’ve invented a few spreads on the spot when necessary for the situation or person on the other side of the card table. Sometimes it’s as simple as “pick a card” to see what it says.

How to Read Cards

Next, how do you actually read them?

Each card has a few keywords, a distinct meaning – and a distinct meaning in relation to your question or situation. Ask what this card has to say, and ask what it has to say to you at this very moment.

It doesn’t always help you to see the future. Not directly. But drawing cards and contemplating their meaning can help you to see your hopes, fears, dreams and solutions where you otherwise would not. Cards are a great way of seeing into yourself and knowing what you want (and seeing how you’re going to achieve it).

It’s not quite fortune telling. Instead, it’s introspection with the help of a card deck and it can be incredibly useful for anyone who gets to situations or questions in their life and thinks, “Hell, I need some guidance.”

Let’s say that you’ve drawn The Fool. That’s number 0 in the Major Arcana deck and the Joker in the regular deck. Usually, it refers to the need to take a leap of faith. To embark on a new journey. To go out on a learning experience, starting as The Uncarved Block of Taoism.

Now, grab your deck and pick a card. Any card. What can it refer to you in your life right now and what does it tell you about your hopes, dreams, past, present, future or life?