I suppose it depends how you define ‘good’, doesn’t it? When I first started learning the tarot, I thought it was about memorising every card meaning. As I gained more experience, I realised being a competent and trusted reader was about far more than that. Reading tarot is just as much about listening and being supportive as it is about interpreting those little pictures on cardboard.

Additionally, it’s about trusting your own instincts, not just in receiving and offering the message from the cards, but in communicating with the seeker.

What do you think? What’s the most important aspect of being a good reader?

I know, I’ll ask the tarot.

Let’s give the Tarot of the Old Path a little outing. A good, solid, pagan deck, although a little bit 1980s art-wise.

Eight of Pentacles – how interesting. The Eight of Pentacles is about studying the details and honing your craft. I wonder could there have been a better card to appear? I love the Songs for the Journey Home version too, that shows a community of artisans all beavering away at the jobs they love.

The Eight of Pentacles implies a deep love of what you do; there’s an innate satisfaction to be found in deepening your skills and understanding of the subject. There’s a quiet passion smouldering away and even though you might get distracted at times, you will always return to the thing you enjoy doing most.

With regard to studying the tarot, all the above applies. To become a good, and eventually, expert reader, many hours of learning, practice and patience is required – of people as well as the cards.

Read the article: How to be a good tarot reader