Learning astrology

How to learn tarot reading well enough to read for clients

Q: How many cards are in a tarot deck?

A standard tarot deck has 78 cards . There are 22 Major Arcana, numbered 0 to 21, and 56 Minor Arcana in four suits of 14, each with Ace to 10 and four court cards .

Most tarot learners start on the Rider-Waite-Smith deck and its 78 cards. Here is where that deck comes from, what to learn first, which books to study and how a tarot reading works in chat.

Updated 2026-11-05

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Short answer

To learn tarot reading for clients, start with the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. Its US publisher calls it a good deck to begin with, and most later decks follow its structure ². Learn the 22 Major Arcana and the 56 Minor Arcana in four suits, then practise spreads such as the three-card Past, Present, Future ². Back it with Waite's own key to the cards and Rachel Pollack's Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom, in print since 1980 ^3,4. Kismo does not run training, but a tarot reader who applies sees the drawn cards on the client card in the one test reading.

Cards in a deck: 78: 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana ²
Suits: Cups, Wands, Coins or Pentacles, Swords; 14 cards each ²
Beginner's deck: Rider-Waite-Smith, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith for A. E. Waite ¹
First published: By William Rider, in 1910 ¹
US publisher today: U.S. Games Systems, Inc., which does not ship to individuals outside the USA ¹
Classic textbook: Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom, Weiser Books, 368 pages ⁴

The deck

Which tarot deck should you learn on first?

The Rider-Waite-Smith deck is the usual first deck, and its US publisher, U.S. Games Systems, recommends it for beginners ². Tarot teachers often recommend it as the base for comparing other decks ².

A. E. Waite commissioned the deck, Pamela Colman Smith drew it, and William Rider published it in 1910 ¹. It was the first modern deck with full picture scenes on both the Major and Minor Arcana, and most decks made since follow its structure ².

Rider's own catalogue sold the pack of 78 cards for 6 shillings in a box, or 8 shillings with Waite's key in a red box ³. Today U.S. Games sells the Rider-Waite Tarot but does not ship to individual buyers outside the USA, so buyers in India ask it by email for a local supplier ¹.

First lessons

What do you have to learn first in tarot?

The first thing to learn in tarot is how the 78 cards are built. There are 22 Major Arcana, numbered 0 for the Fool to 21 for the World, and 56 Minor Arcana in four suits of 14 ².

Suit	Element	What it covers [2]
Cups	Water	Emotions, feelings, relationships, moods, intuition
Wands	Fire	Creative passion, inspiration, drive, action
Coins or Pentacles	Earth	Money, possessions, the material world
Swords	Air	Thoughts, attitudes, reason, knowledge

Each suit runs Ace to 10, then four court cards: Page, Knight, Queen and King, 16 in all ². U.S. Games reads Pages as early learning, Knights as action, Queens as maturity and Kings as authority ².

Methods

What are the main ways to read tarot cards?

Tarot readers use three main ways: the symbol approach, the book approach and the intuitive approach ². None is better in itself; the right one is the one that works for you.

Approach	How it works [2]	Watch out for
Symbol	You read the pictures with your own meanings	Your personal slant may not fit the client
Book	You learn keywords from the deck's guidebook	Keywords differ from deck to deck
Intuitive	You build on symbols and keywords, then add your own sense of the card	Meanings become personal and hard to check

U.S. Games calls the book approach the most common, and many students build on it first ². For client work, start there, so that two readers looking at the same card would roughly agree.

Books

Which tarot books should you study, and in what order?

Study Waite's own key first, then one modern textbook, then a workbook. That order takes you from the deck's design to its meanings to your own practice.

Order	Book	Publisher and facts
1	The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, A. E. Waite	First sold by Rider: 340 pages, 78 full-page card pictures, 5 shillings ³
2	Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom, Rachel Pollack	Weiser Books; first published 1980, never out of print; new edition 368 pages, $24.95 ⁴
3	Tarot for Your Self, Mary K. Greer	Weiser Books; a workbook of exercises, 35th anniversary edition, $28.95 ⁵

Weiser describes Pollack's book as a psychological reading of the cards, with a short history of tarot and the common spreads ⁴. Greer's book is built around exercises you do with your own deck ⁵.

Time

How long does it take to learn tarot for clients?

Learning tarot for clients takes as long as it takes you to know every card without the booklet. If you study one card a day, the 22 Major Arcana take about three weeks and the whole deck 78 days.

Stage 1
The 22 Major Arcana, one a day, in number order from the Fool to the World ².
Stage 2
The four suits: element and theme first, then Ace to 10 ².
Stage 3
The 16 court cards, read as people or as personality types ².
Stage 4
Three-card spreads for friends who agree to it, writing down what you said.
Stage 5
Longer spreads, and Pollack's or Greer's book alongside ^4,5.

You are ready for paying clients when you can read a three-card spread without notes, explain it in plain words and decline to promise any outcome.

By chat

How do you give a tarot reading by chat?

A tarot reading by chat works by naming every card and its position in words, because the client cannot see your table. In a three-card Past, Present, Future spread, each card is read for its place ².

Ask the client to type one clear question.
Draw the cards and type their names, in order.
Give each card one or two short lines tied to its position.
Join the three into a single answer to the question.
Ask the client what fits, and go deeper on that card.

Example only: "Your present card is the Ten of Cups, which U.S. Games reads in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck as contentment and happiness at home ². For your question about your family, it shows what you are working towards, not a promise." Keep the tone hopeful and practical, and never sell fear.

On Kismo

How does a tarot reading work when you apply to Kismo?

For a tarot reader, Kismo's application ends in one chat reading of about 10 minutes, in Hinglish or English. The client card shows the tarot cards, with the client's name, age, city and question. Some applicants record a case-study video instead.

Part of applying	What it means for a tarot reader
Practices	Pick tarot in step 1; practices cannot be changed after you submit
Profile photo	A real photo of your own face, not a card, deity or logo
The reading	Read the tarot cards shown on the client card, typing every answer yourself; there is one try
After approval	Choose chat, calls or both and set a rate from Rs 20 to Rs 1,000 a minute

Kismo does not teach tarot, so come with the basics above already in hand. A person reads every test chat in full and decides within 2 days.

Questions

What do astrologers ask about this?

How many cards are in a tarot deck?

A standard tarot deck has 78 cards ². There are 22 Major Arcana, numbered 0 to 21, and 56 Minor Arcana in four suits of 14, each with Ace to 10 and four court cards ².

Is the Rider-Waite deck the same as Rider-Waite-Smith?

Yes. U.S. Games sells it as the Rider-Waite Tarot and credits Pamela Colman Smith as its artist, and its learning pages call the same deck the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot ^1,2.

Can I buy the Rider-Waite deck directly from U.S. Games in India?

No. U.S. Games says it does not ship to retail customers outside the USA, and asks buyers abroad to email it for a supplier in their country ¹.

Do I need a certificate to read tarot for clients online?

Not on Kismo: its three application steps ask for your details, a profile, your ID and one reading, with no certificate among them. Your test reading is what is judged, so practise spreads before you apply.

Do I need the client's birth details for a tarot reading?

No. A tarot reading works from the cards drawn and the question asked, not a birth chart. In Kismo's application reading, the client card shows the tarot cards for you to read.

What is the easiest tarot spread for a beginner?

The three-card spread is the usual start. U.S. Games gives Past, Present, Future as a popular version, with each card read for the meaning of its position ².

Read for clients on Kismo

Set your own per-minute rate for chat and calls, from Rs 20 to Rs 1,000. Apply in your browser with your Aadhaar or PAN and one reading.