Rules of the deck
Rider-Waite-Smith tarot rules: how to draw and read the 78 cards
How to do a Rider-Waite-Smith reading, step by step, for beginners: asking your question, shuffling, cutting, choosing your cards, then reading the major arcana, the four suits, the court cards and reversed cards.
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The Rider-Waite-Smith is the tarot published in London in 1909, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith under the direction of Arthur Edward Waite. All 78 of its cards are illustrated with scenes: 22 major arcana and 56 minor arcana, which you can understand almost without a dictionary. It's the most widespread deck in the English-speaking world, and the easiest one to start with. A spread lays a few cards in places that each have a meaning; you then read each card in its place.
Before you start
A clear question, and a moment without interruptions. The question is what gives the places in the spread their meaning.
- An open question: “What is holding me back in this project?” rather than “Will it work?”. The cards describe a situation; they don't settle it with a yes or a no.
- A situation that concerns you, now. The more precise the question, the more precise the reading.
- Writing your question down is optional; if you do, it stays on your device.
The draw, step by step
Choose the deck and the spread
On the Cards page, bring the Rider-Waite-Smith to the middle of the wheel, then tap “Draw the cards”. Swipe through the spreads: each one shows its places and how many cards it takes. Start with “Past, present, future”, three cards; the Celtic Cross, ten cards, is this deck's big spread, best kept for an important question. Then “Choose this spread”.
Ask your question
Write it down, or keep it in mind. With this deck, reversed cards are read from the start: untick the option if you'd rather read every card upright. Then “Shuffle the cards”.
Shuffle
Slide your finger over the deck: each pass takes a packet off the top and slips it lower down. Keep your question in mind. Shuffling undoes the order of the deck, and gives you time to focus on what you're asking.
Cut the deck
Choose where to cut: the bottom goes on top. Cutting gives your hand the last word on the order of the cards.
Choose your cards
The fan opens, face down. Slide your finger over it: the card under your finger comes forward; pull it towards you, or tap it again, to take it. The first card you take goes to place 1, and so on to the last place.
Turn them over
Tap each card to reveal it. Some may come out upside down: these are reversed cards, whose meaning shifts.
Read your spread
“Read my spread” opens the reading: the thread that links the cards, then one sheet per card, in the order of the places. Swipe from one sheet to the next, or tap a card on the layout.
How to read a Rider-Waite-Smith spread
Read the place first, then the card. Look at the scene before reading the text: what the figure is doing, what they're holding, where they're looking. Then count the major arcana: if there are only majors, the matter touches something structural; if there are none, it's everyday life, easier to shift.
The four suits and the court cards
- Wands: drive, projects, the urge to act (fire).
- Cups: feelings, relationships, what moves you (water).
- Swords: thoughts, decisions, conflicts (air).
- Pentacles: the concrete, money, work, the body (earth).
In each suit, the cards from Ace to Ten follow a progression: the Ace is a seed, the Ten a completion, sometimes a heavy one to carry. The four court cards, Page, Knight, Queen and King, show a person or an attitude: the Page learns, the Knight charges ahead, the Queen embodies, the King masters.
Reversed cards
An upside-down card keeps its theme, but the theme turns around: what is blocked, what is delayed, what overflows. The reversed Sun doesn't announce the opposite of joy; it speaks of a joy that keeps you waiting, or of a sun that burns instead of warming. If this makes reading harder at first, untick the option: every card will be read upright.
Three beginner mistakes
- Looking for the meaning before looking at the picture. In this deck, the scene already says a lot.
- Drawing ten cards for a small question. The more cards there are, the longer it takes to link them: start small.
- Redoing the spread to get a better answer. Let a few days pass, and come back with the same question if it still matters.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the Rider-Waite-Smith recommended for beginners?
Because its 56 minor arcana are illustrated with scenes: the Five of Cups shows a figure standing before three spilled cups, and you understand the card before reading its meaning. Older tarots showed only numbers and symbols there.
How many cards should you draw?
One for a simple question or for the day, three for an ongoing situation, ten (the Celtic Cross) for an important question. To learn, one card a day is the best exercise: you end up knowing them all.
Should you read reversed cards?
Nothing requires it. With this deck, Arcanes reads them from the start, because it's a common practice with the Rider-Waite-Smith; you can untick the option before shuffling.
What is the Celtic Cross?
The big ten-card spread published by Arthur Edward Waite in his guide to the deck. Six cards form a cross: the situation, what crosses it, its root, its past, what crowns it, what's taking shape. Four form a column: you, your surroundings, your hopes and fears, where it goes.
Is the draw really random?
Yes. Before your first gesture, the 78 cards are dealt in an order drawn by your device's cryptographic random generator, and each card already has its direction, upright or reversed. After that, your gestures move the cards: the one you take is the one that was under your finger.