Seven common mistakes when learning tarot and how to fix them

A three-card spread can go wrong in seven different ways before you make a single “prediction”. Take this fictional case: “How do I prepare for a conversation about changing my working hours?” The positions are set as “what I know”, “what I still need to ask” and “first step”. The Chariot, Two of Cups and Justice appear. You have recorded the deck and edition.

This exercise does not assign compulsory meanings to those cards. It shows where the reasoning breaks and how to repair it. A useful correction returns the reading to the question, the images actually on the cards and the facts you can check.

1. Changing the question after seeing the cards

On seeing Justice, someone decides that the question was “Will they treat me fairly?” They are no longer reading the original question about preparation; they have moved the goal so the card fits. The fix is simple: write the exact question before shuffling and keep it. If a new concern appears, start another entry later or add it as a secondary question without erasing the original frame.

Here Justice could prompt, “What criterion for dividing the work do I want to propose?” That helps you prepare for the conversation. It does not prove what someone else will decide.

2. Assigning positions after drawing

If you like the Chariot, you call it the “outcome”; if you dislike the Two of Cups, you decide it was the “past”. You can no longer review the spread honestly. Before drawing, set roles that remain useful even if uncomfortable images appear. “What I know”, “what I still need to ask” and “first step” give each card a job.

If a position does not work, record the problem and redesign the spread another time. You need not force a card to give an answer you did not ask of it.

3. Reading a scene your deck does not show

A Rider–Waite–Smith manual describes a figure's gesture in a numbered card. Your Marseille deck shows only suit symbols. Repeating the scene as though you saw it makes it impossible to distinguish your observation from something you learned about a different deck. The V&A documents Pamela Colman Smith's role in the illustrated Minor Arcana; not every edition shares that visual language.

The fix is to note the deck model and describe the card you have. You can study the other scene as a comparison, but label its source. In our spread, if your Two of Cups shows only two cups, do not discuss the posture of two people.

4. Turning a card's figure into a specific person

“Justice is my boss, and I already know what she thinks.” Depending on the method, the card may suggest reviewing criteria, rules or consequences, but it does not grant access to another person's mind. A court card, Major Arcana card or illustrated scene does not identify someone without context, and it cannot establish that person's intentions.

Instead, ask a question you can check: “What criteria does the organisation use for changing shifts?” The answer comes from policies and conversations, not from assigning a psychology to the card.

5. Stacking keywords without connecting them

“Chariot = progress; Two of Cups = union; Justice = balance.” Those three definitions do not answer “how do I prepare for the conversation?” Connect each card to its position. The Chariot in “what I know” might point to listing your goal and current constraints. The Two in “what I still need to ask” may highlight both parties' expectations. Justice in “first step” could prompt you to propose a clear, comparable criterion.

One possible summary is: “Define the hours you need, ask how much flexibility the other person has and bring a proposal with clear criteria.” The quality of the sentence depends on whether it follows from the positions and the question, not whether it sounds solemn.

6. Drawing more cards until you feel relieved

If the first spread unsettles you and you add cards without a new question, you may end up choosing the card that confirms what you wanted to hear. Close the spread you planned, write down what remains uncertain and decide whether you need real-world information. An extra card helps only if you define in advance what it will clarify and accept an answer you might not like.

In the working-hours case, you may need to know the internal policy. No number of cards can replace asking for that document. Your best next step may lie outside the deck.

7. Remembering the outcome but forgetting your original idea

Weeks later you get a partial change and say, “Justice announced it.” What exactly did you write at the time? If your journal stores only card names, almost any outcome can seem to fit. Preserve the question, positions, observations, interpretation and limit. Return later without editing the earlier note.

If the proposal was rejected, that gives you information too: perhaps your criterion was insufficient or you lacked data about shifts. You need not turn it into a “failure of the card” or a victory produced by reinterpreting the past. Assess whether the process helped you prepare better.

The same spread, read with a method

Read the three cards again without adding another. First, check the edition and three details in each image. Second, keep the assigned roles. Third, write one sentence per card that uses its position. Fourth, combine those sentences into a step within your control. Fifth, name a missing external fact. This process does not guarantee one unique conclusion, but it lets you explain where the conclusion came from and revisit it.

Practice becomes clearer when you separate description from association. If a card does not fit, write “I do not know” and consult a compatible guide. Forcing an all-encompassing sentence is another mistake, even though it is not numbered above. A short reading that acknowledges uncertainty may be more useful than ten cards read in a rush.

To work on your questions, read how to ask useful tarot questions. To retain what you learn, use the tarot journal template.

Fixing one mistake without repeating the whole spread

If you discover that a manual described a different edition, you need not shuffle again immediately. Keep your question and positions, look again at your actual cards and rewrite only the part of your interpretation that relied on the wrong image. Record the change in your journal. If the mistake lay in the question itself or in positions chosen after drawing, close that attempt as practice and design another at a different time. This separates an honest correction from a search for the answer you wanted.

Sources and scope

• “A history of tarot cards”, Victoria and Albert Museum. Accessed 26-09-2026 for historical differences between decks.
• Sabio Tarot's original editorial method; the question and spread are fictional.