Liz Worth ~ Tarot

Daytime vs Nighttime Cards in Your Tarot Deck

There is more to reading tarot than memorizing card meanings.

One thing I always stress in my tarot students is to look at the images of the cards.

Every tarot card can hold many layers of meaning, based on the scene it depicts.

A simple way to start studying your cards' imagery is to look at your daytime and nighttime cards.

This can add a layer of meaning to your messages:

Day time cards, like the Sun, might indicate visibility or something that is “plain as day” or “coming to light,”

Nighttime cards may be telling you that something is not yet clear or visible - we can’t see very well in the dark.

If the deck you are using doesn't have these details, you might consider switching to a deck like the Rider Waite Smith, which is what I recommend for beginner tarot readers. 

Tip: Go through your tarot deck and separate your daytime cards from your nighttime cards. Spend some time studying each of...

“Asking the right question can change your life.”
- Wald Amberstone

Think about that quote from Wald Amberstone for a second. We’ll come back to it.

When people first come to me for a reading, I always ask them if they have a question, or a topic they’d like to focus on.

“Should I tell you what it is?” People often ask.

“Of course!” I say. Being clear about what someone wants to know helps me to deliver a clear, relevant reading. It also helps me to ensure you get the most out of the experience.

But this is also where communication can become a challenge for tarot readers, astrologers, and other folks who are doing this kind of work.

Not everyone is willing to put a question on the table – even if they have one. I think part of this comes from still viewing tarot as a parlor trick. People want to test the reader to see how good they are, which can turn the reading into a guessing game.

But why waste your time and money...

Are you struggling to connect with the court cards? You’re not alone. They are some of the hardest tarot cards to interpret.

But once you start to click with them, you’ll see how layered their messages can be.

“What are the court cards supposed to be, anyway?” A student asked in a tarot workshop I ran earlier this year.

The truth is, they can be many things, just like any other card in the tarot.

Here are five different ways to look at a court card. I hope some of these inspire you to see the courts in a new way:

1. Read the court cards as people. Traditionally, this has been a standard interpretation for the courts, and it’s completely valid. We are constantly engaging with other people. One thing I do stress, however, is that the courts are not necessarily tied to gender and appearance.  Instead, look at the cards for the energies they bring.

2. Read the court cards as aspects of yourself. We all have different sides of who we are. We all...

So you want to learn tarot – great! Personally, I think everyone can benefit from learning how to work with the cards, or from exploring other divinatory systems. It all leads to deeper self-awareness and unexpected awakenings.

As an aspiring reader, you might be wondering if taking a tarot workshop or course will be a good investment.

The short answer is: Yes. Taking tarot classes with the right teacher can absolutely improve your skills. 

But do you need to take a tarot certification program specifically? My short answer on that is NO.

Here's why:

There are a lot of options out there to help you learn. But like anything, it’s smart to know who’s teaching the class, and what they’re promising you’ll get from it.

There is no one, true governing body for the tarot world. Unlike academic institutions that can create standards and processes, tarot is different. This is work that has been handed down through the centuries. It’s intuitive,...