Larisa
What the guides teach
The card meanings tell you what each card stands for; the guides show you what to do with those meanings. They explain how to frame a question, in what order to read the cards, how to weave several cards into one story and what a reading can and cannot tell you.
Every guide follows the same path: it explains what the practice is and what it is not, gives the method step by step, works through a complete example and lists the most common mistakes. The aim is a habit of thinking rather than memorisation: once you understand why a card reads differently in a given position, you can interpret a spread you have never seen before.
Where to start
If you are new to tarot. Start with tarot for beginners, then try the three-card example in how to read tarot cards with your own question. For a daily practice, read how to read your tarot card of the day; to make the meanings stick, how to learn tarot card meanings.
To ask the right question. How to ask tarot a question, yes or no tarot and what tarot can and can’t tell you. Together they teach you to think with a reading instead of waiting for a verdict from it.
For love and work questions. How to do a love tarot reading, tarot for career and money and, for reading cards together, tarot card combinations.
For Katina. How to read Katina cards, Katina love reading and the comparison of the two decks in Katina vs tarot.
For dreams. How to interpret your dreams, how to keep a dream journal and what recurring dreams mean.
For astrology. How to read a birth chart, sun, moon and rising signs and astrology transits explained.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I start with tarot?
Start with a deck, a notebook and an open question. For the first weeks, draw one card a day and note what you see in its picture before you look up its meaning; then move on to a three-card spread. Larisa’s advice is to get to know the cards rather than memorise them: look at their symbols, their colours and the first feeling they stir in you.
How should I ask a yes or no question?
Ask about one clear subject, then look at whether the card leans towards yes or towards “not yet”. Read the reason for that lean: the card’s theme, its position and the obstacle or choice it brings into focus. Turn that into a practical question about your next step. See the worked example in yes or no tarot.
How do I read my birth chart?
Draw up your chart with your date, time and place of birth, then start from three points: the Sun, the Moon and the rising sign. Next look at which houses the planets sit in, and last at the aspects between them. Reading a chart as a whole takes time; the step-by-step path is in how to read a birth chart.
Is synastry the same as sign compatibility?
No. Sign compatibility compares only two people’s sun signs; synastry lays two whole birth charts over each other and looks at how one person’s planets touch the other’s chart. That is why two supposedly incompatible signs can share strong links in their charts. More in synastry and zodiac compatibility.
Does a dream journal help?
Yes. Dreams fade fast in the minutes after waking; writing them down strengthens recall and, over time, brings repeating symbols and feelings into view. Looking back over a few weeks of entries, you may notice a pattern that no single dream could show you.
What is the difference between oracle cards and tarot?
Tarot rests on a fixed structure of 78 cards, the Major and Minor Arcana and four suits, and every card carries a tradition of symbolism built up over centuries. Oracle decks are created by each designer in their own way, with varying numbers of cards and structures, and are often read through the message printed on the card. The full comparison is in oracle cards vs tarot.
Practise as you read
The guides work best alongside practice. Read a guide, then try it the same day with your own deck or a three-card spread in the Larisa app, and note what you see. When you come back to your notes a week later, you start to see much more clearly how the cards speak to you.