This is the biggest thing a Tarot reader can learn and probably the main thing that most beginners can’t do. This is the best way to give better Tarot readings (not just general buzzwords).
My golden rule: If you’re not sure about a combination then those first impressions that pop into your head are usually the strongest.
We have a whole card meaning section that has various combinations (mostly the major arcana so far) but the more you practice, the more you can let your intuition guide you on what a combination means.
Stop seeing cards as separate meanings and start reading them as an interconnected story. Cards modify each other to create something more specific than their individual meanings.
This is what the Tarot is meant for. This is how it is meant to be used.
The Sentence Technique
One of the easiest starting points is treating a three-card spread like a sentence:
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Card 1 is your subject (who/what)
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Card 2 is your verb (the action)
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Card 3 is your object/outcome
So Fool + Lovers + World becomes: A new beginning (Fool) through making a choice or partnership (Lovers) leads to fulfillment (World). Simple but effective.
The Blending Technique
This one’s about finding the common thread between cards.
Take Hermit + Four of Cups - both cards share themes of withdrawal and turning inward. Together they paint a picture of someone deliberately stepping back from the world to process their emotions, not engaging with what’s being offered because they’re focused entirely on inner work.
Visual Cues Matter
Pay attention to where figures in the cards are looking.
When they face each other, there’s partnership or direct interaction. Looking away suggests disconnection or moving on. If your Queen of Cups faces The Devil, her emotional world is tied up in whatever unhealthy pattern The Devil represents.
Elemental Dignities
This gets a bit more advanced, but the suits’ elements affect each other:
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Fire (Wands) and Air (Swords) amplify each other
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Water (Cups) and Earth (Pentacles) work well together
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Fire and Water clash, as do Air and Earth
When you pull Ace of Wands next to Page of Swords, that fire and air combo creates serious momentum - your passionate new idea gets charged by intellectual curiosity and communication.
Stop listing definitions of the cards and start creating narratives from the combinations you see. The more you do it, the easier it will get.