Man, let me tell you something about starting out with any new thing—you always overthink it. Always. I’ve been reading cards for a good few years now, mostly the classic stuff, but I hit a wall last winter. Everything felt muddy. My readings were turning into these long, philosophical deep dives, but I wasn’t actually getting any answers I could use.
I was dealing with this absolute nightmare renovation on my garage. Permits were messed up, the contractor was flaky, and every time I tried to pull cards for clarity, I’d get some esoteric message about the ‘inner child needing shelter’ or some such nonsense. I didn’t need therapy from a piece of cardboard; I needed to know if the foundation guy was going to show up Tuesday or not.
That’s when I grabbed the Sol Tarot deck. I’d bought it ages ago because the art looked so bright and direct—lots of yellow and bold lines. ‘Sol’ means sun, right? I figured, okay, I need sunlight on this problem. I needed clarity, not shadow work. I needed to cut the bullsht.
So, I dumped the old system and started from scratch. I figured if I was going to write a practice log, it had to be about what actually worked, not what the fancy book said. What followed was a total mess for about three weeks, but it led me to these three simple moves that changed everything. Seriously, if you’re just starting out, or if you’re stuck in the mud like I was, these are the only things you need to know.
My First Move: The Great Book Purge
My first big mistake, and I bet it’s yours too, was thinking I needed to memorize the official meanings. For traditional decks, maybe. But the Sol Tarot, or any deck designed for clarity, hits different. I found myself pulling a card—say, the Five of Swords—and instantly jumping to the little guidebook definition: “conflict, loss, moving on.”
But when I looked at the actual card in this specific Sol deck, it was just a dude standing in bright sunshine, looking kind of smug, but clearly winning. The book said loss; the picture said, “I just won, now what?” The disconnect was driving me crazy. I wasn’t tuning into the energy; I was just memorizing vocab.
I literally threw the book away. Well, I put it in a drawer and promised myself I wouldn’t open it for 30 days. When I pulled a card, I forced myself to use only three things to read it:
- The number (how many elements are involved).
- The suit (what type of energy: fire for action, water for emotion, etc.).
- The immediate visual feeling (Is it bright? Is it moving? Is it static?).
This forced simplicity instantly made the readings stronger. If I pulled the Sun, I didn’t think about “divine clarity and consciousness.” I thought, “It’s a definite yes, go do the thing.” That was Tip #1: Stop reading the manual and start looking at the damn picture.
Next Up: Embracing the One-Card Slap
I used to think a reading wasn’t legit unless it had some fancy spread—Celtic Cross, Past-Present-Future, all that jazz. But when you’re looking for fast, clear Sol answers, complexity just invites confusion. I tried a four-card spread about the contractor, and I ended up debating whether the “Near Future” card was overriding the “Hidden Obstacle” card. It was straight garbage for decision-making.
I switched to what I call the “One-Card Slap.” I developed three ultra-simple questions I used for everything related to that cursed garage renovation and beyond:
1. What is the immediate, necessary action? (Pull one card.)
2. What is the main obstacle right now? (Pull one card.)
3. Should I move forward, yes or no? (Pull one card, interpret clarity/sunlight as Yes, shadows/conflict as No.)
That was it. I stopped messing around with context cards. I just pulled one card, interpreted the visual energy within 60 seconds (see Tip 3), and wrote down the first thought. This practice move made me realize how much time I had wasted trying to make complicated answers fit a simple problem. My brain loved the simplicity; it didn’t have space to argue. This is Tip #2: Use the absolute minimum spread possible. One card is usually enough.
The Real Game-Changer: The 60-Second Deadline
Okay, this one is the most critical if you are starting with Sol Tarot or any deck you want to use for practical, day-to-day decisions. If you give yourself unlimited time, you will inevitably talk yourself out of the initial gut feeling. You’ll start rationalizing, researching, and trying to find a “better” meaning than the one that slapped you in the face immediately.
When I was fighting with the city planning department about that permit—a situation that gave me massive anxiety—I pulled a card asking, “How do I handle the meeting today?” The card I got was clearly about patience and structure. My immediate thought was, “Stop yelling at them and bring documents.”
But then, I started thinking, “Wait, maybe it means I need to be more aggressive? Maybe I need to stand my ground?” And I lost the reading completely. The minute I started arguing with the card, I lost the message.
So, I implemented a strict rule: The 60-Second Deadline.
I would shuffle, ask the question, pull the card, and immediately set a timer for one minute. During that minute, I was only allowed to look at the card and write down the absolute first three words that came to mind. No research. No comparison. No self-doubt. Whatever the visual screamed at me, that’s what I wrote down.
For the permit meeting card (which was the Four of Pentacles, by the way, all about holding tight to resources and boundaries), the three words I wrote were: “Bring the files.” I went to the meeting, brought an organized stack of documents, stopped arguing emotionally, and just presented the facts. Guess what? Permit approved, finally.
That process cemented Tip #3: Time box your interpretation. Your first gut feeling, especially with a direct deck like Sol, is the right one. Don’t let your brain sabotage you.
If you’re starting this journey, forget the complex spreads and the history lessons. Just grab your deck, stop reading the book, use one card, and give yourself a hard stop on interpretation time. You’ll be amazed at how quickly those seemingly complex cards start giving you the simple, actionable advice you actually need.
