Daily Reading
The Daily Reading involves choosing one card in the morning and leaving it face down during the day so that you don't see it until the evening. In the evening, jot a few notes down about your day. If you already keep a journal, just add the daily reading to your journal entry. After writing down your thoughts, turn over your card and see if there are any parallels between what you wrote and the card's meaning. Take note of the card suit and number. When you get comfortable with using one card, then you can add two more for a three-card reading each day.
Card of the Day
This exercise is almost like the Daily Reading only instead of choosing a card at the beginning of the day, you wait until the end of the day and then select a card to represent your day. For example, if you met someone new, you might select the 2 of Hearts. If you received a gift, you might select the 6 of Diamonds. Write down the card you choose and your reason. (By the way, its really helpful to keep some kind of journal when you are studying this subject, so you can write your exercises and readings down and any other insights that pop up).
Opposites Attract
In this exercise, you are looking for opposing pairs. Looking through your deck, select as many opposing pairs as you can find. An example of this is the 8 of Clubs-8 of Spades pair which shows movement vs. restriction. Try to do this exercise without using pairs of the same number.
My Birthday
This exercise is actually a reading that you will do for yourself. Hopefully it will be enlightening. Shuffle the deck as usual. When finished, turn over each card looking for the numbers of your birthday (my birthday is September 24 so my numbers would be 9-2-4). Lay down the first cards that you come to with those numbers. Then do a short reading on your personality or outlook based on the cards in front of you. The month will be represented by one number; November and December birthdays will be represented by the Jack and Queen respectively. The day will be separated if it is a two-digit number. For example, December 11 = Queen-1-1. Here's a reading I did for my birthday:
I pulled the 9 of Spades, 4 of Spades and 2 of Hearts - pretty dreary, huh? My one Hearts card is overshadowed by two Spades. However, this is exactly what was going on at the time of this reading. The 9 of Spades and 4 of Spades relate to a period of withdrawal and depression, where life seems gloomy and humdrum. I do have a tendency to worry about things (9 of Spades) and withdraw into my own little shell (4 of Spades). The 2 of Hearts shows the part of me that enjoys relationships. It reflects my cooperative and emotional side. With it coming last in the reading, it suggests I am putting relationships and my emotional nature on the back burner. The 9 and 4 of Spades suggest the advice of seeing things clearly by coming out into the light and embracing others.