How do I start tarot cards?

Well, find a deck you like the images of first, there are over 6,000 different decks on the market. A good place to start checking is the Aeclectic Tarot website - here's their link to the decks.

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/

You can browse by picking a selection on the left. And the site also has reviews of each deck, the more stars it has, the better it is to read with (many decks come out as 'artist' decks that are pretty but near impossible to read with). And usually it says who carries it/where you can buy it.

The site has a link to 'meanings' for any Rider Waite type deck, which is very good. The little booklet you get with each deck is bare minimal, not good for beginners. The best book to LEARN from is one called 78 Degrees of Wisdom (it's for the RW style decks). Not only does it explain why each symbol is on the card, it's great at getting you to remember what the cards stand for, each has a basic theme. But if you want, check online for books by Mary Greer or Rachel Pollock, both write books for beginners in tarot.

The site also has a 'forum' which is a community of tarot people who will help answer any question you may have. I's a very friendly forum, preaching and harassment are not allowed on it, so it's better than this site here by a long shot.

The tarot decks are divided into four categories -

Marseille decks (the oldest type, which the RW style decks are based off of) There are a few differences in the meanings between the Marseille and the RW. The Marseille also doesn't have scenic cards for the minor arcana, making them hard to remember. For a 7 of swords for instance you only see 7 swords.

Rider Waite Tarot & the RW clones - THE most common deck style on the market. Most of the books are written for these. I highly suggest you start with one of these. Art on this style of deck varies from simplistic to ultra fancy so you can find something you really like. Simple would be the original RW deck, or the Aquarian. The Hudes is exceedingly popular. If you want warm and cuddly, go with the Mary Hanson Roberts Tarot. The Robin Wood Tarot is one of the most popular out there too. If you like cats, check out the Baroque Bohemian Cats Tarot.

The Thoth Tarot - this is a popular deck, but the meanings are very different than the Marseille or the RW decks. The style doesn't have many 'clones' so the choices are more limited.

Usually if you learn the meanings for each style they can be transposed to other decks of the same type. But this is NOT true of the Oracle decks, they're also considered Tarot (of a sort), however each is an independent system, you have to learn it to use the deck, but no other style of deck will use the same meanings. Oracle decks also aren't abiding by the 78 card total, they may have more, or less than 78 cards.

Buy a tarot deck. It will come with instructions, much like a UNO deck or board game.

Because it's not real.

Buy the cards and a book to explain the readings.