Most beginners think they have to memorize 78 meanings before they can read. You don't. The Rider–Waite cards are painted as scenes, and the fastest way in is to look before you look anything up.
Read the picture first
Pick one card and describe what you actually see. What is the figure doing? Where are they facing — toward something or away? What's in their hands? Is the background open or closed, bright or dark? You'll be surprised how much meaning is already on the surface.
Then connect it to your question
A memorized keyword is rigid; an image bends to your situation. The Eight of Cups shows someone walking away from cups they built. For a job it might mean leaving something that no longer feeds you; for a relationship, the slow decision to stop. Same picture, different life.
Memorize last, observe first
Definitions are useful later, as a second layer. But if you start there, you read keywords instead of your own life. Begin by seeing — the meanings will settle in on their own, and they'll stick because you met them inside a real question.