How to throw away your Tarot book:

Okay, I've been reading Tarot cards since I was maybe 13? Anyway, it's been over ten years. I've learned a lot when reading Tarot Cards. One is, you have to find your own ritual, your own connection to the cards. You also have to trust in your instincts and don't doubt that the cards are telling a story.
I've had moments where I thought, "There's nothing here. I don't get it!" In those cases I take a deep breath, and in my head I ask Spirit or the powers that be, what is the story?
But recently I've made the biggest leap of all. Now granted, when I read my own cards, I don't use a book. But I have to admit I cheat and carry the book with me whenever reading my friends, just in case there's a card that maybe I'm not sure how to explain. The book gives me some words to use, which I always find escape me whenever I'm trying to explain something.
Well, no more! The book is out the window and I suggest you try the same thing. First off, you probably don't really need the book at all, but having an understanding of the suits, and the card definitions, or maybe making up these definitions on your own, is probably a good idea before you start reading. There has to be a mutual language between you and your cards, so even if it's not the popular meaning, you still need to have one.
But once you've established your understanding, throw away the book! It is so liberating! I'm sure there are many Tarot Readers who are laughing at me right now because I didn't do this sooner. I know that I should have gone for it, but for those of you who are like me and are still unsure of their abilities, just go for it!

So How Did I Do It?
So first off, I laid out the cards with the idea, "I'm going to do this! I don't know how, but I'm going to do this." Instead of worrying about what cards I wasn't sure of, I instead just searched for my general feelings about the reading as a whole. A few times I had the urge to look something up, but I said "No, I can do this."
I began to tell the story based on the cards I was confident about. As I looked around at the cards I found more and more connections and answers. As I spoke, the answers came to mind and I continued to tell the story laid out before me. I started to see things in the cards I hadn't noticed before because I was too busy relying on the book to tell me what was what. It felt so freeing to listen to my inner voice for the answer. Forget what the book said, these cards (or Spirit) were speaking to me!
Needless to say, these readings were spot on. Maybe more so than they would've been if I was reading from the book. Plus, the people I was reading for felt that it was more authentic too. I could tell that they knew I was speaking from within and finding their story, not just giving them something they could've read themselves.
Anyway, this is just another step forward towards gaining complete confidence in reading people.
I've also been answering reading requests on the Empath Community with the hopes that I can tap into this resource without using cards. I think it's easier to gain that confidence on a forum rather than face to face, but we'll see how well I actually do.

So how do you throw away your Tarot Book? Find that inner confidence, and hold onto it. As a few friends you trust if you can read them. You don't want to know too much about them, or else you'll find it difficult to really differentiate between yourself and Spirit. I guess the lesson in throwing away your Tarot Book, is that if you're thinking about taking the leap and trusting in yourself, then just go for it. You'll feel so much freedom afterwards.