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I've just attempted a Tarot reading on myself for the first time. Many of the cards have a clear interpretation, but some are either confusing or bizarre. I'm curious how more experienced users would read them.

Although I didn't have a clear question in mind when I started dealing, the session evolved into a debate over whether I should go to a particular party that falls two days before a professional exam. Normally I'd be really responsible and spend the time revising, but a girl I like may be there. This sounds really petty but it's actually quite a good allegory for my life right now.

Deck: Rider-Waite (brand new)
Spread: Cross

Significator: Cups 04 - world-weariness, aversion, disgust. I chose with care here.

Cover: Wands 10 - oppression, fortune, false seeming, stultification. I interpret this as referring to the "gilded cage" of my professional life.
Obstacles: Temperance - frugality, accommodation. I'm taking this to mean bureaucracy, rigidity of thought, perfectionism.
Crown: Strength - power, energy, action, courage. Spot on.
Beneath: Chariot - succour, providence. I'm taking this as a reminder that at least I've got plenty of room to manoeuvre.
Behind: Cups 6 - childhood, enjoyment, pleasant memories. Spot on - I'm pretty well-adjusted.
Before: The Fool - folly, mania, extravagance, delirium, frenzy, bewrayment.

Self: The Star - loss, theft, privation, abandonment; hope, bright prospects; arrogance, haughtiness, impotence. Hard to argue with something that has so many possible readings...
House: The Tower - misery, distress; oppression, imprisonment. Possibly a bit melodramatic, but again matches the gilded cage theme.
Desire: The Lovers - attraction, love, beauty, trials overcome. Spot on.
Oracle: Wands Ace - creation, invention, enterprise; calamities of all kinds.

The Fool and the Ace of Wands are the ones that are really messing with my mind. Having the Fool in the sixth place is the sort of thing you'd expect to read for Alice just before she finds the rabbit hole, or for someone who is about to have a nervous breakdown. Does it mean that my world is going to go bonkers in the near future, or that it already has and I haven't noticed yet, or that I should actively work to make it as crazy as possible? Is it a warning or a promise or a suggestion or all three?

The Ace of Wands looks to be both my route out of the situation and a veiled warning of the consequences if I don't take it. In the context of this reading, it probably means: go to the party, but work your ass off beforehand to compensate. But it could also be read as suggesting that there is a third option I've missed. And I'm not sure how it interacts with the Fool. Any thoughts?

Like I say, I'm an absolute beginner to Tarot, so please let me know if I'm talking gibberish. On a slightly more mundane note, the preponderance of major arcana suggests that I didn't shuffle the deck as well as I thought I had [unsure]

Tarot cards need great practising....in time you'll find your self in the right level...you'll be able to hear the cards speaking to you about their messages.The cross way is a very accurate way to open your cards.Having the Fool in the sixth place gives you a warning about the future.You are now ready to open a new door in your life but it seems you always misplace the key.Have your mind focused on the forest not the tree.Be very cautious cause the effects of your actions will remain for long. The Ace of wands also rings the bell to be careful.It seems there's a third meaning here which says: Παν μέτρον άριστον !!!that's what we say in Greece and means do everything you wanna do in a logical way and stay in the borders of your limits.
So...i guess you'll go to this party but first you'll have to read all of your lessons...and don't stay long there(at the party).Just live your moment in the right way !!!

What book are you using,those meanings seem a little off to me,generally,but the Fool and the Star particularly.

The Fool: you are starting out on a journey,an adventure might be yours,if you accept it.The Ace of Wands an initiation of sorts,a creative spurt,the desire of the Fool within you? This party might be the catalyst for this.

The Fool is a powerful significator and we are all fools journeying through life,in some respects.

Have a look at these.The first link relates Tarot to Jungian Archetypes:

http://www.schuelers.com/chaos/chaos7.htm

Psychodynamics of Tarot,here:

http://www.byregion.net/articles-healers/tarot.html

The Celtic Cross is a complex spread.Perhap you should experiment with various lay outs,there are many different methods.

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

It's the first time i read those meanings !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I personally use greek and egyptian books...i also have friendly relationships with tarot authors and they gave us the correct and exact meanings !!!! This is the point where i always say:seek the forest...not the tree.
Your meanings seem a little off to me also !!!! Makes me wonder....anyway...our friend will certainly find his way in the tarot reading.
Also...correct me if i'm wrong.The cross way is a specific way that has been accepted all around the world by the best tarot readers.

The way most things (including tarot) is those that are working through you with the Tarot, spirit wise, should know that the meaning of the cards will be used in your understanding...that is to say, if card 1 means X to me, but Y to someone else...if I pull out card one, it should mean represent what it means to me. Any message to you (given by any messenger worth two-shits) will find a symbol or other that you will interpret easily and will have meaning for you.

While some may encode deeper meanings into some message, if the message doesn't at first doesn't automatically ring any bells then it is almost pointless. It is like trying to explain something important to someone in a language they don't understand. I suppose the only exception is the "quick search", where by you receive a message/sign which you aren't sure what it means so you do a google search, and you should find the intended message meaning quickly doing this search. However, in my experience it isn't just a message, often time this is a path clue to lead you to somewhere or something you are looking for. I have found many gems this way.

Tarot cards and meanings change from deck to deck I find, depending on the imagery. I have a few decks, and I can draw the same card in each deck with each meaning something different in the concept of the reading. Sure overall tarot has a "Tradional" meaning to each card, there are other things that the card has to offer when reading. In fact I only turn to book meanings of cards when I can't find a meaning in the card for myself, which is very rarely.

I say this when you do a reading your mind will focus on one particular area of a card as a whole, so try to understand what you are seeing and how that pertains to your reading as a whole.

There is a lot of tradition in the tarot, but you also have to use a lot of intuition when reading them as well. Hope that helps.