Learning Tarot Was Just A Thought
It was just something I became interested in when I was in my teens. Yeah, I went through that weird witchy phase that I believe a lot of people go through. Where you dabble into things outside of your normal realm.
The spells, the potions, and the instruments used to enchant were attractive but the deeper I went the scary it seemed to get… Plus, I couldn’t deal with the possible thoughts in the librarians’ minds when I would check out.
However, I remember I was doing research for an art project and I had become slightly obsessed with the artist Brian Froud. I found out that he had made these cards called the Faeries Oracle Deck and I had to have them.
I waited for days for this deck to arrive because this was back when Amazon didn’t have prime shipping and they were taking e-check payments.
The day the deck arrived I spent so much time just looking at the cards. They were gorgeous. They were magical, but they weren’t tarot cards… They were oracle cards. That’s completely different.
I used the oracle deck’s art as inspiration for my high school art project and that was about it. I put them back in their original packaging and forgot about them and tarot until nearly decades later.
Learning How To Read Tarot Just Became A Random Hobby
I was always dropping my guy off at the airport and it would just be me and the cat. Both of us sitting at home trying to entertain one another while he was off snapping pictures of beautiful faces and legendary people.
There we were sitting on the floor because our place hadn’t been furnished yet, I started thinking about what I could do to pass the time.
I didn’t want to do anything expensive. I didn’t want to do anything where it required other people. Lastly, I wanted to do something that was a learning experience and I have no clue as to how tarot popped back into my mind, but I’m glad that it did.
Actually, now that I think about it, I had found the coolest tarot card images on Pinterest and decided once again I needed whatever it was. I didn’t know it was a tarot deck until I started clicking to figure out how to buy whatever it was.
The tarot deck was Amrit Brar’s Marigold Tarot Deck. I got the gilded version. It was definitely worth the splurge. I was thrilled to see the package in my mailbox due to the timing. I had just finished an airport drop-off and would be alone for a few days.
It would be my cat, myself, and now the Marigold Tarot Deck.
Learning Tarot Can Be Frustrating
The only reason learning how to read tarot was frustrating for me was that I just wanted to rush into knowing everything. It had nothing to do with tarot itself, haha.
I am just always rushing things with tarot you need to just enjoy it because you’ll constantly be learning new things. Here’s a tip from me for you… Just take your time. Learning tarot is fun and insightful.
Okay, So Here Is How I Learned To Read Tarot
I took out all of the cards and looked at them one by one. Just admired them and laid them flat on my kitchen counter. Yes, all 78 of the tarot cards were looking back at me as I stared at them. I acknowledged the ones I liked and wrote them down on a little sticky note so that I could look up the meaning later.
Each tarot deck comes with a little booklet that holds the meaning of each card. There are two Arcanas: Major Arcana and Minor Arcana.
The major arcana are the first 22 cards, starting with the fool card as 0 and the world which is technically the 22nd card, but it will be labeled the 21st card since the decks usually start at 0.
The minor arcana are broken into four suits. Swords, Cups, Pentacles/Coins, and Wands/Rods. Each suit has a common theme, an element, and a zodiac/astrological sign assigned to them.
Each suit within the minor arcana holds 14 total cards. 1-10, a page, a knight, a queen, and a king.
Also, each number has a usual theme. For example, 5s rarely ever have a positive meaning. 1s are usually about new beginnings. 10s are usually endings and so on. You’ll be able to figure it out rather quickly if you’re good with patterns.
SuitMeaningZodiac SignsWandscreativity, action, and movementAries, Leo, SagittariusCupsemotions and spiritual experienceCancer, Scorpio, PiscesSwordsintellect thought and reasonAquarius, Gemini, LibraPentaclespracticality, security, and material concernsTaurus, Virgo, CapricornTarot Suit Breakdown Chart
Now once I became acquainted with the cards. I decided to go through each suit and learn its meaning. I didn’t try to remember the exact card description printed in the little booklet, but the general meaning of the card.
I believe it took me a few days, but possibly a week to get a good grasp on the card meanings. I would do a bunch of general readings asking random questions and trying to interpret the cards from memory before reaching for the booklet.
After about two weeks or so I had a tiny bit of confidence and decided to do readings for my friends. I let them know upfront that I was extremely new, but I was amazed at what I was able to uncover.
The Biggest Mistake I Made When Learning Tarot
I purchased the most beautiful deck I had ever seen and most readers would not recommend that a newbie start reading with that deck since it can be considered if not advanced at least intermediate.
Most tarot readers would recommend starting with the Rider Waite or a deck similar to it since it is easier to grasp due to the imagery.
Plus, once you learn how to read with the Rider Waite deck you can pretty much read with any deck and take into account the deck’s differences along with infusing your personal reading style.
I will be honest with you though. I didn’t want to buy the Rider Waite tarot deck. I just found it so unappealing and detested it, but I wanted to get better and I did want another tarot deck.
Now here’s something crazy… I use that tarot deck and the Marigold tarot deck all the time. I currently have a small collection of about ten tarot decks. I have to actively keep myself in check because I am constantly wanting more tarot decks. Yes, it can become an addiction, but what I have found out is that usually when I get the deck it isn’t nearly as amazing as my mind hyped it up to be, haha.
Here Are My Recommendations
I don’t want you just out there by yourself trying to figure out what to resources and tarot decks to buy so I will give you the tools and resources I used to get better.
Online Tarot Resources
These are online websites that I used when I started learning tarot… Actually I still sometimes use these when I need to remember certain things.
Learning the Tarot — http://learntarot.org, they have lessons, exercises, spreads, positions, sample readings, and also card meanings available.
The Tarot Guide — https://www.thetarotguide.com, I love the design of this website mainly, but I love how much information is given about each card. It also has a section where you can learn tarot, tarot flashcards, and tarot spreads, along with infusing astrology into tarot.
My Favorite Tarot Decks
Gold Gilded Edition – “The Marigold Tarot”, This is the first deck that I purchased. It is absolutely stunning. The weight of the deck and the thickness of the cards are perfect. They’re not flimsy and they’re not hard to shuffle.
Tarotorial Tarot Training Deck, I bought this deck because I thought it would help with solidifying the information. It did that, but the cards are very thin. However, I would purchase this for a beginner or as a beginner in addition to the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck.
The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck, This is the deck I didn’t want to buy but ended up adoring. You need this deck or a version of it as a beginner or for a beginner. It’ll definitely make it easier when you transition to the fancy tarot decks you want to use next.
Warning To Those That Are Learning Tarot
I want to remind you that tarot isn’t something concrete. You will continuously be learning things. So, don’t beat yourself up if you aren’t learning as quickly as you want.
Also, each person reads tarot differently. Some people are classic readers, some people are intuitive, and some people just use the cards as a guide as they are actually mediums. It is up to how you want to read tarot.
If you do a reading and let’s say it doesn’t resonate with that person it is normally because you’re reading another person’s energy.
You will encounter people that will mock you for liking tarot, for believing in tarot, or for entertaining tarot. Don’t them get to you. The tarot community is open to anyone that wants to be a part of it.
There will be times when you can’t stop playing/reading your tarot cards and there will be times you don’t ever want to see them. This is normal. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Most tarot readers enjoy doing tarot readings on love. Love tarot readings are the majority, but if you don’t enjoy doing those you do not have to do those types of readings. I personally enjoy doing readings on career & finance and get slightly annoyed with “Will My Boyfriend Come Back To Me?” type readings. It is all up to what you want to do personally.
When you’re learning how to read tarot you will figure out what you love, what you like, what you don’t like, or what you will never do. You’ll find your style. You’ll find your vibe and before you know it you will be a professional tarot reader. Just keep at it and don’t be scared to use the resources I provided or what you’ve found.
Take Care, My Friends
I hope my “Learning Tarot All By Myself” helped you with learning how to read tarot or gave you some insight. If it helped or you have some feedback I would love it if you left a comment or sent me a message.
If the post didn’t help you, but you think it would help someone you know then feel free to share this post because sharing is absolutely caring.
Namaste as the cool kids say 🙂
