My Advice for Learning Tarot On Your Own

Introduction

I bought my first deck in 2010. Shortly afterward, I wound up paying for a membership at one of the more prominent message boards for tarot readers. I also had friends learning tarot out in the real world.

Some of them gave me the advice that worked for them, but not very well for me. I appreciate the time they took and the help they offered.

What follows is the advice that I had to give myself in order to genuinely start learning.

This is an incredibly vague list of things that a new reader should consider when learning to read on their own. If you have a mentor then you should do what that mentor tells you instead.

This blog post is the companion article to a YouTube video posted at: https://youtu.be/8IbxQtijplE

Tarot is Not a Singular Practice

Know that there is no singular way to read tarot cards.

Everything I am going to say is intended to help new readers explore until they find their own best practice.

There are several traditions. The most common tradition is the Rider-Waite-Smith tradition, which started with the deck by Pamela Colman Smith and A.E. Waite. The absolute majority of modern decks take inspiration from the classic Rider-Waite tarot. We call the tradition and the deck Rider-Waite-Smith to honor the artist.

The Thoth deck was designed by Aleister Crowley and illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris. There are some decks which reinterpret this work through the experience and understanding of newer artists.

The Marseille tradition is the name given to the classic playing card style of tarot. This can include the Tarot de Marseille, the Visconti-Sforza reproductions, and the 1JJ Swiss family of decks. Modern decks are still created using the Marseille tradition with new artwork.

Other traditions exist as well. However, these are the most prominent styles of decks you might find.

Within each tradition, there can be numerous practices. These can range from studying the minutiae of esoteric influences to discarding all books and reading based on a purely intuitive process.

All of this is to prove that there are numerous ways to read tarot cards.

Be Patient With Yourself

Learning tarot can take time, whether you are find yourself on an intuitive path or indulging in heavy studies. Even the most intuitive readers I know spend time with their decks daily, just to have familiarity with the nuances and symbols illustrated onto each card.

Be kind, gentle, and patient with yourself. You will be surprised how quickly your small lessons add up.

Explore

Anyone you ask for advice can only tell you what worked for them. The trick is to find your specific relationship with tart. Try a little of everything. Read cards based on pure intuition without any guidebooks around. Read the based only on the designations in the book. Use spreads. Lay down cards without spreads.

Explore how much you need to rely on the written designations of each card, how much intuition you need, and where you can bring both together to be most effective.

Explore different kinds of questions. Ask for predictions. Ask for advice. “What would help me to know?” Ask anything else that comes to mind. This will help you find out what kind of questions you are better at answering.

Be okay with getting things wrong from time to time.

If you get curious about some part of tarot and learning about that subject is fun then spend some time learning. That will help you become a better tarot reader.

All of this is to help you find your own strengths as a tarot reader.

Be Selfish

Enjoy some quiet time away from devices to either read your cards or study your practice. Set aside even ten minutes a day without screens and without other people around.

It's okay to be selfish about this quiet time.

Journal

This is optional. It also helps a lot of new readers and is one of a few topics most people agree on.

I like to keep two journals. One is a (rarely used) journal where important or standout readings go.

The other is my hand-written study guide. This has a space for each card and a space for each additional topic that I am curious about.

You do not need to keep either kind of journal. You may find that keeping one style of journal or the other will help you learn to read tarot much more quickly.

Conclusion

If you are learning to read tarot on your own then you need to find out what your practice genuinely is. I can not tell if you need to be a purely intuitive reader or if you need to study profoundly. I can not tell you what kind of questions you are capable of answering.

All of that will need to come through your own exploration.

I can give you permission to go your own way. Don't take the word of anyone on the Internet, not even me.

My advice ultimately comes down to three suggestions:

Best of luck to you.

About Andrew

Andrew is a home recording enthusiast, former comedian and occasional amateur stage magician.

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