Learning the Tarot - One Card at a Time

[Myriella]

Hey everyone! I've owned a tarot deck for almost two years, and I haven't done much with it. I've decided that 2015 is the year to develop my divinatory ability, and I'm going to start with my tarot deck.

Here is my plan:
Each day, I will shuffle the deck and draw a new card. I will research the card and record what it means to me in a notebook (or a thread on here, if people would be interested in sharing their interpretations to further my learning). I will also attempt to interpret what the card might mean today, in my life, and why I may have drawn it. When I feel that I have a firmer grasp on reading just the one card, I'll start trying out different spreads to see what works best for me.

For example:
Today, I drew the King of Cups (I am using the Rider-Waite deck).

King of Cups.jpg (15.18 KiB) Viewed 2083 times

Keywords I resonated with include: wisdom, consideration, disciplined emotions, and intuitive. I gathered these words from various websites as well as the two books on the tarot that I own.

After studying the card and its associated meanings, I think it is actually a little funny that it was my first card in this process. I think it is an encouraging sign -- that I should keep with this exercise and develop my intuition. I've always tended to go with my gut, but diving into tarot and divination seems like taking things to the next level. I'm excited to see what will happen!

The idea of the disciplined emotions and consideration struck a chord in me as well. At the end of last year, I decided I no longer wanted to take Prozac for depression and anxiety, after being on it for over two years. I wanted to remember who I really was again, and I felt the medication was blocking me from being my whole self. It has been several weeks since my last dose, and I feel wonderful. Every now and again I get a little down in the dumps, but this card reminded me that I have control over my emotions. I can keep them in check, and I know that a balance of positive and negative emotions is actually a good thing.


What are your thoughts on this (both the process and my first ever reading)? Do you have any other ideas on how I might go about this?

[Sau]

When I was taught, it was advised that I didn't look into the meaning of the cards. They should have a personal sort of symbolism to you. Researching someone else opinion may influence your intuition, making you miss the true message the cards are giving to you, than you tend to fill in any blanks with the information you read.
You have to trust your instincts and have confidence in your intuition. That's why there are so many different decks out there, but they all have the power to do the same thing.

[RosieMoonflower]

I find both helps. Sometimes, I don't connect with the card and reading what others think of it helps me find meaning in it. Others, I may know how to read right away. And sometimes, what I get from a card isn't the typical. But, I just stick with what works for me.

[smash089]

I love this!

[syngerin]

Drawing out one card each day is a really good exercise to start working with Tarot, especially when you are a beginner. If you want to, you can also draw a card in the morning and interpret it in three different ways (for example, on a physical, an emotional and a spiritual level), and see how this plays out in the day.

I hope it helps!

[RosieMoonflower]

Nothing beats looking at you own cards and getting your own feelings from them. But, I learned some of the base meanings for all the cards using brainscape.com. There is a tarot study deck. It wasn't free however I cannot remember how much it cost. My guess is less than $10. I got the brainscape app on my phone and I use to flip through them when we were slow at work.

Rosie [GREEN HEART]

[Kassandra]

Here is my plan:
Each day, I will shuffle the deck and draw a new card. I will research the card and record what it means to me in a notebook (or a thread on here, if people would be interested in sharing their interpretations to further my learning). I will also attempt to interpret what the card might mean today, in my life, and why I may have drawn it. When I feel that I have a firmer grasp on reading just the one card, I'll start trying out different spreads to see what works best for me.

I think this is a great plan! Go for it.




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