Getting Started with Tarot

In the spirit of true blogging, making new connections is everything. Showing off and getting book contracts is secondary, I swear. This post is adapted from a reply sent this afternoon to some kind soul who actually stumbled upon this very humble blog. Thank you and I hope this is of at least some assistance to anyone interested in Tarot -- which, I should add, is not merely a pagan pursuit. When I worked briefly as a professional reader, most of the folks I worked with were Christians or of no particular religion, including one Mormon lay minister...not sure of her exact title, but you get the point -- and that's that nothing usually is as it seems. Enjoy!

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My first advice to anyone interested in Tarot would be to find a deck you love. Something based on the traditional Tarot 78-card system is nice, but frankly worthless if you don't connect with the images. I collect decks, some of them I could never ever use, but boy, are they gorgeous! Some I can use only for myself and even then, I'm referring back to the book for more guidance.

Some people like "oracle decks" that aren't Tarot based. Some have angels, some goddesses, etc... I have a Goddess deck I love, but again, only for myself -- although it's meant to be a "women's spirituality" deck vs. a pagan one, so I don't see why I couldn't, just never did. I use one that merges the traditional Rider-Waite imagery in a more pagan context, the wonderful Robin Wood Tarot.

There are some thorny issues you have to get through for both reading for yourself and, if you choose, for others, namely, the Scary Cards, especially Death and The Devil. Some decks rename them; others reinterpret them. My deck does the latter, with Death meaning Rebirth and The Devil meaning things that keep you chained to the material realm, such as addictions or avarice. Movie Tarot -- usually of the campy faux-Gypsy type -- has scared people into thinking that drawing the Death card means you or someone close to you is going to die. But my teachers and personal experience have really given that duty to other cards, and to psychic intuition, and it's widely accepted that the Major Arcana Death card is really about Rebirth or other transformations (though that also belongs to Judgement...but that's another entry altogether!).

So it really helps to get a good look at many decks and multiple cards within each deck. Give any prospective deck a good audition, I say.


If you want to read reviews and look at lots of images, there are several huge sites, but the one I use the most is Aeclectic Tarot. Find a deck you feel suits you and if at all possible, get one that has an accompanying book -- a real book, that is. Virtually all decks come with a little white booklet, sometimes just folded paper, but that's not enough. A good deck and book set will help you understand the system/mindset behind the deck and to me, that's the key.

The best source online for buying decks is also the largest distributor, U.S. Games. Amazon.com online and Borders real world also sell many decks. Borders stores usually have samples on notebook rings and Amazon *might* have images for some titles, depending on whether the publisher has uploaded them. There's also places like eBay, and pagan and metaphysical stores, online and storefront.

Once you find a deck you like, you may want to make a connection with it. Sleep with it under your pillow for 3 nights, for example. Carry it in your purse or backpack and look at it often. Shuffle it, learn how it feels, how it sounds...my deck is pretty sturdy so I do the traditional riffle shuffle with mine, because I am blessed with Man Hands and can shuffle a deck larger than regular playing cards, LOL. Lots of people like to make special pouches or wraps to hold their decks, with black silk being seen as highly protective. I wrap mine in an old colorful red scarf, and keep it in a green faux velvet box with some kind of black synthetic satin lining. To me, the color combo is very powerful, and my mother gave me the box. If you ever met my mother, you'd know that no one could ever get anything by her and for me, that's protection enough. But then again, I'm a Cancer and family connections trump all. Pun intended. ;-)

Most people start out trying to memorize keywords for each card, but that's not always a good way to start. If you have a good memory and enjoy the challenge, then by all means. But if not, there's no shame in referring back to the book. I would practice some simple layouts, whether they are "real" readings or not. Three card layouts are most common, easy to learn and yet *very* helpful. I used them as a professional reader a lot. Now, you will eventually need to find some way to memorize meanings, but this is what takes time so don't get discouraged.

An excellent and most comprehensive place to learn Tarot is, appropriately enough, www.learntarot.com. This is the site of author Joan Bunning's course that is now a book. I started reading it before she printed the book and it was a huge help. You can download the entire course to your computer to work on or even print out. But if you're going to print it, I would recommend just buying the book -- it's worth every penny. It goes through each card, layouts and many other issues. This is an excellent place to start learning meanings in a larger context; it was the first time I'd ever heard of The Fool's Journey -- the explanation of the order of the Major Arcana. It's something I continue to learn from every day.

Somewhere between doing mock readings and memorizing the card meanings is where you'll get that "AHA!" moment and things will start to gel.

Also, there's the very important issue of "Tarot readings" vs. "Psychic readings." You may or may not find yourself getting "psychic" insights from the cards, esp. when dealing with others. Don't worry about it. The Tarot is informative and insightful enough to nail situations on the head even without being able to "Predict The Future™." Plus, I believe that the Universe/Goddess/God/Great Spirit/Angels/Whatever you may call Deity is looking out for us and so the cards that we need to see come to us. Ditto for when you read for others.

Indeed, I always let my clients shuffle the deck however they saw fit, to put a bit of their energy into it, and while doing so, asked them to think about the situation on their minds. Some readers don't let others touch their decks, and that's certainly a personal preference. I prefer that connection, and the only people I wouldn't want touching my deck are people I wouldn't want touching me.

In summary, two things to remember: Just Do It, and keep on doing it. Til you die, as you will continue to learn from even the same deck even if you use it every day for 50 years.

In future posts, I'll address other topics, such as the psychological/Jungian underpinnings and what decks I like and what decks are cool -- although this isn't going to become merely a Tarot blog.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...