Might seem a strange question BUT.........

How do you study tarot??.Ive had my cosmic deck a few weeks now and i keep sitting down with them shuffling taking the odd card out and looking at it,But i dont seem to be getting anywere i dont know were to start so wondered to myself today How 'DO' You Study Tarot?

Thanks
De xx

I read every book I could get my hands on, I visited tons of tarot websites, I journaled my own thoughts on the cards, and I kept track of my readings to check accuracy.

It takes a lot of time to learn tarot. It is a lifelong study. A few weeks is not enough time to sufficiently learn it all.

I would start here at the AT. There is tons of info here.

I'm sure there is a study group for that deck. Maybe you should start there.

delaney,

It really depends on whether you're asking about studying the field of tarot or studying a particular deck to get to know it better. Since the former would take way too much time to answer (I've been studying tarot for 16 years and don't see any end in sight ), I'll focus on the latter.

Here's what I've done in the last 6 months to study the Ancient Egyptian Tarot that I've been using for the IDS (see signature):

• took notes from the companion book
• researched the gods and goddesses represented on the various cards in relation to the meaning/idea of the card
• researched the symbols in each of the cards in relation to the meaning/idea of the card
• looked at various systems for associating the cards to help me with cards that I didn't understand after all the above studying
• participated in and filled out the study group for this deck
• began offering readings with the deck

The above steps have worked for me in studying and learning how to use this deck. It's also given me a new framework for studying and learning other decks in the future. And because of all the studying I've done, I'm just as likely to focus in on a symbol in a card or the associations of cards when interpreting as I am to focus in on the "traditional" meaning of the card.

HTH,
Rodney

I just love sitting up in bed and going through my favourite decks, card by card and just LOOKING, spreading them all out over the bedsheets and just luxuriating and cross referencing....

O and, yes, reading books... ....

Dear delaneyblues:

Get a blank notebook. Anyone will do. With that find a pencil or pen.

Grab your deck.

Draw a card and take a look at it and ask yourself what do you see? Write what you see down in the notebook. But don't stop there, keep asking yourself what do you see? And then what do you see? Write it all down. Write down what you may feel with what you see. Everything is important, IMO. Oh yeah, it doesn't matter if all you see at the time is a guy behind a table with 4 tools on it, sword, wand, cup, and coin. Days later you may remember something else. So go ahead and write it down.

Now you are on your way to starting a journal. Don't worry about what all the millions of books have to say, just for the moment, worry about what you see in each card you pull. Create your own study guide

Hope that helps.

I just read the books and study the picture. The book I have came with the tarot meaning, a description of the card and the picture. So I read the description first before the meaning. Then I look at the picture and try and get my own feelings from it. It usually works.

Baroli said:

Draw a card and take a look at it and ask yourself what do you see? Write what you see down in the notebook. But don't stop there, keep asking yourself what do you see? And then what do you see? Write it all down. Write down what you may feel with what you see. Everything is important, IMO. Oh yeah, it doesn't matter if all you see at the time is a guy behind a table with 4 tools on it, sword, wand, cup, and coin. Days later you may remember something else. So go ahead and write it down.

Don't worry about what all the millions of books have to say, just for the moment, worry about what you see in each card you pull.

Click to expand...

If you can't stand writing, do all this looking and questioning anyway. Draw one card a day and carry it with you, all day, and get to know it. It may take 78 days to go through them all, but you'll be looking at aquaintances at the end, and not a bunch of cool but unconnected and meaningless pictures.

If you are someone that does better by following a set course of study, there are a couple of good and free "learn tarot" sites on the net. Look up the Pleasure of Tarot course and Learntarot.com - either would give you a formal place for your studies.

Jan

Here is a great place for inspiration, journaling as the others have suggested is fantastic. Practice reading for yourself and for anyone who will put up with being your guinea pig! I owe a lot to my best friend in my early Tarot days for letting me and my deck meddle in her affairs!

Bookwise, Mary Greer's 21 ways to read a tarot card was for me very inspirational and helped me reach the next level, beyond the basics and more into the intuitive realm. There is also a study group thread for that book on here somewhere.

Don't be discouraged by all the information or get impatient with yourself! One day you'll look at the cards or a spread and you'll realize its finally coming together

I read books, lots of books, including the LWB. Tarot Plain and Simple is a good one, and so are Eden Gray's books. Eileen Connolly has a series of Tarot workbooks. And there are others. Then I spent time just looking at the cards, with or without the book(s) to hand. Yes, it took time. I thought I'd never get all those meanings memorized! But a funny thing happened; eventually the images started to make sense on their own!

Happy discoveries to you!