how did you learn?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 09 May 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

princessofp0wer	09 May 2003
I know that learning Tarot is a lifetime/ongoing process, but for those of you more experienced readers out there...what did you do to take the plunge? What were your first steps in learning? What did you do to get to where you are today? Any advice/shared experiences would be greatly appreciated. Blessings, Jess

Moongold	09 May 2003
Hi, I'm not really an experienced reader - less than a year for me. In fact I mainly use Tarot for personal development. I read quite a bit and play a lot with the cards. Keeping a journal is also a great help. Having more than one deck is good as well because you get different perspectives and it's fun as well. Moongold

Astraea	09 May 2003
Hi, Jess. My learning process began with a tarot reading in 1988 that was so accurate that I developed the desire to learn more about the cards. I bought a RWS deck and was more or less mentored by the person who gave me that first reading (we are great friends, to this day). I wasted a lot of money on books, initially, being unable to believe that my own intuition was worth as much as what "experts" said -- that kind of thinking blocked me for quite a few years. I believe that it is important to learn the structure of the deck and to study basic number symbolism, but beyond that, what makes a reader is practice, practice, practice.

Diana	09 May 2003
Hi Jess! Well, I think we probably all have as many different experiences as there are people on the boards. The person who really got me "hooked" was a gypsy who had the most unusual way of reading Tarot cards. Completely different to anything I've ever seen and probably will ever see. She didn't use any of the traditional meanings. But her readings worked. Remarkably well. My first Tarot class was not a very good one - the teacher didn't really know much about Tarot - but it was fun and it got me to "play" around with my cards. In the beginning, I would do readings on every single thing I could think of. Like which vegetable stall had better vegetables, that kind of thing! :) It was a fun way to get to learn my cards. Since then, I have taken more worthwhile Tarot classes which have taught me an awful lot. Then I read books. Lots of them. Most of them were not worth reading. A few stood out though. Learning about the elements and a basic knowledge of numerology helped (very basic in my case, but sufficient for my needs). And then I started doing readings on world affairs. That really really made me understand the cards, because I was getting out of my own little world which I can influence, into a more objective kind of reading. I mean, I can influence my life, but I can't influence much the war in Sudan, for instance. And also, it was easy to check whether my readings were right or not, by reading newspapers a few weeks or months later to see if the situation had evolved like I had thought according to my cards. Doing very important readings for myself, I have always found quite hard. For very important issues, I go to someone else and generally, I prefer to pay (money, or deck, or book or something like that). If the person refuses, I give some money to charity or something (it was Mojo who gave me that idea when he refused payment for a reading he did for me once). Using different decks is also an interesting way to learn.

azuremariposa	09 May 2003
well, like Astraea, i started in 1988...my mom had gotten herself a Rider-Waite deck and the Pictorial Key to the Tarot...somehow or other, the deck fell into my hands...i don't think she was that interested, and i was more interested, so i think she basically just gave it to me... i took my deck to school (i was in high school at the time) and w/my trusty LWB (little white book) i would while away my lunch period doing readings for anyone and everyone i could...i stuck w/the celtic cross since it was the only spread i knew...there were times where i could feel i didn't understand something, so i would ask the person for clarification...i found myself relying on my own intuition more than the LWB over time...in fact, upon being challenged to do a reading for someone, i asked my girlfriend for a pack of playing cards (since i did not have my deck w/me) and proceeded to read w/them, entirely by intuition...had no clue what i was doing! lol...but they worked!! :D the only other book i got on tarot was a book by Eden Gray...the Complete Tarot, i think...i especially liked the section in the back where she outlined a reading she had done...it helped me realize there were more ways of interpreting a card simply by it's position...for instance, a 'positive' card in the obstacle position might mean no obstacles or it could mean a fear of the 'positive'...also, that there are no true 'positive' or 'negative' cards...b/c all of them have good and bad aspects...anyway... i mostly learned through experience...i read for mainly friends and family after high school...spent some time reading for strangers w/one of those 900#'s (ha!!)...which was both good and bad...i hadn't done readings for strangers in years, so it reminded me how to 'tune in' to my intuition, and yet it was very stressful regarding 'keeping them on the line' long enough for my 'manager'...heh... somewhere along the line, i got online and started doing almost all my readings this way...recently i started experimenting w/different spreads, and now different decks...it's odd to do anything other than the CC sometimes...but i like it...and very recently i started getting books on tarot...so, after 15 yrs of doing it 'solo', i'm finally gonna read some books on it! lol... so, there's my experiences...i am still learning new things everyday...and i welcome that...tarot is a beautiful thing and it has breath and movement and life...i love it and will probably be reading when i'm 90...heh...don't know if this answers your question(s), but this is how tarot entered my life and evolved... many blessings to all... ~azure

lawguy51	09 May 2003
Hi Jess: I don't think the means by which you learn mean as much as the will, desire and passion to learn. For a reason that is unimportant, I decided to learn Tarot last summer. I can tell you that the most important learning tool that I have come across is this forum. From answering every question you have, to granting you the opportunity to practice readings or to have your own readings interpreted by others. A lot of people say stay away from books. I say, nonsense. Last year I had 2 books on Tarot, now I have 24. But I love books. And there are some great ones out there, like 78 Degrees of Wisdom by Pollack or Tarot Reversals by Greer. But ultimately, you have to use the cards, you have to believe in your own ability to interpret them, you have to give yourself readings, your friends and family ...or not, it's up to you. But if you have the passion to learn and experiment, a year from now, you will look back and marvel at the amazing oddessy of self-discovery that you have been on. Lawguy51

Umbrae	10 May 2003
…Read a lot. But read a lot for other people. Read for yourself no more than once a week, internal bias will skew your readings. Use three card spreads for months. After about 6 months of reading for others go to 5 card spreads. Books are fine, to a point…they are for reference and not for reverence. Learn to read by a book and you are locking yourself into another’s world-view. Reading is not a science, it is an art. Reading cannot be truly learned by reading books, only by doing. Just as ‘paint by numbers’ is not art. Edited to add: My first deck was a Swiss IJJ – I was ‘lost’ with the non-illustrated pips. I thought I had to ‘memorize’ the deck. I bought a Waite-Coleman Smith. Back then (1972), the only book I could find was Waite’s – which was a big ‘little white book’ (lwb). I threw the books away and began a journal, and forgot about memorization. This is not a path for everybody. Should you want to memorize, do so by memorizing numerically, and not by suits. For example, what do all the two’s have in common, how are they different? Now what about the three’s, then the fours. This process firmly grounds your own process in the use of the numerical values first, and the suits second. As an example, the 10 of Cups and the 10 of Swords have much in common…10 Cups in a Rainbow and 10 Swords sticking out of somebody’s back as they lay prostate bleeding… What do they have in common?

SharonElizabeth	10 May 2003
When I first started out I took a look at one card everyday, wrote a bit in a journal about my feelings about the card itself and the meanings of the card. That has graduated into just using the cards frequently, and making sure to write down my impressions about what comes up. I've used what I've written as learning materials. Also just reading anything I can about the subject has helped immensely.

ihcoyc	10 May 2003
I learned with the Swiss 1JJ deck and "A Complete Guide to the Tarot" by Eden Gray. I began sometime in the mid-1970s, I'll guess in 1975 or thereabouts. I learned by memorizing the images from the Rider-Waite-Smith deck from the Gray book and learning to relate them to each card in the Swiss deck. After a while, I eventually got a Waite deck of my own, and found that I really didn't need it by that point, that the images were already there for me and I was better reading the abstract deck than the actual Waite images. Tarot is like any other art form; at least when you are starting out, practice and hard study are the key. This sounds like a cliché, because it is. Learn your first deck well, and afterwards you can find one or several you feel more commodious.

LittleWing	10 May 2003
i bought some tarot cards 10 years ago - i was getting into witchcraft etc at just 17 years old. i never really studied them - i used to play around with them etc. then after a few years i grew out of this stuff and moved on. then 2 or 3 years ago, i bought some tarot cards again - and i know they are for me, now i am older and wiser. i knew the basic meanings of most of the major and court cards - so didnt bother with a book. i wrote a journal - a card a day - studying it. then lots and lots of practise readings!!! also spending time to read and respond on this forum, usually 20 mins per day or so, helps me learn so much and keeps me inspired.

Kiama	10 May 2003
I was 9 years old when I first started learning Tarot, and at first I thought that just reading the one book I had and memorising the cards' meanings would be enough... It got me through til I was about 12, when I got a couple of different Tarot decks and gradually started to practice readings on other people instead of just myself... For the next couple of years I would read for friends every day. Sometimes we'd just spend a whole sleepover asking the cards questions, silly ones... 'Does so-and-so like me?' 'Will I marry so-and-so?' We didn't get any decent answers because the questions were silly, but I did learn how to link cards together in a reading, how to read properly... Things like that. I learned the process of reading. When I got to about 15, I finally started a proper study of Tarot... I read more books, got more decks, read more for others seriously, and kept a Tarot journal. Then, at 16, I found this forum. This is where I learned more than anything else! I found that just talking about Tarot and th esurrounding issues and concepts with other people from all backgrounds, religions, beliefs, etc, gave me a good grounding in the different ways of looking at the Tarot. I learned things such as the possible ways of how Tarot works... I learned how to cope with people who say the Tarot is the tool of the devil... I learned how to collect Tarot decks! I found that having many decks in my collection really helped, as I got more than one 'view' of each card... A kept a Tarot journal properly, doing daily draws, writing down new insights into the cards and their deeper concepts as I went along. Finally, two years after that (18 years old) which is pretty much now, I gave lessons and talks on Tarot for the Uni Pagan Society I am with. I have always found that no matter how much one knows about a subject, there is always something more to learn, and Tarot is no exception. I have always found teaching others a marvellous way of not only reinforcing what I have learned, but learning extra things. I learned what kinds of questions peopel who have never before used the Tarot ask. I learned exactly how to explain my style of reading, and how to explain what Tarot is to a stranger in two sentences. Mostly though, getting away from the darned books helped alot: Talking to people here on Aeclectic, practicing readings, daily draws... All of these active things taught me more than just sitting wading through books, most of which say the same things as every other book. For the last couple of years, I haven't read many books on Tarot. I think I have read two. I got rid of nearly all my Tarot books which weren't deck companion books, cuz I just didn't need them anymore... I found nothing new to learn from them, and I've realised that my friends on Aeclectic, and my mistakes and experiences with the Tarot have been my best teachers! Applying Tarot to my life, literally living the Tarot as part of my spirituality, has also helped, because it has become instilled in who I am... Every one of my experiences in life I subconsciously link with a card from teh Tarot deck, and this not only yields up extra insights into the experience, but the card itself. Finally, creating the cards has helped immensely. Deciding what I think that particular card means, and pictorially representing that in a way which I can relate to means I have formulated my own ideas of the cards. I can't draw, but it's been helpful anyway! Hmmm... I've rambled on alot. In conclusion, I guess everything that I've done in relation to Tarot has been a teacher for me. And particularly now, when I actualyl live the Tarot. Kiama

gloria	11 May 2003
"And then I started doing readings on world affairs. That really really made me understand the cards, because I was getting out of my own little world which I can influence, into a more objective kind of reading. I mean, I can influence my life, but I can't influence much the war in Sudan, for instance. And also, it was easy to check whether my readings were right or not, by reading newspapers a few weeks or months later to see if the situation had evolved like I had thought according to my cards." (quote from Diana) I've never thought of using the cards in this way before. It's a great idea. What kind of spread would you use Diana? Please tell all. I must give it a try. Gloria

gloria	11 May 2003
Am moving to new thread.

michelley	12 May 2003
Hello all - First, I am still learning, famous words. My mom taught me. Her friends showed me too. I was young, around 7 - 8. Reading books from my moms shelf. My mother exposed me and then I led my interests in all divination. Mahjongg, astrology, numerology, symbolism, i ching, synchronisities & tarot are tools that I feel can be used to connect to a deeper knowledge within all of us. The key here is the concept of what I call the x-factor. The x-factor is = to one's level of conciousness or awareness. Which is why there are _so many_ symbols and images on tarot. Each one stirs a recognition of a greater wisdom or truth. How can I as a mere mortal be expected to remember and rattle off every ounce of truth and wisdom available in this universe? Tarot cards hold all of the images I need to refer back to that index card filed in the back of my brain, telling me what I knew, I just forgot. I feel that some times people tend to underestimate 1 card a day readings and 3 card readings. A reading of plain playing cards can be used when a querant may not want to see all of the bloody details. Meditation is also key with any divination and just listening to the universe in general as signs and symbols are provided all day if one just would recognize them as truths. I do hope this helps. -michelley

isthmus nekoi	12 May 2003
Hi Jess! I'd say practicing on others (esp cold readings) is a really good way to get to know your deck. Building up experience really takes time but it's worth it. I used to take a life drawing classes and would do readings for my classmates or even the model :) Since I'd usually see these ppl more than once, I could get feedback. I've also done readings for complete strangers when the opportunity presented itself. The only advice here is to be discerning when you're reading for others. Experience has taught me *never* to read for someone unless you and your deck feel totally comfortable w/it. Aeclectic's reading exchange forum is also great place to practice, to get constructive feedback. As for learning.... I learned on the Vertigo deck and in the beginning, relied heavily on the accompanying Pollack book. Then after awhile, I stopped using it completely, developing my own takes on the cards b/c often they'd have little to do w/what Pollack had written. But I still have it by my side now to see if it can add anything new to my perspective. One exercise I do that I find extremely helpful is this: after every reading, I cut the deck at random. I try to match the card in the deck to a card in the spread. Of course, when you're at the last card in the spread, whichever card you cut to, you'll have no control over and it's interesting to see what match is made. Over time, cards build up a myriad of associations w/other cards either through spreads or this exercise and it really helps me when I'm interpreting.

Khatruman	12 May 2003
I am thinking of the old joke about the conductor (who was it?): Man lost on the street asks passing conductor, "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" Conductor answers, "Practice, practice, practice." I think that's plainly how any of us gets anywhere. I do not want to belittle the question, since looking at the footsteps of a success is always valuable. What I want to address is the underlying concern in the question that getting to expertise requires a specific path and if one can't find it, one can't get there. I heard a great motivational speaker once say that getting to a goal simply involves action, and lots of action! Of course, this may mean sometimes you will make mistakes. But hey, that's part of the process. Thomas Edison was interviewed about his invention of the light bulb, and how it took 1,400 filaments to finally get one that wouldn't burn out too quickly. The interviewer asked him what it felt like to fail 1,400 times. Edison answered that he didn't fail; he invented the lightbulb. It just took 1,400 steps to do it! Babe Ruth, the year he recorded his homerun record, also recorded a strike out record. He went for it at every shot. I guess what I am trying to say is that to learn tarot, you must use it, and listen for feedback to see if you are on the right path. I could close my eyes in a room with you and get to the other side simply by taking a step, and having you tell me "Yes" or "No", eventually I will reach my goal, but I most probably will make many more wrong turns along the way. Like I said, this doesn't devalue the question asked. In fact, it affirms it, since inquiring about the path from others who have taken it is a way to get you on that road. Yet the road must be traveled by you. And your road may be different from others, so don't feel deterred if your path doesn't match another's. Follow it, and listen.

Umbrae	12 May 2003
BTW: …I never did ‘learn’ tarot. I am still learning.

DeLani	12 May 2003
What got me to take the plunge was a crazy old lady that lived in my apt. building. I would see her outside on the steps, using a magnifying glass to woodburn beautiful pictures of wizards and dragons. So my curiosity got the best of me and I approached her. I got to know her - she's no crazy old lady, but now one of my best and dearest old friends. She introduced me to Tarot and Wicca. I was 13. It was strange. It was like I already knew what the cards meant, she just had to remind me once. All she did was tell me to look at the pictures and see what I thought they meant...It was like I had been doing it all my life. I hope I don't sound like I'm bragging! I still enjoy studying and learning.

The how did you learn? thread was originally posted on 09 May 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.