First tarot students and lesson

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 27 Aug 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Teranar	27 Aug 2003
Recently I've ended up in a position where I have two... students I am trying to teach Tarot and other forms of divination to. Both are very... well... interesting... people, Ravan and Lucius. Ravan doesn't have much self confidence and seems very awed by the cards, and seems to... well, she's rather tamed by them is the best I can think to put it. She also has pink hair. Lucius... Two weeks ago he said was a nature worshipper. Last week he said he was a satanist. Yesterday he said he was an athiest. He's from Texas. The only thing he's been consistant with is that he wants to learn tarot. Basically the reason I am starting this thread is, what would be the best way to go about teaching these very different people tarot? Basically I held class of sorts, and I basically taught them things that, to me, seemed basic, like I had Ravan shuffle the cards, then had her lay out a basic celtic cross spread. Well, like I said, she was kinda awed by the whole shuffling and laying the cards. I started by explaining the basics of spreads and about what the various positions generally mean in CC. Then I went on and explained a few simple things like reversals. Lucius was caught up for 5 minutes on the death card, which was reversed. Then I went on to describe what some of the cards mean, and ran out of time. Well... It went ok, but I was kinda hoping it would have gone a bit better. Basically I'm asking for good suggestions on how to direct things. Thanks! Sudden teacher of oddness, Teranar

Alissa	28 Aug 2003
My first impression, right off, is to throw out the Celtic Cross and start them on one card and/or three cards readings. Past present future, mind body spirit, situation advice outcome ... all EXCELLENT and functional beginner's spreads. The Celtic uses too many cards for a beginner to learn how to weave together. And, like I mentioned to you in Chat, but will here as well ... remember how intimidating the cards and the idea of *memorizing* everything can seem in the beginning. It is DAUNTING. Turn your lessons into a chance to tell them stories about the cards, one by one ... you can start with the Majors. Story telling is what people hang on to, not key words. There is a philosophy that I'm reminded of here, so allow me to wax for a moment .... In the henna artwork I do, I had a teacher who used to say, "I can teach someone in a day *how* to henna themselves. But, if I teach they *why* to henna, they can spend a lifetime learning." So, teach them *why* you read Tarot ... the beauty of the art, and let the cards and meanings come after that. My two cents ;)

Umbrae	28 Aug 2003
Don't overlook the power of a one-card spread. If you ever had a live chat room honest to god HOLMES one card live reading...you'd know what I mean.

lunalafey	28 Aug 2003
I agree with starting with less cards in a spread. Go with what ever 'general' lesson plan you think of.... From what you explained(you teach them together right?, it seems that the two different personalities will cover even more ground by way of their individual curiosities. Have them come to each class with a card they have chosen to disscuss, ask them WHY they picked that card. {they have not experienced it yet, but the card does reflect the persons mood/situation- then they will learn HOW it works} send them home with a card to think about (which one? It will present itself) have them use index cards to write the "card" on the blank side ie; Major III Empress Moon and then key words on the lined side. The more they participate, the easier it will be, give them the ball, let them run. Your students will unknowingly choose the days lesson. Your Ravan may gain some confidence, and Lucius, he might figure out what direction he wants to go, but you will see it before he does, that will help you there.

Teranar	29 Aug 2003
Thank you for all your suggestions, I have a much better Idea on how to do things now! And hopefully they'll get a better handle on things and where they want to go, they're young and have plenty of time to decide.

Kiama	30 Aug 2003
I've taught a few people around my age (between 16 and 19) in the past two years. The best thing I found to start with was just to sit them down and get rid of all the silly superstitions that they may have picked up along the way, such as 'You can't read Tarot for yourself', 'You can't read Tarot if youre Christian,' 'You can't buy your own Tarot decks...' I then explained to them what I consider to be the basics: WHY we study Tarot and give Tarot readings, what is expected of us by querents, and the philosophical basis behind Tarot: the nature of the future, freewill, fate, and all the issues surrounding that. This last one usually turns into an interesting discussion where we thrash out our ideas on the nature of the future, and whether we have control over it or if our lives are totally controlled by fate. Often, I'll throw the Wheel of Fortune card into this one as my conclusion, discussing the card with reference to the fate/freewill topic. (My conclusion is always that the future is always in motion, and therefore what we do in the present can affect it. Although there are limitations to what we can do.) I also make sure they've got a deck they can work with, so one of the first thinsg to do is go on the net and look for decks with them. Often, I'll introduce them to the process of reading by handing them the deck and asking them for a reading, before we've discussed any of the card meanings. I ask them to interpret the cards using only what they see in the images. More often than not, these readings are spot on. Now, I don't do this because I value intuitive reading above book-learning. I do it simply because it gets the idea out of their minds that it is *difficult* to read the cards and that they can't *trust* their own insights. It also gets them used to reading for somebody else. After that, I take it one step at a time depending on where the student wants to go. Kiama

matfav	02 Sep 2003
When you have driving lessons, it is good to know the rules. As a teacher of tarot, I start with the novice learning the meanings of the cards. yep all seventy eight of them. Only then do we look at spreads. Patterns of energy How the cards work ect try this, if they are keen, they will train under you if not, they never will

Kiama	02 Sep 2003
Quote: Originally posted by matfav try this, if they are keen, they will train under you if not, they never will This is just my personal opinion, and no offense is meant, but when I teach people Tarot, I prefer that we do so as friends, as 'study-buddies', instead of them 'training under me'. It smacks too much of 'I know everything about Tarot so listen to me', if you know what I mean... Also, I often talk to people who say they used to study Tarot, but stopped. When I ask why, they said it was too much to learn all 78 card meanings. Learning Tarot for them became like a chore. It's my personal (and therefore there are other ways of looking at this) opinion that Tarot should not be a boring chore. It should be a gradual progression in understanding, and not like you're revising for a Physics test. (What was that equation again? E=mc what?) So, to solve this, different ways of 'learning' the card meanings are needed. I tell my students that they should go read lots of books about card meanings and Tarot, but not in my 'class'. It's sort of optional homework if you will... In my class, we learn the card meanings in a different way. Tarot Charades, collages, entering the cards, Tarot journalling, saying what you see, Guess-The-Card, practicing readings. Get a couple of beers in at the same time, and not only do we have a wonderful and informative Tarot class, but we have some fun too. Of course, when you start teaching actual classes (instead of friends) getting beers in isn't really an option. ;) Just my tuppence-worth of thought. Kiama

Teranar	02 Sep 2003
Kiama: Well, they are kinda friends, but they're about 4 years younger than me and look up to me... but I do need to meet them someplace after school, like maybe in a starbucks (})) but I dunno about the beer, I think 14's a bit young for that. Maybe supercaffinated drinks? ;)

Kiama	03 Sep 2003
Coffee, chocolate, jelly babies... All very excellent Tarot-study foods! ;) Is there any way of meeting them somewhere else other than a public place? You might find that teaching them Tarot in a public place limits your possibilities. (This could just be me: I like to get many different decks out, and get really active in these things: as I mentioned before, Tarot charades, etc... ;)) Kiama

Teranar	04 Sep 2003
Hmmm.... my house is quite a mess but I suppose I could do that... the trick would be convincing my mom to let people in, especially since I don't know how she takes my tarot reading... but that is a good suggestion that hadn't crossed my mind! Thanks!

mondk	05 Sep 2003
This is just my opinion. I wouldn't even tackle spreads until they have gut feelings for those cards inside and out. The tarot study group I was in started out with the cards themselves. One of us would pick a card and start a story with it, going by what the card made us feel...then the next person would draw another card and continue the story with that card and so on and so forth. We would also use different decks so we could get a handle on what different cards/decks had to say. You could also have them select a card at random and discuss all feelings and thoughts, then pass it to the next person (yourself included) and have that person relate all the thoughts and feelings he/she feels off of it. It is a wonderful way to get varied insights on the cards. What one person feels may add to or be wholly different from how the other person interprets it. Once they have the cards and meanings down pat, then start some spreads. Also ask them if they can think of a spread on their own that they would feel comfortable doing. I only recently learned the CC. Up until I learned it, I did my own spread by simply letting the cards fall into piles, turning them over and reading them like a sentence or a paragraph. Just my 2 cents. Good luck! Blessings, Michelle

The First tarot students and lesson thread was originally posted on 27 Aug 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.