Tarot Journal

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 09 Apr 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Angel_fire	09 Apr 2005
Hiya Everyone I am just starting to really get to know my tarot cards and would love to start of a Tarot journal of some sort. I have bought an A5 ringbinder and divider cards, but can anyone give me some ideas of what I should be writing/doing, what things I should put in the journal etc. Love Angel_fire x

Moonbow*	09 Apr 2005
Hi Angel_fire I don't keep a journal any longer but it has been useful at various stages, particularly when I first started to read Tarot. Now I find that I like to take more notice of the individual cards at the time of the reading and this varies from reading to reading, so the meanings are no longer static - for me. I found that, unintentionally, I stopped using the journal and relied more on myself and my feelings at the time. Initially, I had a page for each card and wrote all notes about that card on the page. Not so much for reading back, but for remembering by writing. I then swapped to pencil at some stage because I could scribble notes quicker while I thought of them (thanks Umbrae). If you do a search you will probably find more threads about journals as this is a subject which comes up from time to time. I particularly liked Yaboot's journal which was also full of drawings... wonderful stuff! Good luck :)

Thirteen	09 Apr 2005
Angel_fire wrote: I am just starting to really get to know my tarot cards and would love to start of a Tarot journal of some sort. I have bought an A5 ringbinder and divider cards, but can anyone give me some ideas of what I should be writing/doing, what things I should put in the journal etc. Any or all of the following should start you on your way (Keep in mind that it's your book and you organize it/put into it what you like or feel is needed): 1) Impressions (First things that pop to mind when you examine the card--how you feel about it, what it means to you, etc, etc, etc.) 2) Meditations (That's if you meditate) 3) Little facts you find of interest (i.e., different astrological signs for the card or mythological references). One caveat: some tarot folk go over the top creating facts about each card; Crowley, for example, notes not only the zodiac of each major but their musical note, hebrew letter, color, etc. It's up to you to decide if any of this is of interest or if it'll just clutter up the journal. 4) Keywords (if such help crystalize the card in your mind). Certainly any meanings here or elsewhere that strike you. 5) Favorite quotes about the card from other sources--books, teachers. 6) A separate section for spreads that you like. 7) A section for readings you've done if you like. Enjoy! :)

SunChariot	09 Apr 2005
Angel_fire wrote: Hiya Everyone I am just starting to really get to know my tarot cards and would love to start of a Tarot journal of some sort. I have bought an A5 ringbinder and divider cards, but can anyone give me some ideas of what I should be writing/doing, what things I should put in the journal etc. Love Angel_fire x A journal is a very personal thing. Add in whatever feels right to you, anything on the topic that you think you may want to look back on later, feelings, readings, techniques...Anything that you think will benefit you later to look back on, add it in. In case some of this gives you an idea that may work for you, mone are all in binders too, I have my pages typewritten mainly because I can never read my handwriting afterwards. That way I can also add in any related internet articles and photos by copying and pasting them. My readings contain 3 sections: notes before starting, the reading itself, and afterthoughts. In the notes before starting section I add any relevant info that is going on in my life at the time, any messages from the universe, horoscopes concerning the topic of the reading, sychronicities.... then the reading. At the end I often add in what I learn from teh reading, technique-wise....and sometimes some relevant Internet articles on the topic. I have added other things besides readings in my journal. Amongst others: an article on how to crochet your own Tarot pouch, articles on how to ground yourself before doing a reading, techniques for determining when things will happen, not to mention any meditations I do on specific cards....When I buy a Tarot deck or pouch on a web site. I often add in photos of it as well. In the end in your journal, as in Tarot, you should be adding in what feels right to you and avoiding what doesn't. :-) Bar

crazelion	09 Apr 2005
It depends on the person what they won't in there tarot journal . I mind is a 3 ring bender with lose paper so I can add paper when nesscary. I just write what ever comes to my mind about the card. I use keywords the help me. When I have no idea about what the card means I look up the meaning which helps understand the card.

Lurea	09 Apr 2005
Those of you who keep journals: is it deck-specific? Frex, I've worked with four or five decks that I formed a strong connections with, but some of those decks have very different card meanings. I've often thought about starting a tarot journal, but stopped because of wondering if to make separate journals for each deck, or give each deck a section in the journal or what?

HudsonGray	09 Apr 2005
Don't forget to include a section on spread layouts for various types of questions, everything from 3 card Past/Present/Future to more involved spreads, so you have the basics at your fingertips when you need one.

SunChariot	10 Apr 2005
Lurea_aure wrote: Those of you who keep journals: is it deck-specific? Frex, I've worked with four or five decks that I formed a strong connections with, but some of those decks have very different card meanings. I've often thought about starting a tarot journal, but stopped because of wondering if to make separate journals for each deck, or give each deck a section in the journal or what? I suppose that depends on what you want to add into your journal and on your approach in general to Tarot. For me I never saw any purpose to keeping more than one journal. That may be because I never studied the card meanings or wrote them down anywhere. I tend to use the same method with each deck, which is mostly intuititive and just analyse the symbolism and go with what it means each time in relation the the question. I do of course read the book through before doing a reading and I do check the book meanings later to see what insight they have to offer, but I have never felt the need to study the meanings. And it works well for me. I can however see that if you wanted to study meanings and take notes on cards, it could be very useful to keep separate books for each. Actually, for me, pretty well all my spiritual work ends up in the same journal. I am also learning the pendulum. I thought of making a separate journal for the pendulum and a separate one for the Tarot, but in the end I left them together in the same book. In the end, you just need to do what feels right to you. There are no rules. Whatever feels right, is easy to access the info when you need it later, and makes sense to you is what you need to do. It's your journal, you're making it for yourself. Do it the way you like it.:-) Nothing is written in stone, you can change your mind whenever you want. Bar

Little Baron	10 Apr 2005
I have started a journal so many times and have always found it difficult to stick to. These days I have a small hardback pocket book for the Marseille - about three pages for each card, which I jot notes in as learning. Many pages have not been added to as yet. I do think that it is a good idea to have seperate pages or books for different decks. I occasionally use the Morgan Greer, which is totally different from the Marseille and it's meanings would not fit so well in my pocket book. The thing that has taught me a lot is recording the readings. I never used to do this, but now, I do. Rather than having a journal, which I always feel I need to work on and often gets neglected, I type them up, slip them in a clear sleeve and they go in a rack of office trays on my desk. They are all there to be referred to at a later date, with a cup of coffee. Only the other day, I pulled out a Morgan Greer reading I had done. At the time, I thought it related to something specific but looking at it a week or so later, I was amazed by how it had acurately picked up on something that had just happened. I was gobsmacked. I record all readings now and scribble feedback on the bottom. When reading for others, it is also nice to go back and see if the same cards appeared again and how things have progressed. Hope this helps. LB

psychic sue	10 Apr 2005
I don't record my readings but maybe I should.... I have got an A4 lever arch file with all the various spreads in, so I can chose with the querant which spread is best for their question. Sue x

Elven	10 Apr 2005
Hi Angel Fire, just thought I'd add to all the great suggestions above (and below)! I use a binder which you can add pages to. I also use different coloured papers. (LOL - I'm obsessed). I bought some sticky tabs from the newagent which I write a heading on so that I can have more sections under a title, like: The main divider says: Spreads then the tabs say: Book spreads My Spreads Internet spreads Another divider says Personal readings: readings for me done by me Rider-Waite Thoth Sabian Symbol Dream Cards Each Page has a date /time/Question/ Impressions/ Spread used. Another divider says: Majors The sticky tabs are marked each one for each Major. Another Divider says: Minors. The sticky tabs are labeled: Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles Another divider says: Courts The stickt tabs are labeled: Page, Knight, Queen, Sword I have other dividers for Numerology, Astology, Mediatation, Guides and Angels, Web Addresses, Books, Predictions ... You get the idea. I am an organising nutcase, but after keeping journals for years this has been the best method for me so I can add and refer to it without a hassle. I keep plastic sleeves handy for anything I cant hole punch or printed out stuff. Yes my journal is large but its bloody well organized if nothing else!(LOL)!!! Blessings Elven x

SunChariot	10 Apr 2005
LittleBuddha wrote: Rather than having a journal, which I always feel I need to work on and often gets neglected. LB You don't have to do anything in a journal. It is yours, yours to do with whatever pleases you. If you don't feel like writing for months that is fine. It's only for you, to have fun with and learn from. There are no rules at all. Bar

SunChariot	10 Apr 2005
psychic sue wrote: I don't record my readings but maybe I should.... I have got an A4 lever arch file with all the various spreads in, so I can chose with the querant which spread is best for their question. Sue x I have found it extremely helpful to save all my readings. Of course I read only for myself, as a means of personal growth and enlightenment. But I do often reread my old readings, and I often see so much more in them the second and third....times. Bar

Angel_fire	10 Apr 2005
Wow, you guys have given some great sugestions here, thank you very much. Love Angel_fire x

Requiella	13 Apr 2005
I'm a little late with this one but what they hey... I've been keeping a 3-ring binder for a while. First, I have plastic sleeves with divider tabs for each of the majors. When studying a particular card, I'll draw a picture to put in the sleeve. The picture is simply a way for me to express nonverbally any associations I have with the card. Doing the drawing is an interesting way to meditate on the card's meanings in a less traditional way. In each "chapter" (one per major card), I have taken notes on that particular card based on books I've read. A couple of years ago, I also printed out Thirteen's associations/Fool's Journey notes, and these are in each section as well (thanks Thirteen! :)). Then, there's a section for the minors, with brief typed out notes, although all of this needs to be expanded! Mainly, my notebook deals with the RWS system, which is what I focus on presently. Then, I have a section for readings and miscellany. It all seems to work pretty well so far, although the notebook is rather large and cumbersome to work with.

Emily	14 Apr 2005
I always start out with the best of intentions - find pretty notebooks or a small ringbinder - List my spreads, readings etc. But I always seem to lose interest in a few days. I have found to have more success with recording my readings, cards, spreads on the PC - I do alot of work on here so it seems natural just to click over into my Tarot files, do a reading and record it. I'm still using the TreeDBnotes database recommended in one of the other threads, it started out very basic just as a way of recording my readings and saving spreads but has over the last few days got very organised lol. If you have problems with notebooks and getting handwritten information down then maybe just keeping a file on the PC will help with recording cards and spreads - Later on pages can be printed out but the information is always to hand and if you want to get it more organised then the free Diary or Database software recommended on here is ideal. :) Edited to say:- Its in the other Journal thread that the Diary and Database links are. :D

The Tarot Journal thread was originally posted on 09 Apr 2005 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.