koolchick said:
Ok I've had tarot cards a while but found them confusing so not bothered with them for a while but I really would like to learn how to read them. from what I've read the best way is to look at each card and write down what you see in the card what it means to you. Is this a good way to start? What is next thing to do? small spreads or something else? Also I have 2 decks the Johnathan Dee Tin of tarot the real deck and the Rider Waite deck that I printed off computer and coloured myself. Will the deck I coloured still work for readings? Also will both of the same card mean same/similar things in a reading like if the Fool is in place 2 in a reading will it mean the same thing which ever deck I use?
Lastly how long did it take you to get a basic understanding of reading tarot?
The best way to learn for one person is not necessarily the best way for another. Learning and practising Tarot are acts that draw out the uniqueness in each of us. Tarot uses intuition and the best way to access that varies from person to person.
My best advice on the best ways to learn to read is to read as many Tarot books as you can, ask lots of questions of other readers (like us here at AT
) and just expose yourself to differnet ideas and ways of doing things. Then try those that sound like they'd be fun and that call to you and if something doesn't "feel" like it's for you it's usually not and you can ignore it. Your inner knowing knows what is best for you. Just like in school we are best at the subjects we enjoy. The methods that sound fun and that you can't wait to try will usually be the best fits for you.
Also, another one more piece of advice...don't ever be afraid to invent new methods, or to combine two or more methods in two ways. ANY method that works for you and that you enjoy is valid. Try things, experiment and see for youreslf what works for you personally. It makes no differnce if you are the only person in the entire world who that one method works for. If you works for you and you like it, go with it.
No one can really tell you the best way. I think you have to find it for yourself. Tarot is a process of connected to the unique place inside you that that is different from anyone else's to find the answers. That is how I see it anyway.
A journal is also very useful when starting out.
I personally started out writing down my personal meanings I was seeing in one deck I had. For me I didn't keep it up long. It was not my path. I might well be yours but it was not mine. We are all on different paths as readers to find our innner connection to the cards that gives us the answers.
For me I found it limiting as my path lead me to a place where I read quite intuitively and I rarely see the same thing in a card.
I think my main point would be that it really doesn't make so much difference where you start or how you start. If you have destination in mind, as to become a reader and you keep pointing yourself in that direction, ALL paths will lead you there.
And just remember that you CAN'T do it wrong. There is no wrong way to learn. No matter what you try one of two things will happen. You will either find a method that works well for you and that you can add in to your repetoire OR you will learn something valuable about yourself. We learn things about ourselves from what doesn't work and why almost as much or more than what does work....No matter what you do you'll learn. And the more you learn the better you'll get.
Just do it. Do what calls to you personally. Follow where your path leads you.
There is no reason why a deck you printed off the computer and coloured youreslf shoudln't work well. But we all have some decks that read well for us and others that don't. These vary from person to person.
Whether the same card will mean the same thing in different decks....What depends on how you read. There are many many ways to read and there is a lot of variance. There ought to be some similarity I would think, but there could also be a lot of difference. Just as an example, I personally take most of my meaning from the card image. Since each deck has different artwork, the same card in different decks have quite different meanings. Also, honestly, the way I read...the same card in the very same deck never even means the exact same thing to me in readings, and can say very different things each time. Other people use the book meanings more and so they tend to get meanings from the same card in different decks that are more similar. There is no one way fits all method to read. We're all different inside and the methods that work best for us are indiividual and vary from person to person.
How long did it take me to get a basic understanding of Tarot? That's a tough question and I might need a definition of what the basic understanding of it means. You can understand the basic meanings of your cards, but does that mean you have a basic understanding of Tarot itself? Maybe you can't connect the cards to form the story...
But I guess not too long. Certainly I would say less than a year and I am sure I could say it took less than 6 months. But I was always totally fascinated by Tarot since I started. I read voraciusly on the topic from the start and practised it a lot.
Babs
That's why it's good to write down your readings and go back and review them later.