Tarot course or not?

[tenakeh]

Hi Everybody! I would be gratefull for your opinions please. I had a psychic reading the other day . My question was about my spiritual development and especially how I was progressing with the tarot. I have been teaching myself now for almost 19 months. But I was told that you cannot teach yourself, you need to go on a tarot course with a proper teacher,in order to learn the right way.She gave me a website where I could get a course from. I checked it out, but found that the prices are extremely high (in my opinion). I can not afford £400 for 10 lessons (by mail). Would really appreciate your opinions about this. Do you really need to go on a course?

 

[Silver_Skye]

I'm realtively new here, but I've been teaching myself - and of the many things I've read here, one of the main things I've noticed is that people say there is no right or wrong way to read really, it's about you and your path about your interpretations.

There is a post on here that compiles a series of posts written by Umbrae (which I just read, excellent series!!)

It's called " 'The Process' threads by Umbrae: ToC "

I found this thread and these entries extremely helpful in understanding ways of learning and reading, and so many other things. They're wonderfully well written. I don't know if it's what you're looking for, but it's helped me along the way and it might help you too. ^_^

(And I think 400 for 10 lessons is unbelievably high priced, do you think maybe the person you spoke to is affiliated with this website/company and trying to drum up some business?)

 

[zach bender]

Speaking as a person who has not taken a formal course, and has at present zero intention to do so -- but there may be someone else on the forum who has taken a course and says, omigod, yes, you must . . . and also acknowledging that I have only been investigating tarot for a little over a year, and I recognize that I still have a lot to learn, albeit not necessarily from "authoritative" sources, but from my own experiences and from whatever "received" information I might choose to receive . . . just now looking at a thread on elemental dignities and not at all sure it would inform my own readings -- actually, in that particular context I will say that it is not to my taste to worry my pretty head about astrological or kabbalistic or whatever formalisms may be out there, because they seem to me to be sort of like religions (or sects, if you prefer), locking the formless into dogmas.

Oh, duh, my basic point: it is absolutely not true that you cannot teach yourself. Only you can teach yourself, with or without the assistance or guidance of, in this case, people who want your money.

zb

 

[SunChariot]

Hi Everybody! I would be gratefull for your opinions please. I had a psychic reading the other day . My question was about my spiritual development and especially how I was progressing with the tarot. I have been teaching myself now for almost 19 months. But I was told that you cannot teach yourself, you need to go on a tarot course with a proper teacher,in order to learn the right way.She gave me a website where I could get a course from. I checked it out, but found that the prices are extremely high (in my opinion). I can not afford £400 for 10 lessons (by mail). Would really appreciate your opinions about this. Do you really need to go on a course?

No.

There are no rules in Tarot of what you have to do. Anything you can learn in a course you can learn from reading books. And from talking to others and comparing experiences (as at AT). That's all a course usually is anyway, a book and someone experienced sharing their experiences.

And there IS not just one "right" way. I object to some teacher telling a class that his/her way is the right way and other methods are not. There are almost as many methods as there are readers. Tarot is a very indivividual path (like anything spiritual usually is). It's about feeling what feels right to you and rejecting the rest. No teacher can get inside you and do that for you. Whatever works best for you, is fun and give you the best asnwer is your right way.

Babs

 

[ana luisa]

Couldn´t agree more with what my AT colleagues said. If, however, you feel like you need something more, say, "tangible" to base your study on, buy a book! Or books! There are excellent ones by Greer, Bunning,Pollack. There are also on line courses. You can get excellent Tarot info at AT on "learn". You can also try www.learntarot.com . As far as intuition and feel, only time and experience will bring you that. Above all, enjoy reading!

All the best!

 

[jmd]

£400 for ten lessons!??! I'll halve that especially for you: £400 for FIVE lessons. And to make it easier, I'll ensure each lesson is no longer than half a page.

But seriously, courses can be very useful, and the prices will vary somewhat from place to place: after all, what is deemed expensive in Ghana may be considered cheap for London.

Participating here is very much equivalent to participating in tutorials, with the input of numerous people - some having years of experience (including teaching), others bringing fresh insights that rejuvenates and enlivens the experience of past years.

Irrespective of the course, it seems to me to be stupendously overpriced. Even Dummett's Game of Tarot does not fetch that price!

 

[HOLMES]

dude..

I took no tarot course in my life..
and look at me now "holds his face up and moves it side to side aka martin lawrence".

the key for me is.. it depends on how much moolah you got to spend, and how much time you willing to spend on it..

heck just buy two books..
and let them be your textbooks for the next six months.. don't worry about preparing yourself to read professional or anything like that.
instead let the tarot concepts get into your head.

five key books suggested.
1. tarot for yourself , a workbook
2. 78 degres a textbook.
3. a court cards book.
4. perhaps a reversal books
5. a minor arcana book (there is one out there , but it is based ont he spheres of the kabbalah aka decues are the second sphere, but i loved that book too )
there are more beginners book designed to take you to intermediate out there.

myself i love book and deck packages. as well.

heck there is a tarot tapes you can order at tarot school, i never listend to them but you can order them.

most people suggest doing daily draws , (i liked daily mediations and review myself
and do three cards spreads (i am a celtic cross man myself )
heck this book sitting next to me taort , history symbolism and divination by robert m place has six good three cards spreads besides the old stand by..
past present and future.

 

[Sophie]

Never took a tarot course in my life, and had very few complaints from querents. If you are happy with your own progress, and the people you read for are happy, then why worry? If you don't take a course, just make sure you get plenty of reading practice, and expose yourself to a lot of different currents, methods and opinions, by participating in boards and reading books.

It also depends on how you learn. If you feel you would learn more or better with a teacher, that it would stimulate your mind, then it might be the right thing for you - although £400 for a correspondence course of 10 sounds a bit steep to me. You might also enjoy interracting with other students - that's always a good reason to take a course - but a live one!

 

[Mystic Leo]

Hi Tenakeh,

Frankly, I think for someone to be charging that amount of money their trying to do a con job.....ridiculous, I wouldn't buy into that at all. Give yourself time, as others have said you'll get all the information to help you with your studies right here at AT, and also courses free from other sites.

 

[Agathe]

OMG...that is tons of money!!!
I took a course, which was back in Poland, and we had I think, if I can remember well, 10 meetings. Each meeting 3 or 4 hours long. We had a blast.
But not everyone needs a course. The woman that was teaching us learnt tarot from her mother who learnt it from hers. It has always been in the family but they had to learn somehow, right? I doubt they went and took a course.
400 pounds is a ridiculous amount and I agree with Mystic Leo that someone is trying to do a con job.
If you think you need a course look for other courses. I'm sure cheaper.
Good luck!!!

Agata