Picture this. Just got my first deck and feeling totally lost. 78 cards to memorize? That’s insane. Some people say to start with the Major Arcana only, but others say to jump right in with full spreads. There’s so much conflicting information online that if you just Google around, you’re going to be more confused than when you started.
Been doing daily single-card pulls and writing down what I think before checking the book. Sometimes I’m way off though.
How did you learn to read tarot cards? Did you memorize everything first or just wing it? Really want to do this right, but the amount of info out there is overwhelming. Should I be journaling every reading, or is that overkill?
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There’s no right or wrong answer here, but there are… pitfalls beginners can get stuck in.
Plenty (and I mean plenty) of misinformation and conflicting advice. I tend to find people around here are pretty level-headed and experienced, so you’re asking in the right place.
My personal advice is that if you want to just pick up and get started, then you need to understand two things.
Don’t worry about memorizing the meanings on Biddy Tarot or something. After you get past the basics, Tarot is 90% using the cards to tap into your own intuition, and that means reading with your own style.
Avoid social media like the plague until you’re confident that you’re getting somewhere. I know it seems old school but I’d suggest one of these. There’s something useful about having a hard copy at hand.
Journal. Take notes. Don’t worry about the “right” or “wrong” answer to something. Write what you read into it, you’ll learn over time what’s right.
You should definitely grab ‘The Easiest Way to Learn Tarot Ever’ by Dusty White. I know, I know it’s a book but hear me out.
It’s a workbook. Not a textbook.
Filled with hands-on exercises to really get you in tune with your tarot deck. I love how it naturally guides you into deeper insights through the card imagery. If only I had this book back in the day-it would’ve made things so much clearer!
The wisdom is all there, just waiting to be uncovered.
You know, what works for someone may not be right for another.
I dived into the whole deck quickly at first, which really suited my style. Instead of spending ages on the Major Arcana, why not get a feel for the whole deck? Initially, I didn’t worry about knowing every symbol. Listening to the cards naturally before jumping into interpretations seemed better.
Once I got to know all 78 cards, I went back to study each suit and the Major Arcana more deeply. Then, practice kicked in! I began with simple three-card spreads for myself. You’d be surprised at how much more the cards reveal when you trust your gut and then check traditional meanings.
Later on, I got into things like Kabbalah and the Tree of Life. Do you think youre more analytical or intuitive? It helps to align your learning style with your instincts. If you like order, a study plan might be good. If you’re into spontaneity, just pull a daily card and see where it leads.
There’s no single path to mastering tarot. I think everyone here would agree. The key is just starting. Whether you begin with the Fool or shuffle randomly, whether you memorize meanings or create your own, the path itself teaches you. If one way feels forced, try another.
Isn’t tarot about making your own connection with the cards?
Feeling overwhelmed is totally normal honestly. What helped me was working with card pairs instead of trying to learn everything at once. When you pair them up, you start seeing how they connect to each other and it sticks better in your memory.
I found it helpful to stop seeing tarot as this mystical thing and more as a way to chat with my inner self. Once I ditched the pressure of needing to be ‘psychic’ and started using the cards as prompts for what I already feel deep down, everything felt more natural. My readings became clear and meaningful.
So, tarot actually started in Italy as a game, not just for divination.
People there still use them for storytelling all the time. The best part is when you pull multiple cards, they create these complex narratives together. Each combination tells a different story, and you start seeing connections you wouldn’t notice with single cards. It takes the pressure off trying to memorize every possible meaning and lets you just explore how the cards interact naturally.
I keep two journals now - one for tracking readings and another as a personal study guide.
The study guide has a page for each card where I write down my own associations and symbols. It’s basically like making my own psychological map of the archetypes.
Doing it this way turned learning into something personal instead of just memorizing stuff.
When I was drowning in those 78 cards, I started doing ‘story walks’ where I’d lay out 3-5 cards and just make up a little narrative connecting them (like ‘The Fool meets the Queen of Cups at a mystic tea shop.’) which helped me remember meanings way better than flashcards ever did.
I like this storytelling technique that might click for you too!
Edit: Also helps when you pull weird combos in actual readings because your brain’s already practiced finding connections between random cards
My tarot experience took a new path when I stopped cramming to remember all the cards and let myself relax into the process. Seeing each card as a chance to meditate, their meanings naturally came to me. Your intuition already holds the answers; the cards just help you see them.
Oh yeah, Michelle Tea’s ‘Modern Tarot’! That book is solid for beginners and experienced readers too. She tells these personal stories throughout that are basically mini-memoirs. The cool thing is how she updates all the traditional meanings to fit modern life and be more inclusive.
Plus, she gets into spreads and ritual work, which is helpful. Her writing makes everything easy to understand, even the more complex ideas.
Practice, practice practice. My room mate went through a breakup and kept wanting to ask the card questions so I got to do a lot of readings in a very short amount of time. It’s all about seeing the patterns and combinations and you can’t shortcut that.
I like a workbook but there are also the Tarot apps which you might prefer learning with.
I used to stress about learning tarot the ‘right’ way. Then I realized everyone’s different. Now I watch YouTube videos while shuffling my deck. Seeing someone handle the cards and explain things just clicks better for me. They’ll talk about why the moody King of Cups is having a bad day, and suddenly it all makes sense. Books never did that for me.
Lisa Papez and Katey Flowers on YouTube are where I’d start.
Lisa has ‘Tarot with Training Wheels’ that goes through each card, plus ‘Tarot Memoirs’ for more advanced stuff. Katey’s got ‘Therapeutic Tarot’ for different techniques, and her new ‘Tarot in Practice’ series shows real readings, super helpful to watch how she puts it all together.
Both of them are big on ethical reading and respecting boundaries. Learning tarot takes time. You’re basically picking up a whole new symbolic language. I’d suggest starting with just the Major Arcana or focusing on one suit at a time. Definitely look into the numerology and symbolism when you’re ready.
The tarot community has so much to offer: YouTube, podcasts, books, and forums (this one especially).
Try different things and see what clicks. Some folks need structured lessons, others learn better by jumping in and experimenting. Just make sure you’re always respectful when reading for others.
Honestly spent way too long worrying about learning tarot the ‘right’ way. Like months of overthinking it. Wasted time I could have been practicing.
Then I figured out you can basically do whatever works for you. I ditched the popular deck everyone kept pushing and grabbed one where I loved the artwork. Made such a difference.
The cards went from feeling like a chore to actually being fun. Each one’s like a little character with its own drama going on.
Emotional intelligence is seriously underrated in tarot. When you can pick up on the emotional vibe and really connect with what’s going on underneath, the whole reading changes.
It becomes way more personal and actually means something.
A lot of people think tarot reading requires psychic abilities, but honestly? Not true at all. Not in my experience or belief.
It’s basically a skill you can pick up, just like learning a new language or playing an instrument. You study the card meanings, practice reading them, and start trusting your gut about what they’re telling you. No mystical powers required, just time and practice.
Like any skill, it’s going to take practice. Beginners sometimes overthink it (as others have said) but you can start doing meaningful readings sooner than you might think as long as you’re getting your deck out and just practicing.
