When I first started out with tarot, it took me quite some blood, sweat, tears (and beverages) to figure out and understand all the basic elements involved with it.
I know exactly how frustrating it can be when you feel so excited that you just can’t wait to start out with your newfound interest, but the overwhelming stream of information can make it seem hard to achieve the desired results.
In this article I will share with you some useful suggestions I stumbled on along my own tarot journey in order to help you learn the basics of tarot as quickly as possible. By the end of this article you should surely feel even more confident and motivated to dive into the magical world of tarot!
Use An Easily Accessible Deck
There are many amazing tarot decks out there. As tempting as it may be to just pick the prettiest looking deck, it is best advised to use a deck that is easily accessible and understandable for beginners.
The best recommended kind of tarot deck to start out with on your tarot adventure are the ‘Rider-Waite’ style tarot decks. These decks are based on the traditional tarot, which will ensure you to learn the correct basics of tarot. Afterwards, when you feel confident that you have mastered the basics of tarot, you can give in to your original urges and buy a more complicated deck you’ve fallen in love with at first sight.
The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck is the most popular classic tarot deck in the world and truly the safest and easiest deck to use for beginners.
Also, most tarot decks come with a helpful guidebook or informational sheet that will allow you to learn all the meanings and possible interpretations of the cards.
Start Out With A Single Card Spread
Just as there are many different amazing tarot decks out there, the same goes for the available amount of tarot spreads. A tarot spread is the position a reader physically lays out their tarot cards in order to perform a specific kind of reading.
Spreads can get pretty complicated, especially for a beginner. So it is best advised to start out with a ‘one card’ spread. This simply means you pull just one card per reading and purely focus on finding out the meaning and possible interpretations of the cards.
Although it might seem counterintuitive when you want to learn to read all the tarot cards quickly, it really is the best way to truly be able to memorize the meaning of each card individually.
When formulating a question to use during a single card reading (or any type of reading), it is important to remember to avoid simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ type of questions. In order to be sure to get the most out of your reading it is better to be using open ended questions, that way you will be provided with a much broader answer that will be able to give you multiple insights and possible solutions.
Create A Calming Environment
Reading tarot cards is a spiritual practice that will get you the fastest and best results when performed in a calm and clean environment. Make sure to create a calming environment for yourself so that you can truly feel at peace and relaxed while performing your reading.
Whenever I do a tarot reading for myself, I have a nice ritual I use for preparation and setting the right mindset. I will make sure my surrounding space is clean, the temperature of the room is nice and cozy and I am surrounded by soothing light sources like a salt lamp and some amazing smelling candles or incense.
Also, I am absolutely in love with crystals and their healing benefits, so I make sure to have them around as well whenever I’m doing a tarot reading. Next to their healing benefits, they are also a true pleasure for the eye, so this serves as another great excuse for me to keep them close during my readings.
What helps me set the right mood for a tarot reading as well is doing a short meditation before starting my reading. Meditating doesn’t have to take longer than a couple of minutes in order to get the desired results. However it will truly benefit your reading as you will be free from any unwanted thoughts, feelings or emotions.
When I’ve really got the time, I will do my extended self-care routine which includes a nice warm shower and some relaxing products to make me feel totally energized and excited to dive into a new reading.
These are just some examples of my own personal calming ritual. Of course you are free to choose whatever ‘ritual’ suits you best in order to create an environment that radiates positivity and relaxation.
Have A Flexible Mind
When you want to learn the basics of tarot quickly, it is important to always make sure to have a flexible mind. When you don’t possess all the required knowledge on the meanings of the cards yet, it can be quite tempting to ‘judge’ or interpret the cards solely by their name, artwork and illustrations.
Some tarot cards can seem quite intimidating when you are not yet familiar with their true meanings. The ‘death card’ for example can easily scare off a beginner as it might give the idea there is a whole other meaning to this card than there actually is.
Of course, it is perfectly fine to try and interpret the cards before knowing the exact meaning of them, just remember to not create a fixed mindset and allow yourself to adjust your interpretations as you keep discovering the true meanings of the cards.
Pay Extra Attention To The Artwork And Illustrations
People tend to memorize certain words and their meanings quicker when truly focussing in on the images surrounding them. In order to learn tarot faster, try to really observe the illustrations of the cards and see whether you can find commonalities within the illustration and the name of the specific card.
Doing this can make it easier to remember the meaning of the card during future readings, as your brain will have made and saved the connection between the image and the name of the card.
Keep A Tarot Journal
Another great tool that can help you learn tarot in the quickest possible way is a tarot journal. A tarot journal is best used for writing down everything you learn during your readings, especially as a beginner. You can write down meanings and interpretations of each card, but also the outcomes of your readings.
By writing everything down, your brain will automatically store the information you are receiving much quicker, plus it can serve as a great way to track your process. You can look back in your tarot journal before or after every performing a reading to check up how situations actually unfolded.
I personally love keeping a tarot journal as it gives me a feeling of closer connection to my cards and assists me in such a way that it can provide me with helpful insights I otherwise probably would have missed at first glance.
Associate Each Card With A Specific Memory
A widely known successful learning strategy is to associate words (or in this case the tarot cards and their meanings) with a specific memory about for example a person, feeling or place.
When learning about the meaning of a tarot card, try to link it to similar event that happened in your personal life in order to remember the explanation more quickly. An even better way to do this is by writing down the card and the associating event along with it.
This is also a memorizing activity where a tarot journal would be of great use.
Use A Memorizing App
There are many tarot apps out there that can help you understand the meanings of the tarot cards.
A specifically handy app to use to learn the basics of tarot quickly is the ‘Labyrinthos Tarot app‘. It’s a great tool to practice card meanings in a ‘game style’ kind of way and will help build up your confidence to actually perform a reading.
Also, I really like their down to earth teaching methods and the way they view tarot. At Labyrinthos they don’t believe in divination, they see tarot merely as a helpful life tool and want to help and teach you through their apps and courses a way to give you control over the cards so you can shape you own life instead of letting the cards rule you in any way.
Practice Everyday
When learning a new skill, it is very important to practice regularly if you are planning on learning quickly. As the old saying goes: practice makes perfect!
The same goes for tarot, in order to truly memorize all of the meanings of the cards, you need to try to expose your brain daily to the information you want to learn. By repeating the things you have learned, you will be able to see great progress in a short amount of time.
Although repeating might not be the most fun activity, you will surely thank yourself later when you will find yourself doing tarot readings with great ease.
Partner Up
Even though learning the tarot basics by yourself is a perfectly fine way to do this, it can become an even better experience when you have a partner in crime to discover the exciting world of tarot with you. Maybe you have a spiritual friend who would like to partner up with you so you can learn the basics of tarot together.
This certainly will help you to learn tarot much quicker as you will keep each other sharp by checking up on your knowledge and maybe even practice readings together. Also, it will be a great way to tighten the friendship band even more.
Watch YouTube Tarot Readers
One of my most favorite ways to learn tarot as a beginner is by watching some great tarot YouTube channels. A great way to learn the basics of tarot quickly is by watching a pick-a-card reading and learn more about the cards by the way your online tarot reader will tell you about the meanings and interpretations of the cards.
My personal absolute favorite tarot YouTube channel is ‘The Tarot Priest’. She truly has an amazing gift and she will surely blow you away with the accuracy of her readings. For me personally she is literally spot on all the time. I would really recommend you go check her out.
Another great channel I found which could be of great help for you when you want to learn the basics of tarot quickly is the channel of ‘Moonlight Guidance’. In the video below she gives a thorough explanation on all 78 cards, which will help you learn the basics of tarot in less than 2 hours.
Watching these videos is truly a form of self-care for me as they leave me feeling motivated, inspired and energized every time I watch them. Every time a new video is uploaded, you will surely find me sitting front row!
Use Your Intuition
As much as you can memorize all meanings and possible interpretations of the cards by heart, the most important aspect of reading tarot cards is using your intuition and letting it guide you on your spiritual journey.
In order to get in contact with your spiritual self, you really need to try and listen to your inner voice. A good way to start out practicing this is by trying to read a card without looking up the possible interpretations of the card straight away but truly listen to your own ideas that come up in your mind about the specific card first.
Afterwards, you can look up the interpretation and check whether you were on the right track. You will notice this will build up your tarot reading confidence in no time and will develop itself even further down the road.
Just Do It
My last advise to you in order to learn the basics of tarot quickly is to Just Do It! Even though reading tarot tips and tricks online is a great way to receive more valuable information about tarot, the best way to learn any new skill is to just jump in there and gain experience as you go along.
Even though it might seem like too much to handle at first, when you just make the decision to start today you will surely and quickly see you’re making great progress. The cards believe in you! And so do I!