Teaching Tarot

RoseLily

Hello Tarot People, I have spent many years with Tarot, taken many classes from various teachers - both in person and on line, have done readings and had readings, and for a long time, I've been thinking that I would LOVE to actually teach Tarot. Are there any teachers out there who can offer some comments, ideas, or suggestions on how to get started with this, and perhaps some "heads ups" to be aware of? I have already spoken to a few people who have asked me to teach them how to read & interpret cards. I have taught classes (English/ESL) on a voluntary basis and I know there is a ton of prep work, etc, but to me, there's nothing better than sharing knowledge about something that one is passionate about. Advice?
 

uraszz

RoseLily said:
Hello Tarot People, I have spent many years with Tarot, taken many classes from various teachers - both in person and on line, have done readings and had readings, and for a long time, I've been thinking that I would LOVE to actually teach Tarot. Are there any teachers out there who can offer some comments, ideas, or suggestions on how to get started with this, and perhaps some "heads ups" to be aware of? I have already spoken to a few people who have asked me to teach them how to read & interpret cards. I have taught classes (English/ESL) on a voluntary basis and I know there is a ton of prep work, etc, but to me, there's nothing better than sharing knowledge about something that one is passionate about. Advice?
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Hello RoseLily

I am not a professional teacher in the sense that I have not received or requested money for the advice and lessons that I offer however I have taught a few people how to get started with Tarot because in the end that's really all you can do; help people get started, the advancement of their learning is entirely up to them

What I've done is gifted them a deck that I have in my collection and then worked on just being available to them. We went through individual cards, talked about it's symbolism, it's meanings and how it can apply to different situations. We made up imaginary clients and took turns acting out that client and their problems, asking questions along that context so the learning and integration of the knowledge could be more organic and not pure theoretical forcing

I've seen that even if the student is very enthusiastic at first, as they prgress and delve deeper they lose interest because of the complexity of Tarot's structure. I have only one student at the moment who is truly dedicated and serious about her education (I just got off the phone talking extensively about the 7 of Swords for example) which I plan on buying the Mary-El Tarot in the near future (she uses the Prisma Visions) because I think it would benefit her studies

My most important advice for you will be this; be available for the curious ones, do not stand at arms length, immerse yourself into their experience like you were learning the Tarot for the first time and above all: Have fun! Any other way would feel cold and distant and not benefit either you or the student. I can safely say that my teaching experience has added so much to my own understanding of the deck and it's individual cards that I don't know how else I would have achieved the level I am at the moment

I wish you the best of luck and would very much like to hear of your progress

Sincerely

-uraszz
 

RoseLily

Many thanks! All excellent advice. I never tire of sharing my knowledge of the tarot with those who are eager to learn. BUT I lack patience with those who say, "Oh, that's scary stuff!" I don't think I will ever stop strengthening my Tarot knowledge. There's just so much to learn...and teach!
 

uraszz

RoseLily said:
Many thanks! All excellent advice. I never tire of sharing my knowledge of the tarot with those who are eager to learn. BUT I lack patience with those who say, "Oh, that's scary stuff!" I don't think I will ever stop strengthening my Tarot knowledge. There's just so much to learn...and teach!
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The faint of heart usually break off from Tarot entirely because of their rose-glazed outlook on life. Those poeple, I've observed, generally like to receive readings and want to read the Tarot or use any form of Divination just to get the Middle-Man (the reader) out of the picture so they don't have to pay anything or to read every situation the way they want to see it (pure blindness)

Don't waste your time with these people. If you are of pure intent (which I definitely think you are as you are seeking helpful and healthy teaching advice) I truly believe that the right students will find you. Be firm in your ethical viewpoint and everything will fall into place

Sincerely

-uraszz
 

Ace

I took a class to learn tarot and ever since I have felt that the best introduction to tarot cards is "Tarot cards, Roselily. Roselily, tarot cards. Now you two go off and play." In other words, don't try to teach the exact meaning of the cards, but maybe the process.

I have taught classes on tarot, short, one or 1.5 hour ones. I had them a set of meaning to start with and then we do some readings. Starting with a one card pull, a 3 card set and maybe working up to Celtic cross and horoscope spread (the first spread I learned with a combo of the two--22 cards!)

That is the total of my experience, but it would serve to get someone started then they can take it where they want.

barb
 

uraszz

Ace said:
I took a class to learn tarot and ever since I have felt that the best introduction to tarot cards is "Tarot cards, Roselily. Roselily, tarot cards. Now you two go off and play." In other words, don't try to teach the exact meaning of the cards, but maybe the process.

I have taught classes on tarot, short, one or 1.5 hour ones. I had them a set of meaning to start with and then we do some readings. Starting with a one card pull, a 3 card set and maybe working up to Celtic cross and horoscope spread (the first spread I learned with a combo of the two--22 cards!)

That is the total of my experience, but it would serve to get someone started then they can take it where they want.

barb
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That's exactly my approach too. With something so fluid as Tarot you can only teach the main structure of the deck, maybe two or three meanings of the individual cards but the rest is experience. Further lessons would be to go into what I call Tarot Lore, that is, the history, different interpretations like the Kabalah and Tree of Life, Numerology, Astrology etc. Being quite complex it took me about 6 years to get to the point of even beginning to learn and integrating these systems let alone a new student

-uraszz
 

Barleywine

uraszz said:
That's exactly my approach too. With something so fluid as Tarot you can only teach the main structure of the deck, maybe two or three meanings of the individual cards but the rest is experience. Further lessons would be to go into what I call Tarot Lore, that is, the history, different interpretations like the Kabalah and Tree of Life, Numerology, Astrology etc. Being quite complex it took me about 6 years to get to the point of even beginning to learn and integrating these systems let alone a new student

-uraszz
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I agree about the "Tarot Lore" observation. In the mid-1970s, my brother and I briefly ran a metaphysical focus group in Connecticut, giving lessons in astrology and tarot. We had course material that gave the basic structure, and had everyone buy a copy of the Thoth deck and the Book of Thoth for independent study (I know, that was "over-reaching" more than a little :)). If I were to do it today, I would use the RWS deck and a simpler course book (not the PKT).
 

Achlys

I would say that the best thing to do would be to teach the basic structure of the main schools of tarot. I know most people suggest starting off with the RWS deck, but I didn't find that particularly helpful.
It would be good to teach people the ways to study and create interpretations from a tarot card rather than teaching strict meanings themselves.
Whenever I've had a teacher who insisted that it was their meaning for a card or the highway, I always found myself taking the highway and reading intuitively on my own.
If a student questions a meaning for a card or interprets a card differently, don't shut them down. That's always been my biggest turn off with people who teach tarot.
 

Tanga

Alta said:
Older threads that may be of interest...
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Thankyou Alta...
It seems I may be doing a simple Tarot introduction at some point in the next 6 months...
 
AT members in Crete, or Greece? Using an old Deck again