How long does it take to learn the tarot?

I began at age 13 with a Marseilles deck. There was no "little white book" with it, so I just made up my own meanings. Time passed. I picked it up, put it away. Eventually in my twenties I was doing readings for money. No idea what I was doing but the readings were true and came out right. Now I am in my 50's and I have learned and read a LOT since then. I have read for so many people it isn't countable. And I am still learning, even though now I have many decks, and have learned many new systems of fortune telling. Including reading with nothing - just reading the person's energy.

You come to see it is you who are the master, not the tools. The cards are merely gateways or doors or keys for your intuition And they are extremely helpful tools for getting the job done!

You speak of drawing the same cards over and over again - that's because you are locked in a karmic - or learning - circle, and you will repeat those things until you have learned the lesson, and moved on. Your cards will remain the same until you have absorbed the lesson and moved to the next level or step in your journey.

You ask for instance, "why pomegranates for the Empress, and not apples?" Because the pomegranates represent the womb and birth, and the Empress is the Great Mother. Each card has specific symbols - like the 6 swords in a boat, with the 6 of Swords, or the horse that doesn't move, stands very still, in the Knight of Pentacles - for a reason - it speaks to the nature and meaning of the card. There is a lot of tradition in the symbolism of the card. And there is more than one school of thought - there are several decks out there...Pagan, Thoth, RWS, Marseillles, Etttiella, etc. Take your pick! They all have symbolisms and meanings and tradition attached to them. Choose those decks that speak to your gut.

What is important here is you have embarked on a school of learning that will take you a lifetime to figure out! Have fun - explore - read everything and anyone you can get your hands on! and one last thing - remember - if it comes to a toss up between you and the cards, the cards are never wrong!

Good luck

nisaba said:

I first picked up a deck somewhere in the middle 1970s. I did my first paid reading in 1981.

I'm still learning today. The more I learn, the more aware I am of the enormity of stuff still out there to learn. I envy the complacency I had after the first couple of years <grin>.

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Amazing! May I ask you, what was it like when you first picked up the tarot deck and now? Did you think at first that learning the keywords would be enough and what do you think you still need to learn? I bet you've read Kabbalah and astrology and things written by the Golden Down by now? Isn't learning from readings not enough? I mean how do gypsy tarot readers do that? People say "they have it in them, in their blood".But how? How can gypsies naturally read tarot and even had a reputation for that (and we don't)? (This question is just to expand the topic, I'm really curious).

Gypsy readers use their intuition and read from their gut. Yes, their grandmothers or aunties or mothers taught them certain things, maybe, but it is not "in the blood" - it is a question of having faith in yourself and in your gut.

When I first started I knew nothing but I still could understand the cards and read - correctly. You make a connection with the pictures and with your eyes and your gut. You read with your inner voice You do not need special blood or instruction to do this - just listen to what your heart says when you see the pictures! The cards are always right, and your gut is normally right, too. Listen with all your heart to your inner voice. It will not lead you astray.

Aina said:

Amazing! May I ask you, what was it like when you first picked up the tarot deck and now?

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It was a long time ago - I barely remember.

Did you think at first that learning the keywords would be enough and what do you think you still need to learn?

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There weren't keywords to learn on the deck that I had for the first several years.

And as I said, the more you learn, the more tools you have to notice the holes in your knowledge. Imagine you are a tiny, tiny bug living in a piece of honeycomb. You would think it's all solid wax and honey, with no gaps. As you grow and get bigger, you start seeing just one gap. Then a few. Then, after a lot of growing, many. The more I learn, the more there *is* to learn. It's the nature of the beast.

I feel really amused when people half or a third my age smugly tell me "When you've been reading as long as I have, you'll know much more than you do now". <cackle>

I bet you've read Kabbalah and astrology and things written by the Golden Down by now?

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I was reading that kind of material back in the nineteen-eighties. I've left most of it behind, now. I have mixed feelings about that.

Isn't learning from readings not enough?

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Learning from readings is enough, if that's all you want. But the more you learn, the more aware you are of how much there is out there that you still don't know. I have always had a mind that's thirsty for knowledge - it's a pleasure to me.

I mean how do gypsy tarot readers do that?

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<slightly confused> What does someone's race and lifestyle have to do with it?

I wanted to bump this thread to hear more experiences about learning the tarot. Does everyone arrive at the same place that these cards are just the catalyst to free your own intuition/inner knowing/psychic abilities or however you like to call it?
Also, curious about if you were raised with the tarot, if someone taught you or if you are self taught and how developed your intuition or psychic abilities were when you started?
What was the development of your abilities?

I think it's a great question.

How long does it take to learn the tarot?

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A lifetime at least. But...

To start doing readings for others?

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It's like asking, how long does take to learn to ride a bike, before you get on the bike? I mean, how are you supposed to learn if you don't do it?

I remember reading the companion book for my very first deck, and the author recommended a regimen of meditation with each card, and suggested that you do no more than seven cards per month. I figured it would take me a year to completely understand tarot, and that seemed like a long time. Ha! I have to laugh at my hubris. It's 20 years later and I'm still learning. At some point along the way I guess I stopped being a beginner, but I'm not really sure when that was.

I'm pretty skeptical of psychic abilities, but I think I have always been intuitive (and that what the personality assessments always tell me). That's what I use to guide me whether to go with 'the usual meaning' or whether to go off message, when to read the cards metaphorically and when to take it literally.

If being self-taught includes learning from books, then that's what I am. I'm always trying to recruit friends to learn so we can have something like a book club for tarot. Back in the day I had roommates who owned decks, and my sister-in-law has some decks, but I've never known anyone in my offline life as interested as I am.

It takes a life time, the only thing is you get better at it with each reading you do, each book or article you read or each new tarot you use.

Blessings,

Zelmira

It takes as long as it takes....

Its a never ending learning process thats personal to you. In addition to the valuable advice already given I would say to you make it enjoyable! Dont worry too much about progress at first. Use a deck that holds your interest lay cards out and make up stories on how they relate to one another then look up the meanings. Try to make it fun rather than under pressure to learn quicker. I find the symbolic side of it really helps to remember key messages. Theres plenty of books and info on the web to give you some tarot games / workbook type things to hold your interest when not reading for others.
Best of luck

Many of the answers here seem to echo my own, that it is a never ending process, etc. However, there is a difference between knowing how to do something and becoming good at it.

When I think back at when I myself began, at the age of thirteen (I'm thirty four now) I started reading for other people almost right away. These were highly sympathetic people who knew not to expect great things. In fact most of my readings at the time relied on having the book at hand and reading out the meanings. Add to that that I was using the USG Oswald Wirth deck, which consisted of pips, and you get a picture of how little I knew of what I was doing.

But I stuck with it and became better at it. In time I learned how to read, but it took years until I could really pat myself on the back and tell myself that I did it, I was a halfway decent Tarot reader. This doesn't mean it took years for me to read for other people, I could always "wing it." But try not to look necessarily at the end result but at the daily benefits Tarot and observation of your life through its lens gives.

Another example people find difficult is the Thoth, which intimidates people because it, too, takes a "lifetime of study." In fact it didn't take nearly that long. At first I knew nothing about it, only that I was drawn to it, and it really only took a few months to get the general gist of it and start using it. My knowledge of it has of course increased with the years, but a long journey always starts with a single step.