How long does it take to learn the tarot?

[mejenks]

With tarot, as with life, the more you understand, the more you realize that there's so much more to understand. I don't think we ever get to the end. That doesn't mean that we can't be good enough along the way... Just that I don't think we ever become the Source fully...

 

[Briar Rose]

That is really a very deep thought mejanks. Very deep! That would be a very good topic for a spiritual gathering.

 

[Darkmage]

I've been studying Tarot nearly my entire life. I feel the same way about it as Confucius did about the I Ching. He said, "If Heaven gave me another 50 years to live, I would spend them studying I-ching and perhaps then I would beware myself of troubles."

Tarot, in many ways, is the Western equivalent. It's something you never stop learning. There are always new meanings, new depths, new uses...it all depends on how far *you* want to go.

 

[Richard]

Ditto to what others have said. I have spent 40+ years studying Tarot and have little more than a superficial understanding of what it is about. Nonetheless, for me it is an enjoyable and rewarding quest, even if the goal remains forever beyond the horizon.

 

[dawntarot]

...
Reading for others though is often more about confidence than anything else so the best thing to do is pluck up your courage and give it a go... Reading for others face to face is something that I find very scary even though I think that I can read cards and can read them well.. It's the thought of not living up to the expectations of the querant that really makes me nervous.
...

This, this, this! I am so comfortable reading from a distance, and express myself much better in writing than I can face to face. This is true for all areas in my life but especially for tarot. Face to face readings intimidate me to the point I can barely connect!

With all readings though it is a matter of confidence and you gain that through practise. One thing I did when I was learning the basics was pulling a card at the end of the day to shed light on it and what I needed to take from the day. Some days were trickier than others but it certainly expanded my thinking about the cards beyond what was written in books.

I also think it's important to explore decks and find one which speaks clearly to you. It's a very personal thing. The first deck I could read clearly with was the Tarot of Pagan Cats by Lo Scarabeo. Now, I use the 1JJ Swiss tarot for virtually all my readings! They are very different decks but are equally important to my journey.

And I think that's the most important thing - as others have said, it's a journey and an ongoing process. You will never feel as if you have "arrived" with tarot, there is always something new to explore, be it a new deck, a new spread, a new reading method... it's truly endless.

Above all, enjoy it. The cards will meet you where you're at.

 

[Aina]

According to a you tube video it takes 2 hours! For me it is a lifetime study.

I saw that video and all the others that say "learn tarot in 20 mins or in one video" or "read like a professional even if you don't even remember their meanings" They are "feel good" videos.

 

[Aina]

http://www.tarotforum.net/forumdisplay.php?f=17
Just start a new thread for each reading
We can't respond until you've given it your best shot.

AT is a learning forum, no one will be rude just helpful

Sorry for the late response, I wasn't following my own thread. In any case was thinking about that, I even checked it out but I still feel "I'm not ready". Let me finish reading several tarot books that I've started and then I'll make that exciting sounding thread

 

[Aina]

Join and participate in the Newbie reading circles each month, I started a few months ago, my first real reading to another person. I enjoy these and am now starting to get a bit more confident, a small step but a long way top go!

Good idea! Thank you! In the beginning I just really though tarot was all about intuition, all easy, like pendulum or something, no one remembers where it came from, so no history, no books to read. Now that I've really started enjoying them more, questions started arise and it just scares me how much I don't know and even if I know everything that wouldn't mean I could read them! So I guess I'll follow you there

 

[Aina]

With tarot, as with life, the more you understand, the more you realize that there's so much more to understand. I don't think we ever get to the end. That doesn't mean that we can't be good enough along the way... Just that I don't think we ever become the Source fully...

I really just realized that. Sometimes things are going on in front of our noses, in our own heads, with the closest people us and still we might spend all the life without really seeing, smelling or feeling anything. I really now think that tarot is a journey, like life and that it can act like an adviser or a mirror that would only reflects ourselves to us at the given period of time, because "what we see is within us".

 

[Aina]

I've been studying Tarot nearly my entire life. I feel the same way about it as Confucius did about the I Ching. He said, "If Heaven gave me another 50 years to live, I would spend them studying I-ching and perhaps then I would beware myself of troubles."

Tarot, in many ways, is the Western equivalent. It's something you never stop learning. There are always new meanings, new depths, new uses...it all depends on how far *you* want to go.

Not long ago in one of my threads I asked a question about whether it's worth reading tarot books. I was truly believing that one doesn't have to read any other book on tarot rather than their keywords's book. SO with my LWB I went to a couple of friends' and gave them readings and they were very happy and said it was really happening and there are people to be aware of and all those things. SO was very happy to think that I've learnt it all and then I went to some other friends and something silly happened. I saw there could be many contradicting variations to all of the cards and I didn't understand a thing about what they meant. That was an eye-opener and I came back home all sad and thought that I really wasted my all hard saved money on various decks (lack of control issues related to decks and emotions related to the experience of receiving one). So I'm here online reading various tarot blogs and watching YouTube videos, browsing AT and reading reviews on the best tarot books and it overwhelms me to see that there are people with decades of experience and those whose parents used to read it and who were familiar with the cards from teen-hood or childhood and STILL they are LEARNING it, asking question and want to hear other people's opinions. That's fascinating!