As a professional Tarot reader, I get asked a lot of questions… All the usual relationship and career type things but also I come across many people who’ve been reading for themselves for many years and they ask me how they can further their reading practice… They typically ask me questions like this…
I’ve always loved Tarot, but have never seemed to be able to get comfortable enough to trust my instincts rather than using the book. Any suggestions on how to get past this?
YES! I have lots of suggestions… Some may work for you, some may not… It very much depends on your personal learning style…
It doesn’t have to be…
Think about the ways you like to learn and find ways that suit you best… Visual? Auditory? Kinaesthetic?
Off the top of my head, here are 10…
- Hide your book – I’m not going to advocate burning your LWB or tossing it out completely as there are times when it does come in useful… But think of your LWB as training wheels on a bicycle. It’s fine when you’re just setting out to learn and trying to find your balance… But if you come to be overly reliant then it’s going to seriously cramp your style…
- PRACTICE… yup! Practice… practice… practice… oh and did I say practice? 😀 and if you’re reading for someone else then ask for honest feedback.
- Record your own notes – keep a journal… though I would say not necessarily a pen and paper type. That’s fine if you’re that way inclined but for some, that can feel like a mammoth task. There are other ways to ‘journal’ – blogging, using dictaphones, scrapbooking… personally, I take photos and email them to myself along with any notes, thoughts, ideas. Find a way that works for you as if it feels to be a chore then you’re not going to keep it up.
- Drawing/Sketching – this I find a very useful exercise… pick a card and just spend 10 minutes sketching what you see. Don’t worry about how good you are… this is for your use… don’t over think or try to exactly replicate the image. Working quickly will give you the details that attract you. Look at what parts you’ve pulled out and consider why… was it the colour? shape? something with personal significance? What feelings are evoked as you do this?
- Don’t edit! Which ever way you choose to work, allow your thoughts and ideas to flow… Don’t dismiss anything as being wrong as even mistakes teach us valuable lessons. And this is where your LWB can come in handy… But use it AFTER you’ve made your own notes. Pick out anything that you feel is significant and that you missed using your own methods rather than starting with the LWB then dismissing anything that you disover that doesn’t seem to fit in. Working with cards is a personal experience and your meanings should reflect this and be meaningful to you and your experience of life.
- Study Symbology – look outside of your Tarot to other areas where symbology is used – colours, numerology, astrology, totem animals etc. Start to build your own personal library of references. You don’t have to worry about remembering things when you’ve spent time learning how to understand them…
- Card for the day – Focus on a card in the morning and then observe how it shows up throughout your day… This is helpful but more helpful is the next point…
- Groups of cards – take your cards in pairs and see how they work together… how do they talk to each other? I prefer to take mine in trios as I spent years playing various instruments and for me, to see cards in trios is like hearing notes and chords… there’s a tone and atmosphere and music being played…
- Associate cards with songs… I have a game I play called Free Association Football… You can check out some tunes HERE 😀
- Get out of your comfort zone! If you’re not uncomfortable then you’re not learning…
Here’s a post of mine where I combine several of these techniques… Why I like to draw cards…
Like I say… there are many methods to boost your confidence in your readings…
You may even consider booking a session with me to do just that… 😉
Ready to learn more?
Message me via Pure & Blessed Tarot 😉
The pure and blessed way 