How To REALLY Learn Tarot In One Day

How to REALLY Learn Tarot in One Day

Reading tarot like a master requires a natural talent for divination. Barring that, years of constant practice will suffice.

But anyone can learn the basics. And it should not take longer than a day to cover. Start in the morning, and by evening, you will be a tarot reader.

This post is Day 1 of the Divination class that I teach. By 8:30 PM, my teenage initiates were already correctly predicting each other’s crushes and the winners of tennis matches.

THE DAY BEFORE

Get a deck and a resource.

Acquire a Rider-Waite deck or a clone of it. You may opt for something else, but be forewarned that you could lose out on a multitude of symbolism. The Rider-Waite may not be the prettiest, but there is nothing more complete.

Find a reliable resource. The Ultimate Guide to Tarot by Liz Dean is a perfect book for beginners. So is Labyrinthos’ website, if you prefer something free of charge.

THE DAY ITSELF

9–10 AM

Pick one keyword for each card.

With a belly full of breakfast, quickly skim through your resource and pick just one keyword per card. For example, “destruction” for The Tower, “happiness” for The Sun, and “wealth” for the Ten of Pentacles. Note it all down on paper or on your phone.

10–11 AM

Associate the word with the image.

Look at your keyword side by side the card. Make an undeniable connection. 

Why is The Tower “destruction”? Because the tower on the card has been “destroyed”.

Why is The Sun “happiness”? Because the child on the card looks “happy”.

Why is the Ten of Pentacles “wealth”? Because the family on the card looks “wealthy”.

Memorization becomes much easier when based on visual correlation.

11 AM–12 PM

Quiz yourself.

Hide your notes from view. Keeping in mind the word-image associations you made, go through each card, reciting its keyword. Put in one pile all the cards you remembered the keyword for, and in another, the ones that escaped your memory.

Then look at your notes side-by-side the second pile to remind yourself of what you missed. Go through the whole pile again, repeating the process until you can recite the keywords for all 78 cards without making a mistake. One card, one word. Should be as simple as pre-school.

12–1 PM

Take a break.

Have a meal. Nap a little. Stretch a bit. Give your mind space to absorb everything you just memorized.

1–2 PM

Quiz yourself again.

You are guaranteed to forget some of your keywords. That is fine. It is why you are doing this again, to strengthen your memory. Be patient with yourself, and keep going through the whole deck until you are no longer making any mistakes.

2–3:30 PM

Pick a key phrase for each reversed card.

Quickly skim through your resource again. Now that you know the upright meanings, reversals should be fairly easy, because they can only be one of three: the opposite of the upright card; the upright card watered down; the upright card made worse.

To illustrate:

If The Devil upright is “addiction”, reversed it is “overcoming addiction” — the opposite.

If the Nine of Cups is “fulfillment”, reversed, it is “fulfillment delayed” — watered down.

If the Seven of Swords upright is “manipulation”, reversed it is “betrayal” — made worse.

Note it all down next to your upright keywords.

3:30–5 PM

Quiz yourself on both upright and reversed meanings.

Hide your notes from view. Keeping in mind the upright-reversed meaning associations you made, go through each card one by one, reciting its upright meaning followed by its reversed meaning.

Like before, put in one pile the cards you had no problem with, and in another, the cards that escaped your memory. Look at your notes for those you missed. Go through the whole pile again, repeating the process until you can recite the upright keywords and the reversed key phrases for all 78 cards, without making a mistake.

5–6 PM

Take another break.

Have another meal. Nap some more. Stretch again. Let your mind and body breathe.

6–7:15 PM

Quiz yourself again on both upright and reversed meanings.

Go through each card one by one, reciting its upright meaning followed by its reversed meaning.

Like before, put in one pile the cards you had no problem with, and in another, the cards that escaped your memory. Look at your notes side by side the cards you missed. And go through the full deck again until you are no longer missing a beat.

7:15–8 PM

Read.

For the last time today, bring out your resource, and from it, choose any spread you like. But if you really want to do it right, the Celtic Cross spread is recommended. Do not worry about being overwhelmed. You can leave the book or the website open on the page where the spread is.

Ask tarot your question. Without looking at your notes, interpret its answer to the best of your ability using the keywords and key phrases you just memorized.

Congratulations. You are now a tarot reader.

But if you wish to keep learning, then keep reading.

THE DAYS AFTER

Day 1 – Day 4

For the next four days, quiz yourself again on both upright and reversed meanings, to really cement them in your mind. Then perform the same spread you did the first time, but ask a different question each time. Interpret the cards to the best of your knowledge. This should only take an hour at the most.

Day 5

By now, everything you learned has been drilled into memory. Feel free to expand your knowledge. Read your book cover to cover. Fully explore your chosen website.

Most of the new meanings you will learn will be related to the ones you committed to heart, so do not worry about being confused. For example, if your keyword for The Empress is “abundance”, you will find that its other meanings are “harvest”, “creativity” and “fertility”. “Harvest” is financial abundance; “creativity”, an abundance of skill; “fertility”, an abundance of growth. They vary slightly, but they are all the same, essentially.

All the best in your tarot journey.

When I was a kid, we moved into a house that had a huge lilac tree out front. It was mostly rotten, and it needed to be taken down before it fell. It took a while, but eventually, it was gone.

Mostly. A couple years later, little lilac babies popped out of the ground in its place. My mom was determined to get rid of them, because she'd planted a beautiful flower garden there, and the lilac trees would overshadow and kill the whole garden. I insisted on saving at least a few saplings. She said fine, but I had to dig them out and put them in pots myself.

So, I did. I spent days digging little lilac bushes out of the ground and putting them into pots. Some couldn't be saved, but some could. When all was said and done, I had five brand-new lilac saplings. Seven or eight years old, and it was my absolute pride and joy.

Three died due to sun scorching, severe drought that no amount of watering could save, and perhaps just being moved from their place in the ground. But two survived, and I was awfully proud of them! I'd go out and talk to them every single day. I watered them by hand and made sure they were fertilized properly. I learned all about their favored environments, and I was determined to make sure they lived.

One of my mom's friends saw what I was doing with the lilacs. She asked if she could have one to put in her backyard, and I agreed on the condition that she take very, very good care of it.

It's now fucking enormous. I'm talking ten feet tall and bursting with beautiful purple flowers every spring. My mom still gets updates each year as they start to bloom, which she forwards to me. And all I can think is, "That's my friend! Thriving some twenty years on, there it is."

The other tree nearly died, too. It lived in a pot for far, far too long. I wanted to plant it somewhere in my parents' yard, but my mom was reluctant. Eventually, we agreed to put it in the far back garden. It grew okay for many years, despite the shade, but in all these years, it's never bloomed.

Last year, the massive tree casting massive shadows over the lilac and the garden cracked in half and fell. It tumbled into the garden, crushing part of the nearby shed and destroying a few plants beneath it.

It missed my lilac by inches.

The clean-up is long done. The rest of the tree has been cut down, and my lilac has full sunlight for the first time in fifteen years. It won't bloom this year, I know. But it's got new shoots up. It's taller than ever. I spent half an hour a few weeks ago praising it for surviving all this time, dreaming about its future and telling it how I believe it'll become the tall beauty it's always been meant to be.

I think next year, I'll see flowers.

Cosmic Altar & Room Ideas

Using corresponding crystals to represent the elements, planets, or both if you wish

Using the zodiac in adjunct with the pentacle to represent either cosmic energies, earthly energies, or both

If you work with deities, a representation of your patron deity; if not, a representation of the planets and astrological signs you relate with  

Planetary talismans for protection 

Star shaped candle/tealight holders

Celestial altar cloth

Candle/incense scents that correspond to different planets

Starry organza bags for sachets and storage

Glow stars or a spacey poster on the wall behind your space

Color-changing LED tealights or votive candles 

Both an astronomical and an astrological calendar to keep up with important dates

Glitter jar to represent positivity and the Cosmos

Black Hole jar to absorb negativity from your space 

A playlist of ambient music in the background 

Uncle Milton’s “Moon in my Room,” or “Star Planetarium”

Supermoon

Earth

Mars

Solar System

Nebula bedding

Paper Star String Lights

Advice for First-Generation Witches

I have a friend who decided she wants to be a witch. She asks me for a spell every time she overhears that some date is important to witches.

No ritual has ever worked for her. Not a single one.

Magic sees her coming from miles away then shuts the door to her face. Occult beings want nothing to do with her. Incantations do not wish to be pronounced by her mouth. Witchcraft tasted her and spat her out.

Because to treat the craft randomly is to treat it disrespectfully. Magic pulls away from those who see it as a hobby.

This path is not merely an interest. It is a way of life. Only those who understand this can truly harvest its benefits.

Becoming that person takes a while. But if you start here, you’ll get there fine.

HOW TO SPOT TRAUMAS AND FEARS IN A BIRTH CHART pt.1 🦇☕️

Pay attention  to the 8th HOUSE:

The 8th house is all about fears, taboo, the dark side of the human mind and what’s hidden. It’s connected with Scorpio and associated with Pluto, the planet of regeneration and rebirth, it suggests that we’re all able to find the key for heal our traumas and win over our fears.

First, look at the sign on the cousp on the 8th house, here some examples (maybe I’ll explain in another post and in a more detailed way what does the sign on the 8th house cousp mean):

Aries 8th house: fears related to taking action, defining your individuality, competition, doing something exclusively for yourself, expressing your anger, impulsive behaviors.

Taurus 8th house: fears related to your own stability, expressing yourself in a creative way, expressing the sensual side of your personality.

Gemini 8th house: fears related to communication, expressing your opinion, being chatty, being superficial, not feeling smart enough.

Cancer 8th house: fears related to your roots, your family, expressing your emotions, being vulnerable.

Leo 8th house: fears related to self-expression in general, standing up for yourself, being extra, taking leadership, vanity, feeling confident, expressing yourself through art.

Virgo 8th house: fears related to rejection, being criticized, responsibility, respecting high standards, not feeling smart enough, being imperfect.

Libra 8th house: fears related to cooperation, relationships, connecting with other people, love, loosing your balance.

Scorpio 8th house: fears related to secrets, not being able to know what’s happening around and inside of yourself, jealousy, expressing your sexuality, open up, intimacy.

Sagittarius 8th house: fear of missing something, not living your life at the fullest, being trapped, not being able to experiment and have the opportunity to learn.

Capricorn in 8th house: fears related to taking responsibility, not working/trying hard enough, showing your emotions, open up.

Aquarius in 8th house: fears related to showing your authentic side to the world, feeling weird, not being able to “fit in”, being different, loneliness.

Pisces in 8th house: fears related to chaotic situations, deep emotions, love, explore your dreams, explore your spiritual side, losing yourself.

Look at the position of Pluto in the birth chart:

The position of Pluto in a specific house of your birth chart suggests how you can heal your traumas. Pluto can be a tricky planet, it’s connected to karmic lessons and can be challenging keeping on repeat the same lessons again and again until you change the game in a definitive way.

Pluto in 1th house: define your identity, find your authentic self and don’t be afraid to express who you truly are, open up with others, accept unconditionally your unique way to independence is the key.

Pluto in 2th house: find your comfort zone, guarantee yourself a stable lifestyle, develop resilience and try to set reachable goals for yourself, try to express yourself through art.

Pluto in 3th house: speak your mind, connect with people around you, share your ideas, relationships are important for your healing journey, write down your emotions, heal the relationships with your siblings.

Pluto in 4th house: understand and nurture your emotions, heal the relationship with your family, understand your roots and practice unconditional love, heal your inner child, feel a sense of belonging with your community.

Pluto in 5th house: heal your relationship with your inner child or surround yourself with children, give yourself the opportunity to “act like a kid” again, work on being spontaneous and less shy, express yourself through art and theater.

Pluto in 6th house: follow a healthy lifestyle, eat well and drink more water, do gym, work on your goals and dedicate your energy to a project or volunteering, connect with animals.

Pluto in 7th house: establish healthy relationships with others, define healthy boundaries with others, open up, establish 50-50 relationships based on mutual respect and cooperation.

Pluto in the 8th house: establish a healthy approach towards sexuality, explore your spiritual side and activate yourself in a direct way towards your fears, be honest and don’t fear your deepest thoughts.

Pluto in the 9 th house: expand your horizons through  travel and education, learn is the key for healing your trauma, connect with new realities, explore your spiritual and philosophical side.

Pluto in the 10th house: find your goals and work hard to achieve them, you can heal your wounds through a carrier that makes you feel happy and aligned with your highest goals, you need a lot of structure and to work on your approach to responsibility.

Pluto in the 11th house: you need to find a community and work with people that shares your same view of life, find a place where you can feel a sense of belonging and community, don’t isolate yourself and open up with others, you can heal your wounds through friendships.

Pluto in the 12th house: you need to explore with your spiritual side, work on your internal dialog, try to sleep well, analyze your dreams and trust your intuition, your spiritual gift will guide you through the healing process.

Personally I've never been a fan of the "magic is a beast that needs to be tamed" metaphor. Magic is more like the ocean: powerful, terrifying, capable of unbridled force. But at the same time, it is gentle, warm, the lifeblood of millions of people. The folk who know the ocean know you cannot harness it's force, you must work within or around it, lest it destroy you. Similarly, magic is great and terrible and gentle and kind, all at once. And those who work with it need to work WITH it, not reign over it. Because the primordial forces have no rules about biting the hand that feeds you.