Complete beginner seeking advice on training

[Jessica]

First off, I would like to say this is something I’m truly invested in and want to hit the ground running with so all help, advice, wisdom will be sincerely appreciated.

Here’s some background for context and where I’m at:

I was raised in a very strict Christian home (wonder how often people hear this lol.) I still consider myself Christian but also spiritual and drawn to nature.

Over the last year now, it seems like tarot just keeps popping up literally everywhere around me. I’ve never even had my own reading done – not because I have anything against it. I just haven’t. I feel like… it’s just something I would want to really *engulf* myself in the first time. I wouldn’t know who to approach. I just want it to be really neat. I’m not saying I would buy into it or anything but I just want to have a good feel for it and not just go to anyone. I’m probably hyping it up…. anyway. It’s been a major plot in two books I’ve read, in a show I’ve watched recently, and now two passing acquaintances have done readings in front of me.

I’m just so *drawn* to it. I literally have no knowledge besides there are the same cards in a variation of decks. There are different types of readings you can do. Shorter or longer. Like three/five card spread etc. & cards mean different things right side up or down.

I would like a teacher who would be willing to teach me how to read them. As well as give me some direction on what type of deck to purchase. I just want the authentic learning experience before I start practicing my own readings.

Sorry if this sounds ignorant. I’m really serious though. If anyone can give me any direction, I would very sincerely appreciate it. Thanks!

Edit: got my first deck today (next day). It’s the sun & moon deck by Vanessa Decort. It has standard 78 cards but might be slightly different but hopefully not enough for me to not learn the standard cards. I’m healing from a recent domestic violence situation so I also got some sage to smudge my home as well as cleanse the cards. Also got a quartz crystal & some sweetgrass incense. Looking so forward. 🙂

Discussion

[Annabloem]

Hii,
I’ve been drawn to tarot for as long as I remember, so I totally get that feeling. I bought my first deck at 15, maybe 14, and a book with basic tips and “instructions” in it. At first I followed that book to the letter and while it certainly helped a lot, I’ve gotten a lot more fluid with my readings, and this definitely helped. I slso was very active on tarotforum.com at the start of my journey, though unfortunately that has closed down now.(I’ve been reading for 10+ years, as I’m 27 now.)
I’ve introduced my mum and my best friend to tarot, but they’re both very in the “just reading the guidebook with the deck” phase and since I don’t live in the same country anymore it’s harder to help them. I feel like I might be able to help you on your way if you’d like, but I want to stress this is how I read. Everyone has their own way of reading and those can be widely different. The start is the most daunting and even simple readings will take quite some time, but that will get better, and it’s more a way of learning how to look at the cards and interpret them.
Any deck is different. My recommendation would be to look through databases with sample pictures (www.aeclectic.net is a resource I used a lot, you can search by keywords of things you like). Figure out what kind of decks you like, read some of the reviews and choose which is the best fit for you. (I personally have 5 or 6 decks now, but when you’restarting out, stick to one.)
I’m by no means an expert, I’m still learning every time, but I’d love to help you on your way. I feel like “teaching” tarot would help me get a deeper understanding too. If you were up for it, I could even ask my bestie who recently started and we could turn it into a small study group (if you’re against that, that’s totally fine too, as it just popped in my head as something that could be fun.)

[AlbaTross579]

First off, with being Christian, I’d highly recommend praying to God that if He doesn’t want you to read Tarot, He’ll take that desire away from you. Once you get that out of the way, if you still have a desire to get into Tarot, go right ahead.

You probably don’t want to get into the mystical end of Tarot. Oh, there’s also r/SecularTarot if you’re interested in joining a community that doesn’t get so into all the mystical stuff. There will be things like crystals, particularly quartz, and maybe lighting incense. It’s probably best to avoid all that stuff and focus on just reading cards. That way, you can do so without inadvertently getting into pagan rituals that don’t mix well with a faith in God.

Depending on your tolerance for pagan imagery, it may be best to avoid certain decks that center around witchcraft or sorcery of any kind, among other things.

With all that in mind, the traditional Rider Waite Smith (colloquially referred to as RWS) is highly recommended, or what’s called a “clone deck”, which is one with imagery that corresponds with RWS. A pretty decent one is Everyday Tarot, as that doesn’t cost a ton, and although it’s a mini deck, it shuffles really well, and the cards are actually of decent quality.

Actually, if you don’t mind paying a monthly fee, the people at Biddy Tarot do have a service for teaching you about Tarot. I’d recommend giving them a try if you want a teacher. If you’re more budget-conscious like me though, you really don’t need a teacher. Just get a good source to look up card meanings, and there’s plenty of YouTube you can watch to get you started. You can also join a community such as [https://www.thetarotforum.com/](https://www.thetarotforum.com/) and may be able to connect with someone who can try and mentor you.

[altheawild]

Ask around at local shops in your town for lessons or classes. It’s become a popular offering in my area (and I actually taught an ongoing class before COVID shut down in person learning). Meetup groups are also a good (and free) way to learn.

[DisastrousBet7320]

The fact that you are drawn to this stuff after the way you were raised shows your intuition is trying to free you from the foreign mentality of Christianity, which is antinature and tells you to reject the real world in favor of a utopian vision. All people had their own traditions and spirituality before Christianity invaded and tried to replace those folk ways.

Always go with your intuition and if dogma has to die, let it die. Youtube has a tons of videos on the card meanings, tons of websites exist as well. You don’t really need a person to teach you.

[bisbingthecat]

check out the podcast Modern christian mysticism, specifically [this episode on tarot](https://youtu.be/82PbvqmEi68), if you have some time. She describes her journey with tarot as a christian, you might find it very relatable and emmy is awesome at making sense of mysticism/astrology and tarot as a christian.