Getting Started with That Tarot Book
Okay, so I finally decided to tackle that tarot book I bought ages ago. It was just sitting there on the shelf, looking intimidating. I kept telling myself I’d get to it ‘someday’. Well, someday finally rolled around last Tuesday. I picked it up, dusted it off – seriously, it had actual dust on it.
First thing, I just flipped through it. Looked at the pictures, you know? The artwork in tarot decks is half the fun, and the book had plenty of examples. It felt less scary just looking at the images rather than diving straight into the text. Then I actually sat down with a cup of tea and decided to read the introduction. The author seemed friendly enough, not too mystical or weird, which was a relief. They basically said, ‘Hey, this is a tool, let’s figure it out’. Good enough for me.
I didn’t try to read it cover-to-cover in one go. No way. My brain doesn’t work like that. I decided to focus on the Major Arcana first, just like the book suggested. Those are the big important-looking cards, right? The Fool, The Magician, all that jazz.
- I read the description for each card.
- I looked at the picture in the book, then found the same card in my own deck.
- I tried to just feel what the card meant before reading the book’s interpretation. Sometimes I was way off, sometimes surprisingly close.
- I grabbed a notebook. Yeah, actually took notes like I was back in school. Wrote down keywords for each card. Things like ‘The Tower: sudden change, uh oh’. Real simple stuff.
Hitting Some Roadblocks
Honestly, memorizing all 22 Major Arcana meanings felt like a chore. My brain felt stuffed. And the reversed meanings? Forget about it. The book tried to explain them, but I decided to skip that for now. Baby steps, right? I figured getting the basic upright meanings down was plenty to start with.
Then came the Minor Arcana. Wands, Cups, Swords, Pentacles. Oh boy. That’s a lot more cards. The book broke them down by suit and number, which helped. I spent a good few evenings just reading through those sections. Didn’t push too hard. If I got bored or confused, I just put the book down and did something else. Watched TV, messed around online. No pressure.
Trying It Out (Sort Of)
After getting a basic handle on most of the card meanings – or at least, knowing where to look them up in my notes or the book – I decided to try an actual spread. The book recommended starting with a simple three-card pull: Past, Present, Future. Seemed easy enough.
So, I shuffled my deck. Probably shuffled it way too much, I was nervous. Laid out three cards. Then I stared at them. Blanked. Completely forgot what they meant. Had to grab my notebook and the book itself. It felt clumsy. The ‘story’ the cards told felt a bit forced because I was just reading definitions. It wasn’t smooth or intuitive like you see in movies. It was more like, “Okay, card one… flip page… says beginnings. Card two… flip page… conflict. Card three… flip page… thinking about money.” Not exactly earth-shattering insight.
But here’s the thing: I did it. I went through the motions. Reading the book wasn’t just about learning meanings, it was about giving me the confidence, however small, to actually touch the cards and try. It guided the practical steps.
I’m still working through it. I haven’t mastered anything. I still rely heavily on the book and my scribbled notes. Some days I pull a card or two in the morning, other days the deck stays in its box. But reading that book, page by page, section by section, taking notes, trying the spreads clumsily… that whole process demystified it for me. It turned the tarot from this weird, unknowable thing into something I could actually learn, step by step. It’s a journey, and the book was like my first, slightly confusing, road map.
