If you are new to Tarot, or have a new deck, the first thing to do is get to know your cards well.
You can study a deck of cards in various ways, including keeping a Tarot journal and drawing a daily card. If you want to work your way systematically through a deck, you can follow the sequence of exercises below. They will take you through all 78 cards. You do not need to know the book meanings of the cards to do these exercises. Depending on how easy you find the exercises, they might take a few hours or a few days to do properly.
To start, shuffle you deck ….
Exercise 1: Draw five cards face down and set the rest of the deck aside. Turn up the first of the five cards, studying it carefully. Then complete the following sentence 10 times, “This card shows …”. Repeat this exercise with the four remaining cards.
It might seem excessive to repeat this exercise 10 times for each card, but it will focus you on details you might ordinarily not notice.
Exercise 2: Set aside the five cards you have worked with in the first exercise, and draw 10 new cards. Complete the sentence, “This card is about …” 10 times for each card.
Some sentences will contradict each other. This does not matter. Also, don’t be concerned with the traditional meanings of the cards; list what seems possible to you from studying the card.
Exercise 3: Draw 15 cards from the remaining deck. Complete the sentence “This card suggests …” 10 times for each card.
Again, contradictions are fine.
Exercise 4: Draw 15 cards from the remaining deck and answer the question, “What could this card mean?” 10 times for each card.
Exercise 5: Draw 15 new cards. For each card, answer the question, “If this card were …, what would it be?” Replace the ellipsis with one of the words in the list below, and think of three possibilities for each card. (For example, think of three predictions for the first card, three disasters for the second card, and so on.)
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a prediction
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a disaster
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the beginning of something
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a warning
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an obstacle
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a feeling
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a motivation
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a goal
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something you need
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an opportunity
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a strength
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a weakness
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a threat
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a wish
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a solution
Exercise 6: Draw five cards. Imagine each card shows the consequences of something that has happened. What happened? List five possibilities for each card.
Exercise 7: Draw five cards. These cards show current events. What are the consequences of each event? List five per card.
Exercise 8: For the last eight cards, pretend you have a distraught querent sitting in front of you. She clearly needs help, but she refuses—or is unable—to tell you what the problem is. Turn over a card and list five possibilities for what the problem could be. Repeat this exercise with the remaining cards, one at a time.
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The image shows the new Alice Tarot deck from Magic Realist Press.
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