Tarot Tuesday: How Long Does It Take To Learn Tarot?

This sounds like a loaded question, doesn’t it?

I hate the answer, but it’s the only one that works: It depends. How long that takes is really up to you.

If you’re a tarot student, the task can seem very daunting. 78 cards, double that if you’re reading reversals, is a lot to learn. But don’t let the numbers discourage you.

I started reading cards in 1989. Many of you reading this weren’t even born yet, so I know how crazy that must sound. I was heading off to college and decided it was time to spread my wings. But I started off reading like everyone else: With that little white book that came with the deck.

I did my first few readings for some friends and when I opened that little book, I was disappointed. One card I remember in particular was the Six of Wands. It said, “Furlough for a military man” and I thought “What the fuck is this shit?” Someone was asking me about how they were going to perform academically, so that was not helpful at all.

Me being me, I improvised. I started thinking of the cards as “good”, “bad”, or “somewhere in between” and interpreted from there. Yes, it was frustrating, but it helped push me forward on my path.

28 years later, I remember very well what it took to develop my skills: Time, books, classes, and contemplation. I’m more of a deep thinker, and it takes me a while to assimilate new ideas. But once I do, I don’t forget them.

The point here is that we all learn differently. One question to ask yourself is what kind of learner you are. There are plenty of online tests and resources to help you figure it out, but I’d suggest digging a little more deeply into how you learn. Doing so will accelerate the process.

The other main factor is your intuitive ability. If that skill comes naturally to you, it can help facilitate your studies. My niece Yvonne, for example, is much more naturally intuitive than I am, and it shows in her tarot work. She won’t have to work as hard as I did to develop it, and as such she’s already very skilled working with the tarot.

So the real answer to learning the tarot is to develop both your knowledge of the tarot and your intuitive ability.

What you learn along your journey is much more important than some arbitrary number, isn’t it?