But there are ways of learning the Tarot more easily and efficiently. Most Tarot students nowadays learn to read the cards with the help of books or mentors; the latter will save time and money. Check out your local area for courses or look on the internet for contacts; The Tarot Association of the British Isles (TABI) has a list of professional readers, who also offer tuition not only in their local areas but also online.
My top tips for learning the Tarot more efficiently:
• Choose a beginner’s deck, such as the Rider-Waite or Sharman-Caselli deck. Don’t be tempted by the Star Wars or Flower Fairy Tarot deck; you need cards that offer plenty of archetypal symbolism and meaning, so you can develop your intuition.
• Don’t try and memorize card meanings from books. Instead, try looking at each card and figure out the meaning for yourself. The cards need to speak to you. Relate each card to an experience or phase in your life; this will help you to remember its meanings more easily.
• If you need to buy a beginner’s book, choose one that provides plenty of exercises to help you learn the Tarot more intuitively. A good example is Mary K. Greer’s 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card.
• Find yourself a friend to learn Tarot with or a mentor. Sometimes it is hard to get motivated on your own. A mentor will also help you to focus by guiding you with individual exercises and reading material, so you can achieve your goal more quickly.
• Be realistic on how much time you can devote to your studies; Tarot cannot be learned from one day to the next, although it offers insight and guidance the moment you start. Your accuracy will improve in