How to Keep a Tarot Journal

Being able to read tarot cards is both a learned skill and a natural gift. Like any other art or profession, some are simply undeniably great at it while others are good after working very hard for it.A great tool for tarot card readers of any level is a journal. Tarot journaling allows you to track the accuracy of your readings as well as get a better sense of how each Tarot card fits into your everyday life.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Journal
• Tarot Card Deck

Instructions

1. Date each entry in your Tarot journal, including year. After you've kept a Tarot journal for a long time, you'll want to go back over past entries. That's tough if you didn't accurately date an entry.
2. Lay out a simple three card spread with spread position meanings: past (left card), present (middle card) and future (right card). In your Tarot journal write down the name of the spread, the date and the names of the cards you drew. Be sure to note whether a card was upright or reversed.
3. Delve into the pictures in the cards--immerse yourself in the meanings, then write your interpretation of each card in your journal.
4. Jump even deeper into the reading, and write down your notes on what you think about each card in its layout position. For example, if you draw the Empress in the future position, be aware if that has particular meaning for you. If you've just gotten out of a negative relationship, you may have a card like the 8 of Cups in the past position. The more time you take to journal your thoughts about each card and its position in the spread, the more information you'll gather for the accuracy of future readings.
5. Tomorrow morning, before you get out of bed, draw a card and write it down in your Tarot journal. Jot a few notes about what the card means to you, and what you think it portends for your day. At the close of the day, when hindsight is 20-20, write down a few more thoughts about what the card meant for that day.
6. Each day, as you add another daily card to your journal, you will find yourself building a personal profile of your life. Pay particular attention to the suits that are most predominant, or cards that appear time and again. All of these are clues to understanding yourself a little better, as well as checking accuracy of your take on the cards.

Tips & Warnings

• Use your journal to gain a deeper understanding of each card; an excellent way to do this is to sort the Court Cards by suit, and writing down a dialogue between each of the suits.
• Next, imagine a dialogue between all of the Knights; what a difference the Knight of Pentacles would be compared to the Knight of Cups!
• Don't take tarot cards too seriously. Keep a balance of perspective on things.