How to Teach a Tarot Card Class

If you're good at reading tarot cards, you may want to share your skills with others. Teaching a tarot card class is a good way to meet some new people, share information and even earn a little bit of extra money. However, you can't just run into a room and demand people pay attention to you; you need to have some structure in place before you begin teaching.

Instructions

1. Set a date and time for your class. Figure out where your class will be held, and how many students you will be accepting. If you're teaching by yourself, probably 10 to 12 students is a good amount. Any more than that and you should get an assistant to help you answer questions and work with people one on one. When you schedule your class, figure out whether or not you can teach everything you want to cover in one session or if you would be better off doing two or even three sessions. Many tarot teachers break their classes into three separate nights. On the first, discuss the history of tarot and the meanings of the major arcana, on the second cover the remainder of the cards and on the last night demonstrate and practice reading the cards. If you break the class into multiple dates, try to be consistent in scheduling them--three consecutive Mondays, for instance, or a Saturday-Sunday class.

2. Advertise that you're teaching a class. Word of mouth is great, but you can also hang signs in local metaphysical stores and coffee shops. Run an ad in a local newspaper, or post on websites that offer free classified advertising. Include your phone number and email address so people can register, and give everyone who calls information about the date and location of the class. Ask each student to bring a notebook and a deck of tarot cards.

3. Arrive early for the class. Welcome students as they arrive. When the class begins, take a few minutes to introduce yourself to the students. Have everyone introduce themselves to each other, and ask them why they're interested in taking the class. Have refreshments and drinks handy as well.

4. Explain the cards and their meanings. To get started, review the suits and the individual cards. You can either encourage students to take notes, or you can provide a written handout sheet. The handout allows everyone to have correct information and permits students to pay attention to what you're saying rather than spend all their time scribbling notes. Show a sample of each card, holding it up, as you review its meaning.

5. Show students how to do a reading. Explain to students the different methods of reading tarot cards. Again, you may wish to have a handout showing different tarot card layouts. Also discuss ways of doing intuitive reading, in which the cards' meanings aren't as significant as the feelings the reader gets from them.

6. Allow students to do practice readings on one another in pairs. After 10 minutes or so, ask them to switch so the reader is now the querent. This allows every student to get a chance to not only read but also verbalize what messages they are getting from the cards.

7. Have a question-and-answer session. Some students may have questions about a particular card or about reading for other people. Answer any questions thoroughly. If you don't know the answer to the question, promise to find out and get back to the students with the information--and then be sure to do so. At the end of the class, hand students a review sheet in which they can tell you--anonymously if they want--what they liked about the class, what they didn’t like and if there was anything they wanted to learn but didn’t. Use this feedback in planning your next tarot card class.

Tips & Warnings

• There are tarot card decks available for teachers that are extra-large size, which makes them perfect for using in a class.

• Sometimes, you'll get a student who believes they already know everything they need to know and wants to dominate the class. Don't allow this to happen. Be polite but firm, and remind that student that you are the one who is teaching the class.