Getting Started with the Cards

In an email, a critic frets, "Encouraging people to pick up a Tarot deck without prescribing a well-defined course of study is like giving a toddler the keys to an armored tank. It takes years of specialized training to drivea tank; it takes years of dedicated study to understand the potential and power of Tarot."

It's true: the longer you study Tarot, and the more you apply yourself to discovering the ideas behind its symbols, the richer your experience of the Tarot becomes. The cards reward diligent study. On this, we're agreed.

It's also true, though, that playful exploration can be a powerful study method -- and a source of great joy. Just picking up a deck and looking at the pictures can open dozens of doors.

But wait! What about using "proper" shuffling methods? What about rituals? What about cutting the cards three times with the left hand only? Someone just playing might not grasp the significance of the Four of Cups being associated with the Moon in Cancer!

If you're curious about these things, there's time to explore them. In fact, I encourage you to do so.

Meanwhile: don't let anyone tell you that you have to read the collected works of some secret society before you can work with the cards. Pick up a deck. Give it a shuffle. Draw a card. Ask yourself how that card might apply to your situation.

Getting started with the cards is just that easy. When you're just starting your Tarot journey, it's fine to test the waters before plunging into the depths.