Question by BranceHatesYou: How do I remember the meanings of Tarot Cards?
What are some methods used to remember the meanings of all 78+ Tarot Cards? Am I supposed to memorize all their meanings?
Best answer:
Answer by Jimmy C
You can buy books on the meanings
Give your answer to this question below!
it may be cheating but I use a deck that has basic meanings printed on them. When I draw a card I try to figure how that relates to the person with the added information that I sense from the person.
look at the symbols, feel the cards. let them tell you what they mean. What the cards say to you may not be exactly what the books say, but the what the cards say to you is more important since you’re the one reading them.
It really dose not matter………….. just make stuff up…….it will work just as well………………………….
Work with them often and you’ll remember more. Then again, the idea isn’t really to “memorize” what the cards mean… they are interpretive tools meant to guide your intuition with their symbolism.
That said, I find that the best way to remember things about the cards is to do the following… first learn what the suits mean… what do cups mean? they are associated with water, right? What does water mean? What topics would water symbolism be talking about. Now swords… etc…
Then, learn numerology… what does 1 or 2 or 3 suggest? What about kings, knights etc? Then combine the meaning of the number with the meaning of the suit with the images on the card with your own intuitive sense and you’ll have a pretty solid interpretation going there.
When it comes to the major arcana, there is another method… there is, of course, the numerology, but more, there is the journey of The Fool. Cards 0 through 21 describe a fascinating and enlightening journey through the occult and alchemy. Find a book that will walk you through the journey of The Fool all the way till s/he/you become The World. Once you have traveled or studied that journey, it will be fairly easy to remember what each of the individual major arcana cards mean, then you have another tool to add to your interpretive and intuitive skills.
It takes quite some time and I’ve never really mastered the cards.
-Scarlet
You don’t memorise, if you do this you block the intuitive part of the mind as you engage the logical/reasoning part.
That’s the whole point of Tarot, it’s to open up your mind to your sub-concious/higher self and let it communicate with you through imagery and symbology.
Everyone does this already when they dream, Tarot opens this channel of communication without the need for sleep.
So just look at the pictures and see what story they are telling you, thats how the good Tarot readers do it. All the books they have written are based on what they saw when they looked at the cards.
I’ve been writing an series of articles on this very subject over the last few days.
One thing that is important to learn is the Elements (Fire, Earth, Air, Water) and what each elements symbology means. Fire is Rods/Wands, Earth is Coins/Pentacles, Air is Swords & Water is Cups.
The other thing that is important to learn is the symbology of the numbers, the Numerology of Tarot.
That’s just 13 things to learn (4 elements, numbers 1 to 9) rather than 52 (4 suites of the minor Arcana).
Elements and Numerology also apply to the Major Arcana for example the first card is the Magician which is card 1. This card is about creation, new starts just as number 1 is in Numerology.
I’ve published my article on the elements and should be finished the numerology of Tarot in the next day or so.
http://phuture.me/tarot/the-4-elements.html
http://phuture.me/tarot/tarots-numerology.html
http://phuture.me/tarot/tarot-explained.html
I’m learning about Tarot cards at the moment. I had been wanting to learn it for awhile, but always felt intimidated by how much there was to memorize for all the cards. Most books on Tarot didn’t make me want to continue reading or had the right vibe for me. I came across “Tarot For Life” by Paul Quinn ( http://www.amazon.com/Tarot-Life-Reading-Everyday-Guidance/dp/0835608794/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277224871&sr=8-1 ) which is a 2009 publication with 4.5 stars. I’m a bookseller and was going to sell it online, but this particular book intrigued me. I just loved it! The author does not overwhelm you with too much knowledge about each card, but rather teaches you to better understand the symbols of each card and encourages you to trust your own intuition, imagination and interpretation. Like for example, when I was looking at The Empress card before reading the chapter about it. On this card, I see a motherly figure that is so giving and loving and loves having comforts around her (pillows, cushions) and with her jewels it showed she likes to surround herself with attractive things. And the background has a forest and wheat field below her which represents: earth, abundance, food, life, giving, nurturing, wealth, etc. I got the sense that she is Mother Earth, Universal Mother, and so on. Reading the chapter showed me that I was on the right track in interpreting its meaning.
So the best way to approach learning tarot is to UNDERSTAND the meanings of all kinds of symbols on them. Colors are associated with chakras. Find a good book or website and take your time to understand what each card is all about and get a feel/sense for it. Don’t stress over memorizing. That will increase over time as you work with them frequently. Practice reading for yourself using a small spread such as 1 or 3 cards. First get a feel of its message, then look up what it means. Keep a Tarot journal to take notes for each card, so you can refer back to it.
Also understand that Wands represent fire, swords=air, cups=water, and pentacles=earth. In the book “Tarot For Life”, he gives keywords for each category to get a sense of the themes around the cards.