Keeping A Tarot Journal

Things Every New Tarot Student Should Do

Keeping a tarot journal is one of the best habits you can have when it comes to learning tarot. You are creating a collection of all your insights gleaned over time for you to use in the years to come. Have fun with your tarot journal and at the same time, treasure it, use it, love it. Make it your own personal style. Treat the act of writing in your tarot journal as a sacred ritual.

This is the first of a series of blog posts I am doing based on things every new tarot student should do. These are things I did when I was first learning tarot or things I wish I did.

Why Keep A Tarot Journal?

When you read a book to learn, you use a different part of your brain than when you write. When you keep a tarot journal you are writing your impressions down on paper and this creates a personal meaning that is now imbedded in your mind. This great article talks about all the ways writing something down solidifies what we learn and helps us track patterns of behavior.

Here are just some of my tarot journals.

Tarot Grimoire

Developing this personal connection by writing your impressions in a book is creating your own personal Tarot Grimoire or essentially your own, tarot guide written for you, and by you.

Those Golden Nuggets of Wisdom

Reading your own journal years later is very therapeutic. You can revisit where your mind and soul were at a particular point in your life. Revisiting a tarot journal is no different. You can see how your skills and interpretations of the cards have progressed over time. You will also find those golden nuggets of wisdom you may have forgotten about that you can re-introduce to your tarot practice.

Here are some suggestions for keeping a tarot journal.

Create A Sacred Space

Create a special place and time to do some daily tarot journaling. When my kids were little I would get up at 5am to have some quiet time to devote to tarot. I had a special table in my room where I would sit to do my card a day and journal on it. I decorated the table with a beautiful cloth and my favorite crystals. This created a sacred space for me to learn and write.

First Impressions

No matter where you are at in your tarot journey, always start your tarot journal entries out with your first impressions. Don’t over think it. Just write down whatever the image is triggering in your mind. Remember this is your own personal Tarot Grimoire so make it personal!

Symbolism

Write about what pops out to you in the card. What symbols, scenes or expressions really stand out to you? Look up the symbolism shown in the card and write it in your tarot journal for future reference. Remember, writing enforces learning!

It’s More Than Just The Cards!

Use your tarot journal to jot down your favorite tarot spreads, unique tips you come across, notes from a great tarot book you are reading or class you are taking. Anything and everything tarot related can go in your journal.

Record Your Readings

When you give a tarot reading for yourself keep track of it. I’m not talking about card a day readings, but the readings you do for yourself to answer specific questions. Date your readings and also print out a picture of the cards to paste in your journal as a reference. I know this takes a lot of time but trust me when I say it’s worth it. Going back to readings I did years ago, I see how things unfolded and it’s quite affirming to see how accurate my readings were. Even a quick reading summary will do if you don’t have the time for details.

Make Your Journal Special

I started out tarot journaling in a composition notebook but now I have a very special leather notebook I use. I buy special paper and write with fountain pens. All these things make my journal practice unique and sacred to me. If you don’t want to go all fancy that’s fine just as long as it’s uniquely you!

If writing just doesn’t work for you please do keep a digital journal. I personally love to write but it is not for everyone. The most important thing is that you are creating a living document of your tarot journey to have and use for the rest of your life and who knows, maybe it will be passed down to future generations.

Catalog It

My last tip is to catalog your tarot journal. I always numbered my pages and created a ‘table of contents’. I’ll show a picture below from my first journal. I listed all the majors and then the minors by number and each of the courts. You could put spreads and general topics in there too and then list all the pages that have content related to that topic. This helps you easily find information you are looking for.

Hudson Valley Tarot