Tarot 101: How to memorize your tarot cards
This article is part of an extensive Tarot 101 guide.
Most tarot card decks follow the Rider-Waite design system of 78 cards. Here are quick tips on familiarizing yourself with the deck’s content.
#1: Study the underlying hierarchy and structure inside of your tarot deck
There are 78 cards in total. This large deck is divided into two subdecks:
The Major Arcana deck has 22 cards;
The Minor Arcana deck has 56 cards.
The Major Arcana features major characters and overarching themes that one may experience throughout their lives (e.g., if someone frequently pulls The Fool card out of the deck, they may encounter a lot of new starts and experiences; if someone frequently pulls The Hermit card out of the deck, they may have a tendency to want to stay indoors away from the chaos of humans and the outside world).
The Minor Arcana features minor themes that may come and go throughout our lives (e.g., if someone pulls a 5 of Cups, they may be experiencing a tinge of regret in their lives, but they will eventually move on from feeling regretful). These themes are represented by four symbols, which make up the four suits inside the Minor Arcana:
Cups: Romantic and platonic love, relationships, creativity; also associated with Water signs in the Western Zodiac
Swords: Strategic wisdom, deep intuition and intelligence, language and communication; also associated with Air signs in the Western Zodiac
Pentacles: Material goods, wealth, affluence and resourcefulness; also associated with Earth signs in the Western Zodiac
Wands: Ambition, creativity, passion and fearlessness; also associated with Fire signs in the Western Zodiac
The Minor Arcana also features Court Cards, made of kings, queens, knights and pages. Like the Major Arcana characters, Court Cards describe specific personality archetypes.
Kings: Leaders and providers with divine masculine energy. Paternal strength and vision.
Queens: Leaders and providers with divine feminine energy. Maternal mightiness and grace.
Knights: Young, aspirational leaders with divine masculine energy. Adventurous, albeit clumsy; typically considered to be messengers and communicators.
Pages: Young, aspiring leaders with divine feminine energy. Naive and curious; typically considered to be beginners. Sometimes also portrayed as weaker messengers than knights.
Numerology is also a pronounced characteristic within tarot card designs in both the Major and Minor Arcana. Typically represented as Roman numerals, these numbers indicate the cycle of life and evolution, starting with 0-22 in the Major Arcana and 1-10 (and then the Court System) in the Minor Arcana. Both the Major and Minor Arcana’s numerology shows how one starts with beginninger’s luck, how one can fumble in the middle, and how one can gain more emotional tenor and perspective by the end of their journey (whether it wraps up nicely or stormily).
#2: Truncate and isolate your studies
Pull a one-card reading at the beginning and/or end of every day. Keep a journal where you can write about the formal definition of the card and what it may personally symbolize to you. Do this for 1-2 months until you get familiar with all your tarot cards.
Start studying each segment of the tarot (e.g., suite-by-suite of the Minor Arcana, card-by-card of the Major Arcana, all of the Aces in the Minor Arcana, followed by all of the II’s of the Minor Arcana, etc.)
#3: Practice by reading with and for others
One of the best ways to learn is to pull cards for other folks. This is because everyone has different energy and needs, and the tarot cards will respond to each person differently. The more you read for a wide range of people, the more cards you will be exposed to (on the flipside, if you only read for yourself, you will notice that you will typically pull the same kinds of cards that tell the same kinds of stories, since you are only reading about your life circumstances).
Friendly PSA: Do not be afraid to pull out a tarot card guide when reading for others or yourself. Embrace being “the Fool” and starting anew. Don’t be too hard on yourself for not knowing all 78 cards at the beginning—or even one year into your tarot practice. The more you read for others and yourself, the more you will naturally grow an affinity for the cards, and the more your decks will be willing to share their deep wisdom with you.
1:1 Tarot Coaching or Group Coaching
You can always book a 1:1 tarot coaching call or reading with me.
You can also write to me if you’d like to have me host a group tarot coaching session. I have taught workshops both virtually and in person.
Source: My work has been informed by Artis Moon and Daniela Fant