Meet Your Mentor: Toby Skibinski
Hello. My journey into the profound world of tarot divination began during a time of spiritual crisis. After reading tarot professionally for a couple of years, I decided to start mentoring students.
Looking around at existing tarot courses and mentorship trainings, what I found surprised me. Information on tarot basics was abundant but structured pathways to deep, ethical proficiency were surprisingly scarce.
I founded the Tarot Apprenticeship project to offer the kind of comprehensive, ethically grounded, and personally guided training which I believe is essential for anyone serious about mastering the art of tarot divination.
My Tarot Journey & Experience
My intensive engagement with divination began in late 2019. Driven by a severe existential crisis, I immersed myself in study and practice of oracle card divination before quickly moving on to tarot cards as my preferred method. I was soon fortunate enough to receive mentorship from multiple experienced tarot readers (including from Avery Woodbury of Seldom Dreams) to assist me in my learning.
This soon evolved into reading tarot for others. Over the next two years, I conducted over 2,000 readings on the public (both free and paid) – allowing me to gain extensive experience with diverse querents and situations. Alongside this, I began guiding other tarot learners, accumulating hundreds of hours of teaching experience and refining my teaching philosophy.
Developing The Tarot Apprenticeship
This practical experience revealed gaps in much contemporary tarot education – often a lack of depth, insufficient focus on ethics, or an absence of structured, long-term support. Over three years of dedicated development, I researched traditional divination principles (including those within Theosophy and neo-Hermeticism that inform this course), analyzed effective learning strategies, and drew upon my practical reading and teaching experience to design this comprehensive 140-credit apprenticeship curriculum. The goal was to create a rigorous yet supportive pathway that genuinely guides students towards proficiency and responsible practice.
My Teaching Philosophy & Approach
My role within this apprenticeship is that of a tarot mentor and tutor, not a spiritual teacher. I am here to share knowledge and experience (of tarot divination only), provide structured learning, offer personalized feedback on your readings, and support you through the challenges inherent in mastering this art. My approach emphasizes:
Tarot as Divine Communication: Reading tarot to gain insight and guidance from the Divine source. Going beyond merely fortune-telling (predictive readings) and towards a focus on the evolution of the soul.
Ethical Foundation: Instilling a deep understanding and application of ethical principles is essential - not just for responsible practise but for effective divination.
Depth over Speed: Focusing on a assimilating the card meanings and archetypes through modern memory science, rather than just memorizing keywords.
Mentored Practice: Utilizing regular 1-to-1 sessions (~180 on average over the course) for tailored feedback, troubleshooting, and deep understanding, based on your specific progress and assignments.
Student Initiative: While guidance is constant, apprenticeship style courses require students to be self-motivated, dedicated, and take responsibility for their learning journey (meeting the 25-35 credits/year pace).
Qualifications/Affiliations
Extensive tarot divination experience (2,000+ readings on the public).
Significant tarot teaching and (tarot) curriculum development experience (from making this course)
Mentorship received from experienced professional readers (including Avery Woodbury of Seldom Dreams)
Former member of TABI (Tarot Association of the British Isles and International).
Ongoing spiritual practise within the Western Esoteric Tradition
Contact Toby
Please use the contact form below. I aim to respond to all messages within 48 hours.