How To Successfully Memorize Tarot Card Meanings In 2025

Introduction

Many online tarot teachers set students up for failure.

They focus on shortcuts like cheatsheets and ten-minute 'hacks', which can trap a student in a cycle of dependency rather than leading them to genuine skill.

The aim here is different: to present a structured, practical path for assimilating the cards and developing true competence.

The process requires effort, but the results are permanent.

The Principle: Assimilation Over Memorisation

The aim of this method is to develop interpretive fluency, not just rote memory.

A reader who depends only on memorised keywords is using the cards like a crude translation tool; they can look up individual meanings but miss the grammar and nuance of how the cards speak together.

The goal of a real apprenticeship is therefore to assimilate the cards, internalising their meaning so deeply that reading them becomes as natural as understanding a familiar language.

This method achieves that by integrating the learning of card meanings with the practical skill of reading spreads from the very beginning.

The Assimilation Method: A Structured Path to Fluency

This process is broken down into three phases. It is crucial not to rush or skip ahead, as each phase builds the necessary foundation for the next. The entire path realistically takes 6 to 9 months of diligent practice to complete.

Phase 1: Mastering the Major Arcana

The first phase, lasting approximately 1 to 2 months, involves working exclusively with the 22 cards of the Major Arcana.

The reason for starting this way is twofold: it prevents the initial overwhelm that causes most beginners to quit, and it allows you to get definite, tangible results with your reading skill very quickly.

Unlike methods that isolate card meanings from spread work (often to sell separate courses on each), this integrated approach teaches both skills at the same time, providing more value to the student.

Step 1.1: Beginning with Three-Card Spreads

The initial work focuses on drawing three cards for simple questions or daily readings. This encourages an understanding of how these powerful archetypes interact and tell a story, establishing a foundation in narrative flow.

Step 1.2: Expanding to Larger Spreads

Once comfortable with three cards, the next step is to increase the spread size, working up to a ten-card layout using only the Majors. This forces a deeper engagement with the nuances of each card, revealing its meaning across a wide variety of contexts in a way a keyword list never could.

Phase 2: Integrating the Numbered Cards

Once a ten-card spread of only Major Arcana can be read with fluency, the 40 numbered cards (Ace to 10 of each suit) are shuffled back into the deck.

Step 2.1: Returning to Three-Card Spreads

It is essential to return to simple, three-card readings at this stage. This allows the specific, situational energies of the numbered cards to be integrated in a controlled way, preventing overwhelm.

Step 2.2: Expanding to Larger Spreads

As before, fluency with three cards is the prerequisite for gradually working back up to a ten-card spread. This phase typically takes 2 to 3 months of consistent practice.

Phase 3: Introducing the Royal Court

Finally, when the 62-card deck is manageable in a ten-card spread, the 16 Court Cards are added to complete the full deck.

Step 3.1: Returning to Three-Card Spreads

The process repeats. Starting again with small spreads is the most effective way to learn the distinct personalities and social dynamics that the Court Cards introduce to a reading.

Step 3.2: Expanding to Full Mastery

Working back up to ten-card spreads with the full 78-card deck will solidify your fluency with the entire system. This final phase usually requires another 2 to 3 months of practice.

Conclusion: The Path to Competence

This pedagogical method builds a layered understanding of card meanings, spread dynamics, and fluent reading simultaneously. It is designed to create independent, competent diviners by avoiding the crutch of rote memorisation.

While this method can certainly be followed alone, progress is always enhanced by the guidance of a mentor who can help correct course and deepen insight. The work is substantial, but it is the real work that leads to mastery.