Tarot 101: Tarot Journaling
(Photo Credit: Hannah Jacobson)
With the popularity of many methods of journaling from the diverse and widely popular bullet journaling to gratitude journaling, study journals and books of shadows, it’s no surprise that something with such a wide field of study as tarot also has a journaling method. Like the methods listed above, tarot journals are as diverse and adaptable as you choose to make them, but diving in can be daunting if you’re not sure where to start. Let’s explore them together.
What does a Tarot Journal Look Like?
Your tarot journal might be a standalone notebook or journal exclusively for your tarot practice, or you may choose to include it as a section in your existing bullet journal or grimoire. It might also be a private Twitter, Instagram, or Tumblr account that you use to record the things I mention below. The format you choose it up to you. As you create a tarot journal, you might want to ask yourself the following questions to find your best setup:
Would a physical or digital tarot journal be most accessible to you?
Is complete customization a priority?
Do you want to include your tarot journaling with other journaling or tracking activities you already do or keep it separate?
Do you want to confine your journal to specific time periods (ie. a tarot journal for each year)?
Is your journal purely for journaling and tracking or do you plan to use it as a reference text, too?
These items apply broadly to tarot journaling and ways you might use it. Each of these can be customized to your own preferences and usage needs depending on your practice.
(Image Source: Unknown. Found in this tumblr post on codes for closeted witches.)
When you’re tracking tarot card readings and taking notes, having symbols or a shorthand for referencing cards can be useful. One page/post you might choose to include in your tarot journal is a breakdown of these symbols. Personally, I like to have a symbol for each of the major arcana (alternatively you could have a major arcana symbol that you add a number to for each card) and then a symbol for each suit that I can apply a number to. If you read reverse cards, having a symbol or notation for reversed or upright cards can be useful, too.
Tarot keyword cheat sheets, number meanings, card relationships, anecdotes like the Fool’s Journey/story of the major arcana, and other notes can be useful things to keep in your tarot journal. When you’re doing a reading, having all of these things in one place will make your readings more streamlined and your journal more effective.
(Photo Credit: Estée Janssens)
Tracking the cards you pull can be useful as it allows you to notice patterns like reoccurring cards and repeating numbers or combinations as well as which suits you are finding yourself with most often during a given period.
To track your cards, you might choose to do a simple grid bullet-journal-style tracker that you fill in with your card for each day (a perfect place to use that symbology!). You might also choose to create a card-a-day calendar like the one Xia Hunt describes in this article. In my experience, trackers work best for keeping up with daily one-card pulls.
Tarot Journaling as Deck Bonding
(Photo Credit: Viva Luna Studios)
Tarot journaling can also be an effective method of bonding with your deck(s). A tarot journal is a great place to outline and record deck interviews, personalities, and other important qualities you want to note about a particular deck.
Using Tarot Journaling to Push Your Readings
(Photo Credit: Viva Luna Studios)
One of the major benefits of keeping a tarot journal is that you can track your progress as a reader over time, but it also provides you with a space for engaging with your readings as well as recording them.
Whenever you do a reading, you might quickly layout your cards and sit with them for a bit, you might even leave them out to return to and keep reading later. With a tarot journal, you can give yourself even more time with your cards. Whenever you do a spread, sketch it out in your journal, labeling the purpose of each position and the cards you pulled for them. This can be accompanied by bullet notes about the meanings of the pulls or longer more in-depth reflective journaling. This will encourage you to look deeper and more thoughtfully at your readings, and give you something to look back on later when you feel like your reading has come to pass.
A moment ago, I mentioned tracking patterns in your readings. One thing you might choose to write about in your tarot journal are those patterns. If you notice that you’ve been pulling almost exclusively wands cards for several weeks, sitting down to journal about why you are surrounded by that suit might help you puzzle through it. The same can be said for repeating numbers or images.
You might also choose to reflect on even bigger pictures when it comes to readings. Reflecting on all of the cards you pulled in a week, month, or even the year can be a useful and even cathartic experience.
How do you use your tarot journal? What do you prioritize? Tracking goals, readings, and more can be a useful part of encouraging daily practice, but it can also be part of what makes your tarot practice fun. Expanding and adapting this system to fit your own work.
More Tarot 101: Welcome to Tarot / The Story of the Major Arcana / Card Keywords / Choosing a Deck / Practice Makes Perfect / Bonding with Your Deck(s) / An Introduction to Court Cards / Methods of Reading Court Cards / Using Personality Types to Understand Court Cards / Tarot Journaling
