Tarot reading is often seen as something mysterious, yet intriguing. Therefore it doesn’t surprise that many are asking – is tarot reading a hobby?
Tarot reading is most certainly a hobby, such as art, music, drama, sport, sciences, cooking, writing, etc. However, some people read Tarot cards professionally as full time or as a side profession, just like professional artists, musicians, coaches, etc.
Tarot reading is an excellent hobby for the mind and your wallet. A single tarot deck can provide you with endless hours of entertainment. It will do good for your reason and offer you different perspectives to view some aspects of the world that is around us. And what’s great as well, a single deck of tarot cards can be acquired with very little money.
Why should you read Tarot cards as a hobby?
Reading tarot cards is one of the most rewarding hobbies that has entered my life. It has and continues to fill my life with creative ways to see the world around me. It has also allowed me to find my intuition and see the inner secrets of life. There are many benefits to reading the tarot cards, ranging from practical benefits to more indirect benefits.
Mental Clarity
The first practical benefit is the mental clarity provided to your thoughts and ideas through tarot card reading. It offers you perspectives that you otherwise wouldn’t have seen. It allows you to see and understand what you really need. And when you know what you need, you can make your choices and decision based on those needs.
A Tool for self-improvement
The simple act of pulling a card and interpreting its meaning into our lives allows us to see both the good and the bad in us. Tarot cards can help us spot the aspects of our personalities that need nurturing and help us grow into a better person. Nobody is perfect after all, so why not take a look at where we are failing? The cards allow us to take a step back and observe ourselves from an outsider’s viewpoint, with open eyes. We all can find areas where we can treat the world and ourselves better.
Helping others
When you have learned the art of reading, you can use them not only on yourself but also for others. It is amazingly rewarding to be able to do a tarot reading for others. It is almost a therapeutic experience for both the reader and the one receiving the tarot reading.
Teaches about life
The act of learning and reading tarot cards improves your ability to see the world around you and comprehend it better. It will enhance your world’s vocabulary, making it easier to find commonalities and shared viewpoints with others. The more readings you go through, the more ideas and experiences you have. And the more ideas and experiences you have the more ways you can find to empathize and connect with others around you.
A Portable hobby
The first of the more indirect benefits of Tarot reading is that it is an incredibly portable hobby. You can easily take your cards anywhere you go. The travel-sized decks available these days won’t take more space from your purse than a small wallet. Not many hobbies can do that.
Takes you off your digital devices
Another indirect goodie about tarot reading is that it allows you to have something to do that doesn’t require your smartphone or any other digital device. This feels a bit of a rarity nowadays because mobile devices take more and more time and space from our lives. When you take out your tarot cards, you can enjoy some non-technological time to reward your mind and spirit.
Possibility to Monetize your hobby
A third indirect benefit of tarot reading has to do with monetization. Suppose you study the tarot cards well enough and learn to read for others with confidence. In that case, you can start earning some extra dollars with tarot readings. It can be a side hustle that doesn’t require massive investments or renting separate spaces to start welcoming people. With many platforms available online, you can practically work from anywhere and anytime.
Is reading tarot a skill?
Reading tarot cards well is a skill that you can acquire over some time and practice. Anyone willing to put some time and effort into learning the basic principals can start reading tarot for themselves. Of course, you can practice with friends and family as soon as you get the idea of how to do it, but to read tarot cards for people who pay money for you to do it, will require some experience.
To start learning tarot, the first thing you will need is a tarot deck.
Buying your first tarot deck
There are countless tarot decks available. The prices vary from a simple deck of 10 dollars to some 60 to 70 dollars for more limited edition decks. The more expensive decks usually come with a storage box and a guide book to the card meanings.
There are some things to consider when you are buying your first set of tarot cards. If you are a beginner, you should purchase cards that have clear and explicit imagery on them. A standard tarot deck has 78 cards in it, so if you want to learn the classic tarot deck, you should make sure you purchase a deck with 78 cards.
Many prefer to start off with the “Rider tarot deck” because most of the tarot meanings available on many tarot websites are based on those cards. If you want to look at a list of my recommendations, I will add a link here.
I started off with a deck that had impressive and appealing imagery. The images were very flashy and intricate. It turned out to be super complicated to understand the all-important symbolism from those images, so I quickly went out and bought myself the classic Rider Tarot deck. So make sure the imagery on the cards is explicit.
Another thing to consider is the size of the cards. Larger cards are a bit trickier to handle and shuffle, but they help you see the imagery better. It’s incredible the details you will spot from the card’s illustration when you can observe them up close and personal.
How can I start learning tarot?
After you have purchased your tarot deck, it is good to familiarize yourself with the deck. There are 78 cards, so the key is not to spend a significant part of your life learning them by heart. The most powerful tool in a tarot reading is your intuition. But you will still want to know a bit about the deck you hold before you get started.
You should know that the deck consists of two entities—the Major and Minor Arcana.
The major arcana is a set of 22 cards that depict the journey of the Fool. When these cards are pulled in tarot readings, they represent essential life lessons and events that we encounter in our lives. They often have a more long-lasting impact and guide our decisions and the actions we take accordingly.
The minor arcana is a set of 56 cards, and it consists of four fourteen card suits – Cups, Pentacles, Swords, and Wands. The minor arcana illustrates what’s happening in our everyday life and can explain how the present situation affects us and what actions we need to take to accomplish our goals. Each of the suits represents different areas and actions in our lives
- Cups: Represent emotions and relationships
- Pentacles: Represent the materialistic things in life, work, finances
- Swords: Represents inspiration, thinking, and rationality
- Wands: Represent action and passion
When you know the basics, you can start pulling cards and trying to interpret their meanings. To learn how to do that, I suggest you read this article on how to do a tarot reading.
Other Psychic hobbies
If you are still unsure whether you should start learning tarot, but you are interested in the psychic craft, you could look for others. I listed below some other psychic hobbies that might interest you. In fact, the deeper I have been getting into the world of tarot, the more I have begun to be interested in areas like astrology.
Here are some that you can take a look:
- Astrology
- Clairvoyance
- Spirituality
- Palmreading
- Angel reading
I hope this has been informative for you, and you decide to consider tarot as a hobby. If you want more valuable information on tarot please join my mailing list and leave a comment below.
Happy readings!