The Novice's Mini-Grimoire (free PDF)

The Novice’s Mini-Grimoire is a small free guide I made for complete beginners. It has fifteen pages, it is friendly to print, and it arrives in your inbox as a welcome gift when you sign up for my newsletter. You do not need a deck, a kit or any experience to use it.

What is inside

The Mini-Grimoire has two parts and a few pages for your own notes.

Part One: Reading the Cards

It opens with a short welcome page, “Hello, and put the kettle on”, and then ten short sections:

1. Where tarot comes from, in one honest page.
2. Tarot as art, and why the pictures matter.
3. How the deck is built: Major Arcana, Minor Arcana, suits and court cards.
4. How to read without the book.
5. Upright and reversed cards.
6. How to ask better questions.
7. Three simple spreads to begin with.
8. Reading for yourself.
9. Choosing your first deck.
10. A plan for your first four weeks.

There is also a journal page to record your first readings.

Part Two: First Rituals

• The moon in four phases, and what each one is good for in a simple practice.
• A three-step candle intention ritual, with fire safety notes.
• A starter vocabulary of correspondences: colors, herbs and elements.
• The Wheel of the Year at a glance.
• A Card of the Day page and Book of Shadows pages you can print and fill in.

Preview pages

Here is the spirit of it. The guide does not tell you what to believe, and it does not promise results. It gives you a clear place to start: one card, one question, one candle, one page in your notebook. Each section is short enough to read with a cup of tea, and every practice uses things you already have at home.

If you are taking my free course, the Mini-Grimoire pairs well with it. The course goes slowly through all 78 cards. The Mini-Grimoire is the short version you can keep on your desk.

Get it by email

The Mini-Grimoire is free. Sign up for my newsletter with the form on this page, and the guide comes to you in the welcome email. You can unsubscribe at any time with one click, and I never sell or share your address.

If you would like to go further after that:

• Start the free Tarot for Beginners course in the School.
• Read The Novice’s Guide to Tarot when you want the full book.
• Browse more printables in free resources.