This course is free and always will be. No account, no email needed. If you sign in, your progress is saved in your account; if not, it stays in your own browser on this device. If you have never held a tarot deck before, you are exactly who I wrote it for.

Tarot for Beginners: A Novice’s Path takes you from your very first shuffle to reading a full Celtic Cross, in 34 short lessons. Each lesson teaches one thing, ends with a small exercise and has a quick quiz so you can check that the main idea landed. You do not need any special gift. You need curiosity, a deck, a notebook and a few minutes a day.

What you will learn

What tarot is, what it is not and where it really came from.
How to read ethically, for yourself and for others.
All 22 Major Arcana and how they form the Fool’s Journey.
The four suits, the numbers and the sixteen court cards.
Spreads from a single daily card to the ten-card Celtic Cross.
How to handle reversals, yes or no questions and hard cards calmly.
How to keep a journal that turns practice into skill.

How it works

Open a lesson, read it, try the exercise and press “Mark as done”. If you are signed in, your progress is saved in your account. If not, it is saved privately in your browser on this device, and nothing is sent to me; if you then switch devices or clear your browser, just open this page and pick up where you left off. When every lesson is done, you can open your certificate of completion.

There is no schedule. One lesson a day takes about a month. One module a week takes about two months. Both are perfect. What matters is that you shuffle the cards between lessons.

The lessons

Module 0: Welcome

Get your deck and notebook ready, and see how the course works.

Module 1: What tarot is

What tarot really is, where it came from and the myths you can drop.

Module 2: Reading ethically

Consent, good questions and calm words for hard cards. Ethics first, because good habits are easiest to learn on day one.

Module 3: The Major Arcana

All 22 Major Arcana, from the Fool to the World, read as one journey.

Module 4: The Minor Arcana

The four suits, their elements and the numbers Ace to Ten.

Module 5: Court cards

The sixteen court cards, and how to tell whether one is a person, a part of you or an approach.

Module 6: Spreads

Spreads from one card to the Celtic Cross, and how cards talk to each other.

Module 7: Your practice

Reversals, yes or no questions, a journal that teaches you and reading for others.

Module 8: Next steps

A 30-day practice plan, three lessons on deck history and other decks, and your certificate.

How each lesson works

Every lesson opens with why the topic matters. Then comes the teaching itself in plain prose, a worked example that shows the idea in action, one small exercise for your notebook and a short recap, with the sources I used listed at the end. A short quiz at the bottom checks the main idea, and nobody sees your answers.

Who this course is for

This course is for complete beginners and for anyone who has dabbled and wants a calm, honest foundation. It does not ask you to believe anything. It treats tarot as a tool for reflection, attention and storytelling, and it is open about what the cards cannot do: predict the future with certainty, read other people’s minds or replace a doctor, lawyer or therapist.

What you need

A tarot deck, ideally one based on the Rider-Waite-Smith pictures from 1909, a notebook and a quiet corner. That is all. Candles and crystals are welcome if you enjoy them, and never required.

Start now

Begin with How this course works. It takes five minutes.

Go deeper

Every lesson points to the matching chapter of my book The Novice’s Guide to Tarot, which has a full entry for each of the 78 cards. You can also read the card meanings on this site, or download the free Mini-Grimoire for printable spreads and journal pages.

0% done · 34 of 34 lessons ready

Module 0

Welcome

3 lessons How the course works, the deck and notebook you need, and how to shuffle with care.

Module 1

What tarot is

3 lessons What the cards can and cannot do, where they really came from, and the myths I want you to drop.

Module 2

Reading ethically

3 lessons Consent, better questions and what to do when a hard card turns up.

Module 3

The Major Arcana

4 lessons The Fool's Journey and all 22 trump cards, a few at a time.

Module 4

The Minor Arcana

6 lessons Suits, elements and numbers, then each of the four suits in turn.

Module 5

Court cards

2 lessons Meet the sixteen court cards and learn when they are people and when they are energies.

Module 6

Spreads

5 lessons From one card a day to the full Celtic Cross, and how cards talk to each other.

Module 7

Your practice

3 lessons Reversals, a journal that teaches you, and reading for other people.

Module 8

Next steps

5 lessons A 30-day plan, a look at other decks and your certificate.

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