Crafting Keywords for Your Tarot Cards

​Do you struggle to recall the meanings of the Tarot cards while doing a Tarot Reading? Even if you memorized the meanings from a book, you may not remember them at the right moment. This very likely happens when you don’t connect with those meanings. This is quite a common challenge for many students learning the art of Tarot reading. However, there is a simple and effective method to overcome this hurdle. Crafting Keywords for your Tarot Cards is a simple, powerful, and super personal approach to becoming a better Tarot Student & a Tarot Reader. In my experience, this method isn’t simply a shortcut to mastering card meanings. This method enables you to do creative and intuitive readings.

Why Should You Craft Your Keywords for Your Tarot Cards?

Crafting keywords for your Tarot Cards using familiar language styles, words, and phrases helps you easily remember and recall the keywords. This can be helpful for beginners, who may find it daunting to remember the meanings for all the 78 cards of a standard Tarot deck. 

Crafting your keywords personalizes the card meanings for you. To create your keywords, you often draw from personal experiences. You may even connect the cards with things, situations, or people that mean something to you. These personal impressions are easy to remember and recall. They make your readings have a lot of impact and depth. This can help you take your readings beyond the typical book meanings.

Crafting your keywords is also a very effective way of consolidating the card’s various meanings into words or phrases. This helps you easily recall the core energy and essence of the card. This deeper personalization can help you dive deeper into the card’s symbolism. You can add layers of meanings derived from the Tarot’s many associations. 

Crafting your keywords also has an unintended, but very interesting side-effect: You end up with a handy, personalized glossary of Tarot card meanings at your fingertips. 

Essentially, crafting your keywords helps to significantly improve your learning curve, making the process personal and enjoyable. This accelerates your learning process and makes recalling card meanings almost second nature.

How to Craft Keywords for Your Tarot Cards

This is not a very complex process. However, to get the most from this process, it will help you if you remain free, open, playful, and creative. Be childlike in your approach to the process. The more relaxed and fun you make the process, the more value you will gain from this exercise.

1: Picture. Image. Scene.

Remember, it always comes back to the card image. Everything emerges from there. Hold the card in your hand and look at the card image. Notice every small detail in the imagery. Look away for a moment, and now look at the entire card image in a glance.

2: Observe. Feel. Experience.

What do you see? What do you feel when you look at what’s going on in the picture? What is the person in the card doing or experiencing? What stands out to you? What feelings does the card image evoke within you? What life experiences does this image remind you of? Does it remind you of a scene from a movie, a book, or a story you’ve heard?

3: Words. Phrases. Summaries.

Can you sum those things up in a word or a phrase? It is absolutely ok to have multiple words and phrases that describe some part or the whole of the card image. Use language that feels natural to you. You do not have to write a detailed description or create complex narratives of the card image. Just capture the essence of the card’s story in a word or a phrase.

Examples

Let’s look at a couple of examples as I work through them using the steps I’ve mentioned above.

10 of Wands:

1. I see a man holding 10 Wands, his back is bent with the weight of those wands, his head buried in the wands. There’s a house in the distance.
2. Right away, I notice that his back is bent down with the weight of the wands. Could his back be hurting? 
3. Walking with his head in those wands, he can barely see where he’s going. He needs to put some of them down and ease his burden. He will then be able to see where he’s going.
4. Here are my keywords: Burdened, Taking on Burdens, Too Involved in Responsibilities, Back Pain

The Hermit:

1. I see an old man, with a long white beard, standing on a snow-covered peak. His eyes are closed: his thoughts have turned inward.
2. The old man is wearing a gray cloak. The card’s background color is also very gray-ish. It is a neutral, non-descript, and therefore not very threatening color in an in-between time.
3. The old man is holding up a lantern — there is a shining six-pointed star inside the lantern. He is ready to share his hard-earned wisdom.
4. The old man also has a golden stick in his other hand. His deep wisdom is based upon his extensive life experience.
5. So here are my keywords: Wise Old Man, Contemplation, Isolation, Guide, Inner Wisdom

Yes, the process is really that simple! And here are some ways you can add more pizzaz, and more value to the keyword creating process.

Some Tips for Crafting Keywords for Your Tarot Cards

1. Keep it Simple: It makes the keywords easy to remember.
2. Use Your Voice / Style: Personalizing the keywords using familiar words and speaking styles makes it easy to recall since they resonate better with you.
3. Go Deeper: As you study more and dive deeper, you can create keywords using card details such as colors, numbers, and symbols.
4. Let Yourself Evolve: Over time, your keywords will change and evolve to adapt to your changing perspectives and vocabulary.
5. Start with the Minor Arcana: These are usually simpler images (especially compared to the Major Arcana images) and can be a great way to learn and improve your keyword crafting skills.
6. Use With Traditional Meanings: Your keywords will enhance and complement traditional meanings and not replace them — so feel free to add traditional meanings to your keyword list if you resonate with them.
7. Different Meanings: If your keywords are different from the typical, traditional card meanings, be sure to include them in your list! You are good as long as you can explain why this meaning makes sense.
8. Always Record / Save: Keeping a record of your keywords will help you create an ongoing list. You can keep adding to, referring back to, and even observing your evolution over time.

Start Crafting Keywords for your Tarot Cards 

You can start with a simple paper and pen setup. Or you can fire up a spreadsheet on your computer. Choose a method that feels natural for you, and start writing your list. This process need not be very complicated. 

Save the Keywords document where you can easily access it on the go. This way, you can easily add to the list whenever inspiration strikes. 

Please Share Your Thoughts…

Crafting keywords for your Tarot Cards is an important step in becoming a proficient and professional Tarot Card Reader. This is the first of the many awesome adventures waiting for you in your Tarot learning journey. If you have any other tips, tricks, or ideas to share, please feel free to write them in the comments below. Tell me about your experiences! What was it like to craft your keywords for your Tarot Cards? I would really love to know!

In case you were wondering, yes, I do teach Tarot Card Reading and Mentor Tarot students, both in-person and online via Skype. Please take a look at what I offer along with the other teachers and courses that you consider. Thank you. 🙏🏼