Tarot Spreads GuideStudy resource

Tarot journal

A practical page you can copy into any notebook. Pair it with the longer essay How to Keep a Tarot Journal.

Why a journal is part of the site

Without writing, it is easy to treat tarot as a slot machine for reassurance. A journal forces a question, a few facts, and a next step. That is the difference between collecting moods and practicing a craft.

Copy this template

The Hermit from the Rider–Waite–Smith tarot, 1909, public domain Photograph of a full moon, public-domain Wikimedia Commons file
A one-card journal prompt often starts with a single historical image such as The Hermit, then a fact column. Moon photograph: public domain file via Wikimedia Commons.
  1. Date
  2. Question (one sentence you could ask a thoughtful friend)
  3. Facts I already know (no cards yet)
  4. Spread name and positions
  5. Cards drawn
  6. What I see in the pictures
  7. Interpretation in ordinary language
  8. One action or one question to live with
  9. Review date (one week later)

Prompts when you are stuck

Suggested layouts: one card, three card, monthly reflection.

A journal is not therapy, and tarot is not a clinical tool. If writing brings up more than you can hold, pause and use qualified help.