So I have taken a couple of online Tarot courses in the past, notably from two of the bigger providers of online certificates – these being Biddy Tarot, and Tarot Professionals.
I’ll put this out there from the start – I am a member of Tarosophy Tarot association/Tarot Professionals, and I think membership for me is a worthwhile investment ($65 a year).
What I’ve noticed recently is the intense marketing and selling on of pre-recorded tarot training course for a price tag of £000s. Firstly I am not saying these are not good investments in yourself and if you feel this kind of certificate gives you legitimacy, then you fire in there. To most of us, $300-400 is a considered purchase. Has to be said, most people who are working – can afford to pick up a new £15 tarot book from time to time, and a notebook to make your own course.
And that’s what it boils down to for me…. most of these video lessons are they anything that you cannot pick up from a book or a free youtube video if you put the time and effort in. I like Biddy site don’t get me wrong and her Podcasts are really great, but she’s into milking her passive income streams, that’s you and me btw 🙂
And yet there must be a market for them, as Biddy has been busy selling her courses for a number of years, I should know I did shell out that cash a few years back.
Was it worth it? It’s really hard to say, at the time it was an eye-opener for me, but longer term? Probably reading a couple of good tarot books – Benebell Wen’s Holistic tarot for example – is a longer-term solution… and therein lies the problem. Humans tend to want a quick magic cure for everything, and when you want to learn something like tarot, there are not many shortcuts, sure you don’t have to learn every card 7 which ways, but you do have to do your homework and pay the piper. You have to work the cards.
Tarot Association /Professionals/ Tarosophy also offers a few courses, the one I started but didn’t complete was a 2-year degree style program, this is definitely aimed at the more serious student ($685 a year in instalments, monthly payments available). I haven’t done it all and I cannot comment but it appears at face value much better value all round with 100s of hours of videos and support. I have seen some of the organisation’s other courses and they are well paced, informative, and comprehensive. If a degree style presentation is your bag this could be in – tho it should be stated – no actual formal qualification is offered.
To me, having learnt tarot the hard way before the internet. It all seems a bit unnecessary if you are willing an able to put a little more effort into your learning. Reading books, pulling cards daily, and recording your thoughts/ideas, will help hone your skills as well 🙂
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