Image Coco Tafoya via Unsplash
Hello beautiful blog readers!
Recently on my Patreon I shared several different methods of tarot journaling and tagged some ways to organize your materials on to the end. While I can’t share the whole post here out of devotion to those paying me for that info (which you can do here if you want), if you’re beginning a tarot journaling process or using one that just isn’t working for you, here are some bare bones basics.
1) You should always clearly label which card and from which deck you’re working with.
2) To “tarot journal” you want to note keywords from the tarot card off the bat, and then later touch base with yourself to add any notes about manifestations of the card that you didn’t really expect.
I strongly encourage you to play around and find what works for you in a tarot journal, but what I wanted to share publicly is this list of lesser-discussed ways to organize your tarot journal. While I go in-depth on Patreon about keeping a chronological but personalized “book” of tarot interpretations, how to keep track of your spreads and using tarot as a jumping off point for journaling this is simply a list of notebooks and other tools you might want to consider if it is organization that you’re looking for.
Three Ring Binders
A number of my friends are a fan of the three-ring binder for tarot journaling or grimoiring. I personally am too married to WiTcH aEsThEtIc (whatever that even means) and can’t bring myself to do it but this is completely a sartorial choice on my end and I’ve seen people’s binders BE very cute and aesthetic! This is, by far, the easiest way to organize the various info you’re trying to gather. You put your paper in, and you put your dividers in. You mark your dividers “Card interpretations”, “card grouping interpretations,” “tarot games and activities”, “general tarot notes” or whatever else floats your boat. It has the added bonus of being able to add paper until it is just Too Bulky To Handle, but is definitely space efficient even for that. Honestly as I’m typing it out I’m realizing how great a method it truly is.Traveler’s Journals:
A way to get the aesthetic that I (and I know a number of my supporters here) like the most but still get the easily organized piece to our tarot journals is using traveler’s notebooks. I do use and LOVE my traveler’s notebook for my grimoire, which I’ll write on in a few weeks. As a tarot journal, it’s got a lot of the same idea as the 3-ring binder method. You just label the little notebooks in the bigger traveler’s journal instead of the binder dividers. The downside here is those notebooks are small and fill up fast, but if you’re committed to this method it absolutely works! Plus your bookshelf looks all cute and artsy with your own traveler’s journal sections stuck on it. I am probably going to switch my tarot journal to this method the next time my DIY book (which is in a cute little journal right now) fills up.Bullet Journaling:
I am NOT artistic enough to keep up with a BuJo and still like myself but lots of you ARE! This would be similar to the DIY book method, but you’d have cute little sections for keywords, for symbols that stand out, for how it did or didn’t manifest for you, etc. This is the most creative method and I LOVE seeing how other people do their tarot journals in their BuJo even though this method is decidedly not for me.Other People’s Products:
For your first tarot journal, or to experiment with new formats and methods, it might behoove you to by a tarot journal someone else created to learn how various systems do or do not work for you and to get in the habit of pulling cards and writing on them without the heavy lifting of design or figuring out what information to pull out. Tatianna Tarot has a beautiful one, as does Writual.Technology Is Our Friend: No one said this had to be pen to paper! If you’re wanting to keep a little of different sections and ideas straight, a Google Docs folder or app like Notion might be your new best friend where this is concerned. This is also a more accessible method if you are low on storage space for notebooks or have chronic pain in your hands and take better care of them than I do mine. I LOVE pen to paper but uh. It’s hard on me, and I may be experimenting with more apps for more things in coming years and I encourage you to too.
Hopefully this gives you some ideas to springboard from - looking forward to seeing all your beautiful tarot journals on social media. Find me on Insta or Twitter if you want to share what you’re doing.
Blessed Be, Cassandra Snow
