tracking your tarot readings

Today on CARD TALK, I’ll cover:
-what tracking your tarot readings means
-why and when tracking can be helpful
-how to start thinking about what information to track
-different methods for tracking your tarot practice
-tips to get you started

If you're looking for ready-made resources and tools:
-Printable worksheets, journal pages, and grimoire pages
-Notion templates
-Tarot tracking spreadsheet template
-Tarot Coloring Book by Theresa Reed
-Tarot stickers

For more on Meg, check out 3amtarot.com, and order your copy of Finding the Fool through Bookshop.org or your favorite local bookstore.

Find episode transcripts and more over on the CARD TALK website.

Love what you’re hearing? Support the pod with a one-time donation or recurring subscription, and please subscribe, review, and tell your friends! 

Chapters

• 0:12 Tarot Tracking
• 7:21 Developing a Tarot Tracking Practice
• 18:38 Tarot Practice Flexibility and Self-Compassion

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:12

My name is Meg Jones-Wall and you're listening to Card Talk, a mini podcast for tarot basics and evergreen insights. I'm glad you're here. In today's episode we are going to be talking about different ways to record and track your tarot readings or, more broadly, record and track your tarot practice. I want to say right off the bat here that tracking your practice or tracking your readings is highly individual, incredibly personal and also completely optional. Tracking your readings or developing a habit of tracking your readings can be a really useful practice and can just be a really practical thing to incorporate into your regular readings, and I'm going to spend the rest of this episode talking about what it means to record or track your readings, what kind of information is worth recording and how you can get started with this practice. But I just want to be really clear right up here at the top that if this does not appeal to you, if this doesn't feel good, if just the phrase tracking your readings feels super gross or uncomfortable, you super do not have to do it. Your tarot practice is your own and you get to decide what you want to include in it and what you want to leave out, and that includes recording the cards that you pull over time, which is really all that tracking is. However, I do want to say that sometimes the expression tracking your readings, or that phrasing or just that definition might not appeal, but you might still be doing this, just by another name. Some people call this tarot journaling, which is why, before I released this episode, I made a point of recording an episode about tarot journaling, specifically because I think that this can feel a little bit warmer, a little bit more gentle, a bit more accessible or even just more elegant. It can feel, it can just feel a little bit nicer than tracking, which might have its own associations, and I'd love to come up with a different word for this, but it's really just a difference between how we're using language to describe a certain kind of practice in making a record of your readings. But truly, I think that any ongoing record of your tarot readings, regardless of the format or where you're putting those things or what that looks like, can be considered tarot tracking in one way or another.

Speaker 1: 2:19

Don't let anybody tell you that you're not a real tarot reader or you're doing something wrong. If you don't feel like tracking your readings, it's absolutely fine to just be present in the moment, pull your cards and then, when you're finished, to put them away. Or it's also okay to only track some of your readings, right, to pay attention to, maybe, your daily polls but not track your spreads, or to not really pay attention to tracking your daily polls but only focus on your spreads or your larger readings. You get to do what makes sense for you and what is going to be supportive for you, so please just keep that in mind as we go through this. I'm offering this as a potential way to expand this part of your practice, but it's certainly not mandatory.

Speaker 1: 2:55

With all of that being said, with all of those caveats being put in place, I want to say that tracking your tarot readings, even if it's in a very basic way, can be incredibly helpful when you're building out your tarot readings, even if it's in a very basic way, can be incredibly helpful when you're building out your tarot practice or just getting started in developing a relationship with the cards. But it can also be a lovely thing to integrate into an existing practice if you want to deepen your relationship with the cards or if you want to start exploring your relationship with the cards in a more in-depth way. So let's start by just answering the question what does it mean to record or track our readings? What I mean by this is really just making a note, in one way or another, of your tarot polls or readings. In other words, this is just making a record of each time you work with the cards and decide that you want to remember what happened in that reading. As I mentioned at the top, this can look very different and be completely personalized, based on who you are, what your preferences are, what your practice looks like, what your learning style is, what you're most comfortable with, what your interests are, how much time you have and what you think is worth paying attention to.

Speaker 1: 3:57

I think it's helpful, when considering a practice or considering changing a practice of recording your readings, to consider three main components as part of building out your practice and I readings, to consider three main components as part of building out your practice, and I want to just clarify the language that I'm going to be using to describe these three basic elements. The first of the three components that you have to keep in mind when doing a practice is just the information. What literal data do you want to record? What are you going to write down? What are you going to take note of. What details are you including? The second component is the format, and by that I just mean the method that you're using to record the information. Are you writing things by hand, are you typing them, are you using dictation or voice memos, whatever? And the third and final component to keep in mind is the location where you're putting your information and how you're storing and organizing that data, so this could be through a journal, it could also be in a spreadsheet or in worksheets, it could be in a calendar, on social media or wherever else you want to put it. Remember that your practice is for you, so don't worry about comparing it to anyone else's. Some people want a like a beautifully color-coded notion template. I'm more of a drugstore notebook with scribbles in it kind of person, but everyone's going to have their own method, and your practice gets to look like what you want it to look like.

Speaker 1: 5:06

The next question you might have is why would you want to do this, though? What's the point? First, it can really just help you pay attention to patterns in your readings, especially if you're interested in knowing how often a card shows up, or if you tend to pull cards from the same suit over and over. If it feels like you keep pulling the same archetypes over and over but you don't actually have any data to back that up, tracking can give you a really easy way to start to note those patterns. It can also show you your own tendencies that you have as part of your practice and help you understand what you prefer in terms of, like, how many cards you want to pull at a time, what kinds of questions you gravitate towards, even what time of day you tend to read.

Speaker 1: 5:42

Tracking your readings can help you feel a sense of stability in your own consistency. I see a lot of guilt of people that used to have a daily practice. Now maybe you're only reading once a week or once or twice a month and feeling a lot of guilt around that, and so I think, too, that if you feel really destabilized in your tarot practice, tracking can be a really grounding exercise in noting the patterns that you actually do have and reinforcing that idea of I'm reading when I need to read rather than reading out of a sense of guilt or obligation. Tracking or journaling or any method of recording your readings can also give you intentional space built in to reflect on your questions cards, the decks you're using, the time you're spending, et cetera. It really helps build out some automatic space for you to reflect on the reading instead of just rushing through it. And lastly, and perhaps most obviously, creating a record of your tarot readings means that you have a record of your tarot readings. It gives you something tangible that you can look back on anytime you want to see how your practice has evolved over time, how it's changed and shifted, how your readings have deepened or perhaps how you yourself have changed as a result of your relationship with the cards. Having a real record that you can refer to means you're not relying on your own memory or any like confirmation bias that might be bubbling up. You have practical data that you can actually analyze and understand at your leisure.

Speaker 1: 7:12

All right, now let's get a little bit more into the nitty gritty. What kind of information is worth recording Like? How do we know what to do? How do we decide what we want to include as the information part of our practice? Remember I talked about those three components at the top.

Speaker 1: 7:21

Information sometimes can be the most daunting part because for some people in their practice they're going to record so much information and I think when you're getting started with a recording practice or wanting to integrate more intentional tracking into your practice. It can be really overwhelming to see just how much data some people record. So I want to be clear and say that the other side of the coin exists too. Some people literally just write down the date and the card they pulled and absolutely nothing else, and that counts as tracking or recording your readings. That's completely fine and normal and lovely. Other people might include a lot more information, including, but not limited to, the context of the card poll, which is to say, the question that was asked or the spread that was used or the topic that was introduced, et cetera. They might also write down their feelings on the card, like what emotions bubbled up when they first saw it. They might write down a significant keywords or the intuitive insights that initially bubbled up. You know an immediate reaction or an immediate translation of what that card means. They might also write down reflections or things like meanings and ideas that have come up upon spending more time looking at the card. Some people also write down connections to their past.

Speaker 1: 8:34

Pulls right. You can call out in real time if you realize that you've pulled this card multiple times over the last few weeks, and some people will record that right in their tracking. You can also record data like the deck used, like literally the name of the deck that you pulled cards with, noting the time of day that the reading was done, the amount of energy that you brought to the deck or to the reading, and so much more. The sky really is the limit here, and, while there is a lot of information that could be gathered, that could be checked, that you could consider when starting to develop a practice or thinking about what you want to track specifically, I would say that it really is worth considering what feels valuable to you as information, and the best way to start thinking about that is to pay attention to why you want to track your readings in the first place, and I'm going to give you a bunch of questions right now that you can think about in order to start trying to unpack why you want to track your readings at all.

Speaker 1: 9:28

Firstly, are you interested in paying attention to how frequently you pull cards for yourself? Do you want to see how often you pull specific cards from, like a specific suit or of a specific type? Do you like data and just want to be able to trace your patterns over time and look back over information from your own practice? Secondly, do you want to deepen or expand your practice? Are you struggling with your personal tarot readings and want space to record your interpretations, as well as questions that you might have or lingering confusion after the reading is over? Are you wanting to learn more about the cards themselves or maybe build in some habits that let you do that more intentionally? Do you think that the act of tracking your cards is actually also going to help strengthen the relationship that you have with the cards?

Speaker 1: 10:13

Are you experimenting with some new techniques that you want to track, like reversals or clarifying cards or collaborative readings? Do you want to have data based on how those readings go when you read reversals versus when you don't read reversals? Or are you getting a brand new deck or exploring a new resource or working with a new teacher or methodology or book or course and you want to track how that impacts your practice over time? Another thing to consider might be are you interested in building out some kind of personal tarot reference or a tarot grimoire for yourself, something that you can look back on when you're doing other readings and uses a reference point? Do you want to have a literal record of your own, something that you can look back on when you're doing other readings and uses a reference point. Do you want to have a literal record of your own insights that you can look back on for readings or that you can pull out if you're feeling stuck and see how you've interpreted this card in the past? And lastly, do you want to begin a tarot journaling practice or are you interested in expanding an existing tarot journaling practice and feel like it makes sense to include some other data in those entries that you're doing anyway? There are a lot more questions that you can consider.

Speaker 1: 11:14

This isn't just the only place to start, but I think that your answers to these questions, as well as noting whatever else might come up for you in your reflections and personal examinations of why you want to initiate this practice, can really help to guide you in terms of what information feels the most relevant for you to record, as well as which format and location might be the most conducive to those goals. And please remember, you can always change this. You're just starting somewhere. Nothing has to be set in stone. Things can always change and be flexible. Give something a shot, see what feels good and see. Also, if something just feels kind of annoying or fussy or like you're irritated with yourself for having to keep track of it, you can adjust from there. But sometimes you've just got to start somewhere and I think that thinking about the information that you are actually interested in recording and the goals that you have towards your practice is going to be helpful in helping you understand where to start. Of course, I do have some more in-depth tips and tricks for you If you want to get started with this practice and are feeling a little bit lost.

Speaker 1: 12:13

Firstly, remember that this might feel a little strange or awkward when you're starting a tracking habit or trying to introduce something new into your existing tarot practice. If you're used to just grabbing your deck and immediately sinking into a reading and then just putting your cards away and kind of moving on when you're done, if you're not used to recording anything in tandem with your readings, it might feel really time consuming to start including tracking in your process, and this is why it's not only helpful to reflect on why you really want to do this because those answers are going to help you shape a tracking routine that suits you and supports you but also why it's great to just start small. I would really recommend considering other habits that you already have built into your day. For example, if you use a planner of some kind either a paper planner like daily or weekly or monthly, or like a digital calendar start just including the cards you pulled on those dates into your calendar. Write it right down in your daily planner, or you can start photographing your cards. If you're someone that's visual, if you spend a lot of time on social media, if you like doing posts and you want to share your tarot journey with other people, photograph your cards and pop them onto Instagram or TikTok or wherever you are hanging out on the internet, include that in your regular content. Include that in your regular routine.

Speaker 1: 13:27

If you spend a lot of time analyzing data or you spend a lot of time in like Google Drive or Notion or whatever, then make a spreadsheet and just give yourself a couple of quick things to fill out. A spreadsheet or a worksheet template can be really helpful if having some structure built in is going to be useful for you and just gives you a place to just plug in the information and keep on moving. You don't have to start with the most elaborate practice you can think of. I will also say that certain formats are more conducive to certain goals. So if you really like the idea of having data for yourself that you can analyze, then, starting by recording the date, the time, the deck you're using, the card you pulled or even the question that you asked, the cards might be the most helpful things to start with. And, again, spreadsheets and worksheets or incorporating something into your daily planner might be a really great place to start with this. If you're someone that's really wanting to deepen your practice or deepen your relationship with the cards, then including or adding, in addition to those other data points, adding your interpretations of your reading, adding your insights or the keywords and correspondences that felt most relevant, as well as any questions you have about your reading, might be really useful. And this is where a format like journaling can be really helpful in addition to your spreadsheet or as part of your spreadsheet. And if you're wanting to build out a tarot grimoire, a more substantial reference document or place for yourself, you might find it easier to start digitally or to have a notebook or journal that's dedicated and set aside for this process.

Speaker 1: 14:59

This is what I did. I used a journal on Instagram and then also have a paper journal and then eventually a typed out journal, and after a while I decided that I really wanted a reference document for myself. So I used Scrivener, which is like a writing software, to compile my journaling notes and organize it by all 78 cards. It took forever, but I copied and pasted everything I'd written about every card into a document that I could search, and eventually that is what I used as the starting place to write my book. Finding the Fool, having that reference document for myself where I could go back and look at the different ways I'd interpreted cards in different moments and in responses to different questions, is one of the most valuable things I've ever done for my own tarot practice, and it's why I talk about it a lot in my different courses and offerings, as well as in my book. I think that if you're developing a really robust tarot practice, it's one of the best things that you can do for yourself If that appeals to you.

Speaker 1: 15:57

The last thing I want to offer here is just some tools to help you out and get you started. I'm going to put a ton of different things into the show notes, just different links and different resources that you can check out, but I will say that if writing out notes is helpful for you either handwriting or typing or using dictation software or voice memos check out my journaling episode First. There's a car talk journaling episode I released a week or two ago and that's going to have a lot more information about journaling specifically. I do also have some downloadable printable worksheets and grimoire pages on my website that you can print out yourself and use to develop a practice. I also have journaling pages and different things that you can use to kind of build the kind of tarot grimoire that you want.

Speaker 1: 16:38

If you're someone that's visual again, social media also, like photo journals or collaging softwares getting like a sticker pack or a dedicated calendar might be more appealing to you than a journal. But you also might like using something less conventional, like a tarot coloring book or tarot coloring pages. Teresa Reed has a really beautiful one, but I know there are a bunch of really lovely ones exist and you can just write the dates you pulled those cards on the appropriate pages or fill in notes around the margins. Really, don't be afraid to get creative with this, especially if you're someone that's already doing a creative practice. Integrate your tarot work into it and you might find that it's a lot more fun and interesting to start tracking your readings.

Speaker 1: 17:16

And, of course, notion exists. Spreadsheets exist. There are lots of ways to organize data. If that is a thing that you like, I'm going to be real. That is not my area of expertise. I don't use Notion. It confuses me. I am like a very basic Google Docs Scrivener, like a blank sheet kind of person, but I am including some templates as well as some tips into the show notes. So if you're looking for a place to get started with building out a spreadsheet or a tracker template, I'm going to include some very basic things in the show notes for you to check out. I always like to wrap up these episodes with a tip or a trick, and this one is going to be incredibly basic.

Speaker 1: 17:52

Please don't forget that the point of tracking the idea behind recording the cards that you pull or having a record of your practice is meant to be supportive, nourishing, grounding and helpful. That's it. Tracking is a reflection of your practice. It is not the heart of your practice, and so if you were stuck in some kind of tracking loop or dedicated routine, that doesn't feel good and actually isn't helping your practice at all. If knowing that you have to record your reading keeps you from reaching for the cards at all, then why are you bothering? Truly? You do not have to record everything. You don't have to record anything.

Speaker 1: 18:32

This really gets to be as personal as you want it to be, and so I just want to remind you that tracking is not for everyone.

Speaker 1: 18:38

It's not necessary for a robust practice, and I don't want you to get discouraged if you take some time to find your groove and struggle, or if you ultimately decide that doing a really detailed tracking practice, even if you like it in theory, doesn't actually work for you in reality. Please be kind to yourself, try some things out, but if, ultimately, you decide that this isn't what you want to do, free yourself. You don't have to do this. It's just meant to be helpful, and if it's not, reconsider doing it. Okay, that's all I have for you today, but, as always, thank you so much for spending this time with me, and I will be back again soon with more Card Talk. Card Talk is committed to staying ad-free for everyone, which is possible thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. To pledge your monthly support or make a one-time donation, click the link in the show notes. You can also find episode transcripts, more about me and additional tarot resources through my website, 3amtarotcom. See you next time.