Happy New Year!
Not only did I celebrate a great holiday with family and friends, but I am very much looking forward to starting off the New Year with the 30-year anniversary of my first tarot class! If you’ve already signed up: thank you! And welcome aboard! In this post I share 3 reasons to learn tarot now at the new year, plus offer my upcoming schedule of 2024 tarot and esoteric classes.
My New Year’s wish for you is taken from this image by Scottish artist Jessie Marion King: “May the future hold a round of happy days.”
I taught my first tarot class in January 1994. The exercises I developed at that time, under the guidance of my teacher, are still essential to the way I teach tarot. My core philosophies for beginner tarot are:
- Look at the image (no memorized card meanings)
- Apply it to your life (because the universal is in the personal)
- Speak the language of tarot (communication achieves connection)
The exercises that I developed thirty years ago, and have taught ever since, keep your eyes on the cards and not on the words in a book (or online). They encourage contemplating the images, opening your imagination, and developing your creativity. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by a vast system to learn, you feel the flow of intuition and the refreshment of quiet reflection.
Here are three reasons to learn tarot now:
1. Start the New Year Right
The New Year is a great time to look ahead, plan, and take stock. Rather than start with checklists, a calendar, and a determined scowl, why not start with the colorful and inspiring images of the tarot? Tarot cards are fabulous brainstorming tools! Once you learn techniques for working creatively with the tarot images, you can put the cards to work to set your 2024 goals. Not to mention following up with tarot check-ins throughout the year. Learn tarot now and have an immediate application that makes task setting fun!
2. Tarot Time is “Me Time”
Every time you pick up the deck and start shuffling, you turn off the outside hubbub and tune in to yourself. And with the right intention, you are also connecting to your higher self, guides, angels, and the Divine. Spiritual growth may very well be on your list of 2024 to-dos, but even if it’s not, my guess is that self-care is. Nobody gets you the way the tarot cards get you. Nothing reminds you of what you already know as gently as tarot can. And nowhere will you find the spot-on guidance — totally unique and relevant to you — that tarot offers. Learn tarot now and spend more time with YOU!
3. Look Ahead to a Year of Learning!
It might seem like reading tarot cards is focused on answering questions, and that’s part of it. But it’s also a gateway to increasing levels of self development and spiritual direction. Tarot helps you connect with your intuition, and from there whole worlds of possibility open. Tarot integrates astrology, qabalah, and other esoteric philosophies, establishing a path of study that goes deep. And tarot is great for insight and guidance. Astrology helps you understand yourself and others as well as life cycles. Qabalah teaches you how to understand the Divine and bring about the personal balance necessary to let the Divine flow into your life. And so much more for each one of these practices! Learn tarot now and then join for a full year of esoteric classes! More info on my upcoming 2024 class schedule below.
But I already know tarot!
If you are a confident reader who doesn’t need to refer to the book, great! Keep it up and you will continue to grow. But if you feel stuck trying to memorize meanings, if your readings fall flat and seem trite, if you struggle to apply the card meaning to the question asked, then learning a new style of card work might be perfect to breathe fresh life into your tarot practice. Even experienced readers and knowledgeable tarot students have found my methods to be energizing and insightful (just read the testimonials from my class participants!).
Sign up now and start your year off right!
2024 Tarot and Esoteric Classes
How do you want to spend your 2024? How about a year of introductory classes on all the best esoteric topics? Curated, cultivated, and condensed to just the most interesting parts, the 2024 line-up is a tempting platter of teasers and tastes. Although the line-up is designed to build from beginning through advanced tarot, adding necessary bits of knowledge and practice each step of the way, each course can be taken by itself.
2024 Introductory Classes with Joy
Meets on the 1st and 3rd Sundays, (except as marked with *)
Exploring the Tarot
- One-day class, $90
- Sat Jan 6
- 8 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Pacific time
Tarot Basics
- 4 sessions, $150
- Feb 18, Mar 3, 17, Apr 7
- 9:30-11:30 a.m. Pacific time
Curious About Qabalah
- 4 sessions, $150
- Apr 21, May 5, Jun 2, 16
- 9:30-11:30 a.m. Pacific time
Exploring the Tarot: Weeknights
- 4 sessions, $150
- June 4, 11, 18, 25
- 5-7 p.m. Pacific time
The Art of Astrology
- 4 sessions, $150
- Jun 30*, Jul 7, 21, Aug 4
- 9:30-11:30 a.m. Pacific time
Tarot Basics: Weeknights
- 4 sessions, $150
- July 9, 16, 23, 30
- 5-7 p.m. Pacific time
Esoteric Tarot
- 4 sessions, $150
- Sept 15, Oct 6, 20, Nov 3
- 9:30-11:30 a.m. Pacific time
Heart of the Dark Woods
- 2 half-day workshops, $150
- Dec 1 and 15
- 9:30-11:30 a.m. Pacific time
2024 Advanced Class with Joy
Meets on the 2nd and 4th Sundays
Prerequisite: Tarot reading confidence; basic familiarity with qabalah and astrology.
Tarot Pathworking
- One year program, $250/month x 12 months
- Starts Feb 25, 2024
- 9:30-11:30 a.m. Pacific time