If you read the cards regularly, you will soon begin to remember their meanings with ease. You don't have to intentionally try to learn the meanings by heart. Much sooner than you think, you will be able to read all 78 cards without the help of a guidebook. But if you want to accelerate this process, you could apply one or several of the following methods.
a)
The regular drawing of a >> DAY CARD (see chapter “Spreads”) is a good way to focus on one card every day - eventually you'll know them all. The Day Cards are also very useful to learn how the different aspects of a card's meaning can show up even in the most unlikely and unexpected situations and experiences.
b) You'll become familiar with the Major Arcana very quickly if you calculate and interpret all your relatives' and friends' >> ESSENCE CARDS. If some of the Major Arcana are left over, just invent people who'd fit them!
c) If you want to know the Minor Arcana better, separate the four suits, spread one of them in a random order and develop a story on the basis of the meanings. Change the order of the cards to see how this changes the story. Because you have separated the suits from each other, you'll also develop a feeling for the >> OVERALL TOPIC of each suit.
d) The Court Cards are not easy to distinguish from each other. A good remedy is to play around with them regularly. For example, compose all possible "families", containing a page, a knight, a queen and a king, and then describe the conflicts or positive implications of each constellation. I for one would feel sorry for the stability-loving and sensual Queen of Pentacles if she had the coolish, top-headed King of Swords for a partner.
e)
Find cards which concern similar subject matters (e.g. VI The Lovers, the Ace of Cups and the II of Cups can mean love) and systematically analyse the differences.
