Jason Donaldson teaches tarot classes on Hawai'i Island and online, built on almost two decades of reading cards himself. He began reading tarot in 2007 and studied for five years with a psychic teacher in Phoenix, Arizona. The classes are not currently on a fixed schedule or published price. Ask Jason about upcoming classes and he'll tell you what's next.
What the classes actually teach
Most tarot classes teach you the meaning of 78 cards and stop there. Jason teaches that too, but the heart of his approach is different. He calls his own readings "tarot and energy signature readings," and in class he tries to pass on the part that took him years to develop: how to tune in before you ever flip a card.
You'll learn the standard structure of a spread. You'll also learn what he actually does in a session: settle yourself, set an intention, and let the cards become a mirror for what you're already sensing rather than a script you're reading off. He has said he reads "as a healer," not to predict the future or prove psychic ability exists. That's the frame the class teaches from.
Expect to cover card meanings, spread layouts, how to hold a question for someone else without projecting your own stuff onto it, and how to notice the difference between your imagination and something actually coming through. None of this requires believing you're psychic. It requires attention.
Who this is for
People who want to read for themselves. People who want to read for friends and family. People curious about tarot as a tool for reflection rather than fortune telling. You don't need prior experience. You don't need to already believe in any of it. Jason has spent years translating complex spiritual language into something plain and usable, and that's the register the classes are taught in.
If you're further along and already have a regular tarot practice, the classes can go deeper into energy work, reading the person rather than just the card, and building your own style instead of reciting a book's interpretation.
How classes are structured
Group format. Sessions run online for anyone on or off the island, and in person by request when scheduled. Because there's no fixed calendar right now, dates and cadence depend on interest and Jason's availability. Write in through the contact page and ask what's coming up. He'll tell you directly rather than have you guess from a stale page.
What you'll need
A tarot deck. If you don't have one yet, Jason can point you toward a few he recommends once you're enrolled. You don't need anything fancy. The deck matters less than the willingness to sit with it regularly.
How this connects to his readings
A lot of people take the class after getting a tarot and energy signature reading from Jason and wanting to learn the skill themselves rather than keep booking sessions. Others come to class first and later book a reading once they want a deeper, guided experience than they can give themselves. Either order works. If you're not sure which one fits what you're looking for right now, the comparison page walks through the difference.
Why Jason teaches tarot differently
Most people who've picked up a tarot book on their own hit the same wall: they can memorize what the Three of Swords means in a guidebook, but they freeze the moment a real question is in front of them and the card doesn't seem to fit the script. Jason's classes are built around closing that gap. He spent five years studying with a psychic teacher in Phoenix, Arizona starting in 2007, and what he says stuck with him most wasn't the card meanings. It was learning to trust the felt sense that shows up before the intellect tries to explain it.
In class, that shows up as practice, not theory. You'll read for other students. You'll get feedback on where you're translating what you actually perceive versus where you're reaching for the safest, most generic interpretation because it feels less exposed. That second habit is common and worth unlearning early, because a reading that plays it safe rarely helps anyone.
What a typical class session covers
Sessions usually move through a few layers in a given sitting: a short grounding practice to settle the group, a review or introduction of card meanings tied to the deck's structure (major arcana, minor arcana, the suits and their elemental associations), a demonstration spread where Jason reads live so you can see the process rather than just hear it described, and paired or small group practice where you read for each other and talk through what came up afterward. Because the class runs in a group format, you also get to watch other people work through the same material differently, which tends to teach as much as your own turns at the cards.
Tuning in before the cards
One thing Jason emphasizes early is the idea of the galactic self, the essence he says stays with a person across lifetimes regardless of the specific life they're living now. In his own readings, he opens by tuning into that layer before pulling any cards. In class, this gets introduced gently and isn't required as a belief system to participate. What matters practically is the habit underneath it: pause, settle, and let your attention land on the person or question in front of you before you start interpreting symbols. Skipping that step is the single most common reason a beginner's reading feels flat or generic.
What changes for people who take the class
Students who stick with tarot after the class often describe the same shift: the cards stop feeling like a system to memorize and start feeling like a conversation. That takes practice, usually weeks or months of pulling a daily card and sitting with it rather than rushing to look up the meaning. Jason encourages this kind of regular practice outside class time, not because the class itself isn't enough, but because tarot is a skill built through repetition, the same way any other form of attentive listening is built.
Some students go on to read only for themselves, as a private reflection tool. Others start reading for friends and family informally. A smaller number go further and consider offering readings professionally, which is a different set of skills again, mostly around holding space for someone else's material without projecting your own. Jason is open to working with students at any of these stages and adjusts what he covers based on where the group actually is, not a fixed curriculum that ignores who's in the room.
A note on the mystical language
If terms like galactic self or star family are new to you, that's fine. You don't need to arrive already fluent in this language to take the class. Jason teaches these ideas the way he teaches everything else: plainly, with room for you to translate them into whatever framework already makes sense to you. Some students connect with the language immediately. Others prefer to think of the same material in more psychological or intuitive terms. Both approaches work inside the same class.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need experience to take a tarot class?
No. Jason teaches beginners as often as people who've read cards for years. The class starts with fundamentals and moves at the pace of the group.
Is there a set schedule or price for tarot classes?
Not published right now. Write to Jason and ask what's currently running or coming up. He'll give you real dates and pricing directly.
Can I take the class online if I'm not on the Big Island?
Yes. Classes run online for people anywhere, and in person by request when scheduled that way.
What's the difference between a tarot class and a tarot reading?
A reading is a session where Jason reads for you. A class teaches you to read, for yourself or others. See the full comparison if you're deciding between the two.
What deck should I use?
Any deck you feel drawn to works to start. Jason can suggest a few once you're enrolled, based on what you're hoping to learn.
Will I learn to read for other people, not just myself?
Yes. The class covers reading for others as much as reading for yourself, including how to hold a question that belongs to someone else without letting your own assumptions color what comes through.
No pressure. Write to Jason and he'll tell you what's coming up.
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