Lesson 4 Using Your Tarot Deck
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Before ever drawing a card it is important to set the mood. Choose a comfortable space where you won’t be disturbed. Light a candle, relax in nature or on your back patio, enjoy a cup of tea. Then place yourself in an open and relaxed state of mind. Consider a quick cleansing ritual before beginning.
Hold the deck between the palms and close your eyes. Breath deeply in and out of your nose and imagine a light at your heart gradually growing brighter and brighter. Visualize the light radiating out in all directions until you are surrounded, in the middle of a large, glowing sphere of white light.
If you have spirit guides, invite them into the sphere of light and ask their guidance and wisdom. Or perhaps you work with a deity you’d like to ask to speak to you through the cards. If you don’t have have guides or a deity, call upon your highest self to guide the selection and interpretation of the cards.
Before beginning, give yourself permission to walk away from a reading at any time. Sometimes the cards are scary, or just confusing. It’s ok to let it go, thank the cards, and try again another day. I’ll talk about “bad” cards more later.
If you have troubles weighing on you, try to release them before beginning. Even if those worries are what you wish to consult the cards about, see if you can release the emotional attachments and entanglements and come with a clear mind.
Remind yourself that your deck is here to help you. It may deliver difficult or even painful answers, but ultimately it is your ally and friend.
Shuffle your cards in your preferred manner until you feel they are ready. Let intuition guide you.
Cut the deck, placing the bottom half on the top half. And leaving the stack in front of you, right hand on top of the deck, left hand extended, palm up in a gesture of receptivity.
State your question or intention clearly aloud or in your mind following these three steps. For example, “Spirit guides, grant me insight into how I can heal my relationship with my mom.”
Call on your guides, power, intuition, deity, . . .
Keep your query open ended such ask, “I ask your guidance. . . “ “Grant me insight. . . “
Narrow in on specifics
When you feel ready to draw cards and are clear on your intention, you may either draw cards off the top of the deck, or use your right hand to spread them out in a fan shape before you. If arranged in a fan shape, allow your fingers to move lightly above the cards until you feel something. Draw the cards that make you “tingle”.
Flip over your drawn cards in the order you drew them, taking a moment to study each one individually. Typically I will draw three cards, but some rituals call for more and if I’m in a rush I might only draw one.
There are two main ways to interpret your cards. You can look up each card’s meaning online or in the little booklet that came with the deck, or you can work off intuition and the feelings that arise when you study the cards. I do a bit of both. First I will look to the traditional meaning and symbolism of the cards and make a couple notes. Then I spend some time studying the cards and thinking about my query and how these cards may reflect an answer.
Journal about the reading. I believe it is so important to journal what cards came up and what conclusions you came to. Sometimes cards will appear over and over in your pulls and it is so useful to be able to look back and consider the circumstances when you last saw a card. The deck may be speaking to you on larger matters or coming back to an as yet unresolved issue. The ability to make these connections are all part of the learning and intuition that comes with experience.
Here are six tarot spreads to try:
Pursue Your Goals Tarot Spread
Store your cards carefully and treat them with respect. Consider a drawstring bag or storage box to keep them together and protected when not in use.
Wooden boxes such as this one make a lovely storage box for your tarot cards. There are dozens of carved designs to choose from
