Let's take a fool's leap into the insightful world of tarot readings! If you've been considering learning more about yourself, your past, and your future, tarot cards can be a super helpful tool for self-reflection & direction.
It doesn't matter if you're familiar with tarot symbolism or just starting on your divination path, reading tarot cards for yourself can be a rewarding and seriously eye-opening journey.
In this easy to follow blog post, I'll walk you through the essential and important steps of performing a personal tarot reading.
✔️Step 1: set the scene & prepare your mind
before beginning with your tarot reading, it's crucial to create a quiet environment to help you concentrate and allow for deep reflection. find a peaceful space where you can relax without any distractions. Take a few moments to ground yourself by focusing on your breath. Let go of any stress or worries, allowing yourself to enter a state of openness. Open your mind, heart, and soul. Even say to yourself (or out loud) 'I am open to the energies of the highest good' You may choose to light a candle, burn some incense, or play soft music to enhance the feelings of being relaxed and content. Now connect with your inner wisdom. Ask any guides, ancestors, angels, or deities you work with to be supportive and close by. Ask them to offer protection to you and your spirit.
(a note on spiritual protection and its importance) you a now opening yourself up to the spirit realm. Not everything within that realm is geared towards your highest good. Some entities within the spirit world are waiting for unsuspecting and unprotected energy sources (i.e, energetic beings, like humans) which they can attach to. Spiritual protection can not be taken lightly and should never be forgotten. When its cold outside, you wear a jacket to keep you warm and protected, yes? When you drive at night you put your lights on to give yourself a layer of protection and safety, yeah? When you use household cleaners, you wear gloves, don't you? why do we do all those things? To help protect us from outside forces that could cause us harm. Reading tarot cards is no different. You're opening yourself and your aura up to receive messages, you're interacting with the spirit realm. To protect yourself, close your eyes and envision, see, feel, know (however best works for you) that you are enveloped in beaming, beautiful, glowing, white light. There are no gaps, holes, or breaks in this light. It encases you safely and you acknowledge its presence and hold the vision of it in your mind. Perhaps you can even feel its warmth surrounding you.
At the ending of your tarot reading, you can retract the glowing light and thank it for its protection. Always show gratitude for spiritual protection.
✔️Step 2: shuffle the cards with intention
as you shuffle the deck, infuse it with your energy, your presence, aura, & intention. Consider the question or issue you wish to explore during your reading. You can formulate a specific question or simply set an intention to receive guidance and clarity. You can also use a tarot spread you've created or has been created by someone else. Trust your intuition as you shuffle, allowing your subconscious mind to guide the process. When you feel ready, pause and cut the deck into three piles, signalling your readiness to draw the cards.
✔️Step 3: draw the cards & interpret their messages:
the moment of drawing the cards is when the magic truly unfolds. Select your cards, keeping your question or intention in mind. Lay them out in the chosen spread, whether it's a simple three-card layout or a more intricate spread like the celtic cross. Take your time to study each card, noting its imagery, symbolism, and intuitive impressions.
Allow the messages to speak to you on a deep level, trusting that the universe is guiding you towards the insights you seek. Keep a journal close by for any notes you want to record or initial impressions. If anything pops into your mind out of no where - take note of it! so often we’ll receive messages that need time and pondering to work out the true meaning.
If you’re stuck, just jump into automatic writing mode. Look at the cards and write. Even if you begin with ‘i got no idea what i’m doing and these cards are confusing me’ - it’s better than nothing and it’s better than just staring at the cards, getting more and more irritated with yourself.
So, write how you have zero idea, then write more about how you feel, then add some thoughts and feelings about the cards. what memories or ideas do they stir up? do they remind you of anything? do any of the cards match up and create pairs that make sense to you? can you see how some of the cards are linked? The point is to write and keep writing. Why? Because it means your brain is focusing on the cards, it’s working through what’s in front of you.
If you don’t like writing, you can type it out. You can use voice to text, you can record yourself, make a video from it. Make it unique to you and make it fun and easy for yourself. Remember, this isn’t a chore. Tarot cards, tarot reading, tarot spreads, it’s all meant to be fun, an enjoyable practice you can do daily and find amazing insight from. The approach you take now can help to set up healthy, happy, tarot habits for the rest of your life.
⬆️ click the photo to find out more about the Cosmic Pink Mini Tarot Deck
☑️ notes worth remembering:
- honour your intuition: Above all else, trust in your inner knowing. Your intuition is your most valuable asset during a tarot reading.
- keep a tarot journal: Documenting your readings can provide invaluable insights into your journey of self-discovery. Note down the cards drawn, your interpretations, and any significant revelations or patterns you observe.
- embrace open-mindedness: remain receptive to the messages that emerge during your reading, even if they challenge your expectations. Tarot has a unique way of illuminating hidden truths and offering profound wisdom when we least expect it.
✔️A conclusion, but not an ending:
Congrats on completing your tarot reading! Remember that tarot is not just a tool for divination but also a pathway to self-awareness & also self empowerment. As you continue to explore through tarot, may you find clarity, healing, & inspiration along the way. Embrace each reading as an opportunity for growth & transformation, knowing that the universe is always, always, always conspiring in your favour. Trust in the wisdom of the cards & the power you hold as a conduit of them!
Always in your corner,
Rach x
⬇️ click the photo to find out more about The Wandering Soul Oracle Deck
