Tarot cards—also known as the book of divination for gypsies—are some of the most popular “tools” of divining. For centuries, they have been utilized to reveal hidden truths and at the same time foresee the future for the recipient doing the reading.
They are used for spiritual growth, acquiring knowledge, deepening your life experience, and gaining tarot insights, among others. But unknown to many, they can also be used in meditation. If properly used, tarot cards can keep a conscious mind occupied and in turn, this can result in a more vibrant internal journey of the psyche.
If you are interested in learning to utilize tarot cards for reading and meditation, then you came to the right place. This article aims to give you a practical approach to reading Tarot cards and incorporating those readings into your meditation practice.
How to Read Tarot Cards
Reading tarot cards is more of an art, than a science. But, the steps below will help you get started with reading tarot cards. Over time you’ll begin to refine your own approach to reading a deck.
1. Choose a Deck of Cards
For starters, bear in mind that there are a variety of decks that employ different symbologies. Two of the most notable ones are the Rider-Waite Tarot Deck as well as the Morgan Greer Tarot Deck, however, it is essential to choose a deck that pretty much speaks to you. So, spend time doing your research and reading reviews to see what kind of deck you’d prefer to use.
2. Define Your Objective
Knowing exactly what you want is essential if you yearn for a worthwhile journey as a tarot card reader. You can approach a deck with the desire to seek clarity, but it’s important that you have a specific desire or answer you’re seeking. So, ask yourself first if you want to develop better intuition, boost your creativity, receive spiritual guidance, or anything else you yearn for.
3. Transfer Your Energy
The best way to transfer your energy to the deck is to shuffle them several times, while paying close attention to the deck, then put them in order afterward. By doing this simple tasks, you allow these “tools” to become one with you and therefore act as an extension of you.
4. Study Combinations
Being a beginner, it’s important for you to view tarot cards as a system of interactions as well as patterns. So study their combinations and embrace their concepts. Afterward, draw two cards and then search for images, locations, events, concepts, and so on, within the two-card blend. The goal here is to study the cards in combinations, to see what elements the two cards are calling to light. In time you’ll develop greater confidence and a deeper understanding of what the cards are trying to reveal to you.
5. Tell a Story
In layman’s terms, a tarot reading is a story; a narrative that’s being called forth from the deck. It is also an attempt to emphasize past influences, figure out present circumstances, and foresee the future. Take note that the future you predict isn’t definitive or fixed and for this reason, you should not despair. It’s simply your interpretation.
Now that you have a basic grasp on what a reading entails, it’s time to illustrate how you can combine a tarot card reading with your meditation practice.
All in all, there are a myriad of meditation techniques that you can engage in, but with tarot cards, you can achieve a different kind of relaxation.
Using Tarot Cards for Meditation
It’s helpful to think of Tarot cards as a tool that will help deepen your meditation. Tarot cards deal with unconscious influences and the deeper elements of our subconscious minds. So, combining the two together can lead to some very stellar results.
1. Determine the Duration
You actually have the luxury of determining or establishing tarot meditation time; the whole thing is up to you, but for optimum results, it would be best if it would set aside ten minutes and after a month or two extend to 30 minutes. Remember, it should not be too long or too short, otherwise, you may not achieve your desired after-effect.
2. Create an Environment
Make sure that the room or place that you opt for is comfortable and is free from all kinds of distractions like phone calls, pets, street noise, etc. You can strive to achieve total silence or play a meditation soundtrack—choose—whatever suits you. You can also choose to light a stick of incense, or use essential oils to balance emotions and enhance moods.
3. Use the Right Cards
Tarot cards are not created equal, some are used for specific purposes. For meditation, for instance, you should only utilize the Major Arcana cards, which consist of 21 numbered cards and one unnumbered card labeled “The Fool”.
When drawing cards for meditation purposes, you can either draw two cards, like the example above or choose a single card to form the basis of your meditation.
4. Place the Cards in the Right Position
Once you draw a card (or two) you can place the card out in front of you and gaze at it for a few seconds. Ask yourself what the card is trying to tell you.
Then, choose a meditation posture and trying to visually reimagine the card or cards out in front of you. You can also have your eyes maintain a soft gaze at the card, where they’re almost closed and your vision is relaxed.
5. Be a Neutral Observer
As you gaze upon the tarot card let everything else drift from your mind. Nothing exists in this moment except your breath and the wisdom of the card in front of you.
Instead of trying to force and answer, or read too deeply into the card, you’re letting an answer come to you. Sit in silence as your mind gently ponders the visual image of the card.
6. End the Session
As the session closes sit with any intuitive guidance you may have received. It can be helpful to journal while you’re in this state of mind. Since tarot cards often work at a deep level it can sometimes take a while for you to be open enough to receive certain insights.
But, just keep at it and whatever you need to learn will be revealed in time.
Closing Thoughts
Combining tarot cards and meditation can help you have a deeper experience on both levels. First, it will help to deepen the wisdom you receive from the tarot deck. Second, it can help you relax deeper into meditation since your mind has a focal point.
In the end, tarot cards are great divining tools, with or without meditation, that can help you make more conscious decisions and relieve stress.