Daily Rituals: Tarot

I love this deck, The Modern Witch Tarot Deck by Lisa Sterle.

I started learning to read tarot a little over a year ago. I got my first deck for my birthday last October, and have acquired several more since, and spent many mornings pouring over cards and guidebooks, trying to glean some semblance of guidance from my decks.

There are so many different approaches to tarot - some people use them as true divination tools that predict future events, while others see them as ways for divine or spirit beings to communicate with us. Some people, myself included, see tarot as a way to help humans better understand the world around us - in other words, I take a secular approach to tarot.

As I learn more about the card meanings and the symbols and stories behind them, I have found they are very useful tools for meditation, guidance, and decision-making that help me sort out my messy thoughts a little bit better than I could without them. Like anything, interacting with tarot is a choice. 

I try to pull cards every morning. I do so with the intention of finding an idea, or a concept, or a thought that sets the tone for my day. If I am struggling with a difficult situation, often the cards help me find a little peace and clarity for the next steps I need to take. If I am feeling joyful or content, the cards sometimes help me understand exactly what it is in my life that makes me feel that way.

The cards have become a part of my daily practice. I have a little space set up by a window where I sit every morning with a warm mug of coffee, light a candle, and sit in silence for a few minutes. I shuffle my deck and pull my cards: often one or two, but sometimes a spread of three or more if it feels right. I’m not an expert yet and often need to consult a guidebook or the notebook where I’ve started writing my own personal interpretations of each card. I’m starting to memorize some of my favorites, though. I meditate a little more on the card(s) I pull, and often journal my thoughts. Then I blow out my candle, finish my coffee, and start my day. It’s a lovely morning ritual.

Tarot cards don’t tell me what to do or how to think, and when I read tarot for someone else, my intention is not to predict their future or tell them how to act. When I come to tarot, for myself or for someone else, my intention is to use the symbols to help myself and others recognize truths that are already present: a way to bring clarity to the chaos of the world we experience every moment of our lives.