When you talk about tarot the first thing that comes to everyone’s mind is readings. I love doing readings, you all know that, but I also love finding other ways to use tarot. I especially love sharing these things with others because I like when people can see that the tarot is more than just a tool for divination.

First, let’s talk about the divination aspect. This along is something that makes me a little prickly at times because I think people can have a little bit of a twisted view off the tarot as a “fortune telling” tool.

I think it’s important to understand that, both in regard to divination and magick, tarot itself is nothing more than a tool. The tarot cards only have as much power as you give it. And while it’s easy to say, “well then I get them all the power” you need know that when you do that you’re basically giving up your own power. If that’s what you want to do, then you do you boo boo, but it’s bad and kind of fucked up idea. That’s basically the equivalent of saying, “I don’t want to be responsible for my own life or my own actions so just tell me what to do or what’s going to happen.”

 

| I see the cards as a visual tool for triggering the higher, divine mind and our subconscious.

 

To me the cards are a tool and nothing more. They aren’t magickal, they aren’t powerful, they aren’t any of those things except that this is how we might perceive them. I see the cards as a visual tool for triggering the higher, divine mind and our subconscious. Think of them as spiritual flashcards for communicating with the Universe.

When we look at them that way and not just as a means for gaining insight into situations and questions that plague us, we open our world up to a ton of different ways we can use the cards.

 

 

Here are three other ways that you can work with the tarot in your daily live to bring more magick and spiritual connection to all you do.

Meditation

Meditation is probably one of the easiest ways to use tarot outside of a reading setting. It’s also super easy and it’s something that is perfect for people who don’t like to meditate or think they’re sucky meditators. You can add other elements to this like candles and incense and oils if you wish, but all you really need is a card from the deck and a quite place that feels comfortable where you won’t be disturbed. Take your card, place it either flat on a surface in front of you or prop it up at a comfortable eye level. Then simply look at the card. Feel the card. Imagine yourself in the scene you’re looking at.
To give you an example, here is that Four of Wands from the Radiant Waite tarot. Look at the card and take a moment to see what you notice first. Is it the flower garland? The people waving in the distance? The castle in the background? When I look at this card I’m usually so focused on the couple n the center that I totally don’t even see the three people over the left. Did you?

Now imagine that you’re standing at in the card. See the card as an open doorway and see yourself going into the scene. What are the people saying? Can you hear them? What is the air like; what’s the temperature there? What does it smell like? Can you smell the flowers above you? What’s actually going on here? What’s the energy like?

Doing this kind of meditation can help you connect with an energy that you need to feel and embody in your own life. With the Four of Wands you might be doing this to feel a sense of celebration, connection, and balance. The Four of Wands is a card of unity, community, and celebration. You might be planning a wedding or a family gathering and find that you’re having a hard time getting into the energy and vibe of the event because you’re dealing with a lot of stress. This can help you feel the true energy of the occasion and remind you of why you’re doing this to begin with. Then you can bring that energy back with you to your daily life by recalling the feeling of this meditation any time you feel stressed or worried.

 

Magick In A Window

This is a little magickal trick that I started doing years ago. I remember thinking about the “Save A Child” or “Save A Pet” stickers that you would see pretty commonly back in the 80s in people’s windows. People would put a sticker on their children’s bedroom window to alert first responders to the fact that a child lived in that room so they would be sure to check that they were safe in the case of an emergency. The sticker is just a way of directing attention to the space in a home. How about using tarot cards as a way to attract and direct energy into the home?

Think of something that you need to attract and find a card that corresponds. Maybe it’s that horrible time of year where everyone is sick in the house and you want to attract healing into the home. You might choose to use the Temperance card, a reminder of the need for balance and patience while healing, or maybe the Four or Swords to encourage everyone to willingly rest and take the downtime to heal rather than pushing beyond their limits.

Pick your card and then place it in an appropriate window in the home facing outward. You might want to say an affirmation or pray, or simply speak out loud your intention and desire while placing the card in the window. In this instance you might say “Everyone in the home is healing with the power of patience and balance of Temperance.”

I had a student that used to do this a with a bit of a twist. She would print an image of the card out from her computer and smoke it with an appropriate incense {i.e. run it through the incense smoke} and then dot it with a corresponding oil on each corner. She’d then go about placing it in the window with a prayer and let the image do it’s work attracting the energy into her home. When she manifested what she was after she would burn the printed image to release the work and thank the spirits she worked with for their help.

 

Add Them To A Crystal Grid

I wouldn’t say this is terribly revolutionary, but it’s certainly a way to incorporate tarot into other work you may be doing. This is actually one of my favorite ways to work with tarot for magickal and spiritual purposes. One way many people will work with a crystal grid is to place a piece of paper with an intention or desire on it under their center stone in their grid. With the tarot you would swap a paper of intention with a tarot card. If you want to get extra creative you can take a little cue from my former student and print your image out and write your intention on the back.

All you need to do it pick your card, place it in the center of your grid space, and create your grid around it. Place your center stone on top of the card. Sometimes I like to use multiple cards by placing them in different parts of the gird. For example you could place a different card at or under the stones that mark the cardinal directions in your grid and which associate in some way to that energy. If you were making a grid for love, for instance, you might put the Lovers in the center but then place the Ace of Cups in the West {free flowing love and emotions}, Six of Pentacles in the North {giving, generosity, sharing} , the Two of Cups in the East {being unified and seeing eye to eye mentally}, and The Devil in the South {sexuality, though some people might want to pick another card they feel more comfortable with here}.

 

 

There are all kinds of other ways you can work with your cards from creative inspiration {just pull a card and riff on the concept or idea that comes to mind}, creating affirmations from them, adding them to charms and spell bags, burning candles on top of them, or doing flat out spells with them. When you work with the cards beyond just readings you see them in a different way and you realize that they have no power. They can’t tell you what’s going to happen to you or what you should do. Instead they inspire you to do things and take action. They work as triggers to attract the things you desire. And when you use them like they you get more familiar with not only the traditional card meanings but what they mean to you, which helps when you do want to use them for readings.

 

”What kind of deck should I use?”

I thought I would quickly address this question because I get asked this a lot when I talk about tarot spells. Honestly you can use any deck you want. I personally prefer to use the Rider Waite, or a version of it, when I do spells but when I’m doing things like grids or meditation I use whatever decks calls to me. Some decks lend more to certain kinds of things, at least in my experience. I love the Gaian Tarot for seasonal and sabbat meditation, or for healing work.

I also think that if you have a new deck or a deck you’re finding tricky to read with that it can be great for doing these kinds of things. It will give you time to get familiar with your deck and the cards while making a connection in a different way.

 

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