Using Tarot for Guidance in Your Business

 

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When we think of tarot cards, we most commonly imagine some sort of mystic woman sat in front of a crystal ball, ready to unveil the secrets of your future, but tarot isn’t just for the psychics.

Many tarot readers, myself included, prefer to take more of a coach position with tarot. Instead of promising to tell you your future, we prefer to use the tarot as a guide and a framework on which to better reflect and assess our past, present and future.

This technique can be used by anyone with a tarot deck. You don’t have to be psychic, possess foresight, practice tarot for a living or be a professional reader. Using the tarot cards can be a great way to check in with yourself, identify the things that are preventing you from moving forward and realistically assessing the outcomes of your actions.

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We want our businesses to grow and thrive as we progress, but this can be tricky, especially when it comes to having the courage to try something new.

For business owners, especially those that work alone or from home, the tarot can become a confidant and a source of support, validation and a bluntly honest business partner. Here are just a few ways you can use a tarot deck in order to guide and grow your business.



Making tough decisions

As a business owner, making tough decisions will be pretty common, but it doesn’t mean it gets any easier. Sometimes knowing the right thing to do can be a struggle, our heads and hearts come into conflict and it can be confusing as to which one to listen to.

Using tarot cards, you can gain more understanding on how you really feel about something. You can see your subconscious thoughts reflected back to you and you’ll be able to put things into perspective in a much more efficient way. Gaining a new perspective may be just the thing you need to help you come to a final decision and allow you to better weigh the outcomes.

Deciding on a new direction

We want our businesses to grow and thrive as we progress, but this can be tricky, especially when it comes to having the courage to try something new. If you’ve got a few different ideas of directions you’d like to take, you can consult the tarot to compare the outcomes of each.

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We can also use the cards to remind us of why we started our business in the first place and what exciting things can happen if we push forward with it.

The tarot can also be used to reflect back on your own skills and experience, helping you to create more ideas and plans for business growth. It’s important to remember that any future cards in a reading are simply suggestions and potential outcomes, nothing is set in stone.

There is no one way something can end, the outcome depends on lots of little details and if one thing is changed, it could go in a completely different direction than expected. Keep this in mind when using tarot to find a new direction and weigh up all your options before making final decisions.

Reigniting passion for your business

If you’ve been hustling for a while, or things are taking a little longer to get going than you would like, it can be easy to lose motivation and passion for our projects. We all reach a moment of stagnation and it can be tricky to pull ourselves out of a funk. The feeling of being lost or in a weird business limbo can hit hard, but using the tarot can help us to gain a more creative and optimistic look at things.

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When we are working solo, we don’t have anyone reminding us about goals and targets, it’s up to us to set them and keep track of them.

Using tarot cards, we can create readings that allow us to really appreciate everything we have accomplished and achieved in our business. We can better assess our current feelings and thoughts to truly understand why we might have hit a plateau. We can also use the cards to remind us of why we started our business in the first place and what exciting things can happen if we push forward with it.

I always find that if I’m feeling really down or defeated by business matters, a simple tarot reading will help me to see that there is so much possibility left to tap into and I come away feeling revitalised and ready to get stuck back in.

Daily task lists

My favourite way to use tarot cards is to help me create a daily task list. By using a simple three card spread, I can decide what things I need to focus on throughout the day, what I need to be mindful of and what may become an obstacle.

I always have an idea of the work I need to do, but it can really help to do a reading in the morning before I start my day, to help me prioritise.

Reviews of achievements

Do you ever give yourself a business review? These can be very useful around the six month mark, to help us keep on top of what we still want to achieve and which goals we’ve already ticked off. When we are working solo, we don’t have anyone reminding us about goals and targets, it’s up to us to set them and keep track of them.

Using tarot cards in your business reviews will help you to reflect back on how far you’ve come and how you can progress in order to meet your next set of goals. The cards help to get us out of our own heads and seeing things from a birds eye view. We can escape our conscious mind and really focus on how we feel about our business.

Plans for the future

When you don’t have a board of directors or a team of employees to sit down with, it can be daunting to hold the future of your business in your hand. You know that every decision and move you make effects the future of your business and it can be too easy to doubt yourself and the decisions you make.

I like to use tarot cards to help me project future outcomes of different decisions, laying out three or four different scenarios and plotting the outcome of each to determine which is the best to progress with.

The tarot can also become a supportive figure in this scenario, helping us to banish limiting beliefs and self-doubt that threaten to derail us. Allow the cards to comfort you and have your back when your thoughts are clouded or judgemental.


Using Tarot Card Journalling For Better Mental Health

 

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Whether you are a brand new tarot reader or a seasoned professional, starting a tarot journal is one of the best and most effective ways of upping your tarot game. Tarot reading combined with journalling can not only help you keep momentum on daily journal entries, but it can also become an essential self-help tool to keep on top of mental and emotional wellbeing.

You don’t have to get fancy with tarot journalling, a simple ruled line or blank notebook will do, along with your favourite pen. You don’t have to illustrate it, just give yourself daily tarot readings and note down the outcome of each reading.

This technique can not only help you to better understand the cards, but it can also help you to uncover elements of your day, thoughts and feelings that you may not have fully processed. Here’s a few tips on how you can get started with your very own tarot journal.



Tools and equipment

Like I said earlier, you don’t need a tarot specific journal to start a tarot diary. Pick whatever notebook you love most and use that!

Each day, you want to do a tarot reading, the best time being in the morning or if you want to do it in the evening, you’ll be preparing for the following day. The key info you want to make note of is:

  • What each position in the spread refers to

  • What the cards are

  • The date of your reading

  • Meanings of each card

  • How they relate to each other and to what is happening in your life right now

Doing a reading in the morning will help you to set intentions for the day, and give you an idea of what you might want to focus on or avoid throughout that day. Any evening readings should be focused on the following day, it is a good way to prepare for what’s to come and give you a plan for the next day.

Daily readings

To keep things quick and simple (we’re all very busy people!) stick to three card readings. My favourite daily spread looks a bit like this:

  1. Card 1 will tell you what the general theme of the day is

  2. Card 2 will tell you what you specifically need to focus on that day

  3. Card 3 will tell you what to avoid or be wary of

If you follow me over on Instagram, you may have seen my daily card readings on my Insta stories. My most recent reading went a little something like this.

  1. Card 1 – The Five of Pentacles – Indicating that today I will find myself encompassed in my own company and to revel in this time to myself.

  2. Card 2 – The Six of Cups – Showing that today should be all about fun, enjoying my time alone and doing the things that bring me joy and even light the fires of nostalgia.

  3. Card 3 – The Devil (Reversed) – Telling me to be wary of my workaholic tendencies and to not be tempted to abandon this precious ‘me’ time in order to get ahead with work.

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Tarot readings are not about trying to predict your future, they are about better understanding the here and now

I find that the information the cards give me is better absorbed if I write it all down, rather than trying to connect the dots in my head. Writing it all down also helps me to delve even further into the meanings of the cards. As I write what each card means to me, I find that more realisations pop into my brain as I go along.

Looking back and reading the full reading in black and white helps me to create goals and tasks for the day. I can write down my intention, solidifying it and creating an unspoken contract between me and the universe.

Using tarot to understand the subconscious

My number one priority for tarot readings, whether it is for myself or for a client, is to uncover and understand the subconscious. Our unconscious mind holds so many secrets and solutions, but it can be difficult to uncover them with everyday conscious thought.

Whenever I do a reading, I like to go into as much detail as possible to uncover the true meanings of the cards. I want to walk away from a reading feeling like I understand myself better and feeling more in-tune with myself. Tarot readings are not about trying to predict your future, they are about better understanding the here and now, so we can live a more in touch and self-compassionate life.


How to Use a 3 Card Tarot Spread For Self Care

Three Card Tarot Spread For Self-Care

Explore these different three card Tarot spreads, all with the aim of aiding you with your own self-care.

Over the years, tarot reading has been turned into a bit of a gimmick and many have forgotten the real benefit of having these tools at our disposal. Even just a simple and easy 3 card tarot spread can be used in a healthy self care routine.

WORDS: Cat Crawford

IMAGES: Jen Theodore 

 

A 3 card reading is perfect for complete tarot beginners and those not looking to learn how to do full readings, but need a little spiritual support. I often do a 3 card reading on a Sunday as part of a bigger self care routine.

The cards allow me to reflect, assess and plan. Reflecting on the week that has just been, assess where I am in that present moment and plan for what I need to focus on in the week ahead. I find it is a great way to check in with my emotions, process everything that has happened and pick up on any details that I may have missed by not being ‘in the moment’.

There are a few ways you can structure a 3 card tarot reading, so below I’ve pulled together 3 different structures that you can use regularly, to better take care of your mental and emotional wellbeing.

Don’t forget to cleanse your cards before starting. If you don’t know how to cleanse your tarot cards, make sure you check out my blog posts on how to do just that!

Past, Present & Future - Three Card Tarot Spread For Self-Care

The most common 3 card tarot reading is the traditional, Past, Present and Future structure. In this spread, you’ll use the cards to reflect on the past, assess the present and plan for the future.

Read the cards from left to right and be aware of any major arcana cards that might pop up, as these will set the tone for the whole reading. For example, if you get The Lovers card, then the reading will probably centre around your romantic or self love. If The Fool tarot card appears, the reading may suggest that it is time for something new or a new adventure is on the horizon.

If you are doing this reading every week, the Past card will refer to the week just gone and the Future will refer to the week ahead. Don’t try to read too far in the past or see too far into the future, as it starts to become too complex and you won’t get as much benefit from your reading.

  • Past Card – This card helps you to look back at the previous week and understand any lessons you learned, any complex or strong emotions you may have felt or something you’ve worked through. When moving on to the Present and Future cards, always keep in mind this card, as it is a huge influence moving forward.

 

  • Present Card – This card allows you to look inwards and assess your emotional and mental wellbeing in the present moment. It has probably been effected by the events that are shown in the Past card. For example if you get the Seven of Wands in the Past position, and the Ten of Swords in the Present position, it indicates that you have battled through something in the previous week that is currently causing you burnout and in need of rest.

 

  • Future Card – The Future card indicates what is possible or what you need to focus on in the coming week. The Future card is never set in stone, it is here to show you how things could turn out if you listen to the warnings and follow the advice of the Past and Present cards. If we use the above example of the Seven of Wands and Ten of Swords, we may get a card such as the Four of Swords, which indicates that we need to spend the next week resting and recovering from this difficult time and assess why this was such a struggle for us.

Past, Present and Future Tarot Reading Spread

Subconscious, Conscious & Higher Consciousness - Three Card Tarot Spread For Self-Care

Three Card Tarot Reading Spread for Mindset

f you’re looking for something that allows you to tap into your spiritual self-care and delve a little deeper inwards, then this structure may be a better option.

The Subconscious, Conscious and Higher Conscious tarot spread allows you to spend time in your own head and really work through your thoughts and how your emotions may be effected by your thinking.

  • Subconscious – The subconscious is the wizard behind the curtain, it controls a lot of how we think, feel and even act. A card in this position is a window into your deepest thoughts and feelings, that you may not have even been aware of. For example, if you received the Three of Swords, you may have a deep need for a companion or someone to confide in. This is very common, especially amongst those that are not comfortable being vulnerable or asking for help when they need it.

 

  • Conscious – The Conscious card represents the thoughts and feelings you are aware of. These can be recurring thoughts or fears that you’ve been having in the past week that have been holding you back. The conscious thoughts are heavily influenced by the subconscious, so if you look carefully at the Subconscious card, it can help you to better understand why you may be having those thoughts or feelings in the here and now. It is figuring out the connection between this card and the Subconscious card that makes this structure so valuable.

 

  • Higher Conscious – The Higher Conscious card is what you already know, but a concept you probably haven’t completely grasped or accepted yet. Once you’ve understood the root cause of your current thoughts from looking at the Conscious and Subconscious cards, you can use your findings to better understand the Higher Conscious card. This card is your ‘truth’ and it is often kept from you because of negative or self depreciating thoughts causing a mental block.

Release, Begin and Sustain - Three Card Tarot Spread For Self-Care

Another beneficial way of using a 3 card tarot reading for self care, is by assessing negative behaviours and patterns. This is where the Release, Begin and Sustain structure comes in handy. It helps you identify the things that are not serving you, what is working for you and what you need to leave behind in the past.

  • Release – This card will indicate something you need to leave behind in the week that has gone by. It could be a thought, a feeling, a habit or even a person.

 

  • Begin – The Begin card tells you of something that you need to start in the week about to begin. This is usually something you’ve already been thinking about or have been too scared to dive into.

 

  • Sustain – The Sustain card shows you something you are already doing that you need to keep up with. We are always so obsessed with progress and trying something new and exciting, that we often overlook the good habits we already have. This is a good point to reflect on how far you’ve come and the things you’ve done that have really benefited you up to this point. These are the things you need to keep up with moving forward.

Three Card Tarot Spread For Releasing

Using All Three Spreads Together As One - Nine Card Tarot Spread

The Ultimate Self-Care Tarot Spread

If you’re feeling confident, you can combine them all together to create one mega 9 card reading! This can be done weekly to give you a full in-depth review of your weeks, or once a month to do one mega check-in with yourself.

Combining these 3 structures means that you get insight into your thoughts (with the Subconscious, Conscious & Higher Conscious cards), your feelings (with the Past, Present & Future cards) and your actions (with the Release, Begin and Sustain cards).

Combine all of the meanings from all the other positions from those previous spreads. This gives you what I am calling the ‘Ultimate Tarot Spread for Self-Care’. 

This will tell you everything you need to know about how you can take care of yourself in the best possible way right now!

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10 Top Tips for Interpreting Tarot Card Illustrations

 

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When it comes to understanding and reading tarot cards, there are a few different aspects that need to be taken into consideration.

Reading tarot cards isn’t just putting your brain into full gear and trying to remember all the meanings of all 78 cards, it’s being able to take the cards and tell a story. The illustrations help us do that, just like all of those story books we read as children.

This is one of the reasons I love to use indie tarot cards, created by some of the most creative and imaginative illustrators. Every deck offers a new perspective on life’s most consistent stories, whether it be career, love, money or our general way of thinking. There’s something about illustrations that make the cards not just more fun to read, but easier to read.

To help you master and hone your ability to interpret tarot card illustrations, here are my top 10 tips on breaking things down and noticing the little things that will make all the difference.

1) What do you FEEL when you look at the image?

Using your gut and your intuition is a huge part of reading tarot, so it’s very important to pay attention to how an image makes you feel. Make a note of what emotions the illustrations bring up and what that could mean in the context of the question being asked. Emotions are what drive every decision we make in our lives, they guide our logical brain and inject some life into mechanical thinking. Pay attention to them and they will make tarot reading extremely easy.

2) Explain the image out loud

When we are reading something that is hard to process, reading it out loud can often help to make things a little easier to understand. The same goes for understanding tarot illustrations. Breaking things down into simplified terms and describing exactly what you see in an image can make something click a little faster.

Look at the illustration and describe what you see, what is happening, who is the main character? Really pay close attention to every small detail and what it could mean for the image as a whole.

3) What’s the story that’s happening within the image?

Once you’ve identified the elements that make up the image, it’s time to try and understand the story the image is telling you. Each card is a short story in and of itself. Knowing the story each card tells is integral to interpreting full readings. Use your imagination and be creative when you’re thinking up what the illustrations could be interpreting. There is no wrong answer!

4) What could have happened before and after?

Each tarot card tells a small portion of a bigger story, this becomes clearer when you begin to pair up different cards in the deck. However, when you are just starting out, it can help to make up your own stories around what is happening.

Once you’ve taken a good look at the image and figured out what story it is telling, have a think about what could have happened to have lead up to that point and what might happen as a result. This is a great exercise for moving on to more advanced reading techniques and really learning to link up all the cards in the tarot deck, in order to tell a bigger story.

5) What minute details can you see?

Sometimes, the key is in the details. A lot of modern tarot decks take a more minimalist approach to their illustrations, which is why I always recommend the traditional Rider Waite deck for those completely new to tarot.

The Rider Waite deck is one of the most detailed decks when it comes to illustrations, so it’s perfect for learning the meanings behind each card. There are tiny details hidden in every illustration, so much so, I’m only just spotting some of them. These details can be extremely helpful in creating a really in-depth reading of the cards, so make sure you scan your illustrations carefully in order to find hidden clues.

6) If you were in the image, how would you react?

Placing yourself in the illustrations Mary Poppins style can be super helpful. Using the power of visualisation, place yourself as a character in the illustration, think about how you would feel, react and what might happen to you if you were inside that card. This can sometimes uncover new meanings you may not have considered before.

7) Write a story using only the illustrations

Another practical task you can do is to physically write a story based around what you see on the cards. This can be time consuming, but super fun! Take the illustration and create a beginning and an end for the story, use the illustration as the middle point and work everything else around it.

8) How would the image fit into the story you have already laid out?

When doing a tarot reading, you should always have a specific question you need to answer, whether it’s for yourself or someone else. This question should form the structure and context for the cards. Without a question to form the foundation, the cards could mean literally anything.

Think about the story the illustration is telling, in context with the question you’re trying to answer. What part of the question does the illustration best represent or best answer?

9) Take the suits into consideration

The 78 tarot cards are made up of the major and minor arcana. The minor arcana are made up of four different suits. These suits are most commonly; Wands, Pentacles, Cups and Swords but can vary deck by deck. Each suit represents a different aspect of life:

Wands – Action, practical tasks

Swords – Thoughts and logical thinking

Cups – Emotions and relationships

Pentacles – Career and finances

The suits are a great help when it comes to interpreting the illustrations, as they offer some guidance as to what the image is referring to. For example, in the Rider Waite deck, the three of cups shows three people raising their cups into the air jovially. This represents celebration, reuniting with friends and group relationships. If you take away the meaning of cups, the meaning of the card can be a little muddy.

10) Is it a major or minor life lesson?

Like I mentioned above, the 78 card tarot deck is made up of major arcana (major life lessons) and minor arcana (minor life lessons). Knowing whether the card represents a major or minor life lesson can help make the illustration a lot easier to understand.

The major arcana cards are usually a lot more detailed, because they hold more importance in a reading. They can also be the images that conjure the most emotion and memories/nostalgia. Major arcana cards can also tell a bigger story than those of the minor arcana. Some tarot readers will use a major arcana card as the pivot point for the rest of the reading, so the illustrations on these cards are extremely important.

No matter whether the tarot illustrations are abstract, minimal or immensely detailed, there is always a way to interpret the image. Image interpretation is the key to reading tarot intuitively, which is the goal for most professional and amateur tarot readers.

Without the images, we are just trying to memorise a lot of information without any emotional connection. It’s the illustrations that make a tarot deck, so when choosing your next deck, make sure you connect with the style and subject of the illustrations before purchasing.


The Difference Between Oracle Cards and Tarot Cards

 

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You want to get yourself a tarot deck, but you’ve also heard about oracle cards, so which one should you go for?

Although the two are very similar, there are some key distinctions between oracle decks and tarot cards that you’ll need to take into consideration when choosing your new deck.

Are you a beginner to divination?

As much as I love tarot decks, I have to agree that oracle cards are easier to read for the beginner. Unlike tarot, oracle decks generally have less cards. I say generally because oracle cards don’t have to stick to a set number like tarot does, the decks can contain however many cards the creator wants.

Less cards, means less meanings to memorise.

For beginners, less cards may seem more manageable than being faced with 78 different cards and their many meanings.

Something that also helps with reading oracle cards, is that they usually have their messages printed on the cards. These messages usually serve as affirmations or advice, they aren’t as cryptic as the messages of the tarot, so they lend themselves nicely to simple one-card readings.

One of the most daunting things for tarot newbies is memorising all 78 meanings of each card of the tarot deck. Not to mention, those meanings can change and shift depending on the other cards in the spread. Oracle card readings help to bypass that and give people a softer introduction to readings.

What do you want to gain from your readings?

This is a biggie, because the different types of divination decks offer different outcomes. With tarot decks, you will receive a detailed and personal reading, depending on the tarot reader, it can also be extremely personal.

Oracle cards are more generalised, they are limited in how much detail they can give you and actually work best when they are giving you guidance rather than telling your fortune or reflecting your subconscious.

I like to have a few tarot AND oracle decks, it means I can pick the deck that best suits what I need then and there. For example, I may wake up and think ‘What should I focus on today?’ so I’ll grab a card from my Moonology oracle deck. However, I like to do a tarot reading for myself every weekend to help check-in, reflect on what I’ve worked through, take note of where I am and plan for where I’m going.

How much time do you have to spend on your readings?

There’s no doubt about it, tarot readings take more time than oracle readings, but they are also a lot more flexible in what you can do with them. You can pull any number of cards you like, but they work best with three or more.

Oracle decks, because of how much easier they are to read, can be a much quicker option. If you’re a busy person, then oracle cards may be the best for your daily divination. If you’re a complete beginner and feel intimidated by tarot cards, then again, oracle cards may be your gateway divination tool.

So which ones should you choose?

Tarot Cards: Best for those who feel like they need all the details, that want to really delve into divination and be able to fully connect with their subconscious and inner selves.

Oracle Cards: Best for absolute spiritual beginners who just want a simple and easy way to give themselves goals or affirmations for the day, week, month or year.