Using the Tarot for guidance during challenging times is a current but also timeless topic, because we have to deal with all kinds of crisis situations throughout our lives.
When we are faced with a situation that is beyond our control, it can make us feel helpess, in shock and disbelief.
And while we have to deal with anger, frustration, anxiety and even loss, the last thing on our mind is being spiritually blissful and grateful.
But practicing mindfulness with the Tarot can help us ground ourselves in the here and now.
With the Tarot we can explore uncertain times to maintain and nourish our mental health, and learn to accept this moment in time as a stepping stone on our life journey.
By looking inwards with the Tarot, we can create balance, a shift in perspective and over time discover a way forward.
In my first podcast, I share with you my thoughts on how adversity can affect us, and how we can use the Tarot to empower us when dealing with loss and uncertainty:
Mindfulness has become quite a buzzword in recent years.
The term was first coined by Jon Kabat-Zinn and describes the process of “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally.”
It’s not about emptying your mind or suppressing thoughts; it’s about becoming a detached observer, simply being aware of physical sensations and how your mind wanders.
The purpose of practicing mindfulness is to reduce stress, over-thinking and improve overall wellbeing.
Practicing mindfulness with the Tarot is a powerful combination to boost your mental and spiritual wellbeing, and with regular practice can heal and transform your life.
A simple one-card draw can create a mindful moment of reflection and contemplation.
But you can also combine the one-card draw with a mindfulness meditation.
This is an easy way to learn mindfulness and include it in your daily spiritual practice.
Beginner’s Tarot Mindfulness Meditation
Take a seat in a quiet place and make yourself comfortable.
Ground yourself by taking a deep breath (slowly inhale and exhale) and repeat until you feel calm and focused.
Draw or choose a card from your tarot deck. Observe the image without judgement for a few minutes. Don’t think about its possible meanings. Just explore its colours, shapes, symbols.
Remain still and focus your sensations. Close your eyes and observe how your clothes feel on your skin and where you feel pressure on your body from where you sit.
Spend a few minutes on what you can hear. This could be your breath, a clock ticking, music somewhere in the backround, traffic noise etc.
Reflect on what you have just experienced. You have focused on an object (tarot card), sensations and sounds, which has given you a break from your preoccupations. Perhaps you have learned something new about the tarot image you just have observed.
How do you feel? Over time, this mindfulness meditation can be a nourishing way to refresh and clear your mind.
As you can see, this is an easy introduction to practicing mindfulness with the Tarot and should not take longer than ten minutes.
Listen to this meditation on Soundcloud:
If you find yourself stressed, overwhelmed or over-thinking, then take a mindful moment with your tarot deck, sit back, relax and connect with the cards at the same time.
It’s always fun and insightful to explore its dynamics and compatibility in tarot love readings.
Often, random cards are drawn in a spread, which is fine, but you can also learn more by working out the couple’s relationship card.
For this, you need to know each person’s personality card and add the numbers of each card together, which gives you the relationship card (The Fool = 22).
I demonstrate this with the personality cards of me and my ex – haha, it’s a crazy fun mindfluff, but it also offers some revelations about what the heck went wrong ?
So this is me (9 – Hermit) and him (4 – Emperor), add both numbers together, which makes Death our relationship card – LOL:
Well, Death kind of says it all; a Hufflepuff Hermit (zodiac card Knight of Cups – Pisces) trying to make it work with a Slytherin Emperor (zodiac card King of Swords – Aquarius). You can literally feel the cracks forming.
However, Death also indicates that this relationship was transformational in some way.
For me it has helped shift a lot of old baggage, uncomfortable at first, but in the end one of the happiest breakups I have experienced ?
And what do all the other Major Arcana cards mean as relationship keys?
Here are my suggestions:
1 – The Magician: The only way the Magician can come up as a relationship card is when based on a combination of the Fool (0) and the Magician (1), but because the Magician doesn’t exist as a personality card (birth dates don’t add up to 1), it also won’t come up as a relationship card.
However, the energy of the Magician is inherent in the numbers 10 and 19, and therefore Wheel of Fortune (10) and the Sun (19) relationships have the power to master and resolve any situation that comes their way.
2 – The High Priestess: The only way the High Priestess can come up as relationship card is when combined of the Fool (0) and the High Priestess (2).
A soul connection; mutual understanding without exchanging words. There is a sense of belonging and having known each other for ever. Spiritual nurturing; but also the danger of loosing sight of reality, mixing up naivity with spiritual maturity.
3 – The Empress: a creative connection; family. Traditional roles; physical and sensual attraction are key. A sense of belonging and longevity. A successful partnership. Thrives when mutual interests include spending time in nature.
This relationship doesn’t work well if it’s long-distance or there are longer separations, e.g. extensive business travel.
4 – The Emperor: Strong and committed. This relationship is built on mutual aspirations and ambitions. Both can rely on each other in good as well as bad times. A power couple. Needs to avoid neglecting emotional needs, when focused too much on the business and practical side of the relationship.
5 – The Hierophant: Two people sharing the same values. Traditional, conservative, conventional. Strengthened by taking time for travel, cultural experiences, art and philosophical discussions about politics, religion etc. Avoid lack of change and intolerance.
6 – The Lovers: A constant balance of head and heart. Obstacles and difficulties are overcome with love even if the mind suggests otherwise. Deep down there is certainty that love prevails and both are committed. Opposites attract. A tendency to avoid conflict or frank discussions, which can cause anxiety and deception.
7 – The Chariot: Both people in this relationship prefer to be independent, e.g. keep their separate bank accounts, homes, etc. They walk next to each other rather than towards each other, and yet they are deeply connected. A competitive streak; enjoying sports and travel together. Too much self-reliance can cause detachment. A need to set clear boundaries and keep eyes on mutual goal and aspirations.
8 – Strength: An exciting combination of lust and passion, which won’t be tamed by love and long-term commitment. Heated arguments followed by passionate reconciliation. Power struggles; taming of the shrew. Beauty and the beast. A need for reflection and giving the other space from time to time.
9 – The Hermit: Down to earth; practical; no pretence. A relationship built on honesty and trust. You are true to yourself individually and true to each other. Loyalty. An ideal business partnership working well together. Two introverts found each other, who need to ensure that the relationship keeps growing by pushing their individual comfort zones.
10 – Wheel of Fortune: A karmic relationship; two people have found each other at the right time and know they belong together despite a difficult start. A need to know your purpose as a couple, e.g. starting a family or engaging in social activism, starting a business, helping others etc. If this common purpose is unknown, then feelings of restriction and limitation can come up.
11 – Justice: Equality, fairness. Fairly give and fairly take. A slow starter turning into a strong relationship after much consideration. Harmony; pleasant togetherness. A social couple with good circle of friends. Avoid blaming the other in crisis situations, and try not to focus too much on the other’s flaws.
12 – Hanged Man: Obstacles and difficulties can easily stop this relationship in its tracks. Making sacrifices or simply surrender to outside influences are often the only solution to make it work long-term. Patience. Avoid stubbornness and rigidity; an open and flexible approach is required.
13 – Death: This card doesn’t necessarily mean the end is unavoidable or even in sight. It can be the opposite: lively and transformational for both. Many changes determine the flow of this relationship, e.g. house moves, jobs, family, and the need for constant re-invention and adaptability. It’s intense and any resistance by one or both can indeed mean the end.
14 – Temperance: Opposites attract; making it work requires skill, but with time harmony prevails. A healing relationship. A magical mix of commitment and independence. Playful. Experimental. Finding a middle ground. Avoid pretending that all is fine when it isn’t; frank discussions and conflict help to find solutions and rebalance your equilibrium.
15 – The Devil: Even though this relationship starts off based on strong mutual attraction (so much so that lust and passion can suck sanity out of both parties), there is danger of codependence and loss of spark in the long-term. That’s because this couple has made a commitment to each other, and they don’t want to break it lightly. This is a positive attitude and combined with keeping love and romance fresh and adventurous, this relationship can keep thriving. Avoid power struggles and competition with each other.
16 – The Tower: Mars rules this relationship, which can be tempestuous, destructive but also liberating at the same time. There is no codependence here; two people have minds and aspirations of their own, which they are determined to pursue. One person doesn’t give up their dreams only to make the other happy. Tolerance and serenity will help weather any storms.
17 – The Star: Optimism, peace and calm dominate this relationship. Drama doesn’t belong here, and any crisis situation is handled with pragmatism and recognising the bigger picture of what is truly important. A strong but gentle bond. No need to get married; perhaps even no need to live together and yet nothing keeps you apart on a spiritual level. Both allow each other space and freedom.
18 – The Moon: a deeply emotional bond; often conflicting emotions, filled with an abundance of imagination and fantasy. A romantic love that may not be the ideal match when looked at in the light of day a couple of months down the line. Nothing is sensible or rational here, but love and infatuation rule in a lingering way. Avoid pull-push scenarios, i.e. leaving and coming back. This will seriously affect your mental health and self-esteem.
19 – The Sun: a glorious life force; whole-heartedness, giving love and affection to each other generously. A relationship that boosts confidence and wellbeing. Quarrels are quickly forgotten. Bringing the best out of each other. A social couple with many friends, enjoying life and fun times. Avoid egotism and self-centredness, which can put a dampener on this relationship.
20 – Judgement: The longer it lasts, the better it gets. Over time, the healing power of this relationship is revealed, having a profound effect on both. In this relationship you can let go of old wounds. A deep bond growing over time and together, this couple can achieve more than indvidually on their own. Mutual help and support. Avoid taking the other for granted. Be prepared to forgive.
21 – The World: Grounding and solid. You know where you stand with each other, accepting each other the way you are. A great foundation for a family. A feeling you have arrived and nothing can tear you apart, except when you start to feel stifled wondering, if there is more out there when contemplating the rest of your life. The antidote to this is celebrating and enjoying life together. Avoid routine turning into complacency.
Remember to take your personality cards into account when exploring your relationship card, which can give you a more insightful portrait of your relationship.
You can also use the relationship card to explore connections with challenging people in your life, e.g. parents, children or siblings to work out issues and possible solutions.
Have fun, and let me know how you get on. I’d love to hear from you.
If you are feeling a little rudderless and wonder where to go from here or if you’re on the right track, then it can be helpful finding direction in your life with the Tarot.
Autumn is Hermit season (he’s linked to Virgo), and at this time of year questions about purpose, progress and direction often pop up in people’s minds.
First, contemplate the symbolism of the Hermit.
He’s reached the top of the mountain (the one that is in the background of the Fool), and with his lamp illuminating the way he is trying to find a path down the mountain on the other side.
The top of the mountain represents the current situation, a milestone, where he is right now in his life. What next?
In practical terms, this can relate to a job, relationship or lifestyle choice you are thinking about.
Try the following spread to explore your current path, a path that is open to you or the path you wish to take:
The Seven of Swords as the current Path suggests something being hidden, which needs to be revealed, or at one point the truth will come out. There’s a need to be open and honest, with yourself and the other person.
The Knight of Swords as the Obstacle suggests cruel words, accusations, quick judgement, but also brutal honesty, which can clear the air but can be hurtful.
Avoid nastiness and words you may regret later. Be kinder than you want to be.
The Three of Pentacles as Growth indicates the possibility of reconciliation and rebuilding of this relationship in a healthier and more sustainable way.
Lessons learned include a greater mutual understanding, building trust with honesty and supporting each other.
Support may also come from a third party, like a family member, friend or counsellor.
Here’s another spread to explore your current situation and new direction:
Where I am now – Where I want to be – Action to take
Here are some spreads that help you make choices:
Choice a – Choice B – What you need to know to decide
You may even have the choice between three options, so add Choice C if necessary.
Heart – Mind – Balance
Torn between head and heart? This can relate to a career change for example. How can you balance your conflicting thoughts and feelings?
Where do I need to be patient (or have been patient for too long)?
What do I need to release?
What do I want to walk away from?
Wait and See
Sometimes it is counter-productive to think too much or putting pressure on yourself.
It is actually okay to float for a while and let answers come to you while searching for some inspiration (another Hermit hobby ?)
Here are some cards that indicate the need to be still, to contemplate, to surrender to the present, to wait and see:
Tarot cards indicating contemplation, wait and see, a new direction ahead… Sharman-Caselli deck
The High Priestess: The mother of wait and see. Silence is golden. Be still and listen. Sit back and observe.
Two of Swords: Caught between a rock and a hard stone; trying to balance heart and mind. There is no harm taking your time. Procrastination can lead to a situation resolving itself or a decision is made for you.
Four of Swords: Take time out from over-thinking. Just rest. Before you can make any kind of decision or gain clarity about what to do next, you need to unplug from the overwhelm for a while.
The Hanged Man: my year card in 2012, and it took me a whole year to start moving again. At one point you just have to surrender, bend rather than break. It’s not always down to you, so go with the flow. In your own time.
Seven of Pentacles: a choice between something established and something new. The new is still a seed and needs more attention before you can see its true potential, so be patient and let it grow while you still nurture what you have. And that new seed may never grow into anything. Time will tell.
Seven of Cups: a castle in the sky, which needs a solid foundation. Daydreaming about beautiful possibilities is fun, sometimes it’s all you need. Sometimes you don’t need to turn a dream into reality, as long as it makes you feel happy and inspired.
Finding direction with the Tarot is a fun and insightful way to reorganise conflicting thoughts and gain some clarity before you take the next step on your journey.
Want to learn more? Need guidance and personal support? Then check out, how you can work with me.
Combining tarot and oracle cards in a reading can offer you a fresh and innovative approach to divination.
There are no rules except experiment and use your imagination.
For that reason combining tarot and oracle cards can be confusing at first, so I’ve come up with some ideas on how to get started.
Take a look at the following image. How would you interpret the cards to answer the question?
While the tarot card in the centre offers you an overall theme or direction, the two cards of the oracle deck focus on specifics.
Sometimes it is the clarity and succinctness of the oracle that can help you pinpoint the true heart of the matter.
It can offer straightforward and immediate empowerment, something you can act upon straight away.
Instead of Help you could have drawn the Six of Pentacles from your tarot deck, or the King of Swords instead of Knowledge. Possibilities for interpretation would have increased but also become more vague.
What also works is the complementary artwork of both decks, which can make readings more fluid and coherent.
Here are more examples of tarot and oracle decks that work well together:
1. Rider Waite Smith Tarot – Pixie’s Astounding Lenormand
Can you combine Tarot and Lenormand cards in a reading even though they are totally different systems?
Yes, why not? If you want to learn more about the Lenormand system, check out Cafe Lenormand.
In the meantime, here is a 3-card reading I have done to address a possible career move using Tarot and Lenormand cards together:
Here, the focus is on the Tarot while the Lenormand indicates underlying influences / energies.
The centre card is the heart of the matter surrounded by two energy cards, whereby the card on the right offers an insight into future development / possibilities / direction of this situation.
Eight of Pentacles / Tower: Effort, mastery, a full schedule; being immersed in work. The Tower suggests that the working environment allows advancement, but bureaucracy can be stifling. Timing (Lenormand): 19 days or weeks, so this can be a long-term situation.
Three of Cups / Tree: The total opposite to hard work is having fun and joyful times with people. The need for work-life balance. Reaching out, being social. The Tree suggests that this will maintain health and keep me grounded.
The Star / Child: (Starchild!) Hope, optimism, the future looks bright. The child suggests new beginnings albeit on a small scale. Timing (Lenormand): soon, so there could be some short-term developments that may lead to new opportunities in the future.
Tree – Tower – Child: It is also interesting to look at the Lenormand row separately for additional information.
The combination of Tree and Tower suggests hospital, and funnily enough my part-time work is based in a health service/care environment.
The combination of Tower and Child suggests child welfare, adoption services and teenagers. I’m blown away how much this relates to my work and life (my teenage son lol).
The bigger picture is slowly emerging from this Tarot/Lenormand combination.
2. Morgan Greer Tarot – Chakra Wisdom Oracle
If you would like to combine tarot with chakras, then the Chakra Wisdom Oracle offers a great introduction to chakra balancing and healing.
The spread in the above image is taken from the Chakra Wisdom guidebook and about removing blocks:
What do you perceive as a problem: Empress – Instinct (trusting inner guidance, solitary journey, self-reliance, moving into sovereignty) What is blocking you: Three of Pentacles – Impatience (wishing for quick results, being exhausted by efforts, forcing something, uncooperative people) What would create a breakthrough: Six of Swords – Impartiality (take a step back, detach from emotions, take a break, distraction can offer new perspective) What you must do to create what you desire: Knight of Wands – Insecurity (tackle insecurity by being bold and taking risks; be more confident about your abilities / opportunities)
The tarot cards (Morgan Greer) in this reading point to the how,why and where.
In order to get used to combining tarot and oracle cards, you can try this reading using both decks seperately and see what information would be missing by only using one deck.
3. The Wild Unknown Tarot – Connected & Free Oracle
Surrender: Son of Wands (Knight) Beginnings: Daughter of Swords (Page) Be You: Six of Pentacles
I love how you can create new intuitive spreads with the Connected and Free Oracle. Here’s another one:
Sun’s Rays (what is becoming clear) Flying High (what will accelerate creativity / raise your vibes) Slow down (where do you need to take it easy / rest / slow down)
For this tarot and oracle combination, I have chosen a 3-card spread from the Cosmic Faery Guidebook:
Reflect: The World – The Sphinx (Choose your words carefully) Illuminate: The Sun – The Harlequin (True feelings are masked) Discover: Knight of Cups – Fire (Reckless actions lead to conflict)
Again, explore the difference if only one of these decks was used for this reading.
If you are new to combining tarot and oracle cards, you can start off by drawing an oracle card at the end of a tarot reading as a special message or overall advice.
For this purpose, use an oracle deck with phrases or complete message rather than just keywords such as the Spirit Oracle:
On the other hand, when you do an oracle reading, you can begin by drawing a tarot card to determine the theme or situation.
As you can see, possibilities are endless, and I have only scratched the surface with this article.
Hopefully, my suggestions offer you inspiration to start combining tarot and oracle cards. You will find that this technique will open up a new dimension in your readings and uncover new insights.
At one point in our lives, we will all encounter a major crisis point – bereavement, divorce, relationship breakdown, unemployment, ill health, financial hardship, mental breakdown…
When you experience a significant Tower moment, the initial shock and feeling of numbness usually develops into a variety of painful emotions, from anger to depression.
What will keep you going is your focus on moving towards acceptance of the situation to allow for subsequent recovery and healing.
Each person deals with pitfalls and setbacks in their own way and in their own time.
While some people quickly get back on their feet, others take much longer to come to terms with their situation.
The Tarot is an excellent tool to help you on your way to recovery and renewal. A simple healing spread used regularly can help you improve the way you feel and transform your life over time.
Turning a crisis into a transformational journey is an 8-card spread that can assist you on your way towards healing.
You can use as little or as many cards as you like.
Choose from the following prompts, which are most relevant to you, or use all of them as a powerful healing meditation:
1. Where I am on my healing journey at this moment in time
2. A strength of mine that will help me today
3. A weakness I need to overcome
4. What is blocking me
5. What I need from others to help me heal (you don’t need to do this on your own)
6. What I can do today that would make me feel better
7. Spiritual Lesson
8. Affirmation
As you can see, there are eight positional meanings for this spread. Eight is the number of regeneration and rebirth.
The Star, numbered 17 (1 + 7 = 8), usually depicts an eight-pointed central star.
There is so much more to Tarot than just simple fortune-telling, and if you are looking for an empowering companion on your life journey, then choose the Tarot for self-development, healing and personal growth.
Here are five ways you can use the Tarot to increase awareness, perception, knowledge and understanding – qualities and skills you need to make the most of all aspects of life:
1. Setting Goals and turning them into Reality
Many people float through life without any clear direction where they want to be.
And if they do know where they want to be, they often don’t have a clear plan about how to get there.
This powerful monthly manifestation spread can help you focus on turning your dreams into reality:
2. Increase Confidence and Self-Esteem
The first step you need to take to raise your confidence and self-esteem is getting to know yourself better and start believing in yourself.
Many people are doubtful and insecure about their talents and abilities, their worth in terms of personality and looks.
Chances are high that you are much better and stronger than you think.
Learn more about your strengths and weaknesses by checking out your personality and persona cards.
You can also use tarot spreads to explore and give your confidence a boost, such as the Magick Monday Confidence:
3. Problem-Solving
Virtually every day we ask ourselves how to resolve specific problems, so why not ask the Tarot for some guidance:
How to resolve a conflict in a relationship or at work?
How to overcome an obstacle?
Why can I not reach my goal and what can I do about it?
What can I do to bring new love into my life?
Unblock yourself with the Get Unstuck Spread:
4. Healing from Heartache
“Breaking up is never easy, I know, but I have to go. Knowing me, knowing you it’s the best I can do.” – Abba
Recovering from a breakup isn’t easy, and nobody will blame you for temporarily self-medicating with bottles of wine and tubs of ice-cream.
But there are also healthier and more therapeutic options. Combine Tarot with journaling to make sense of the whole thing, so you can get closure and move on with your life.
There are so many spreads about overcoming heartache. You may be asking yourself if he’s coming back or will you ever find new love again, but exploring what will grow from your loss can help you shift your focus to new opportunities:
Other questions you can ask:
What can I do today that makes me feel better?
What can I do today that will help me heal?
What will make me happy today?
What can I do today that will help me let go and start afresh?
5. Explore your Options
We have to make decisions every day, most of which are made quickly and without fuss, others are major choices that need a little bit of thought and consideration before you decide what to do.
Questions you might be asking yourself are:
Which job / career will offer me better prospects?
Is s/he the right one? My soul mate?
Shall I go ahead with the business launch or should I delay as not everything is in place yet?
Shall I spend my savings on the holiday or the training course? I have to make a choice as I can’t afford both.
Again, there are numerous spreads and explorations that can help you make decisions and work out what is best for you.
As you can see, you can have oodles of fun with the Tarot and start sorting out your pressing life issues along the way.
If you want to learn more about how to use the Tarot for self-development, then please check out my Discovery Tarot Course.
Using the Tarot for guidance during challenging times is a current but also timeless topic, because we have to deal with all kinds of crisis situations throughout our lives.
Mindfulness has become quite a buzzword in recent years.
Combining tarot and oracle cards in a reading can offer you a fresh and innovative approach to divination.
