Hi, I'm back with an idea I've been working with and on the past year or so. If you have favorited my Etsy shop you may have noticed that I added Card Readings as a new category. I've been reading tarot and oracle cards for about 11 years now. Its actually a little crazy to think about how much time I've been doing this. I learned back in 2006 and never looked back. In 2016, I decided to start reading cards professional to get experience enough in that area to offer card reading to clients and here we are today.
The reason I wanted to offer this service to others is because I learned from others and through my own experiences how therapeutic divination as a whole and, card readings specifically, can be. The cards are a great tool for self care. You can do readings for yourself or have them done by a professional like me. Checking in on how you are doing and checking in with your subconscious, spirits, higher self, intuition, deity or whatever you want to call it, is a major form of self care. You can do yearly, monthly, weekly and daily readings. Though I don't recommend daily reading unless you are trying to learn the cards because often not enough time has passed for you to get a different response in the day to day.
So I thought I would share these 5 ways to do Card Readings for Self Care. But first for those new to card readings and self care, some definitions.
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| Self Care Reading @ Scarlet Moon Creations |
Most people think of psychics and fortune tellers when they think of card readers and many are. But you can do more with the cards. You can even make your own but that's a discussion for another day. The important thing is to own at least one deck of cards whichever kind you choose.
Self care is the act of taking care of yourself mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Self care is different from person to person so what may work for your favorite guru may not work for you and that is okay. It can take the form of a bubble bath or professional counseling or, as I'll demonstrate in a bit, cartomancy.
The cards in various decks usually represent something. Tarot decks, for example, have two parts. The major arcana are 22 cards that represent the hero's journey. We are each the hero's of our own lives and though everyone's journey is different as humans we all have similar milestones. The other 56 cards, the minor arcana, represent smaller every day life events. You can use these and other deck types to interpret their unconscious thoughts and feelings.
Readings for yourself
The first way you can use cartomancy for self care is by asking them a question. Sit comfortably and take a few calming breathes. Breath in slow for a count of 3 then breathe out to a count of 3. Do this a few times letting your muscles relax and clearing your mind to focus on your question.
The first way you can use cartomancy for self care is by asking them a question. Sit comfortably and take a few calming breathes. Breath in slow for a count of 3 then breathe out to a count of 3. Do this a few times letting your muscles relax and clearing your mind to focus on your question.
You can pull just one card or as many as you feel drawn to pull out. This is what most people do with divination of all kinds in fact. They ask questions when their conscious mind can't seem to give them clarity about a certain situation.
One alternative to this is to do a bit more prep ahead of time and search for (or create one of your own) a spread to use. A tarot spread is a layout of cards where each position has a particular meaning. Here are some examples. The 3 card spread has many variations but the most well known is past-present-future. This let's you look at the yourself or a situation in these different time frames to see how it has evolved. Another spread that I like to use is the 5 card SWOT spread. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. You pull one card to represent you or a situation you would like clarity on and then pill cards for each of the above. This let's you know where you stand as the situation currently is. From there you can make decisions or plans taking these cards into account.
Meditation tool
The cards being representative of various archetypes and milestones in life, they can be used as a focus for your meditations.
The cards being representative of various archetypes and milestones in life, they can be used as a focus for your meditations.
Meditation has long been known to be an important tool to have in your self care arsenal. If nothing else it is a good way to relax and clear your mind. In fact, one suggestion many have when learning a new deck of cards is to focus on one card a day and meditate on its meaning to you. You can connect with each card with hyper focus to learn more about the symbolism and words. You can do this after having a spread reading like the examples above, to get a more in depth understanding of your cards and what they mean all together.
Just sit comfortably and stare at the card for a bit. Focus your breathing as above when reading for yourself and stare. Let your eyes roam across the images and/or words on the card. What do they bring to mind? What do they represent symbolically to you? What does the image as a whole say to you? How does it make you feel? You don't need to answer these questions just let your mind drift while looking at the card. Maybe imagine yourself in the scene the card is showing you. Either above it all as a silent watcher or maybe as one of the characters pictured for that 1st person point of view. When you are ready, close your eyes and focus on your breathing once again. Then open them when you feel you have returned back to reality. Journal about your experience as always.
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| 3 Card Reading @ Scarlet Moon Creations |
Visualization
Similar to meditating with the cards you can use them as focal points in your visualization. Choose a card that represents a future you want. Put the card in a place you will see it every day, multiple times a day. Let's say you want to start or improve your business. You may pick the 9 of Pentacles tarot card. As you can see below this woman looks like she's living a very comfortable, independent and bountiful life.
This is the outcome you want, the reason you are starting your own business. That's the life you want to visualize every day as you go about building your business. You want to picture yourself in a similar scene as soon as you see this card so you don't forget why you are working so hard. The card becomes a visual representation of your end goal in this manner.
This is the outcome you want, the reason you are starting your own business. That's the life you want to visualize every day as you go about building your business. You want to picture yourself in a similar scene as soon as you see this card so you don't forget why you are working so hard. The card becomes a visual representation of your end goal in this manner.
Affirmations
You can pull a card each day or however often you feel the need to. Use that card to embody either the words on that card or the overall meaning behind the card by creating an affirmation that you would say to yourself every day. Some decks are affirmation decks and come with saying for you to use as affirmations already on them. But creating your own personal affirmation might make it more meaningful. Here is one example:
"I commit to calling my family twice a week and messaging friends twice per week so that we don't lose contact. I also commit to visiting or going out with either twice per month. My family and friends and very important to me and being in contact with them regularly makes me happy. I am always genuinely curious as to how their lives are going and I like to bounce ideas and concepts off of them. So I commit to staying in contact for my improved emotional health and to show them love."
Creating affirmations is a simple process that is comprised of a few steps that I talk about in this Affirmations video.
You can pull a card each day or however often you feel the need to. Use that card to embody either the words on that card or the overall meaning behind the card by creating an affirmation that you would say to yourself every day. Some decks are affirmation decks and come with saying for you to use as affirmations already on them. But creating your own personal affirmation might make it more meaningful. Here is one example:
"I commit to calling my family twice a week and messaging friends twice per week so that we don't lose contact. I also commit to visiting or going out with either twice per month. My family and friends and very important to me and being in contact with them regularly makes me happy. I am always genuinely curious as to how their lives are going and I like to bounce ideas and concepts off of them. So I commit to staying in contact for my improved emotional health and to show them love."
Creating affirmations is a simple process that is comprised of a few steps that I talk about in this Affirmations video.
Emotional Tolerance
I got this idea from the above video by Katey Flowers. Set aside some time to sit with those cards that bring up deep emotions for you. Be gentle with yourself when pulling these cards. Prepare yourself before hand and only sit with the card for a short period of time. Sometimes we just need to let ourselves feel. Slowly over time you will be able to sit with them and contemplate them for longer periods of time. Journal or meditate about your experience.
So those are the 5 ways you can use card readings for self care. What have you tried? Is there something you want to try in the future? Let me know is the comments. Any other suggestions? I am all ears, or eyes. See you next time,
~Lashette
Scarlet Moon Creations
I got this idea from the above video by Katey Flowers. Set aside some time to sit with those cards that bring up deep emotions for you. Be gentle with yourself when pulling these cards. Prepare yourself before hand and only sit with the card for a short period of time. Sometimes we just need to let ourselves feel. Slowly over time you will be able to sit with them and contemplate them for longer periods of time. Journal or meditate about your experience.
So those are the 5 ways you can use card readings for self care. What have you tried? Is there something you want to try in the future? Let me know is the comments. Any other suggestions? I am all ears, or eyes. See you next time,
~Lashette
Scarlet Moon Creations
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