As per usual a dream to see you all on Tuesday evenings. Big day we made it into the minors! For next week we’re aiming to finish the Wands and get through the Cups. In the meantime I mentioned at the end of our meetup I would give some tips for reading best practices.
The big thing when you’re learning tarot that will make a big difference that isn’t sexy…study and practice. In my experience it gets boring to keep practicing on yourself so I always recommend enlisting someone you are close to in the sense that you feel safe being vulnerable and learning a new skill with them, and you have access to know their day to day life or ya know roughly the gist of it. Think more whatever their movie theme is in life right now versus the minutia of adulthood in terms of access. This is helpful to deepen your understanding of how these cards are energies and play out. It loosens some of the pressure to be predictive and increases the confidence to stand behind what comes through for you. This is critical to really building a relationship with tarot, continuing to eliminate self doubt and fear of being wrong. You will be wrong, it will be fine! Somehow the world will still continue and your ego will not crumble into a thousand pieces never to heal. Getting outside your own head with it, and starting to hone YOUR unique tarot instincts will do things for your confidence that nothing else can. I promise I am not suggesting this to terrorize you but because it will up level your knowledge.
“Channeling is the process of revealing information and energy not limited by our conventional notions of space and time that can appear receptive or expressive.”
– Excerpt from The Science of Channeling
Now, the sexier support is channeling. What is channeling? In its simplest form it is opening yourself up to information and wisdom outside of yourself to flow through you. You can define the outside as God, the Universe, nature, Spirit Guides, passed on loved ones, Angels, whoever you feel guided to trust the wisdom of. Adding channeling into your tarot practice will really cut through the ole cobwebs of self doubt and fear. It’s also invaluable for loosening our grip on control. A real benefit to channeling in my experience is it’s helped me establish what is and isn’t me. My job as a reader is to interpret the cards, not the information that comes to me. My job in that context is to relay it. Humans are powerful channels and terrible interpreters. Try to relax on the interpreting and I’m telling you the meanings will come. Channeling alleviates pressure while deepening your intuition and can really help all the information assimilate.
I suggest:
Creating a ritual for channeling, this can be as simple as a visualization (think taxi light, your crown is now open for wisdom), a prayer, a statement I am opening my channel to receive the wisdom that is only in my best and highest, play with this and see if you can feel subtle differences of when you feel dropped in.
Experiment with channeling, no joke set a timer for 1-2 minutes and practice channeling. You will probably feel dumb and like you are faking shit the first few times you do this, or you may have a profound experience. There’s no right or wrong, it’s creating a practice and staying connected to your UNIQUE way that you receive information. I suggest being your own psychic detective and staying the course and collecting data versus setting an expectation to learn the secrets of the universe your first few times channeling.
If experimenting in a meditative way feels daunting try doing a free write, moving, taking a walk while channeling, listening to music and seeing if something jumps out.
Do the best you can to not ask yourself if you are making this up, but also challenge your questions and fears. There’s helpful knowledge there to know what’s working against you believing you have knowledge to bestow.
Close your channel when you are done. Nothing bad will happen if you don’t but I live in NYC lemme tell ya when I have forgotten to close my channel walking around has been loopy and it’s just super draining.
Psychic hygiene, shielding and protective practices are your friend. Practice calling all of your energy back to yourself at night before you go to sleep. Practice cloaking yourself in a psychic robe of protection before you leave in the morning or when you get out of the shower. Doing these things will help deepen your connection to energy. The thing is energy doesn’t lie. The clearer you can get on how YOU feel and receive energy the better.
Reading for Yourself or Others:
How you handle your deck is your business. You want to let others touch it? Go for it. You don’t? Trust it. You want to cut your deck into 3 piles and pull a card from each pile, pull it up friend.
Similar to channeling I suggest developing a ritual that allows you to feel clear on your energy and what energy you are coming to your deck with. This can be meditating beforehand, pulling a card first thing in the morning and journaling, but generally before you are pulling cards do a quick emotional weather report on yourself to see how you’re coming to the cards.
Your intuition and psychic senses will always be stronger with objectivity think of this when you want to pull a card, can you be objective? If the immediate answer is no, I’m not a huge fan of asking the deck questions you have a very specific answer in mind to. It’s a set up and will slow progress because you’ll internalize it as like tarot hates you, or you’re doing it wrong. Before you bail entirely ask yourself is there a more empowering way you can ask the question? Instead of does he like me, could you ask what’s the nature of this relationship?
Which brings me to questions….I personally subscribe to always ask a question. You get out what you put in. It’s not cheating to dial it in, it lets you know specifically what the deck is speaking to.
Some questions are better than others, for example tarot doesn’t love a yes/no. There are ways around it but experiment with how you have to phrase questions to be in partnership with your deck.
When I read for someone else I always request access to their Akashic records, and access to their energy. I visualize connecting to their solar plexus while I also connect to their records. You don’t have to do this, but I do suggest connecting to their energy and after the reading lovingly severing the connection and calling your energy back.
Wean yourself off the book. Make yourself try to interpret before you look it up. Work with what you have, is it a Major or a Minor? What does the suit tell you? Is there motion? What does the number bring to mind?
Keep it simple, less is more. If you have not memorized the deck I suggest doing 1-3 card pulls and that’s it. Meaning pulling one card at a time, OR you may do a spread that contains up to 3. More cards more problems and honestly if you haven’t memorized them yet you’re gonna spin out and word salad or have stage fright. It’s overwhelming and very difficult if you’re looking every card up to start learning how you establish narrative.
Experiment with what works for you. What works for you should create flow and confidence, you should feel in alignment with your intuition. For me this feels a bit like an intuitive yolo, where I’m like listen I have no idea if this is right or wrong but I 100% trust it’s what I am supposed to hear or relay. This flow state might have physical sensation for you like tingles, or you get hot. It could be visual, see colors or images. It shouldn’t be unpleasant and it may not be intense. It could be a subtle shift of you just feel really good.
I do not know why this is but at this point I accept it. You’re going to be thirstier than usual, so stay hydrated as you read more for yourself and others.
When you are reading for others, no matter how close you are to the person I really need you to hear me on this in a way that aids you into stepping into the role and doesn’t intimidate you. Mind your words. Even if you tell someone you are just learning, or you try to backpedal from adjectives, people are listening and hearing every single thing you say. I have friends who still remind me of things I said 10+ years ago when I was still learning and it blows my mind but its a bit the ole once it’s out you can’t put it back in. This is NOT a bad thing, because it also will teach you how to take a beat and not feel the pressure to start talking immediately. Being mindful with your language is never a bad thing, and this isn’t a case of lie, or pivot from the meaning but to be aware for example if you pull the Tower for someone leading with oh shit the tower isn’t the move. It will also teach you what words people have big reactions to. This can be healing for all involved. For example the word intense is a hot button, people can/will react but often asking someone what do you hear when I say intense has been illuminating because often people have heard angry. Intense and angry aren’t the same things but you have to be comfortable enough to receive the reaction and redirect it so the reading doesn’t go off the rails.
You will probably feel uncomfortable reading for others. This is good. It will help you be better by getting over the hump of vulnerability, and whatever your brand of fear is. I had huge fears around disappointing people, getting over that via tarot and reading for people was life changing.
Choose someone you have access to and intimacy with so that you they can be in partnership with you for this. I used to recommend daily card pulls, but at this point we are so inundated with information daily (hourly) I may go back on that and say do weekly. Decide what kind of feedback you want, and be open to experimenting. Maybe you want the feedback at the end of the week, maybe you want to hear throughout the week, maybe you don’t want any at all and just want to send the mini reading. This is less about grading your reading and more about you having access to someone besides yourself to see how energies express and play out.
There is a difference between managing expectations and being defensive. It’s fair to ask a friend if they can help you in your learning journey and be clear you are a novice. It’s another to back away from every pull or punctuate each thing you say with I dunno. Try not to sink yourself. Self doubt is THE BIGGEST killer to any psychic sense and intuition. If you can stay with yourself to surf the waves of self doubt and keep asking why, what’s this from and pull out those self doubt weeds you will not only be a much better tarot reader it will change your life. (ADHD side note saying this makes me think of the old hair club for men commercials, I’m not only the president I’m a client, I’m not only a tarot reader but my life also changed from less self doubt!)
Keep a tarot notebook. Record whatever you can. You will be amazed how much you are learning and growing even if you feel like you still have no real clue what a court card is.
Despite tarot’s popularity and what IG/TikTok would suggest tarot is hard. Yes, it’s accessible to all, and anyone and everyone can learn it. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, quick, or you will have a fluency off the bat. Be kind, and patient to yourself. You are learning a language, system, and yourself all at once. If it came quick and easy it wouldn’t be as rich.
Any questions of course ask away in comments or the chat. Any readers want to share their tips or best practices by all means share away! Report back let me know how it goes. Let me know if you take a crack at channeling.
xx. A
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