Starting a Daily Tarot Practice
Tarot as a Daily Practice is easy, fun and rewarding.
Everything you need to get started is free on this site (except the deck)
Choose a time of day, shuffle your cards, and draw one as card-of-the-day.
Take a minute to look at the card and see what its image says to you. Then look up the meaning here or in a favorite Tarot book.
The card can serve as a daily focus for thought, spiritual consideration and meditation. As you continue this practice you will find some cards taking on a personal meaning unique to your practice.
Why Tarot?
Tarot provides a framework for looking at ourselves in the world that involves both words and symbols. Both our conscious mind and the wordless parts of our being can recognize and interpret the cards. The tradition of interpretation has broadened over centuries, so it’s got just enough set structure, and just enough room to breathe and evolve.
The structure of the deck also gives a shorthand language for the energies moving through our lives. It’s especially enjoyable if you share your practice with a fellow learner.
The 78 cards of traditional tarot deck offer us archetypes and templates to meditate on or emulate. They can also bring us insight into our daily interactions, and creative ways we can reframe and approach our problems and projects.
Why Daily Practice?
Grabbing a deck and book and studying card meanings is the way most people start out with Tarot. That can give you a decent sense of what tarot is about. But taking a card-a-day approach will give you a deeper understanding than rote memorization. You really get to know the deck well – especially the unique way the deck speaks to you. It’s much more rewarding.
You’ll find after a few months of daily practice there are a couple of cards that have a personal meaning- a unique signal just for you. This meaning will interact with and enhance the traditional meaning. As your practice continues, this will happen with more and more of the deck. You’ll be able to interpret both a daily card and multi-card spreads with a combination of knowledge, feeling, and intuition that enhances your understanding of yourself and what surrounds you.
Setting up the right practice for you
Early, Late, or In-between
First thing in the morning. Last thing before bed. Right around lunchtime. Sunset.
Any of these are acceptable times to do your daily shuffle and draw. The important thing is to choose a time that will get you the most from your practice.
Many ‘morning people’ like to open the day with their draw. They look over the card and its meaning and can return to and consider their own interpretation throughout the day.
Right before bed is a great time if you’re looking to enhance your creativity and intuition through Tarot, or if you’re a person who feels more alert at night. If you’re studying deeply and journaling about it you may find yourself having vivid dreams. If this happens it might be a good idea to keep a dream journal on your nightstand (Another journal? Hey, It’s your practice, just a suggestion.)
Transitional times in the day work best for some, for example doing the draw when you arrive home from work and are transitioning into the non-professional part of your day. Or on a midday lunch break.
If you have a daily meditation practice (and I hope you do!), right after your meditation is a great time to do a draw. A clear calm mind and body puts you in a great state to read. My partner I do our draw after our morning meditation.
Pay some attention to your internal rhythms and energy levels. Try to pick a time of day when you can be relaxed and receptive. If you’re not sure try a few different times before you settle on one; but once you do, try to stick to it consistently.
The Importance of Ritual
When you draw your daily card, you’re hoping for insight. If there’s an important (or even merely interesting) message to consider in today’s card, you want your full self tuned in. One way to get your conscious and unconscious awareness to listen is by establishing a ritual that you always respect.
The design of the ritual is entirely in your hands. It could be a complex ceremony of inscence-burning and shuffling, or just a few moments of deep breathing with closed eyes. Try to choose a ritual that slows you down, even if it’s a very brief one.
Once you’ve chosen it, commit to it. I don’t always feel like lighting the palo santo and slowing my breath before my daily draw, but I do it. It creates respect for the draw’s significance. Also- the days I least feel like doing it are the days that the ritual actions really do their job. If I’m feeling rushed or frazzled or just plain lazy, the ritual brings my state-of-mind to a better place.
Whatever the reason you might be resisting the ritual on any given day, going through the motions diligently despite them sends a memo to all those distracted parts of your psyche: This is worth the time. Pay attention.
