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What To Expect Out Of A Tarot Reading

Tarot is a wonderful spiritual modality that can be used to act as a channel or mirror, reflecting back to us messages, insight, and perspective for greater clarity, awareness, and decision-making capacity in our day-to-day lives.

In accessing our subconscious and intuition, it allows for direct communication with our inner knowing as well as a higher power such as our Spirit Guides, the collective unconscious (as Jung calls it), our Well Ancestors, or any other medium which resonates for you.

Read on for what to expect out a Tarot reading and how best to prepare for one:

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How To Prepare For A Tarot Reading

Having your Tarot cards read can be an illuminating and eye-opening experience; it can be tender and humbling; it can be surprising and unexpected; and often, for me, it is a profoundly comforting and life-affirming one.

If it is your first time having a Tarot card reading, however, it can also be nerve-wrecking for some people- what if you get the Death card? One of my favourites ;)

As I tell my clients, the Tarot is a compendium of Universal archetypes reflecting the world around and within us. It picks up on the energies surrounding us, and the associations we intuitively make with the images can allow for deep wisdom and connection.

There are not inherently “good” or “bad” cards; just like life there are more challenging and more easeful ones for sure, but within each is the wisdom and medicine for how to move through the energy of the card itself.

Often, the knowledge presented is something that deep down you already knew. Sometimes, it is like a re-remembering, something your soul forgot but in seeing it depicted in the cards so clearly activates a recognition of truth and understanding.

Ultimately, the Tarot is a homecoming.

The way I engage with the Tarot is as a medium to connect with the self and Guides around me. In reading for others, I connect both to my Guides and theirs for wisdom to come through that is in the best and highest interest of all concerned.

It is an intuitive act, a receptive one. One that requires us to get really still and present, to be aware of the quiet insights that pop out, the whispers.

How to Prepare For a Tarot Reading

In order to get the most out of your reading, there can be a few useful tips to bear in mind:

Come with an open heart + mind - This is perhaps the most important of them all, in remaining open to the messaging that comes through for you, you can more easily weave in their significance for you and your personal life. Blocking out time before and after can be useful so you don’t arrive distracted or leave rushed.
Ask one question at a time - Having a question in and of itself is not necessary, sometimes people simply like to see what comes up for them (and then be astounded when it hits the nail on the head exactly for the most pressing thing in their life currently). Often it is said that specific questions get specific answers, and this can be true. Each card holds a myriad of symbolism, it is up to the read to use their intuition and discernment as to which is accurate given the context. In having a specific focus to anchor the reading, we can more easily root each card back into the heart of the matter. If you do have a question, making sure it is just one, open-ended question is important so that the answers are clear as to what they are referring to!
Choose your professional Tarot reader wisely - This would obviously come before you book in a reading, but it is important to ensure the vibe and energy of your chosen Tarot reading resonates with you! They can give you the most profound insights but if it doesn’t land into your psyche then there’s not much point. Gut instinct is generally reliable in this, as well as checking out someone’s About page or Instagram profile etc. Sensitive topics can be covered in a reading, it is vital you are with someone who will deliver them in a gentle and empowering way.
Journal on your impressions - In order to integrate the messaging and infuse it with your own perceptions, journalling on what stood out to you most about your reading immediately after can be extremely supportive! I also like to advise my clients to set the intention for any final insights to come through in their dreams that night and then journal on their findings in the morning, including on the reading in hindsight. What stands out to you most then is the most important insight to take away from it. Then, I like to suggest remaining open to signs, synchronicities, and omens coming through over the next couple of days and returning to the reading after some time has passed- you’ll be surprised at how much more insight jumps out! On that note, it can be useful to bring a pen and paper with you to the reading itself if you like, take a photo of your cards, and/or record the reading itself on your phone. Many Tarot readers, myself included, send you a copy directly if done over Zoom etc.

Click here to read my Instagram post on Pros + Cons of a Tarot Reading!

What to Know About Tarot Readings

The Tarot cannot give you an exact answer of the future with certainty because things are in constant motion and we are inextricably linked in a web with others, one tug on a string can alter the course.

What it can give you is a map of the current energies and options available to you, which you then have the agency to choose how to harness (or not).

Tarot is an act of connecting to what is.

It is important to come to the Tarot from a place of potential so as to not take your power away. No one, not even the most skilled psychic can say what will happen because it is not set in stone, only potentials.

For example, if you ask “will I get the job?” and the Tarot appears to say yes, will you go to the interview giving it your all or will you perhaps be overly-confident and not feel the need to try to hard because the Tarot said yes; and then not get the job because of that? Whereas if you had asked “what do I need to know about my job interview?” well then this gives you a plethora of tools to work with and how to best use them to your advantage (and perhaps then go on to get the job)!

Much like Astrology, each Tarot card reader will interpret the cards in a different way, and each time you come back to the same reader can be different depending on the circumstances, deck, and Tarot spread used, this is the beauty of the Tarot; it is an ever-changing channel just like we are.

To learn Tarot more in depth about the card meanings, enrol in my Intuitive Tarot Course!

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My Personal Tarot Philosophy

I approach the Tarot with great reverence. I use it as a way to connect to myself, my intuition, and my inner knowing, as well as my Spirit Guides and Well Ancestors.

I believe the cards are mirrors reflecting back to us the surrounding energies within and without, allowing a greater perspective on a certain situation as well as ourselves.

They can be used from the more practical and mundane, such as business decision-making skills; to the more spiritual and ethereal, such as connecting with Fixed Stars or Spirits of the Land.

I treat my readings as sacred and deliver the messages that come through me in a way that is empowering and supportive. There is no sense of fatality, I will not say something will happen 100%, because that is not the intention of my readings. They are given in the spirit of co-collaboration, you choose to take what resonates and leave what doesn’t.

I aim to open up the channel between you and your own wise inner knowing, a lamp in the dark guiding you along your path.

This is why I also begin every live reading with a guided visualisation meditation, to ground and centre our energies together and allow you to quieten the conscious mind. As we go along, I check in with how each card and my interpretation is landing for you and where you might have your own insight to add. It’s also why I invite you to spend time musing and digesting upon what has been said afterwards so you can come to your own conclusions.

Reading the Tarot is a spiritual act, one that can be profoundly illuminating and validating, it is an absolute honour for me to act as steward…

So that is some of what you can expect out of a Tarot reading, I hope it’s insightful for you! Let me know in the comments section below if you have anything else to add or any questions.

If you would like to have your own Tarot reading, book in 1:1 Tarot readings here with me, I’d be honoured to guide you :)

For a weekly free Tarot lesson, sign up to my love letter; and for more in-depth Tarot guidance along with a monthly horoscope, *live* ritual session, and other mystic magic: join me in the exclusive Spirit Subscription! ✨