“Tarot Card, archetype, knowledge held in symbolic form, a stage in your journey through life – take your pick.” – Misty, Cyberpunk 2077
Since I just quoted her, I might as well say now Misty is the type of witch I strive to be, caring, thoughtful and an absolute ace with cards (or was it just that deck because Jack helped her pick it out?) and her line about “I’m here to serve them not the other way around” really resonates with my mission.
Tarot Symbology
Tarot cards, as you may have guessed given my spell crafting process, are one of my favorite aspects of magic. I absolutely adore card readings. It is simply magical taking a full deck of 78 cards, shuffling them for what feels like eternity while setting intent and thinking about your question or situation, then laying out a spread of just a few cards and being able to find insights or guidance relevant to your situation immediately just on the images you see.
Sure sometimes you may lay a spread that leaves you scratching your head, or you might understand one card but the rest don’t seem to add up, but even in those moments magic is helping you grow and guiding your path.
Sometimes the imagery for the specific deck may hold the key to the question when you have one of those confusing readings. As although there are generally accepted meanings to all cards, the part of Tarot that really fascinates me is the art.
For example: A card that is usually not a happy one to see is the Three of Swords. The usual depiction of this card is three swords piercing a heart on a backdrop of clouds, and it signals a time of pain and heartbreak, though the encouragement is to accept the loss and move on stronger. In my favorite deck (Modern Witch) this card feels particularly heavy on the sorrow, with a storm raging in the background and black blood dripping from the wounds. When I draw the card from this deck, it always bodes particularly poorly. Conversely in another of my decks, the Queer Tarot, the Three of Swords seems to depict a regal and magical heart enjoying rebirth. It is still pierced by three swords, however these swords seem ceremonial, not battle-worn. It is still surrounded by clouds, but there is light instead of storm coming through, there is energy swirling around it instead of shadows, instead of red stained black, in is red shimmering pink.
It’s the exact same card-Three of Swords, it means the exact same thing- heartache, grief, loss and moving on. Yet somehow, between these two decks it can give an entirely different meaning based on how the art makes you feel, how it resonates with you. It still signals a bad event, but it’s much easier to find the message to move on stronger with the less bleak imagery (Queer Tarot is great for this btw, it is a very bright and non-gloomy deck).
Which is why, you can never have too many tarot decks!
(it’s not an addiction)
Your First Deck
There are so many myths and superstitions surrounding getting your first deck, and around breaking in a new deck. First and foremost I will repeat what I often say, there is no right or wrong way to be magical, you do you.
That said, I will offer some thoughts on “the myth” surrounding first decks, as well as offer a guide to finding and connecting with a new deck whether your first or not! I offer this as one option among many, as there are limitless resources online about new deck processes and this part of the journey is incredibly personal!
Myth: Your first deck should be received as a gift
There are many variants of this myth, most falling along the theme of bad things happen if you buy yourself your first deck.
If this myth were true, I’d still technically be waiting to begin working with cards, so obviously I think it’s bupkis (I really did forget about that gift you bought at the fair from the magic man, honest I did).
What I will say though, there is an element of truth in that getting a tarot deck as a gift imbues it with extra magical energy and can form a bond between you, the cards and the gift giver. However that extra magic isn’t limited to your first deck! Go out and find your own deck if you feel the cards calling, and if you find you enjoy it, advertise to all your friends how much you’d love to receive decks as a gift sometime (hint hint). You may get that magical boost eventually, and you’ll already be a pro by the time it comes!
Breaking in a New Deck
First step to breaking in a new deck is to acquire said deck! Buying from a local bookstore or witch supply shop is best, but there is no problem with buying from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Walmart, you could get lucky and buy one at a garage sale, or possibly from a friend; I recently learned of a group that meets fairly regularly to do a deck swap where you can bring a deck you didn’t connect with or no longer want and trade with someone else! In short-there are no wrong ways to acquire a deck (other than stealing obviously).
Pick the deck that has art that calls to you. If you’re a Disney super fan, get the Villain’s deck! Wish you could escape with Jareth into the Labyrinth? There’s a deck for that too. Stained glass, woodland critters, D&D, starry skies and of course the numerous traditional art sets… There is a tarot deck for every interest and every person.
One you have your deck, make sure you’re in the proper headspace before beginning to work with it. When I am working with a new deck I’ll usually wait to start until a Sabbat or full moon, but you can start at anytime! I like to burn incense while opening the deck for the first time, you can also diffuse essential oils or burn some sage in the space beforehand.
Once the deck has been opened spend some time going through the deck from front to back taking a moment to look at the art. Make sure to note any cards that stand out to you, good or bad, as if they catch your eye on your original trip through- there is a reason. Do not bother with the guide book, or trying to understand anything. Just look and appreciate the art.
Once you’ve made it through the deck, I usually spread the cards out on my desk to mix them up before piling them back together. After this I will cut and shuffle a few times while thinking about my hopes and desires for these cards, the insights I yearn for, the spells I seek. Once I am confident in my expressed desires I will draw a single card after asking:
Given the intent I have expressed, what do you wish to offer me?
This card has proven time and time again to take my intent and clarify it for me, giving me an immediate powerful insight and attuning me to the deck, and the card drawn in particular.
If you are working with tarot for the first time, you might ask more general questions about your curiosity after shuffling. What lessons are you going to teach me? How can I use this deck to help me and/or others? What should I be mindful of working with this deck? Take sometime to ask a few questions and draw a few cards, taking time to first reflect on how the card makes you feel BEFORE turning to the guidebook will help you start to understand your connection with the deck and get you thinking with portals thinking about tarot imagery.
After feeling attuned and having an initial connection established, I typically move on to a standard three card reading on whatever topic feels appropriate and from here, I simply continue to work with the deck, being sure to frequently allow it to be cleansed in moonlight (if you have a window with good moon visibility, leaving them there overnight with some crystals really is best, but an hour outside under a full moon should do too weather permitting!) or with sage after being used for a particularly emotional reading. If you respect the cards, you’ll find the cards will respect you.
Tarot Spreads and Readings
So, how do you actually perform a reading? First you need to decided on what you are looking to work with tarot for and decide on an appropriate spread.
Some day I will almost certainly have a section of my site dedicated to Tarot spreads and their different uses. But for today, I’ll offer a primer using possibly the most common three card spread, Past, Present, Future.
Once ready to begin you must establish your question or set your intent. I like to do this while mixing the cards. Say you’ve been feeling particularly blue recently and you’re not sure why, so you’re looking for a magical lift or assist to get out of this rut. The three cards you draw will represent the Past, Present and Future of the rut you find yourself in. It’s vital to understand the context of your intent or question before you draw your cards!
Working with the above intent, lets say we draw Five of Wands, Four of Wands and the Knight of Pentacles.
Past: Five of Wands, depicting five people with sticks or spears angrily yelling at each other, representing conflict, disagreements, tension- a situation ready to explode!
Present: Four of Wands, depicting four staves traditionally supporting a banner, representing celebration, harmony and relaxation in a homecoming.
Future: Knight of Pentacles, depicting the only knight in Tarot not on a grand adventure, he is diligently at home tending his fields, staying where he believes he will be able to do the most good. He represents responsibility and effort, reliability and commitment.
If you’re like me, you might see the Four of Wands in the present position and immediately go “Excuse me? Presently pleasant? That’s not the scenario at all!!!” In fact, in the deck I was using for this sample the banner was represented with a rainbow! It seemed so out of place! Until you take a step back and consider the full context: you were feeling blue and you didn’t know why, and wanted a lift out of the rut, the cards gave you your answer and lift.
There was a conflict in your past, maybe recently, or maybe long forgotten but recently resurfaced, that past event is what is dragging you down!! Because in the present, you can celebrate harmony, you can relax at home knowing these are the fields you will continue to look over as you enter the future, with your diligent effort and unwavering reliability keeping the shadows of that conflict as only a memory, never to bring you down again.
The simple Past, Present, Future structure can be applied to a vast variety of situations with the imagery of tarot making it easy to find insights and advice to help you get where you want to be.
I will be releasing a separate post with a quick reference guide for Tarot readings soon, however if you’re looking to get started now and you don’t already have a deck that includes a guidebook, go and get one that calls to you ASAP (Feel free to reach out if you’d like a suggestion)! Having a guidebook that details the meanings with reflections tied to the art of the cards in your hands will really help you start thinking about tarot cards in the right way, and you’ll soon be able to work with ANY deck.
A word on Oracle Decks
Given how large the above section turned out (it could have been larger, I love tarot cards) I’m not going to do a deep dive on Oracle Decks here. I’ll just do a quick hits for now.
Oracle decks are largely used in the same way as tarot decks, they are used to ask questions, work with intent to explore the world around us and so much more. Unlike tarot decks that follow a strict structure, Major and Minor Arcana, Four Suits, 78 cards, Oracle decks can have any number of cards and the cards from set to set will be drastically different as they will be specific to a theme.
For example, the Moonoloy Oracle Deck I often use contains 44 cards related to the moons many phases, the different astrological cycles and some other moon related cosmic events. I use this deck almost exclusively at night under moonlight. Meanwhile, my most used Oracle Deck is the Earth Magic set, 48 cards related to so many different elements of life from the primal elements to dancing to celebrate.
The two decks are entirely different, and that is what is wonderful about Oracle decks, each one is unique. The art, the messages, each one is a new magical potential for you! It also can be a challenge however, as where each deck is different, you do not have the share familiarity that you would have working with the same set of 78 cards with slightly different art.
However at the end of the day, all of the principles of tarot apply, and you can use the guide book, and/or how the cards make you feel to make a determination on the knowledge the divine is trying to grant you.
This section is going to have to be broken up eventually, as I really could and want to keep going, but for now, I think this is a good primer, any specific concerns or questions let me know!
Z's Grimoire 
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