What’s the best way to prepare yourself for a Tarot reading?
Some Tarot readers take a breath, mutter a small prayer to themselves, shuffle the cards, and start the reading. Others soak in a salt-water bath, open all of their chakras, make extensive offerings to their Divine Guides, and chant for an hour before even thinking of touching their cards. Still other Tarot readers just start throwing cards…no shuffle even necessary!
Preparing for a Tarot reading is unique to each reader.
The ultimate goal of preparing for a reading: Still the mind enough to focus on the question.
Let’s say you’re a tired Tarot reader. You had a fight with your partner last night. Your boss threw way too much at you at the staff meeting that morning. Now, you’re trying to read for a friend who needs clarity on a creative process. You sit down to do the reading, but you find you’re still anxious about that staff meeting, and thinking of what you wished you’d said to your partner during the fight. With all that on your mind, how will your friend’s reading get the attention it deserves?
Even if you’d had a drama-free day prior to the reading, you’d probably still have some thoughts kicking around in your head (“Did I move the laundry to the dryer?” “Should I cook or order take-out tonight?” “I just remembered I haven’t seen my birth certificate in years…does Mom still have it?”)
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No matter what kind of mental load you’re carrying, you’ll want to move the extra thoughts to the back of your mind, and let the reading question take the forefront.
Here are a few tips:
1.) Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle.
The act of shuffling is itself a meditative act. Busying your hands, whether through a bridge-rifle-shuffle, shake ‘em up on their sides, or splay them on the table and mix them around, helps reduce the amount of “mental clutter” that might prevent you from focusing on the question.
When I read Tarot, I shuffle the deck until the question I’m asking of the cards is first and foremost of my mind. My mind doesn’t have to be perfectly still (because my mind is NEVER perfectly still…and it doesn’t have to be!). I might still be worrying about whether my dog needs a walk or if the check I’m waiting on will ever arrive, but so long as those questions are at the back of my mind and not my main focus, the reading will go well.
2.) Pray, chant, or meditate
Some readers like to pray before a reading, such as connecting with their higher power, guiding spirits, or deities with a prayer. If this resonates with you, a good intention might be, “Guide me to clear understanding and compassionate delivery of the message for the highest good.”
The intention doesn’t need to be “spiritual” in nature, either! When I read for parties, when I need to keep my mind focused on questions and cards for extended periods of time, I tend to focus on the lyrics of Rufus and Chaka Khan’s fabulous song: “Tell Me Something Good.” So, if you ever come and see me for a reading at an event or party, there’s a 99% chance that I’ve got “Tell me something good” bouncing in my head, and it’s my message to my cards.
Prayer, mantra, poem, or song lyrics…whatever gets you to focus on the question is the right thing!
3.) Whatever you do, take a beat
Even taking a momentary pause before doing the reading is helpful. It’s fine if you want to do a major focusing ritual before doing the reading…but you don’t have to do a major ritual. You can pray, but you don’t have to.
But if nothing else, breathe. Pause. Give yourself the space to slow down and give the reading the front of your focus. The reading deserves it!
