Tarot Cards: The Many Ways You Can Use the Tarot

Using the Tarot takes many different forms. Some of these resemble counseling sessions, others are more like the traditional divination you see in movies. Tarot can be used for meditation, ritual, or even for games. Using the Tarot can allow you to gain appropriate insights into situations or your own self, and even encourages taking responsibility for yourself and your actions. Groups can also use the Tarot for similar purposes.

Tarot Counseling

The idea of Tarot counseling is becoming more popular. Tarot counseling can be understood, at least on a basic level, to refer to the act of giving counsel or advice utilizing the Tarot as a tool. This is usually done by a professional Tarot reader, hopefully someone who has experience in counseling. The reader has to be cautious, however, of administrating advice derived from a deck of cards, no matter how insightful that advice might be. The Tarot should not be used independently, but as a part of a greater counseling program. As a general rule, Tarot counseling should be only as a used by a professional.

Tarot as a Divinatory Tool

Divination is considered by many to be the primary purpose of the Tarot. Today, Tarot is used around the world to receive guidance and spiritual insight. Most experienced readers will tell you that the information received from the Tarot is not ‘otherworldly’ or ‘supernatural’ in any way. The information comes from within the reader and the querent (the person for whom the cards are being read). That information is from the ‘universal subconscious’ that everyone is connected to. The information was already available. The Tarot simply opens a channel through which that information can be revealed.

Tarot for Meditation and Ritual

The archetypal symbolism of the Tarot can connect on an inner level to the subconscious mind. This means that these symbols can be used in the practice of meditation. Successful meditation usually requires a degree of visualization, and the cards of the Tarot can provide the essence of that visualization. With a little practice, anyone can learn to entwine their own meditations with the powerful images of the Tarot.

In the same way, an individual card or a group of cards can be used as the visual and energetic focus of a ritual. The Tarot can be integrated into rituals from many different traditions. Take a look at your own rituals and look for ways to make the Tarot a part of your ceremonies. Perhaps use them during a meditation. Or select four cards to represent the four Quarters, if your ritual invokes them. You might also choose two cards, usually the Empress and the Emperor, to represent the Goddess and the God. Study the essence of your rituals for appropriate places to integrate the symbols of the Tarot.

The More Frivolous Uses of the Tarot

The Tarot doesn’t have to be used for anything as serious as counseling, divination, mediation, or ritual. The Tarot, with its vivid imagery, can be used as a source of inspiration. If you ever find yourself searching for your inner muse, pull out your favorite Tarot deck. Randomly select a small group of cards, perhaps laying them out in a spread. Study the cards before you and see if you can find a common theme that gives you a burst of inspiration.

Games are always popular, and the Tarot can be used for trick-taking games, just as it has been for centuries. Games using the Tarot are wide spread, especially in Europe, where the game tarot is quite popular in England and France. Also called Tarocchi in Italy and Tarock in Germany, this game is quite traditional, based upon rules established throughout the centuries. There are more modern games as well. Some of these are played with the divinatory usage of the Tarot in mind. Many are played purely for entertainment, others are used as team-building exercises or even spiritual development.

There are many different ways in which you might choose to use the Tarot. They don’t only have to be used for divination. You can choose to use the Tarot and their psychology in whatever way feels right to you.