5 ways you can use Tarot for self-care

The tarot is a multidimensional tool that can be used in a number of ways as a tool for self-care and self-compassion. The tarot is an ancient divination and healing tool. You can use the cards in a number of creative ways to build a regular practice of turning the acts of kindness towards oneself..

Here are five ways you can use the tarot cards for self-care.

1-Tarot can be used as an expressive writing or expressive journaling tool. For example, you can pull one or three cards. Look at the artwork. Connect with the images and write a story based on what you see. Another way can be to pull a card and write freely without stopping for 20 minutes. You can begin with what you see in the card images. Then write and report the observations and bodily sensations that are surfacing. You can also doodle, sketch, draw, or paint. You can even move your body or dance.

2-Tarot can be used to cultivate a practice of gratitude. You can use the following prompts to pull a card.

I am grateful for_____.

I give thanks for ____.

I am glad that I learned this lesson___.

3-Tarot can be used as a guided visualization tool. Pull a card that brings feelings of calm and relaxation. Notice the images on the card, the colors, the setting, the human or animal figures. Imagine yourself transported into the card. Perhaps the setting brings you calm. Follow the visual in your mind. When you are done, you can stop to color, doodle, sketch, draw or journal what you experienced.

4-Make a self-care activities list. For this activity, you will use the minor arcana. The cards numbered ace through ten. Start with the suit of cups or the one you are drawn to. Write a self-care activity that comes to mind for each card. For example, Ace of cups: drink water, take a bath, go to the beach. You will write one self-care activity for each card. After you are done with this activity you will have a robust list of self-care activities in your toolkit.

5-Make a tarot playlist. For this activity, you can use any of your favorite cards in the deck. What songs do you associate with each of your favorite cards. For example, when I pull the 2 of Swords, the song “Be Brave” by the amazing group The Beautiful Chorus comes to me. Another example, is when I see the World card in the True Heart Intuitive Tarot by Rachel True I think of rapper Nas’ The World is Yours.

I hope you enjoy some of the ways Tarot can be a great tool for self-care.