July 2017

Have you ever been told you shouldn’t read Tarot for yourself when you’re upset or stressed out?

This is because your brain (and intuition) are effected by strong emotions and it can make for a biased, unhelpful reading.

But here’s the thing: this is when you really want to do a reading! Who waits until their life is perfect and stress-free to do a reading? NOBODY!

And while there are other ways to deal with stress and uncertainty, like binge watching Glow on Netflix, scarfing a whole box of shortbread cookies and yelling at your boyfriend, doing a Tarot reading might actually be the healthiest option.

So the challenge is this: how do you read Tarot for yourself when you’re feeling upset, excited or stressed out? How do you stop your desires, fears and emotions from biasing a reading?

Luckily, there’s a way!

Step One: Instead of reading about your specific issue, ask yourself how do I want to feel in this situation?

A couple of months ago I was dealing with a painful and frightening health issue. I was faced with having to make a big decision regarding surgery. Because I felt so charged up about my health, I knew it would be impossible to do an unbiased reading about it.

When I asked myself how do I want to feel (in relation to my health issue)? The answer was calm and clear. I wanted clarity as to what steps I needed to take and I wanted to feel calm and relaxed about it all.

Step Two: Once you’ve identified how you want to feel, ask your cards: What do I need to do to feel ____________? Then draw a card.

The card I got when I did this was the Four of Wands.

To me, the Four of Wands is about community and coming together. It seemed to be telling me to reach out to the community of people who’ve experienced the same thing as me and gather information and support.

So that’s what I did! Afterwards I felt calmer about the whole thing and clearer about what decision is right for me.

The key is that you are doing a reading about how to feel the way you want to feel in relation to your issue – but not about the issue itself.

You aren’t asking what should I do about my problem? What do I need to know? What’s going on here? – you are simply asking how can I feel the way I want to feel?

It’s a very empowering act and it allows you to pull yourself out of the drama of your problems and make strides in a positive direction.

So next time something is bothering you, try this Tarot exercise and see what happens!