Connecting with the Cards

Nov 2

How I develop a connection with my Tarot and Oracle Cards

When I was first introduced to Oracle and Tarot Cards, I was overjoyed and overwhelmed. It was a whole new exciting world with so much to learn and discover. At first, it was fun to collect the decks, admiring the artwork and descriptions but then I realized there was much more to the process of reading and working with the cards than just collecting them. I needed to get to know them.

After doing all my research and learning (I do love me some learning) I discovered there’s no “right or wrong” way to get to know the cards, but the general advice I saw was to sit with the cards, meditate with the cards, use the cards, practice with them and even do an “interview” spread with them. I attempted these methods, but for some reason, it just didn’t feel like the best way for me. It didn’t mesh with my process. So I came up with a new one.

I wanted to share and dive into how I get to know my cards intuitively and creatively using a method I’ve lovingly dubbed “Creative Digitizing.”

As someone who loves to bring technology and creativity together, I developed a system that leveraged both of those aspects along with the “spaced repetition” approach to learning.

When I started connecting with my cards in this way, I started to not only understand the individual cards in a deeper, intuitive way, I began understanding the patterns and stories that certain decks told. This is especially true when it comes to Tarot which has established meanings through its rich and robust history but can still be difficult to learn. What I found was that through my “creative digitizing” of my cards, I learned those meanings at a faster pace, with more confidence, and with a richer, more complex understanding of their individual and collective role in the deck.

SO WHAT DOES THIS PROCESS LOOK LIKE? HERE’S A BREAKDOWN.

Step One:

If the cards are physical and there are no digital alternatives, I will scan the cards in. This allows me to touch and see them physically as I’m doing this. If the cards have a digital counterpart or are only digital, then I go card by card to save the image. It’s the same concept as scanning them in — I’m able to examine and see everything one by one to get to know the deck.

Step Two:

I then go in and “clean up” the cards if need be and rename them. This gives me another chance to connect the card image with the card name and repeat the process of associating the artwork with the name of the card, etc.

Step Three:

Then, I go into my card database and build out its profile and the descriptions list. The profile (see example below) is mostly metadata about the deck. But it’s also where I keep the card descriptions & meanings. Because 90% of the cards have a physical guidebook and not a digital way to copy/paste the info, this is often done by hand-typing it or dictating it, which takes a lot of time and patience (#truthbomb, it’s my catnip actually). But this is also how I learn the meanings, the stories, the takeaways from the cards so well. By this point, I’ve seen the cards at least three times in a spaced, repetitive way. This encourages the long-term associations with the card and becomes even stronger if I’m actively using or studying the deck (note, I have a whole other process for studying a deck, again, based on my blending of technology and creativity/journaling, this piece you’re reading is about connecting and getting to know the decks).

So why go through all this trouble? For me, it’s the blending of creative technology that seals the information into my brain. But more importantly, it comes in handy for the most important part of learning the cards — practicing.

Instead of a pen/paper journaling system, I developed a journaling reading database that connects to the decks' database. I want everything in my database to pull from because it makes the process so much quicker and smoother and then, I can focus on the intention behind pulling the card and journaling about it rather than having to pull the card, take a pic, find the meaning, etc. And I’m totally down for #lifehacking when possible.

So there you have it. Some people do crosswords at night. I learn Tarot and Oracle cards ;)

Interested in creating your own card deck databases and journal? You can find these templates on Gumroad, now!