How to Read Oracle & Tarot Intuitively: A Step-by-Step Guide to Intuitive Cartomancy
What Is Intuitive Cartomancy?
Intuitive cartomancy means using oracle or tarot cards as tools for insight, guided by your inner voice- not necessarily memorizing traditional meanings or utilizing guidebook interpretations. Reading your cards this way allows you to bridge art and psyche, inviting you to unearth subconscious truths through imagery, color, and felt experience.
Why Use Intuition Over Traditional Meanings or Guidebooks?
Subconscious Wisdom: Your connection and resonance to your intuition will always be stronger and clearer than simply reciting memorized meanings. By reading your cards intuitively you can bypass the typical mental chatter and BS, allowing you to connect with your first impulses and gut reactions when interpreting.
Embodied Reading: Your intuition will communicate with you in a variety of ways- this can vary by person and by the season of life you are in. Physical responses you have during your reading(e.g., breath, chills, tension) help you connect with and inform deeper interpretations.
Creative Freedom: Abstract decks thrive here; you’re free to co-create meaning without giving you “logic brain” something to fixate on!
5 Steps to Intuitive Cartomancy
Audit Your Mindset First
Decide what oracle messages/cards mean for you: for some, the cards pulled are seen as guided by ancestors, spirits or deities, the psychological/subconscious mind, messages from the Universe, or all of the above depending on the reading, the deck etc! You might even have a few other ways of conceptualizing where these insights are coming from- but get clear before your reading what you are tapping into. Your worldview shapes how you interpret your cards- get clarity before you begin.
Choose a Deck That Speaks to You
Pick decks with imagery and symbolism that evoke feeling for you specifically! After all, YOU are the magic![Decks that I would highly reccomend for intuitive readings can be found here]
Ground Yourself and Your Ritual Space
Cleanse your deck (e.g., smoke, crystals), take deep breaths, and set an honest intention for your reading. Shuffle until your intuition calls you to stop (not your brain). Pull single cards by impulse, or use a spread that you’ve chosen for a specific purpose.Read with Embodied Observation
– Color: Note hue, contrast, and merging or positioning of colors- ie: warm vs. cool tones. Where are the colors of the card in relation to other elements, or how are they arranged on the page? What emotional correspondences exist for these colors? Is the psychology of color at play here? (ie: red for passion, green for healing)
– Figures: What are the entities, animals, creatures, spirits or figures in the card (if any). Who’s present? How do they relate? What emotions do they convey? Where are they on the page in relation to other symbols, figures, colors, etc.? Are they showing emotion? Do they invoke a feeling or remind you of anything?
– Emotion: What feelings arise instantly? Joy, dread, longing? What symbolic correspondences are at play (colors, shapes, symbols, items, features?). Does the card and the imagery on the card tell a story?
– Symbols & Objects: Look at both personal & collective associations for any shapes, symbols, etc. on the card. Again- how are these symbols or object in relation to other aspects of the card? Some symbol examples would be the sun, wings, items such as crowns or swords. Elements such as fire or leaves? The possibilities are endless, and you can read the same card multiple different times differently when reading intuitively.
– Orientation: Reversed cards are not just “inverted”- feel their new mood based on the unique orientation of things on the page and how they relate to one another. Each card has multiple opportunities to tell a new story, and depending on your subconscious mind and intuitive senses when reading the card, you may see different stories playing out.Journal & Integrate
When reading, pay keen attention to your impulses, your body sensations, and any images or visions that may come through. Afterward, record your impressions, along with any metaphors, and correlations that feel meaningful to you personally and what you are going through in this phase of life.
You can also reflect in more creative ways through sketching, ritual, or embodied shadow practices!
The Witchcraft Therapy Oracle Deck- Intuitive Messages for Mental Health Magic
Did. you know I created my very own oracle deck specifically for intuitive readings and actionable practices for mental health magic?
Dive Deeper with My Intuitive “Archetype Pack” 4-Card Oracle Readings
If you’re ready to go deeper with some guidance from the outside, my Intuitive Archetype 4-Card Pulls offer:
4 cards pulled from multiple decks intuitively read by myself to provide you with customized guidance and support (think an “energetic snapshot” of the energies and archetypes to call-in for whatever transitions and circumstances you are navigating in life)
A beautiful custom PDF report with your cards and intuitive guidance moving forward!
