Pick a Card

Note: The author’s opinion may differ from the views of MoonX. A comment on my last article mentioned a very important piece of cartomancy that is sometimes overlooked – how do you know what cards you’re meant to pick?

Thank you to MoonX user Eleonore for the inspiration for this article! Drawing cards, shuffling, and laying out tarot spreads can be as individual as the reader themselves! There’s not a wrong way to do it, and while that’s comforting, it can certainly beg the question, how do I know that the card I’m pulling is the right card? Let’s go over some ways of doing this, some spreads, and how you can tell if the card you’ve pulled is the one you’re meant to pull.

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Intuition is the key here; it’s your gut feeling, and it’s the voice that is deep inside, uninfluenced by the noise of everything else going on. The more you, as a reader, focus on those feelings, the more you develop them, and trust them. It’s like any other relationship that way – it’s not automatic, it must be built slowly.

The most common spread is probably the three card spread. It’s quick, easy, and, usually it answers the question you have. That being said, there are more spread options than there are tarot decks, and you can find them everywhere from Pinterest to MoonX! If a spread in particular is catching your attention, or draws you in, that most likely means you should consider doing it. Once you know how you want to lay how the cards, it’s time to shuffle!

Confession time: I have never been able to shuffle cards without a surface they way I see people do it on social media. For whatever reason, this method is simply a no-go for me. Maybe in the future I’ll be able to learn it, but for now, I use whatever surface is available, from my lap, to tables, books, whatever, so that way I can shuffle. I split the decks in multiple ways, sometimes I shuffle half of the deck with itself before combining it with the other half of the deck. Sometimes, I just split the deck and shuffle. I basically just shuffle in a way that’s comfortable while I focus on the question I have, and usually I get a feel for whether I should pull the card from the top, bottom, or somewhere in the middle of the deck.

This is where we need to talk discernment, which is a key partner to intuition. Discernment is a critical thinking ingredient, and absolutely integral when we’re talking about spiritualism in any capacity. I say this because, while a lot of us are out here, sharing our knowledge, there are people who posess more predatory motives. For example, tarot readers in peoples’ DMs saying they have an urgent message from “spirit” that’ll only cost a couple hundred to hear. Obviously, discernment tells you that, since you haven’t shared your energy with that reader, they most likely don’t have a spiritual read on you. Reading cards can be similar; When decks have energy on them from reading other people, for example, you might get strange answers to your questions that just don’t feel right. Internal check-ins with yourself can help when you are pulling cards. A good example in my life is digital tarot decks. I like that they’re available, but for whatever reason, I don’t get good readings on myself from them, and they never quite make sense. Physical decks are consistently much more in tune with my energy and give me better answers. Much like building intuition, practicing discernment is something that must be built over the course of time. Do this by asking yourself the following: Does this card give me a logical answer to my question? Does this card feel like it’s the right card? How is my energy right now as a reaction to this card? In a lot of ways, tarot is the practice of learning yourself, and growing as a person. Reading for yourself, learning your deck, and becoming accustomed to your strengths as a reader will help you grow your confidence. What do you think? How do you like shuffling your cards? What spreads do you use most? Share in the comments!