How to Read Tarot with Your Inuition
Learning tarot can be hard when you are first starting out. There are so many people telling you what you should and shouldn't do. But sometimes you just get that feeling about a tarot card and it doesn’t line up with the Little White Book.. know what I mean? It’s not that what you feel the card means is wrong. It’s hard to be wrong when it comes to symbolism.
Tarot cards were made to connect to those deeper, less logical parts of our brain that are more ‘psychic’ or intuitive. By using colors and symbols, a message is able to be given to our brains on a level that some of us aren’t even paying attention to.
When you are able to hear and listen to this part of you, things just start lining up and falling into place. You find that you start noticing small things, signs from your inner knowing, that THIS is where you’re meant to go.
Tapping Into Your Intuition
Intuition is something that every human being has. If you feel like you just don’t have it, you’ve probably just ignored it for so long, you don’t know what it feels like when it speaks up anymore. For some, it’s the voice in the back of their heads, telling them what they should be doing… and when you do something different, you just get cranky, because you know you should be doing something else or doing things differently.
For others, it could be sensations in their body. Do you find yourself getting nauseated when you walk into places? Does your body react to certain situations or people? This is a way that your intuition speaks to you.
Certain people have a deeper, stronger connection to their intuition. Sometimes they’re called psychic, but I feel that there is a difference between being ‘psychic’ and intuitive. They’re close, but not exactly the same.
Being psychic allows you to access information that is not your own. Like mediums, who can access information from the past. Whereas someone who is intuitive only receives information about their life or the people close to them that they rub energetic fields with often (like family).
Strengthen Your Intuitive Connection
In order to connect more fully to your intuition you need to do one thing… listen to it. But that is A LOT easier said than done. First, you have to know what it sounds like for you. If you’re not sure where to start, here are some different ways that your intuition can manifest. I’ve also written a little more on each of these different types of intuition over the years that you can dig into if you want to, too.
The different ways that you can receive information from your intuition are commonly referred to as 'The 4 Clairs”. Clair is the French word for “clear”, like clearly being able to see or know something.
Clairvoyance is ‘clear seeing’. This manifests like images popping up in your mind that may be totally random, but if you pay attention and take note of them, they can start showing you a bigger picture. Building up image associations is a good way to enhance this way of communication.
Let’s say that you have a personal association between your grandmother and apple pie. Your granny always had a fresh apple pie baking in the oven when you were young, and it’s something that you associate with her. This can manifest as you noticing apples in weird places, or seeing images in your mind that all have apples in them. To you, this makes sense… it might be a message from your grandmother or a reminder of a lesson that she taught you. But to most other people, they would be super confused.
For More, check out this post I wrote about Clairvoyance.
Clairsentience is a ‘clear feeling’. This manifests in people who are more in touch with their emotions. Not just someone who you see as emotional, or dramatic, but someone who knows how to navigate their own emotional waterways and make sense of them. They typically don’t bury their emotions, but if you’ve been culturally nurtured to ignore those emotions, you may feel a disconnection from your emotions. The best thing that you can do is start to listen to your emotions. Not just expressing them and then pushing them back down, but truly listening to the lesson behind each emotion. What information is this feeling trying to relay to you?
You might find yourself noticing certain feelings when you think about certain things or people. You may find yourself able to feel someone else’s pain, though only temporarily.
Clairsentience is one of the most common types of intuition and most people notice it as gut feelings.
Clairaudience is ‘clear hearing’. If you find yourself randomly hearing names, but you know no one said anything, this might be your intuition talking to you. Yes, hearing voices is a mental illness, but there is a difference between hearing the voices as if they are coming from outside of you (mental illness) and hearing a voice in your mind that speaks calmly and evenly. It’s never going to tell you to act in a negative way either.
You can work on this intuitive ability by calming your mind of all the chatter and just listening. Seeing what you have to say, but not holding onto things. Mindfulness meditation can be a huge help here.
Claircognizance is ‘clear knowing’. It’s those times when you feel like all of a sudden, you know so much more than you did a few minutes ago about a situation. You might have asked yourself a simple question, like what am I missing about this situation and all of a sudden, you have the answer… and it’s spot on.
For more, check out this post I wrote about Clairaudience.
What Do the Clairs Have to Do With Tarot?
Listening to your intuition when you are learning tarot and when you are doing a reading is an invaluable tool in your tarot tool box. When you are able to truly connect with each of the tarot cards on a level deeper than a memorized meaning, you are able to see how the energy of the cards interact with one another and how they show up in your life.
Over time, every tarot reader creates meanings for the tarot cards that have their own spin on them. This is what that tarot card means to them.
But if you are reading this, you may be just starting out.. just getting your first deck and you're not sure where to start.
Here is a 28 page guide to help you get started on your tarot journey.
This guide includes:
Keyword meanings for the Major Arcana, upright and reversed
Keyword meanings for the Minor Arcana
Instruction on how to create your own meanings for the minor arcana
A tarot spread to use the tarot to connect with your Highest Self
Tarot is a tool for self-discovery. This is an invaluable tool when you know how to use it.
