How I Use Tarot Cards for Daily Journaling
An answer to the question, ‘what the heck do I journal about?’
Keeping a daily journal practice is one of those “good habits” recommended by nearly everybody in the self-development space. It can help clear the mind, so you can focus. It will clear out brain clutter. You can remember things better if you write them down. It’s a method for exploring new ideas, or analyzing your experience. It can be cathartic, or relaxing, or energizing.
There are a lot of reasons to start journaling, so let’s cut to the chase and say you agree that there are benefits and you’re ready to get started.
Now, what the heck do you journal about?
If you haven’t practiced journaling, it can be hard to get the words flowing onto the page. Prompts might help, but it takes time and energy to find a list of prompts that speak to you, or apply to your life.
My solution? Tarot cards.
Why Tarot cards?
Tarot cards, or oracle cards (you can use either for this exercise) are collections of cards that have various “values” and “suits”, much like ordinary playing cards. The main difference is in how the cards are designed and used. The individual suits and values have an agreed-upon meaning that is woven into the art on the face of the card.
Tarot cards are typically used for divination (telling the future or communing with deities or the dead), whether it’s part of a spiritual practice or just for fun. I’m not really a spiritual person; I don’t believe that the cards can predict the future, or tell me anything I didn’t already know about myself.
However, because each card is imbued with a deeper meaning, they can be a powerful way to uncover things that I did already know about myself, or about a particular problem I’m facing in my life. I also know people who use them for tabletop gaming and fiction writing in a similar way.
In the traditional process, tarot cards are used to provide an answer to a question. The person doing a “reading” will have the subject pull a tarot card (or three) from the deck, and they’ll interpret the meaning of those cards based on the symbolism and imagery of the card, and the context of the question.
The really nice thing is how the cards strike a balance between general ideas and specific ones. Since they are made to apply to any situation that a person can ask about, they are often open-ended and thought-provoking.
Each tarot deck that I’ve purchased has come with a booklet explaining the meanings of each card. I’ll include an excerpt here from the Prisma Visions tarot deck, by James R Eads*, as an example:
The Knight of Wands may portend of a surge in confidence and energy…but do not depend on the initial fervent swell to see you through to the end; ultimately, a disciplined strategy will pay greater dividends than a short-lived burst of enthusiasm
*This is not sponsored; I bought these cards and think they’re lovely.
The specific language will depend on which deck you have. Prisma Visions uses flowery, magical prose along with a fluid, almost psychedelic art style. But, as far as the meanings go, they will be very similar from deck to deck, and they are all designed to be open to the interpretation of the reader.
My Process
When I sit down to write in my journal, I’ll start by jotting down a short update, like a diary entry. What have I done since the last entry? What events or problems are fresh in my mind? This step isn’t necessary to make use of tarot cards, but I feel like it helps set the tone of the journal entry and get the gears in my brain turning.
Then, I’ll shuffle the cards and select one. Sometimes I’ll just leave the deck shuffled and select the top card, if I’m in a hurry.
Once I’ve picked a card, I’ll open the little booklet and read the entry. Let’s pretend that I pulled the card I mentioned above, the Knight of Wands. Sometimes, as I’m reading the description, something will jump out at me immediately. If that happens, success! I can start writing.
“I got the Knight of Wands, which reminds me that I’ve started a new project and I’m worried about maintaining the energy through the whole thing…”
Once I get started, and I have a foothold on my journaling, I can start following that road where it leads. The cards have done their duty, inspiring a topic for the entry and giving me somewhere to go.
Other times, I have to try a little harder to find a connection. When this happens, I use a bit of imagination. Assume the magic of the cards is real, and it’s trying to tell you something. What could this card mean? Is there anything happening in your life that might be related? Even a little?
I really like this process because it adds some whimsy into an otherwise mundane task. It encourages creative thinking to find connections between random ideas, which can incidentally bulk up your problem-solving skills.
I also like the element of surprise. Which card will I get today? What will it mean? A standard tarot deck has 78 cards, so there’s plenty of material to work with. By the time you get a repeat, you’re likely in a different place in your life, and that card is going to mean something else to you, prompting a unique journal entry from your brain.
Or, if you get the same card repeatedly in a short time frame, that adds a sense of wonder while presenting the challenge of thinking about the card in a new way. Once, I got the Queen of Cups three times in one week. What wild winds of fate were trying to get my attention? In reality it was probably dumb luck, but it was a memorable experience that added novelty into my routine.
I have a lot of fun incorporating tarot cards into my journaling, and I also enjoy collecting decks for their (often breathtaking) art. But, if you prefer a more minimalist approach, there are several free tarot apps floating around out there that you can use to avoid cluttering up your shelves with decks of cards. I have used the Labyrinthos app, which was previously Golden Thread Tarot, but there are many apps available with an easy way to draw a random card and view its meaning.
This process works great for journaling, but you can also use them to work out plot holes in fiction writing, come up with ideas for new creative work, or generate random scenarios for a tabletop game. Just ask the cards, and see what they come back with.
