For me, tarot reading is a form of self-care. But when I first heard this, I scoffed and insisted I was more serious for keeping my tarot reading professional. I’ve grown since then and learned a few lessons.
Tarot is a form of self-care, especially in times of uncertainty. When you have a hard time trusting yourself or understanding the chaos in the world around you, the cards provide a medium to help put understanding into a sequential order that’s easier to digest using visual clues and short summaries.
THE PATTERN AND ANSWER
At their most basic form, tarot cards are a medium to understand things you may already know or to decipher patterns. It’s a simple way to call out your subconscious and get a few hints from your intuition. There are other uses for them ranging from playing cards to communication tools with spirits and other beings.
Without all the buzzwords: the cards can represent things you already know of and use those to explain other issues or offer alternative perspectives.
So when I’m depressed and the world is foggy with those feelings, the cards are a solid and tangible way to offer a different view. Something small that may help ease the burden for a while. Somewhere in between optimism and realism, a place much better than where I would be.
THE QUESTION AND FOCUS
When a reading starts, having a question in mind can guide the reading and give you a frame of reference. But focusing on a feeling also works.
Depression causes a lot of overwhelming feelings and distorts your view of the world. Reading tarot takes those feelings and gives them a focus. I’ve learned that any card that may disagree with my negative and hopeless view, may be a card that is considering an idea outside of my depression.
These cards should be highlighted. The focus should be on these cards that may not fit into the narrative of my depressive episode. When I’m depressed it’s easy to stay in that space.
SELF-CARE FOR THE TOUGH DAYS
Having a small tarot deck that you’ve learned and love is great. Having a couple decks is fun and interesting. But downloading an app on your phone or looking up free tarot reading online is just perfect. Accessibility is the goal, especially for low days.
I have days where pulling out a physical deck is too much work. I can’t find the deck I want out of my many decks and the stress just adds to my already low mood. Not worth it. But every day, I have card notifications from various tarot apps. When I’m laying in bed and on my phone anyway, this is exactly what I need.
TAROT READINGS FOR MENTAL HEALTH
Tarot can give you a deeper insight on your life and where you’re headed based on current trajectory. When I give readings to friends or strangers, without knowing the details, I can tell by the cards if depression or mental illness may be involved. But instead of throwing those cards to the side or overlooking them, I address them openly and honestly.
Bonus Tip: If you have the energy to, I highly recommend journaling your reading and can be simple to do. I keep a scrap paper or a notebook near my bed. I also use my apps on the worst days and jot down quick bullet points on how I feel in the comment section or notes app.
Mental illness affects our everyday lives. And that means we have to be mindful of every little thing which could trigger us or drain us than planned. Alongside my depression and other mental illnesses, I chose tarot reading as a form of self-care because I’m still focused on self-improvement. I believe my life can get better. But even on the days I don’t, tarot can be a fun thing to do, and another way to make myself feel like I’m doing something productive.
At best, its self improvement. At worst, it’s an app and a fun card game. What do you think? Have you ever used tarot when you don’t feel your best? How has it affected your mood? Tell me in the comments.
