My only advice here is to pick the one you feel drawn to. That “pull” to a certain deck is your intuition talking to you. I started with the Rider-Waite deck simply because I happened to stumble across it at the mall. I distinctly remember feeling a thrill of excitement and a hint of curiosity when I picked up the box and turned it over in my hands. Looking back, I believe those feelings came from my intuition.

Since then, that deck and I have been through a lot. We’ve weathered breakups and tough decisions, new jobs, and celebrations. During my tarot readings, I’ve pulled cards that have made me laugh and some that have made me tear up. Many times I’ll pick a card that is so spot on I’ll have to pause to catch my breath.  

I’ve used my deck so often that whenever I hold the cards in my hands, it just feels… comfortable—like a broken-in pair of boots or a conversation with my best friend.

But Aren’t Tarot Cards Just Ink On Paper?

Yes, they are. That deck of tarot cards you ordered on Amazon is nothing but pretty designs printed on seventy-eight pieces of springy cardstock.

The magic happens with you begin to interact with your deck. The tarot cards provide us with a tangible way to connect to our power, the power around us, and our intuition.

There are a lot of different ways to use tarot cards, and I am a HUGE advocate of experimenting with any and all methods that get you excited. For this article, I’ll be focusing on just one way you can interact with your tarot cards: How to connect with your intuition with tarot.

What Is Intuition?

Intuition has been called a bunch of different things—instinct, a hunch, following your heart, a gut feeling, or a sixth sense. It’s that feeling you get when you meet your best friend for the first time and think, “This person is pretty awesome.” Essentially, it’s a sense of “knowing” something without any kind of concrete evidence. You just… know.

Intuition is something we all have—we’re born with it, and it’s powerful.

Learning to connect to it can enrich your witchcraft practice in wonderful ways. Tarot is my favorite way to connect with my intuition because it’s simple and can easily be woven into my daily routine. Whether you’re an experienced card reader or a total newbie, you can use this method to connect with your intuition right NOW.

How To Connect To Your Intuition With Tarot

Step One: Introduce Your Intuition to Your Tarot Deck

Sit in a quiet place where you feel calm and grounded. Light some candles, turn on some music or sip a cup of tea while you do this. Create a peaceful environment. Have a journal and pen nearby.

Hold your cards between your palms and close your eyes. Invite your intuition to express itself through your cards. You can do this by speaking aloud to your intuition or by thinking it silently your head. Something like, “Hi Intuition. Thanks for always being there. I am opening up a new channel for us to talk with these tarot cards. Please guide my hands, and my thoughts as I interact with this deck.”

Now reach out with all your senses and take notice of everything. No observation is too small for this exercise.

Start with your thoughts. Did anything pop into your mind when you talked to your intuition? Did you think of a specific word, phrase or image?

Next, pay attention to your feelings. What are you feeling? Can you name the emotions? Are there conflicting feelings? Did any of these thoughts bring up joy or laughter? What about anxiousness or excitement? Don’t pass any judgment on your feelings. Each one is valid and each is a message from your intuition as it interacts with your cards for the first time.

Finally, search your body for physical sensations. Notice the weight and texture of the cards in your hands. Then shift your attention to how the cards make your hands feel. Do you feel anything unusual? A tingling? A temperature change? A bit of pressure? How about in your arms? Can you feel any new sensations? Go through all your other body parts—your stomach, chest, throat, forehead, shoulders, and legs. Pinpoint where each sensation is happening.

Take a few minutes to journal about everything you’ve just experienced. Get super detailed, and don’t censor yourself. There’s no wrong answer here. If you have trouble with this exercise, give it a try later and see what happens. Your intuition will always be there when you call on it, so try this exercise as many times as you want!

Step Two: Shuffling and Drawing Cards With Your Intuition

You can’t go wrong with a simple overhand shuffle, but if you want to try a riffle shuffle, go right ahead. Sometimes I’ll spread my cards out on the floor and slide them around like a kid playing with finger paint until I feel like they’re mixed up just right. Then I’ll gather them up in a pile and cut them anywhere from one to three times. Again, this is another opportunity to let your intuition guide you. Do whatever feels right.

When you draw cards, you can either pull from the top of the deck after shuffling or you can fan the whole deck out on a flat surface like a rainbow and pick cards one at a time from different places in your deck.

Before I select cards, I hold my left hand out, palm up, and ask my intuition to guide my hand. Traditionally, the left hand is used for “receiving”, and I’ve had success with that. I wait until I feel some kind of sensation in my hands. Then I hover my hand over the cards until I feel some kind of sensation again. For me, it feels like a tingling or a soft poke on my fingertips. It’s different for everyone, so be open to whatever happens.  

Step Three: How To Ask Questions to Your Intuition with Your Tarot Deck

You can ask your intuition anything you want. I talk to my intuition like she’s a wise friend who knows me better than I know myself. I’ll ask things like, “What message do you want to tell me right now?” or “What energy do I need to get the most out of today?”.

Other types of questions I ask include:

• What do I need to solve this issue?
• What is holding me back from my goal?
• What will I experience if I chose this outcome?
• How do I REALLY feel about this person/situation/outcome?
• What am I not seeing clearly in this situation?

After I ask my question to my intuition, I pull one to three cards to reveal the answer.

Sometimes I get clear answers. Sometimes I learn that the answer to my questions can’t be fully communicated through the scope of the seventy-eight cards.

In time if you keep asking questions, you’ll discover which ones work best with your tarot cards. It helps to word your questions in an open-ended way. For example: Instead of asking a “yes” or “no” question, try asking for guidance on an issue.

Step Four: Interpreting Your Tarot Cards with Intuition

You can always use good ol’ Google to look up keywords and in-depth meanings of the tarot cards, but consider going “off-book” for this exercise. This process is similar to step one.

When you pull a card, take a moment to look at the image, number, and suit of the card. Then observe everything—your thoughts, your feelings, and your physical sensations. Did this card make your heart pound? Did it bring up a joyful memory of your ex-lover?

Write down your first reactions to the cards you pull based on what you receive from your intuition and don’t worry if it’s totally different from the traditional meaning of the card. This is an unconventional method of interpretation, but it can open up a direct channel to your intuition. It might take some practice, but it’s worth exploring. Don’t dismiss any thoughts or impressions as wrong, or insignificant. Journal about all of it and see where that train of thought takes you. I’ve discovered a lot of my subconscious beliefs through this method of interpreting the tarot cards.

For example, I asked my intuition what energy I had in my body one morning, and I pulled the five of wands. The Rider-Waite deck depicts the card’s symbolism with a group of men trying to hit each other with sticks. When I saw the image, I immediately thought about the heated argument I’d had with a co-worker the day before about politics. I realized I was still holding onto that anger and I needed to forgive myself for losing my cool. This card traditionally isn’t about forgiveness, but that was the message I received from my intuition in that moment.

How Do I Know I’m Talking To My Intuition?

Well, you don’t… Not for sure anyway. This is something I struggle with as a witch from time to time. I’ll find myself noticing an interesting sensation in my hands, and I wonder, “Is this all in my head?” or “Can I trust this?”

Every witch will have to answer those questions for himself or herself. I’ve made peace with this by realizing it doesn’t matter to me. Whether I’m making it all up, or I’m channeling my inner power, the most important thing for me is how this process makes me feel. When I explore my questions and concerns through the lens of tarot cards, I feel powerful and connected to something larger than myself.

Tarot Tips For Connecting With Your Intuition

• If possible, let go of any personal bias or preconceived ideas before you draw a card. Trust that your intuition will answer you with love and wisdom.
• Acknowledge and release your inner critic. You might hear that nagging little voice in your head telling you that you’re not powerful enough or experienced enough to use tarot to talk to your intuition. Let those thoughts float out of your mind. I believe everyone has the power to connect with their intuition.
• Don’t be afraid to ask any question that comes to mind, and don’t worry if you’re really confused by the cards you pull. This has happened to me many times. It’s all part of the process. Just sit with the cards for a moment and stay open to whatever your intuition brings you.

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Updated on August 20, 2023 by Avery Hart