I love my tarot, and a side of it which I find extremely fascinating is how it can be whatever you need it to be. It can be a divination tool, it can support self-development, or it can help you navigate the intricacies of day to day life.

And I think we really need that. There are moments when you are all alone with your head buzzing with good or bad things, in urgent need of a way to quiet the mind and restore some order.

Also, sometimes we cannot express what is inside, not even to ourselves, and having a tool that easily connects to our psyche and can give use something to go on, is priceless.

If you have learnt about the tarot is great but if you haven’t it is great also, because the archetypal nature of the tarot makes is open to absolutely everybody interested in using it.

Plus, if you are passionate about something, have a search, there is a chance there might be a deck created around that. There are so many gorgeous decks out there starting from the Rider-Waite-Smith, which makes them easy to recognize and work with.

An amazing book I wholeheartedly recommend is Mary K. Greer’s Tarot for your self, it is an oldie but goodie, an important work that contributed greatly to the way the tarot is perceived and used.

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It is one of the books I study from, as it is that kind of workbook that needs to be taken slowly and understood, it has exercises and prescriptions.

For example, (I opened the book at random, as I wanted to give you a bit of information on the spot about the book.) it has a chapter dedicated to Dealing with Moods, Emotions and Relationships. In this chapter the author provides actual exercises that you can do with pen and paper to support you when facing difficult times.

It opens with an exercise that you can use when your mood is a bit low.

At the end of each chapter there are items suggested for further reading, if you are interested to grow your knowledge about certain techniques or pieces of information.

I think on a certain level I always had a soft spot for the tarot.

I remember when I was a teenager Cosmopolitan put out an edition that had a Major Arcana Cosmopolitan deck. The cards had a lovely matte finish and they depicted Cosmo women for all the cards. The drawings had vibrant colors and amusing images. I loved those cards so much, sadly I do not know what happened to them over the years.

Happily, now, I have other cards I love and enjoy, it is a really good time to have an interest in the tarot as the resources out there abound. Of course this means that there is a lot of noise out there also, but with patience you can sift through it to find the really good resources.

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I don’t use the tarot to predict the future, to divine the unknown, to have an advantage over those that do not read the tarot. I use the tarot to calm an overactive mind, my mind.

Humans are often consumed by different fears, ideas, compulsions, and to be able to cope and lead a relatively balanced life we develop coping mechanisms.

Some people exercise, others shop, others collect things and so on, you know what I mean, I will not state the obvious.

As far as I am concerned, I have found that, using the tarot for self reflection is a great way to quiet my mind when it goes all erratic and stops making sense.

And I think this is a great way to use the tarot, to cope with the stresses of human life.

It is a pleasant way of shifting focus by stopping and processing the emotions and the ideas that have hold of us, tarot functions like a mirror not as a crystal ball.

Tarot is not a substitute for therapy, medication, or professional support. But used with intention, it can become part of a mental health toolkit, especially for those moments when you feel trapped in your own head.

I found tarot helps with anxiety because in a way it externalizes inner chaos. By looking at the cards I stop circling the same thought and instead I explore it through archetypes and imagery.

It gives my mind some structure to hang on to and it forces me to examine what I am feeling and thinking without making me feel judged.

I usually use a three card spread when I need to ground myself quickly.

Some intellectual questions or ideas that can be attached to the three cards are:

What emotion did I not fully acknowledge?

What story am I telling myself about this?

What truth do I need to remember?

But most often I find that I don’t even ask the questions, I just draw the cards and the mind works with them.

Maybe because I have been doing this for some time my mind is very quick to draw meaning and find information in the cards. As they say, practice …

I do want to mention, it is important to use the tarot mindfully, as if it becomes a compulsion and you just draw cards on and on and on, until one that you like comes, it loses meaning.

The aim is to slow down, think, maybe be take a few deep breaths, or write a few lines in a journal about the cards you drew and what they mean for you.

Also, choose a tarot deck that you like, or oracle cards, there are so many out there, and they are so beautiful, a joy to use them and to look at them. If you would like a recommendation write to me below some of the things you like and I can see if I know of any that would match.

Even if I do not know there are so many out there, the only thing is some are better quality than others, I am happy to share whatever knowledge I have.

I truly find a lot of comfort in using the tarot for self-reflection and self-regulation, and I hope you will too.

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