Morning Intention Settings with the Tarot

All too often we lay awake at night with our eyes to the ceiling. We rehearse things we should have said, the actions we could have taken. Sometimes, our hearts, minds and bodies do not find much rest. So we drift off into troubled sleep and uneasy dreams; carrying the dramas of our day into the dawn of the next. It can be hard to reset the tone while lugging around yesterday’s worries. With a little commitment, a little magic and a deck of tarot cards, it is possible. If you’re looking for a way to start your day off with clarity of intention, confidence and a touch of good juju, then we’ve got the guidelines for you. Below is a step by step guide on building a morning meditation practice using the tarot that will allow you to greet whatever comes your way as your best self. 

Drowsiness may not be our friend in most circumstances. However, the sleepy silence of the morning is our ally when we’re beginning our daily meditation. We can use the slower pace of our thoughts and half awake state to assist us in getting our intentions to sink more deeply into our subconscious. Here’s how we begin. 

Preparing your thoughts for your morning meditation: 

Choose a favorite deck of tarot and a place with minimal clutter (a table or desk is preferable) to sit. Bring your coffee, tea, or water with you. Get situated in your seat. Once you are comfortable, take a few deep inhalations. As you inhale, invite the generosity of the cosmos that nourishes you to assist in navigating your day. When you exhale, reflect with gratitude on the fact that there is another precious day ahead of you–even if it's got its fair share of tedious chores and dreadful meetings. Take your deck in your hands. 

Continue to breathe consciously. As you do, think about the person you would like to be today. Perhaps you’d like to be your strongest or most tender self possible.  Maybe you wish for patience where you lack it; wisdom instead of naivete or optimism instead of cynicism. Whatever it is you are searching for from within, name it. Begin to shuffle your cards for however long feels organic to you. When you sense you are done, splay the cards out, face down, in an arc in front of you.

Selecting a card:

Slowly pass your hand over the deck. Gauge whether you feel drawn towards a particular area. If so, follow your intuition to a card that seems to be calling you and place it apart from the others. If not, simply select one. Overturn it and observe its artwork. 

Interpreting your card: 

As a rule, there are four suits within most divination decks (fortune telling cards). Pentacles, or coins, have to do with our material well being–meaning our income, job, housing and sometimes physical health. If you should choose a pentacle card, know that likely one of those themes is requiring your attention for the day. Cups, another suit within the tarot, has to do with our emotions, thoughts, and relationships. If your selection is of cups, your connection to self and others, your dreams and emotions, may be at the forefront. It can ask us to balance our feelings while also allowing compassion to flow through our lives. 

If a wand card is selected creativity, inspiration and passion will be sparking. However, that may also mean we need to monitor our instincts as we move. Check for flaring tempers or lustfulness that can be ruinous if not restrained. Finally, if a sword is selected, it is an affirmation that the time is ripe to take action on our goals and principles. Take care as you do, though. Often when we are in this mode, we can lose touch with our sensitivity to others and place too high a premium on the outcome of our plans instead of cherishing the present.

There is a possibility you choose none of these suits and instead get what’s known as a “Major Arcana.” These symbols are considered larger mysteries, with bigger, broader lessons attached to them. Fear not, as they all represent aspects of life’s richness. While some of them may have imagery that can frighten us–The Death,  Devil or The Tower card for instance–they are really meant to remind us of the inevitably of change, our resilience, and capacity to remain full of hope and faith come what may. 

Whatever you pull, the most important thing is that you allow your mind to connect with its symbolism. Don’t let your own inner critic negate the meanings you find. Instead, embrace the messages you have unlocked. Trust your own intuition. Even if you struggle to comprehend at first, you are building the practice of honoring your inner voice. The theme of our card is sharing the pathway towards our highest good, what to anticipate (both the triumphs and challenges), and how to fulfill the intentions we set. As you build this practice, you’ll find the tarot is teaching you how to approach your destiny day by day–in a way that steers us through existence's valleys and peaks with grace and kindness. 

Alejandra has been practicing and researching magick art forms for over a decade. She shares her crafts of tarot and crystal ball readings, angelic invocation and lectures on the occult through her practice Gemineye Tarot. Booking: www.gemineyetarot.com IG: @gemineyetarot