Tarot spreads: ‘Entering the card’ meditation technique

Looking for tarot spreads? Instead of a layout of many cards (like the 3-card and Celtic spread) you can focus on the energy just one Major Arcana card. Here’s how to use the ‘entering the cards’ tarot meditation technique.

Tarot cards are well-known for providing guidance and higher perspective on our daily matters. They can help us to see through situations where our conscious sight is covered with a mist of preconceptions. But this is just a part of the story. The other part of the tale is about hidden mysteries of human transformation…

Some time ago, tarot cards appeared in renaissance Florence. No-one is fully sure how they came about, who invented them or why they did. What we DO know is that the mysterious creator (or creators) had a profound knowledge of hermetic principles of the occult and astrology. They left us with a legacy of universal understanding captured on a colourful deck of cards.

If you’re exploring how to harvest the magical power of Tarot, one way is through the meditation technique called “Entering the card”. This can help us to connect with archetypes like “guidance” or “hope and healing” and draw those energies into ourselves. As a rule of thumb, Major Arcana cards tend to work well for this particular purpose. They capture and reflect the inner energies which we all encapsulate more so than the Minor Arcana cards which work well for exploring daily base situations. This is more of a recommendation, and by no means a strict rule.

Tarot meditation technique: ‘Entering the card’

Choose a card

Entering the card starts with choosing a card from the deck that you feel like you need. Then again, you can let the universe guide you, and pick a card at random.

Relax

Once you have your chosen card in front of you, sit down in a quiet place for meditation. Close your eyes. Calm down. Relax. Concentrate on your breath and start to consciously slow it down. Relax. Empty your mind as much as you can, and hold onto the emptiness at least for a few minutes. Relax some more.

The card becomes a story

Now you can either keep your eyes closed and picture the card, or you can open them and start staring at the tarot card. Look at the environment in the picture. Look at the people on the card. Start to see it more and more as a story, as if the people and events on the card were moving.

Immerse yourself in the story

Then start slowly entering that story with your mind (like you’d watch a movie on your phone – it can be exactly the same feeling). Let it completely take you in. Relax. Once you enter the card, proceed with building up the details of the vision. What is the temperature like? Smells? Taste? Make the vision as vivid as possible. Relax. Keep relaxing. Your goal will be to start feeling those sensations physically. If it’s your first time getting immersed enough in a Tarot card to feel physical sensations, you may find the experience jolts you out of the meditative state. So keep reminding yourself to relax.

Interact with the energy

You can choose to ask the characters questions, ask for guidance, or just enjoy the card and soak in its energy. After you are done with it, exit the card in the same way that you entered it, and give yourself some time to regain awareness and a grounded sense of being exactly where you are. It’s a good idea to keep a journal where you write down (or draw!) your experiences, visions, symbols and guidance.

Example Major Arcana cards for this tarot meditation exercise

Here are just a few ideas of Major Arcana cards you might wish to use with this tarot meditation technique.

• Empress: Getting in touch with female energy (for all genders)
• Emperor:  Getting in touch with male energy (again, for all genders)
• Hierophant: Advice, guidance
• Lovers: Improving the quality of important bonds and connections
• The Star: Hope for a better future, healing
• The Sun:  Help with feeling low (you can repeat the meditation over time).

These are just a few suggestions. I’ve personally found it useful to think of the Major Arcana in this way when entering the cards. I do encourage you to use your own intuition and your personal interpretations of the cards to lead you on your journey to the unknown.

Enjoy!

Read next: How to read the Tarot, with a quick 3-card spread and Celtic spread