
Practical and Magical Ways to Use Tarot and Oracle Cards

Tarot cards have been used since the 15th century for everything from getting more 
guidance into your life and helping you make tough decisions, to telling fortunes for 
people and giving them insight into their futures. 

There are 72 tarot cards in total when you look at standard tarot decks, which each card 
having a different meaning based on symbolism and representations. 

You can also use oracle cards, which come in many colors, styles, shapes, and sizes. 
As opposed to the tarot decks, there are no “rules” to oracle cards and what each 
represents. It is entirely up to the artist and creator of the deck, and of course the user 
in using their own intuition.

These cards can be used for so much more than you think, from divination rituals like 
doing tarot readings for yourself and others, to simply using them to break writer’s block 
or help you focus on something while you meditate. 

The fact is, there are many magical components of tarot and oracle cards, but there are 
also so many practical uses. And what is magic really? You can find magic in everything 
around you, in the earth and the moon, in other people, in yourself. You can find magic 
in the mundane, which is why we feel strongly that even the more tangible and practical 
uses of using these cards is still pretty magical. 

Here are some practical and magical uses you can use tarot and oracle cards.


Set Your Daily Intention

The first way to use your tarot and oracle cards each day can be seen as both as a 
magical and practical method, which is setting your intentions. Each day has a new 
energy, based on planetary alignment, your environment, and what you are going 
through in your human experience. 

You can start strengthening your intuition by using tarot cards each morning to pull at 
least one card, and tap into your intuition. This allows you to see what you should focus 
on, which then helps you set the intention for the day. 









Pull One Card a Day

To set your daily intention with tarot or oracle cards, all you need to do is pull one card. 
You want to first choose your deck, by following your intuition. If you only have one 
deck, use that one of course. But if you have multiple decks by this point, just go with 
the one you feel the most drawn to or that you thought of first. Sometimes, this changes 
based on your energy, where you simply feel pulled to one more than the other. 

Choose your deck, then clear its energy by setting an intention to cleanse it of any 
previous energies. You then want to shuffle it really well, and then pull a card. People 
have their own methods for pulling a card. Sometimes you fan them out on a desk and 
grab one at random, other times a card jumps out on its own or flips over naturally, and 
that’s the one you go with.

It’s ok if more than one comes out, you can combine them to create a more 
personalized message for the day. 


Set Your Intention

Look at the card or cards you pulled, and then consider what you are feeling while 
looking at the card. Maybe you are drawn to the colors or symbols, or the meaning 
behind the card is calling out to you. You might be drawn to one single detail on a card, 
that is making you think of something you are working on.

The point here is to create an intention based on the energies of the cards you pull. For 
example, if you were shuffling the cards, and pulled the Moon card, maybe your 
intention is to open your eyes and become more aware of what might be hidden from 
you. Or if 3 cards flew out and you kept all 3, and they are all pentacle cards, maybe 
you want to focus on your money and career that day.


Tarot For Personal Growth and Self-Discovery

If you are on a path of personal development and self-discovery, using tarot cards is 
actually perfect for that. There is no reason you can’t use divination tools to help expand 
your horizons and learn more about yourself. Tarot is not always seen as a spiritual or 
divination tool, but often just a way to focus your mind on one particular thing.

When you pull a tarot card, you not only look into the meaning of that card, but you 
apply it to yourself and your life. Many times, this allows you to be more introspective 
and learn more about yourself while on this personal growth journey.




Introspection

You can first use these cards for more introspection. This is done simply by using your 
intuition when pulling a card after shuffling. Often, the first impression you get of a card, 
or where your mind goes when looking at it and considering how it applies to your life, is 
what gains you the most clarity. 

A group of 10 people can look at the exact same card and come up with 10 different 
meanings behind it. Why? Because everyone is going to apply it to their own lives. 
While one person might see the Sun card and think of how happy and grateful they are, 
another person can pull this same card and instantly be transformed to a past memory 
that made them happy, while someone else feels inspired to find what fulfills them. 

What the cards mean to you, and what you think or feel when looking at cards is often 
enough to make you more self-aware and introspective. 


Areas to Focus On

Another way you can use tarot cards for personal growth and self-discovery is by 
helping you to know which areas of your life to focus on. Sometimes, you feel so lost or 
overwhelmed, and are trying to change so many things in your life. If you are someone 
who always has a long list of things to improve in your life, and then end up not doing 
anything because you don’t know where to start, tarot is perfect for you.

What tarot does is gives you an area to focus on. If you set an intention when doing a 
tarot reading for yourself that you want to gain clarity on what area of your life to work 
on improving first, then the cards you pull will help guide you in the right direction. This 
could be friendships or love, your self-concept and working on yourself, communication 
with others, starting your own business, or your own happiness and fulfillment.
















Choose a Path

Any time you are having trouble choosing a path or direction in life, tarot and oracle 
cards both come in handy. They won’t immediately answer it for you (though there are 
some yes/no oracle cards), but instead they offer you guidance and allow you to follow 
your own intuition when making the right decision. 

Tarot and oracle cards work great at helping you choose a path, based on your own 
intuition, and sometimes cards that actually give you a yes or no answer. For example, if 
you want a simple yes or no answer, here are some cards that give you that answer:

*	Fool card – Yes
*	Death card – No
*	Sun card – Yes
*	Hermit card – No
*	The Magician – Yes
*	The Devil – No
*	2 or 10 of Cups – Yes
*	10 of Wands or Swords – No

If you pull these cards, then you have a simple yes or no answer to whatever question 
you were asking. 

On the other hand, you can use a spread to help you choose a path by following more 
of your intuition. For example, if you are asking about 2 different career paths, and 
aren’t sure which one to follow, set up a spread. You can do this however you want, but 
some things to ask the tarot for these 2 options include:

*	What you need to know.
*	The likely outcome.
*	The potential for success.
*	The possible challenges.


Meditate

If you are trying to add more spiritual habits to your daily routine, such as meditation, 
why not utilize tarot and oracle cards as part of that practice? The cards help 
tremendously with what to focus on during your meditation, if you struggle with just 
staring at the same thing every day. 




This is for people who do more of a mindful meditation, where you aren’t trying to clear 
your mind, but instead have something in the present to focus on. Shuffle your tarot or 
oracle cards, and try to pull just one card or let one card fly out during shuffling. Flip the 
card over so you can see what it is, then focus on its images, symbolism, colors, and 
how it makes you feel. 

Use these emotions for your meditation session. Any time your mind wanders and 
thinks about something else, bring it back to center by focusing again on your card.


Pull Your Daily Affirmation or Message

This is where your oracle decks really come in handy, though you can use this with tarot 
as well. But for more of a straightforward approach, you want to use oracle card decks 
with positive messages or affirmations on them. This allows you to choose randomly a 
daily affirmation or message that the universe is trying to send you. 

Who this is good for:

*	If you want to use affirmations, but struggle choosing the right one.
*	When you are manifesting more than one thing at a time, and need help on your 
daily focus.
*	When you need a little boost in positivity.
*	When you feel overwhelmed and need guidance.



Get a Journal Prompt Through Tarot

If you want to journal more, but get stuck on what to write about, you can actually use 
your tarot cards for inspiration. Since you are shuffling the cards and picking one at 
random, you will just go with the first card or multiple cards you pull. This allows you to 
follow your intuition and go with the first thing that comes to mind, then you can journal 
about it.

What Emotion or Feeling Came Up?

When you do a daily tarot card pull, you can first consider what emotions or feelings you 
felt. Go with your intuition and gut feeling. Your feelings and emotions don’t only change 
based on what the card is and its supposed meaning, but what you currently feel the 
meaning is for your particular situation. 

One day, the Star card might make you feel like you are on the right path. Another day it 
might remind you of Aquarius energy, and that you should be more authentic to who you 
are and represent that to the world.

What First Came to Mind?

Another way to use them for a journal prompt is less about how you feel, and more 
about your internal thoughts. Did a card make you think of a past memory? Or did 
multiple cards fly out of the deck and land upside down, and it gave you a thought that 
you should rethink a decision in your life? These can also quickly turn into reflective 
journal prompts.


Inspiration For Your Writer’s or Artist’s Block

Similar to giving you ideas when you are journaling, your cards can also help you to find 
more inspiration if you are struggling with writer’s block or artist’s block. Every card is 
different, not just in its meaning and symbolism, but in the images, colors, styles, words, 
and so much more. You feel differently when you pull cards during different energies, 
even if you are pulling the same card. 

All of this can help you to feel inspired, get new ideas, and follow your instincts when it 
comes to choosing something to write about or something to create.

When you pull cards, follow your intuition, and use that to find inspiration. You might do 
a 3-card spread and create a fictional story based on those cards. If you get the Fool 
card, the 10 of Cups, and the 10 of Swords, that can certainly create a very interesting 
story of someone going on an adventure after a major challenge in their life, but it ends 
up leading them to their wish fulfilled. 

You can use this same method when you want to create art or have artist’s block. This 
is through what you visually see with the colors and patterns of random cards you pull, 
to how you feel when you look at certain cards.




