Consulting the Oracle: What are Oracle Cards and How Can They Help in the Therapy Space?

There has been a palo santo-scented, tarot card-shuffling, crystal-charging, new-age wellness BOOM of late and I am Here. For. It. Finally, the “weird” witchy things I was into in middle school are cool! [Cue then-very-uncool 12-year-old me doing cartwheels] People are embracing alternative healing modalities, finding comfort in rituals, and opening up to spirituality in its many different forms. One such tool I use with my clients is oracle cards and they are a beautiful way to connect with messages from our own intuition.

So what are oracle cards? Aren’t they just really pretty tarot cards, Ilana? Well, no. Tarot card decks follow a specific structure, much like playing cards. There are four suits: Wands, Pentacles, Swords, and Cups, and the cards in each suit run from Ace through King. There is also the major arcana, which contains cards like The Empress and The Moon. There are established meanings for each card and reading the deck has been likened to reading a language of archetypes.

Oracle cards are a bit more intuitive and user-friendly! They have no set structure and you do not need to learn a new language to understand them. Oracle decks often have beautiful artwork and generally have a theme, such as goddesses, animals, or even Codependent Perfectionism (by Intuitive Healing’s Alana Carvalho!) They usually come with an accompanying booklet that describes the meaning of each card. When purchasing a deck, let your intuition guide you and pick the deck you naturally gravitate toward. When you take it home, cleanse the deck with some sage or palo santo smoke and get to know each other! Take out each card in turn and explore. You can also take your time with this and pull a new card each day until you make it through the entire deck.

There is a lot of flexibility with how to use oracle cards. Some people pull a card as part of their meditation practice or choose a card based on what is on their minds. Here is my go-to method:

1. Fan the deck out in your hands and blow across it to clear any stagnant energy.

2. I will often knock on the top of the deck once to “wake it up.”

3. Shuffle the deck while breathing, centering yourself, and sending some energy to the

   cards. If I’m struggling with something I will ask the cards (aka my own inner wisdom)

   for some guidance.

4. When my intuition tells me it’s time, I will draw a card or cards. (Note: If a card jumps

   out of the deck, I always put it aside because it is clearly trying to tell me something!)

   1. You can draw one card or multiple cards in what is called a “spread”. A common spread is 3 cards that signify past, present, and future. The internet has a wealth of spread ideas to explore!

5. I look at the card(s) to see what images stand out before reading the meaning of the card

   in the deck’s accompanying booklet.

6. To close, I like to thank the cards/my own inner wisdom for the messages and guidance.

As I tell my therapy clients, the cards themselves are not magic. They simply give you messages from your own subconscious. It is a way to tune into your intuition, connect with yourself, and listen to your own mind.