BAE: Tarot tips + october tarot card pull
One of my favorite rituals, which I definitely recommend trying out if you’re new to intuitive practices or looking for something to spice up your usual routine, is to pull a tarot card at the beginning of each month. I’ll typically take the time on the first of the month to sit with my tarot deck, mindfully shuffle the cards while calling in the monthly lesson, split the deck in half, and pull a card with my left hand from the bottom half of the split piles.
Everyone can adopt their own routines around tarot, especially while experimenting with what best serves you, but I’ve found that trying out a new practice—especially if it’s a bit foreign to you—by modeling the process of someone else is really helpful for beginning to learn. As you continue to meet your tarot deck with different questions + pulls, you’ll formulate a relationship + practice that is unique to your own energy. What works for me may not work for you after trial + error, which is something you should honor and celebrate.
BEGINNING A TAROT PRACTICE
If you’re entirely new to tarot, but you’re interested in picking up the practice, I recommend picking up a starter tarot deck to learn the basics and get acquainted with the process of receiving source knowledge + connecting with the cards. In my own practice, I was lucky to use the deck of a roommate when I was starting out, which eventually led me to pursue my own deck. There are countless variations of the tarot deck, I recommend searching one out on Etsy if you’re looking for art / sizes / intentions that are more tailored to your taste. But again, a beginner deck might be nice as a smaller investment in learning your own craft. Many beginner decks are available at bookstore chains (Barnes & Noble or Half Price Books), you can scope out a local shop that sells spiritual pieces/items, or you can surf amazon.
The standard for a starter tarot deck would probably be the Rider-Waite Deck. The cards were designed in 1909 by Pamela Colman Smith under the creative direction of Arthur Edward Waite. When you think of typical tarot iconography, the drawings beautifully crafted by Pamela Colman Smith are probably the images that come to mind. If you don’t have a standard image that comes to mind for tarot, then you’re a wonderful clean slate for the iconography to influence. I’ve linked the Rider-Waite deck on Amazon, but this version of the tarot deck is widely popular anywhere else you’d be able to pick up a tarot deck, as I said, typically in spiritual shops and even chain + small bookstores.
You may be intimidated by the practice of reading tarot, as there are 78 cards in total, and not a lot of information regarding the meaning behind each one in our everyday lexicon. Being a beginner is actually an amazing position to be in, as there will be so much excitement in growing + studying the meanings behind each card. Don’t think that buying a tarot deck and beginning your practice as a burdensome academic pursuit, it’s actually quite the opposite.
I have been reading my own cards as a means for spiritual self-care + self-development for two years now, and I am still actively googling the meanings of the cards that I pull. Although from repetition of cards + questions, I have picked up my own understanding behind the meanings of certain cards, particularly cards that taught me hard lessons or resonated with my own spiritual path.
It is not frowned upon in the slightest if your cell phone or computer is present during your readings as a window for researching whatever cards you pull, the ritual is still a sacred time where you can begin to reflect on your current circumstances, and use the information provided as a mirror for your own reality.
This is not future / fortune-telling, and the information you receive is not set in stone. Your practice + interpretation of each message as it pertains to your own internal + external environment / energy will be entirely different than the light worker beside you, and it’ll be entirely different as the years pass. That’s growth, and the reminder that your own spiritual path is encoded for your spirit guidance, which is unique and controlled by you + your relationship to your own highest self.
As winter progresses, I would love to give more information on how reading tarot can serve you as an intuitive practice for your own self-care + self-development, because I believe my cards have been my closest friend + hardest teacher over the past two years.
Here are my recommendations for beginning your tarot practice:
1). Purchase a beginner deck, or borrow a spare deck from a friend + family member. I do recommend the Rider-Waite version linked here.
2). When you google meanings for your first foray into pulling cards: I cannot stress enough that Biddy Tarot is an exceptional source of tarot card meanings, tarot blog content, and even additional classes + content to help you develop your practice.
3). Learn slowly, by pulling a card a week or even a card a month, and carry the meaning of that card with you into your day / week / month. You’re more likely to benefit from the knowledge and carry it with you if you absorb it and experience it in your everyday life + decisions.
4). Learn more about intuitive / soul tarot from my favorite tarot podcaster + practitioner Lindsay Mack, who runs Tarot for the Wild Soul. You can listen to “Tarot for the Wild Soul” anywhere podcasts can be played, I listen to her on Spotify, and you can follow her on instagram + explore more information / content on her website as well.
Now that we’ve set you up with the proper resources + tips for beginning your tarot practice, I wanted to share with you my monthly tarot card pull. This practice has been quite private + personal for me over the past few years, and I would often only share what I learn from my deck with other close friends who practice as well, or anyone who seemed intrigued to know more about the practice.
With this platform, where my mission is to bring you the tools / knowledge / motivation to create your own everyday magic + uplevel to your highest self, it felt right to share my card this month. Not only does this card resonate with the big autumn energy surrounding us, it also serves as a beautiful reminder of how joyous life can be if we take the time to appreciate it and let it be so.
For October: I received The Sun in Reverse
Quick sidebar, when you pull a tarot card “upside down,” it actually means that there is a different meaning to the card now. In older interpretations of the practice, readers believed that a reversed card meant the opposite or negative side of a card’s original meaning. Through intuitive tarot, and the teachings of soul readers like Lindsay Mack, I’ve come to learn that a reversed card does not mean negative contrast, it just means it is something different. Lindsay described it best in her interview on the Almost 30 podcast (episode 226), when she said that if the upright tarot card is a plain roasted chicken, then the reversed card is just that same roasted chicken with a little lemon and thyme added in the mix.
So receiving The Sun Reversed at the beginning of one of my favorite months, probably even my #1 favorite if I’m being honest but ask me again in December and I might change my answer, legitimately gave me chills of excitement. If I’m being honest with you, September was a rough month for me and many people within my sphere of love + influence. I came out the other end of the month feeling burnt out, uninspired, and overall constantly stressed about my path ahead.
That’s the thing about building a relationship with your tarot deck, you cannot hide the truth from it. The deck is deeply connected with your soul energy, which never lies, so no amount of ego brought to the practice can cover up what is truly going on beneath. That is why the practice serves you so well in your growth, because the cards ask you to come back home to your inner truth, not unlike the practices of breath work or meditation or creativity.
The Sun Reversed, based on my own interpretation intuitively and the influence of Biddy Tarot descriptions, tells you that you’ve been taking things a bit too seriously, have been feeling overwhelmed, and have possibly lost touch with your enthusiasm for pursuing joy + creativity + fun. This card is not reprimanding in any way, it is just telling the truth. By recognizing that you’ve been burnt out + unfulfilled + uninspired, you can begin the work to reverse these feelings.
The Sun Reversed is truly asking you to reconnect with the childlike enthusiasm that is natural to your soul energy. This enthusiasm grows from playing, from being curious, trying new things, and being present in the moments you are grateful for. I don’t know what you’re thinking right now, but isn’t October the perfect month to allow yourself to indulge in the playful side of your life? To do the activities that light you up? Think reading a spooky non-fiction novel, think a cozy movie night with a warm cider, think exploring pumpkin patches + apple orchards + corn mazes, think eating that extra piece of Halloween candy because it’s the one time of year when it’s available to you!
The Sun Reversed heavily influenced my intentions for October, which is a list I like to make after pulling my monthly tarot card, and will definitely be influencing the intentions I set under the New Moon next week (keep up with the cosmos with me every Monday here on the blog!).
My October Intentions
play
Find joy in the everyday, and let it expand. Slow down, especially now, to witness the beauty of the seasonal transition and the magic available in the autumnal activities you love.
connect
Go out in nature, let it ground you to a moment, anchor yourself in the presence of the people who bring light into your life, spend meaningful time with your own spirit as well (last week I gave you 3 ways to become more connected to your highest self this fall + winter, try some of these out!)
flow
By being joyful and by being present, you’ll find that natural alignment with your highest-self, your inner knowing, your creativity, your passions, your motivations. As you expand and celebrate and act on these instincts, you will begin to cultivate the enthusiasm you may have lost touch with over the past few months.
For the remainder of this month, maybe even this year, I will be making it a point to play / connect / flow on a daily basis in any way that I can. The Sun Reversed came at the perfect time, as the information you need always does, and I cannot be more excited to be present + intentional with every moment over my favorite season and my favorite holiday.
I hope this tarot pull served you, and gives you a mirror for how to indulge in October and make the most of this magical season. You deserve to play, and to let yourself feel that joy everyday. It’s okay when the light dims, because it never truly goes out.
Like The Sun, let that light burn brighter than before, and share that warmth + light in any way that you can this October. If this practice intrigues you or this level of work is calling to you, I definitely recommend following the beginner tarot steps I outlined at the beginning of this post.
Tarot is a beautiful connection to your highest self / inner truth, and there is so much growth coming your way in this new season. Thank you for spending the precious moments you do have connecting here with me, I am grateful for your attention + intention every week.
Now go have some fun! You’re a badass and you deserve it. Be sure to connect with me on instagram and let me know how The Sun will be serving you this October.