If you’re like most of us, you got into reading the Tarot because you are attracted to the concept of divination through the power of images and archetypes. You spend the first weeks working with your deck asking questions. As you open up to the magic of synchronicity, the deck starts to “speak” to you. This is an exciting time. Maybe you begin to read for friends or family. Then, there is that first hard reading that doesn’t make sense, and you feel like you can’t read the cards at all.
The answer is not to get yet another new deck or to give up. Rather, it’s time to unlock the personal magic that is there for you in the cards. As you relate to the deck personally, you will expand your intuition and reading skills and have fun in the process.
Take time away from questioning your cards to explore your individual connection through choosing a Significator, a Year card, or finding your Zodiac, Personality, and Soul cards. Once you’ve done this, try a vision board activity to make your card come alive.
Deepening Your Understanding With a Vision Board
A vision board is a collage made with images from magazines or other sources that you glue together to create a powerful larger image. Vision boards are often used as tools for manifestation and focusing the Law of Attraction.
A collage made specifically for your personal card will help you build an instinctual relationship with the card. Working with images allows words to fall away (although you may have words on your board).
I use this exercise with my Tarot students. The collage is still a visual exercise, so it’s similar to working with the visuals of the cards. But since it is a different approach, it stimulates the creative part of the brain to make new connections.
Janeen was a particularly advanced student of mine. She had worked with her clairvoyant skills for a while but had reached a plateau in reading cards. She told me that her readings felt stale or off track. She wanted a new way to play with her intuitive powers.
Janeen chose to work with her Year card, which was The Tower. She was honestly having resistance to working with this card. The Tower has challenging energy, yes, but it is also a card of transformation. I encouraged her to hold all her assumptions about this card lightly as she went about the process of creating her collage.
Making the Vision Board
The first step is to choose your collage base. I like to work with small pieces of cardboard so the board will fit on my altar or bedside table. I do have clients who like to work larger so they can put the collage on a wall. There is no right or wrong way to do it. The size you choose will dictate how many images you need to gather.
Collecting images is next, so give yourself time with a stack of old magazines to tear out those pictures or words that speak to you. Choosing images is not a linear process. As you are looking through your magazine, hold the meaning/image of your card loosely at the back of your mind. Allow your intuition and subconscious to “choose” the images for you. Don’t insist that they make sense!
The fun part is next: putting the collage together. I like to get into a sacred space, put on music that is soft and helps me go into a light trance. I have my tools: glue, scissors, images, and cardboard. Sometimes I use markers or crayon to color edges or other spaces. Some of my clients use glitter or acrylic paints, but you really only need the basics. Sometimes, I make a photocopy of the card I’m working with to place somewhere in the collage.
Allow yourself to drift with your music, card in your mind. Begin to assemble the collage, letting instinct dictate where you want the images to go. Don’t get too involved with making it look good. I know this may be hard for some, but really, the magic comes when you just let go.
When your vision board is finished, place it somewhere you will see it every day. Begin to notice how the images have been placed. What does the placement suggest? Have you created an “accidental” design with color that pops out now? You will see, over time, that a story begins to unfold within the collage. Know that your impressions are all related to your personal card. Notice connections. Let your intuition spark new ideas about how to relate to your card.
Janeen’s collage had images that were, on their own, quite different and mundane. By letting go in the creative process, her end result was visually remarkable, and more importantly, spoke volumes to her. Shapes were created by the flow of images, and words she had placed “randomly” created messages in relationship to the images they were next to.
Over time, her fear of working with the Tower shifted to one of respect and awe. She felt her warrior spirit stimulated by the trials she was experiencing in her life, and this was reflected by the image of a character from Avatar she had placed — again randomly — in the center of her collage. At the time, the image had just spoken to her, though it didn’t outwardly have anything to do with the meaning of the Tower.
Remember, as you play in this process, don’t judge anything. A great deal of developing intuition and skill with the cards is learning not to listen to your inner critic. Meaning is everywhere, as is magic and synchronicity. If you enter into the process with the intention to create a meaningful object, you will.
Are you having images or ideas about your personal cards pop up that you want to work with further or gain more understanding about? Contact an advisor on Keen to help you dive deeper.
