Giving Myself a Tarot Card Reading

No matter what your belief system, it’s human nature to seek out the answers to the unknown. Some of us pray. Others read books. Some study science. Others meditate. No matter what route you take, it’s remarkable to discover how much these ideologies overlap in order to reach the same goals: enlightenment, understanding, and a sense of direction.

I was raised Catholic, but I’m always interested to learn about other religious and spiritual practices. I’ve always been particularly interested in the paranormal, including psychics and mediums. I haven’t made it to one yet, but I recently won a deck of tarot cards in a giveaway hosted by mental health blogger Heather LeGuillox.

Upon receiving these cards, I was eager to give myself a reading.  And the results were surprisingly accurate. Below is my experience giving myself a tarot card reading.

About The Starseed Oracle

The particular brand of tarot cards that I won is called The Starseed Oracle by Rebecca Campbell with artwork by Danielle Noel. The package includes a 53-card deck and 3 ½ x 5 inch 138 page guidebook which explains the philosophy behind them and step-by-step instructions on how to give a reading.

They’re not the average tarot cards that you see in movies. These cards feature a bright, pastel-based color palette with astrological and earthy images that relate to the Starseed philosophy.

According to Campbell, Starseeds are beings who feel that they have experienced otherworldly existences. This could mean having come from heaven or some sort of paradise, a soul from another plane of existence, an extraterrestrial being, etc. It’s vague in its specifics in order to encompass many different belief systems.

Identifying yourself as a Starseed is supposed to lead to enlightenment. It explains why you may not have felt at home in your own body or lost when it comes to finding your place in the world. Understanding that helps you to become aware of your purpose in this life. You start to seek out meaningful relationships and spend your time wisely. The cards are meant to point you towards that purpose and destiny.

Tarot card reading

If you’ve ever watched a tarot card reading, whether in person or a YouTube tutorial, you know that the basic premise is to interpret the messages as they relate to the person being read. It takes an intuitive person in order to do this. The same card can have two different meanings to two different people.

Professional tarot card readers are said to be spiritually intuitive. They have a sixth sense that gives them the ability to know the strangers they read with little to no concrete information about them. On a more practical level, they’re more psychologically intuitive, noticing body language, personality, and making educated guesses as to what they are like and what they want to hear, a lot like a psychiatrist.

I don’t think I’m particularly good at reading people. But the purpose of getting these cards was not for me to figure out if I had any psychic abilities. I wanted to better understand how tarot cards work and to find out if a reading would in any way make sense to me.

Starting a reading

Tarot cards aren’t like a magic trick. There’s no slight of hand involved in the process of shuffling and choosing cards. It really doesn’t matter which cards come up. It’s just about interpreting the ones that do.

Campbell created little prayers or chants to “open sacred soul space.” I admit that I skipped this step, allowing my curiosity and open-mindedness to lead me through the reading.

Before you draw your cards, you need to shuffle and then cut the deck into three piles before gathering them back together and spreading them out. Then, you’re able to select your cards.

There are five different types of readings that you can participate in. Each reading uses one to six cards. The box itself is used as a stand to display the cards in different positions depending on the type of reading you choose. These spreads include:

• One-card spread – The baby step spread meant for a quick reading offering guidance with a particular obstacle that’s currently in your way.
• Two-card spread- The soul whispers spread hearing the whispers of your soul and taking action as a result.
• Three-card spread – The fated life vs. destiny life spread which determines the call of the ego, call of the soul, and the resulting action.
• Five-card spread – The star origin spread which shows you your purpose in life.
• Six-card spread – The heaven, heart, earth, heart spread offering guidance, the heart of the matter, grounded action, the obstacle, the outcome, and the baby step required to begin.

My reading

I decided to jump right to the six-card spread to get a full reading with as many cards as possible. Each spread requires you to arrange the cards in a particular order as they’re drawn. In the six card spread, cards two and four are placed within the triangle of the box while the others are arranged around the box. Then you turn them over one by one, use the guide book to look up their meaning, and interpret how it pertains to you. Here’s how mine went.

Card one – The seven year sisters

What It Means

Birthing creations. Tapestry of life. Expression. Card of the artist and midwife. Surrender to creative projects.

My interpretation

This card definitely resonates with me as someone who spends much of her free time engaged in creative projects. My projects take up a lot of my free time and tend to be isolating activities. But the fact that I’m constantly drawn to them and seeking out new ones to start makes it unsurprising that I drew this card.

Card two – You’re not alone

What It Means

Isolation. Physical connection. Community. Starseeds tend to want to be alone rather than with meaningless company. Find meaningful relationships.

My interpretation

I live alone, and my work tends to be independent and isolating. I do feel a disconnect with people and have trouble finding meaningful relationships. However, the idea of steering clear of meaningless company really resonated with me. It’s tough to be alone. It’s a lot tougher to be alone in a crowd or in a group where you just can’t connect.

Card three –  Earth pulsing

What It Means

Pulse of the mother. Slow down. Time in nature. Feeling like you don’t belong. Nature makes you feel included. Meditation.

 My interpretation

I am a workaholic, moving from one task to the next throughout my waking hours day in and day out. I have to constantly be busy, and even taking 20 minutes to do nothing makes me antsy. At the same time, nature is an escape. I seek to be outside as much as possible. I can still be productive outside, whether it’s doing yard work, gardening, or taking a walk for exercise. So, this card is a great suggestion to not only slow down but to do it in nature where I feel comfortable and where I’m drawn.

Card four – Empathic Starseed

What It Means

Energetic sovereignty. Absorbing what’s not yours. Spiritual presence causes an energetic change. Struggle in physical body. Prone to addiction and depression. Natural introverts.

My interpretation

This truly is the era of the introvert. I feel overly possessive of the term because it is so wrapped up in my identity. That and the idea of being an empath, which I don’t like to use to describe myself because when I hear others use this term, it makes them sound like they are full of themselves. But for me, my mood is dramatically determined by the mood of those around me. I shoulder the burdens of others as if they were my own, and because I’m an introvert, I suffer with them silently. I’ve gotten better at not taking on problems that I can’t control, but the empathy is always there, and it can be hard to carry.

Card five – Earthed

What It Means

Learning how to be human. In the world but not of it. Life on earth can be difficult. Lean towards the spiritual side/other earthly body.

My interpretation

I’ve never been comfortable in my own skin, and I wear my awkwardness like armor. Classic fantasy stories attribute this to being in the wrong body or having not yet discovered the power lying dormant under this weak exterior. These are the characters who get superpowers or find out they’re really a wizard or from another world. It’s unlikely that I’m going to find such a far-fetched calling, but I feel like this card relates to card one in that encouragement to focus on creative projects where I can live in a more comfortable space and feel empowered in a way that I don’t in the real world.

Card six – Earth school

What It Means

Life lessons. Soul growth. Study. Higher learning. Learn from difficult times. Being called to embark on a new area of study/growth.

My interpretation

I’ve always been a school nerd. I love to learn, and when I can, I still take classes to sharpen my skills or learn new ones. I try to stay focused on my particular field of study: writing. But sometimes we need encouragement or a sign to take on a new challenge, and this card definitely caught my attention.

Final Thoughts on Tarot Cards

In the end, I was pretty surprised by how on the nose my card selections were, especially when I looked through the rest of the deck and found cards that would have contradicted with the ones I chose. Had I selected them, my reading would have seemed all over the place whereas the six cards that I drew seemed to connect in very specific ways.

I saw a lot of psychoanalysis at play in reading these cards. Because I was reading myself, I didn’t have to guess at the life experiences or challenges facing the person being read. With that out of the way, I could link them to my personality, obstacles, and specific need for guidance.

Ultimately, I consider tarot cards to be more like a game or a way to open yourself up to truths that you already know but require validation. It’s a lot like therapy in how it calls you to think about your life choices, desires, and how to fulfill those desires. If it takes a pretty-looking card to come to that realization, then it has done its job.

Have you ever had a tarot card reading? If so, was it accurate? Leave your answers in the comments below!

Buy it!

Buy a copy of The Starseed Oracle tarot cards here, and help support local bookstores! This is an affiliate link, and I will earn a commission from any sales.

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