Tarot is a great tool for divination and tapping into your own intuition. Intuitive readers all around the globe use it for everything from fortune telling to life coaching and probably in more ways than we can even begin to fathom. But did you know that Tarot can be used as a tool in your own personal self-growth? Having been a Tarot reader, teacher, and Tarot book author for many years, and having used Tarot for my own personal growth, I can tell you that it is a truly awesome tool for self-growth and insight. Keep reading for 3 of my favorite ways to use the Tarot for self-growth.

1. Daily Centering

One of the easiest ways to use the Tarot for self-growth is to do a mini-spread every morning as you start your day or every evening as you go to bed. You can either do a one-card pull or a mini-spread of 3 cards (or more if you feel guided). You can ask the Universe (or God or your angels or guides or whatever you feel is a guiding force for you) to give you what you need to know for that day.

If you do a three-card spread, you can look at the three cards in any way you feel guided. I personally like to do a mini-spread of Mind, Body, Spirit, or Past, Present, and Future. Sometimes I like to just lay out three cards and ask Spirit to tell me a story with the cards. You can also just draw one card, asking for the most important theme or message for the day.

Whether you start the day with a card pull or end your day with one, the main idea is to take a few moments and let the cards help you center on the most important message or theme of the day, or for the next day ahead. It is a great way to help yourself stay centered and focused on what is important, rather than getting bogged down in the minutia of the day.

I have always found that spending time with my Tarot cards helps me to stay centered and focused. For me, this has been a great tool to use for self-growth because it helps me to think about the things that are important in life.

I have ADHD and past trauma that both affect my way of dealing with situations and people in my life, sometimes in not very helpful ways. When I take time to get quiet and I use the Tarot cards to help me to think things through, on a daily basis, I feel like I can act more from the better parts of my psyche, instead of the less helpful parts. In this way, I have grown as a person, over the years. I have found that doing this has also helped me to have less anxiety and to calm myself in stressful times.

2. As a Meditation and Journaling Tool

Tarot can be a terrific tool to assist in meditation and/or journaling work.

Meditation

To use the Tarot cards for meditation, I have found it helpful to draw a single card before going into my meditative state. Then, as I go into my meditation I take the theme and the images of the card with me and ask for useful expansion of my thoughts through the theme and images.

I’ve never been great at meditating. It is very hard for me to sit still with my thoughts, and harder yet for me to try to “empty” my mind of thoughts. I can meditate better with something to focus my mind or my vision on. I’ve meditated using a candle flame or a crystal or a spiritual statue or something else of that nature. And those things have helped me, but when I started using a single Tarot card to focus on at the start of my meditation, I found meditation to be a lot more helpful for me and my personal growth.

Journaling

Just like with meditation, I’ve never really been that good at using journaling for my mental health or self-growth. Every therapist, coach, counselor, and friend I’ve ever talked to about my personal issues has recommended journaling, and heaven knows I’ve tried! But it wasn’t until I started to use a Tarot card pull to journal with that I ever made any headway in using journaling for my self-growth.

Just like using a Tarot card for meditating, you can pull a card and then journal about the feelings, ideas, and themes that come up for you when you ponder the card’s meaning, imagery, or theme. As you journal, you can relate the card to major themes in your own life, or bring new meaning to past or current struggles.

One thing that can be particularly helpful in using the Tarot for journaling is to use a journal specifically made to be used with the cards. There are many such journals available on the market and I know various Tarot teachers and readers that sell their own version of these types of journals. They typically include specific ideas to ponder and questions to answer. If this appeals to you, check around and find a Tarot journal that calls to you, personally. Journaling with the Tarot can be a very potent tool in your self-growth toolbox.

3. For Insight Into Personal Struggles

Many times the stuff that life throws at us can be overwhelming and difficult. We don’t always know what to do or which way to turn. Figuring out how to handle our personal struggles can be an important thing to learn to do for self-growth. But it isn’t always easy and there isn’t always another person available to help. It is during these kinds of times that I’ve performed Tarot readings for myself to gain bigger-picture insight into my personal struggles.

Learning to read Tarot was one of the best things I have done for myself over the years. I started learning to read Tarot 30 years ago, initially only doing readings for myself, and for fun with friends. But I did learn that doing a reading could help me center and focus to find solutions instead of staying stuck in my problems.

When you are consulting the Tarot for personal insight, you can do very simple spreads, as I mentioned above. You can pull one or two or three cards and read them in any way that makes sense to you. You can also do more complicated spreads, focusing on the issue before you. There are countless books of Tarot spreads, and you can also find many by doing a simple internet search. You can also make up a spread, if you like, assigning whatever question to whatever position in the spread that you like. Many stylized decks come with recommended spreads in their accompanying book, too. For me, the most useful spread for almost any situation is the Celtic Cross spread. It is easily adapted to almost any question you may have.

When I use Tarot for insight into my own personal problems (or when I read for others, or for any reason at all), I always ask for Spirit to guide my hand as I choose the cards. Then, I ask for higher wisdom and guidance to help me interpret the cards for the highest and best outcome.

A Perfect Tool for Self-Growth

No matter how you choose to use the Tarot in your personal life, I hope that I’ve been able to give you some insight into why I think it is one of the most perfect tools for self-growth. In the 30 years that I have been reading Tarot, it has given me so much insight into my own personal life and the troubles I’ve encountered along the way. It has been a wonderful tool to use to reduce anxiety and stress and to give me insight into letting go of past struggles. Tarot has been one of the most consistent tools I’ve used in my life to learn and grow, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Maybe it can do the same for you, too!