How do Tarot Cards aid Decision-Making?

This is a follow up post with Serena from Rishi Tarot with some questions from our readers.

Can you give us some insight on how you decide on your Reading Topics and how you draw the different piles?

I decide on my Pick A Card topics based on a combination of my own personal questions that I've encountered and the questions my clients come to me with. Most often, I notice that the issues we face are also shared by many others.

Despite the differences in our individual stories among myself or my clients, there is a common thread of experience that reminds us of our shared humanity.

So although our answers from the cards may differ, it is comforting to know that we’re not all alone in facing the challenges. 

I pick the piles intuitively. Mostly I start by focusing my intentions on helping those people who are seeking answers in the question that I have posed. Then I intuitively select the deck or decks that I would be using (since I’ve got quite the collection). As the cards fall out during my shuffle, I intuitively gauge when is enough.

There are many methods in handling the cards, there is no one right way and it depends a lot on your own preferences. There are two most commonly used methods.

The first is to lay out all the cards evenly spaced out on a table and to let the querent (or yourself) pick the cards.

The second, and my primary method, is to shuffle and let the card fall out itself. It takes practise to riffle and perform a loose shuffle but I’ve found this technique to be most efficient and effective. I’ve heard of more obscure methods like using a parrot to pick out the cards, but to me that is just for show.

The real magic lies in interpreting the cards. 

In your videos, you qualify that not everything will apply to you and you should use your intuition to pick up on what is applicable to the one seeking the reading. Can you provide advice on how one can strengthen their intuitive sense and how should one clear their mental space before landing on a specific Pile Number?

 I emphasize in my Pick A Card videos that it is a general reading. That means the pile we pick fits into the category of the answer or the general theme or undertone of the message. However, all individual cases vary in their distinct context so a general reading like Pick A Card cannot address the nuances entirely.

My advice is to get a Personal reading from a tarot reader, that is specific to you when there is a pressing question at hand. You can also start out with learning to use tarot on yourself to help answer those questions independently of a reader.

However, depending on your question and your level of familiarity with tarot, it may be challenging to attempt doing a reading for yourself on big life decisions. So for matters of importance, it is still advisable to seek a tarot reader. 

Great question on how to strengthen the intuitive sense!

Intuition depends highly on how much we trust. I don’t mean trust that is specific to a person or a context, like “do I trust this person?” I mean trust as a general sense of faith. Whether it be faith in some Higher Power, a religious Godhead or some universal benevolent grace.

As Einstein once famously puts it, “the single most important decision any of us will ever make is whether or not to believe that the universe is friendly”. It is this belief that I call TRUST and the more you believe the universe is friendly, the more open and receptive you become and in turn, the more intuitive you get.

We can receive the message of our intuition but if we are unable to acknowledge or trust it, it won’t be of any use. That is why we often hear the phrase, listen to your intuition. Why listen? Listen because listening means being receptive. 

Next, meditation is key because it is only in the stillness of our beings that we can observe our thoughts. This helps us discern and clarify the message that our intuition is trying to tell us. I always do a short meditation prior to each reading for a client or for my pick-a card videos.

For my own daily practise, I often end my morning meditation with a tarot or oracle card to get some daily guidance for myself.  

There are many ways to deal with a card / cards that have fallen out in a shuffle, how would you deal with those cards?

I always use the cards that have fallen out in my shuffles. As mentioned earlier, my primary method of dealing out cards is a loose shuffle technique that allows cards to “pop” out.

The only times I don’t use the fallen cards in the reading (that is I place it back to shuffle) is when I know that it came from a slip of the hands and a big chunk of the cards fall out.

Intuitively, it is very clear to me when a card is meant to be part of a reading and when there are cards wanting to fall out. This level of certainty on my intuition, comes with time, practise and meditation. 

Are there certain types of people whom you don't recommend doing a Tarot card session? 

There are two types. Firstly, they are the non-believers or nihilists.

This is someone who completely does not believe that there is a greater meaning to our lives or thinks that life is simply a random toss of the dice. Most often, these people will not even seek out tarot.

The second type are the “over believers”. These are the type of people I call superstitious because they believe that life is entirely deterministic and there is no level of self-will that can alter their circumstances.

Either extremes of the belief system are unsuitable for tarot because life is a combination of things we can control and things we have to accept and tarot helps us find the wisdom to navigate our lives between these two extremes. 

ABOUT RISHI TAROT:

Rishi Tarot's body of work is divided between teaching the theory of divination and practical works like giving a tarot or an astrology reading, harnessing both intellect and intuition. 

Serena of Rishi Tarot is a Contemporary Traditionalist.

She recognizes that she deviates slightly from the New Age movement which is currently in vogue.

She believes in preserving traditions for its wisdom and veracity while keeping up with the need for updates as communication and languages evolve. With that in mind, Serena strikes a balance by preserving the correctness of traditional methods while modernizing how it is expressed.

During Serena's tarot readings, she channels and works with the Rishis for guidance. They are the seers of the Vedas and the original Light beings.

In Hindu Cosmology, they are born from the mind of Brahma and Shiva. Their origins can be traced back to the first seven Rishis who are the manifestations of the Big Dipper Constellation.

The Rishis are also very commonly associated with Thai occult practices, notably through the amulets they empower. They remain popular even in modern day Thailand and parts of South Asia.

Serena's big passion is in the academic part of tarot!

She teaches Hermetic Qabalah / Kabbalah and the Western occult roots behind tarot like the Golden Dawn.

This is reserved for more advance students who plan on studying the foundations of tarot and the intellect of divinatory methodology. She incorporates both the Eastern and Western school of thought in her practise. 

Interested to learn and read more

• Follow Serena on Instagram @serenaugury for daily astrological reports 
• Read about Serena on her website: https://www.serenaugury.com/
• Email Serena at serenaugury@gmail.com to receive a personal reading

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This article is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are the views of the cited expert and do not necessarily represent the views of SOTP.