I had this great list of things we could do in our intuition “playshop,” but all anyone wanted to do was draw cards. So here I will simply list all the other ideas I had, and then move on to my tips for working with oracle/tarot cards in the easiest, no-fuss way.
FUN INTUITION BUILDING ACTIVITIES
Connect with your inner DJ: We did this in August, when we asked our soul to give us a song. Briefly, you ask a question, then turn inward and ask your inner DJ to play you a song in answer to your question. You go with the very first song that occurs to you. You may hear it, think of its name, hear some lyrics, etc. However it comes to you, roll with it. Remember, it’s not what the song is literally about, but how it makes you feel and what you associate with it.
Automatic drawing: The first part is quick and easy. Hold a question in your heart, ask it aloud three times (to let it sink in), and then pick up a pen/pencil/marker/crayon and—without thinking—draw a symbol on a sheet of paper. You don’t need to make this elaborate. Look down on the paper and note your first impressions and then let the image open up for you even more. Write down all your impressions: thoughts, memories, associations, feelings, etc. The writing part can take as long as you need it to. Sometimes you’ll get a quick answer, sometimes the image will yield a page or more of writing.
Automatic writing: People do this in all different kinds of ways, but the general practice is you ask a question, connect internally, step away from your ego and mental chatter, and let whatever comes through come through. Some people avoid typing and others even insist on doing writing with their non-dominant hand to activate alternative pathways to their normal “thinking” mode. But if you feel like you can get quiet enough while you type to let your stream of consciousness through, then go for it!
If you are caught in the “I’m just journaling with my mind” mode, you can add a “spirit guide” layer. If you want to connect with your ancestors or other spirit guides, you can set the intention for the answer to come from them.
Or just for kicks, why not choose a someone inspirational to you (dead or alive)? For example, what would Gandhi have to say about furthering peace in your community? Or if you’re trying to get ideas for a project, why not connect to someone who you wish could mentor you if only you could meet them in real life? The key to success here is being able to feel the energy of the person you wish to connect to. If you are visual, having an image of that person either in front of you or in your mind will be enough. But for others, the trick might be to feel in your heart or whole body how that person’s work or legacy or presence makes you feel. Then you let your IMAGINATION play. Are you making this up? Yes, in fact, to start off I would encourage you to create the very first sentence out of your imagination. And keep going. It might take practice to relax into this exercise, but if you let yourself go (i.e., stop judging yourself and start playing along), you’ll lose the self-consciousness and find that you can actually get some pretty sound advice from this!
Draw a card: If you are familiar with playing cards as divination tools, you can do this with a regular pack of cards, but I recommend starting with tarot or oracle cards that are designed specifically to help you tap into your intuition. If you do not have a card practice, I very specifically recommend starting with Soul Cards because they train you specifically to rely on your intuition rather than referring to printed meanings (which oracle cards often have) or standard systems that can get you all in your head (as tarot cards can).
Working with Soul Cards is easy. You set an intention for a question and shuffle until you feel done. (Don’t overthink the shuffling!) Then you draw a card and look at it. I think all the Soul Cards have a very definite “this side up” orientation, so you don’t have to worry about reversals (another complication with tarot).
Note your first impression. And if you find yourself worried that you aren’t getting a first impression, you simply take a breath and become aware of the first thing you notice. Is it the color? A particular part of the image? Do you get an immediate mood or emotion? How about a memory? And you let the card open up for you from there.
Sometimes it’s nice to keep the card out for a whole day and walk casually by it, just to keep yourself in the energy of the card and to see if more comes to you as the day goes on.
Do you have any favorite ways of cultivating and tapping into your intuition? If so, please share below!
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