Welcome back to the month of inspiration at The Opaque Elephant!

Throughout April, I’ll be exploring sources of inspiration, how to engage with inspiration, and sharing some works created through moments that have sparked something in me.

Today’s post is a simple four-card tarot spread, designed to help you unlock your connection to the inspiration that exists around you.

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Sometimes, we need a little bit of help getting to grips with our inspiration.

One of my favourite ways to reflect is through the use of tarot cards. Although they’re often viewed as something occult and witchy, I think they can also be utilised as very effective journaling tools.

I often use my cards to set intentions for the month ahead, or to reflect on the month that has just gone by.

I don’t use them in a strictly predictive manner; I don’t think that’s inherently wise to do and can lead to a form of spiritual paralysis. I don’t make major life decisions based on predictions from my cards, for example, but I will often consult them when I need to reflect on a situation.

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How to Use Tarot Cards for Reflection

I don’t think there’s an inherently right or wrong way to utilise the cards for reflection. Your relationship with your cards is personal; how they’re read will be influenced by the reader and the needs of the querient.

That being said, I know it can feel a little bit overwhelming to use the cards to read for yourself.

For me, I typically begin by writing out my questions and the card I pulled for each question.

I’ll then write down my initial reaction to the cards – what I see, what the symbols in the images might represent. I consider the symbolism of the suits more than I consider numbers.

I draw from my knowledge of the cards and their agreed-upon meanings and jot these ideas down too.

The trickiest part is seeing how all of this applies to my situation. That requires a certain level of person reflection and drawing upon my knowledge of my situation. Essentially, I’m using art to reflect on what already lies within my subconscious when I utilise tarot.

Finally, I’ll consider the meaning of all of the cards together. Are there recurring numbers, suits, themes or ideas? Again, I then need to apply this to my situation.

I also pay attention to how the spread makes me feel. I don’t think the cards have all of the answers; sometimes they give me an answer I don’t want (especially in career readings!). But I think the emotions they provoke can also be very telling and can help reveal a lot of information that helps me answer the questions I’ve asked for help with.

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Learning the Meaning of Tarot Cards

Learning the meaning of tarot cards can be quite overwhelming, even though it’s fun to get to know your deck and read more intuitively. If you’re looking for help with understanding your decks, I do have a handy Tarot Cheat Sheet bundle available on both Etsy and Ko-fi. Prices are slightly different for the platforms due to differing fee structures – I’m liking Ko-fi quite a lot at the moment!

If you don’t need the full selection of cheat sheets, I do also have them available for the individual suits or just the Major Arcana over on my Etsy store.

If you’re not quite ready to take the plunge in doing readings for yourself, you may want to consider receiving an intuitive reading from me. I now offer digital readings via Ko-Fi and Etsy which are fully customisable to your needs and questions, or you can use one of the spreads from my blog as inspiration.

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Tell me in the comments – what has this spread revealed for you? How are you going to be finding inspiration this month?