Ancient cultures interacted with their environment to receive signs and messages from nature and helping spirits. Part of this happened naturally by what they observed and came in contact with throughout their day. They learned to read and interpret the signs around them – such as noticing which animals crossed their path and which direction the smoke from the fire blew.

But at other times, they desired wisdom and assistance from the spirits without waiting for a response to occur naturally. So they devised methods of inviting information on request, such as throwing bones or scattering seeds and reading the results in light of the question they asked. The bones or the seeds served as oracles, objects that help us connect with our higher wisdom and wisdom from helping spirits. We refer to divination as the act of consulting oracles.

In modern times, we commonly use card decks as oracles. Card decks are readily available at spiritual or new age bookstores, and they come in many forms – angels, fairies, affirmations, animals, and manifestation decks to name just a few.

A general method for consulting a card deck oracle:

·      Begin by getting focused. Take several deep breaths to center yourself. Be clear what wisdom you’re seeking.

·      Consider the wording of your request. An example of a query might be: “What do I need to know to heal my relationship with my sister?” Open-ended questions will yield more helpful insights that a yes-or-no question.

·      Focus on your query by repeating it several times, either silently or out loud like a mantra.

·      Ask your helping spirits (or the helping spirits of the card deck) to speak with you through the cards and bring information in response to your question.

·      Hold the deck in your hands and again repeat your question, allowing the energy of it to permeate the cards.

·      Shuffle the cards while focusing on your query. If any cards jump out of the deck, set them aside.

·      Pick a card from the deck when you feel intuitively drawn to do so. This card holds information around your question.

·      Keep your question in mind as you interpret the meaning of the card you drew. Ask for guidance from your helping spirits and be open to what comes. Sometimes the information we receive in a reading may be literal, sometimes it’s symbolic or metaphorical. Also consider the meaning of any cards which fell out of the deck while you were shuffling. They often carry additional messages.

·      Thank your helping spirits and the oracle of the card deck when you’ve finished your reading.