How To - Deck Interview
Hello, my loves!
Thanks for checking out my blog post and website. I am still tweaking the appearance and also adding new content that I find to be valuable, so I appreciate your feedback and also hope to post a lot more often.
I get a lot of questions when it comes to reading cards and wanted to post about something that I find fun and extremely useful when I receive a new deck or am trying to connect with a deck again. Deck Interviews are a quick and effective way to see how a deck wants to work with you or can work for you. I decided to do a short blog post on recommendations and how I have become more comfortable doing it.
All of the following are just tips that I like to do and that work for me, specifically. But I always tell people to follow their own intuition and do what feels best/right for them. Just because some of these things resonate with me, doesn't mean that you should feel inclined to do the same. I promise that whatever feels right for you, is probably the best way to do it!
“Do not be afraid ask questions.”
- LAILAH GIFTY AKITA
Vocabulary Quiz
What is Divination?
div·i·na·tion ˌ divəˈnāSH(ə)n/
noun
the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means.
synonyms: fortune telling, divining, prophecy, prediction, soothsaying, augury;
clairvoyance, second sight
"he looked to divination for guidance"
Using a card deck (whether Oracle, Lenormand, Playing Card, or Tarot) for divination is a great, non-threatening way of channeling messages from your Higher Self or Spirit Guides. It allows you to get more tactile responses to your questions that allow you to connect to your intuition and the cards symbolism. So for those of us who are doubtful or new to using our intuition, using cards can be another form to "check our work again" so to speak.
You using card decks is a form of divination! Keep this in mind when using this method as a way to connect.
Reading with Cards
I did a post covering how to use and read with oracle cards and have been working on a tarot card post. You can check out my suggestions for getting started reading Oracle cards here. These are just things I have learned along the way and as always, trust your intuition and do what feels best for you.
Although the post is a bit old, I did make sure that I added some of my favorite suggestions to it. I currently own about 65 decks and that number constantly fluctuates. I use what feels best and right for me, even if that changes over time - I flow with my needs and desires.
It doesn't matter how many decks you have, as long as you feel connected to them.
“Divination is the quest to understand more about the past, present, and future. In other words, readings are an attempt to understand ourselves better and discover how we might live better in the future.”
- Theresa Cheung
Deck Interview
Alright, so you found a deck, you have it in your grasp, and now you want to know how to connect with it more and see how this deck will work for you.
The easiest way for me to find the tone to a deck is by doing a quick deck interview (after I unwrap, look through, and get a feel for the deck itself). Once I get comfortable with the deck, I like to shuffle it well, and clear my head. I also like to just quietly see how I connect to the deck without asking anything of it.
I usually pull anywhere from 3 to 5 cards for deck interviews. I have seen some awesome interview questions online, and just kind of ask what feels right for the deck when I start pulling.
These four questions are what I use most often. Ask a question and randomly (and intuitively) choose a card and lay it in whatever layout feels comfortable for you.
How To:
Who are you?
What should I know about you?
What will you teach me?
What will come of our work together?
Here is an example of my most recent pull for my newest addition to my collection, The Black Moon Astrology Oracle by Susan Sheppard. It was a great little deck to add to what I have in my current mix. I apologize for the low-budget film picture, but I received this late one evening I was so excited to get it!
So, the cards I pulled for the questions:
Who are you? Virgo - I Analyze.
What should I know about you? Mars - Force (reversed)
What will you teach me? Venus - Love
What will come from our work together? South Node - Life's Debts
Now that I have my cards pulled, I typically will dive into the guidebook for the deck (if there is one) and start to connect with the messages.
I would take it that this deck is practical (earth sign Virgo), communicative (Mercury-ruled), and will assist me in connecting to the analytical aspect of readings cards.
The deck is going to gently express itself (Force, reversed), while also allowing me to understand the energy, passion, and desire to create change. Mars rules our anger, drive, and survival, so this being reversed - I will have to look at my own personal force and motivations for consulting this oracle.
Moving onto what I will learn from this deck, we have lovely Venus. Ruling our love and money, Venus is often seen through this small lens. Expressing grace, charm, and what we personally value, Venus teaches us about our loving self. It will help me connect to what I truly love and take pleasure in (reading and astrology).
And summing up my deck interview, South Node comes through. Our nodes in Astrology cover the lessons that are either under and over developed in our spiritual nature. Almost like the soul's purpose. The South Node is known for the fear or blind part of our nature. Life's debts essentially could mean moving past my own comfort zones and to really work towards life lessons necessary for me to really impart the right kind of wisdom with this deck. Personal karmic imbalances will be brought to light, not to harm or confuse, but to finally be dealt with. No more sweeping things under the rug.
I could get much more in-depth with this deck (and I did when I first pulled it), but a deck interview is almost like a gateway towards understanding and connecting with your deck. I even enjoy doing deck interviews when I have not used a deck in a little while. I like the re-connection and also enjoy the progress we make as we work together.
Here are other really fun suggestions, and depending on the type of deck or what I feel is best to ask:
What should I expect with you?
What do you need from me?
What can we do together?
What gift do you bring?
How can you help me?
What type of readings do you prefer?
What are your weaknesses/strengths?
What will you teach me?
Who/What am I to you?
What is the best way to work with you?
Why do I need you in my life?
What is your impression of me?
As stated above, ask what you feel is best for you and feels right. The above are just suggestions. You can even google deck interviews and find some really fun and interesting options to explore. The questions can range in any direction. I even like to ask special ones for Tarot, as the decks tend to have so many more layers to dive into.
So, why should I try to do this?
If you don't feel connected to a deck, but enjoy it and would like to know how to use it better.
You are unsure how to get a deck to feel better or easier for you to use. By not getting right away to work, it can create a bond with your divination tool.
If you would like to discern your deck's personality. Find it's weaknesses, preferences, and also learn how to connect with it on a personal level.
If you have a deck that you have not used for a while, or were getting mixed messages.
You are new to divination and card decks.
You feel a bit disconnected from your deck.
A word of caution:
The answers can be surprising...but always be cautious as with any tool of divination chosen. If you have emotional problems - you may not like the messages that come through. Your consciousness - being in lower frequency due to emotional problems will attract a lower frequency entity. If you like drama - and consider your life to be in drama - don't channel.
If the cards are sending mixed messages or you just aren't understanding/feeling the messages - try another day. I like to place a Selenite wand on my deck before using it, and also knocking on it before I pull cards. You can also use white sage, palo santo, sweetgrass, or other forms to smudge your deck and clear the energies.
I always recommend people are really in a connected and meditative state before any sort of divination. Be calm. And allow yourself to be emotionally stable. When you are confused and afraid, then your cards may also be confusing and hard to comprehend.
In my experience, channeled information tends to be high vibrational in nature. It will often comfort you, provide clarity or will raise your mood in some way. It usually brings me the verification that I need in order to begin the process of moving forward and healing.
If it feels negative or feels heavy, you’re probably not channeling a source that you want to tap into or you may just be channeling your own emotional body, if you are not feeling very good. This is why I recommend connecting to your "Zen" place, before you try to channel.
But don’t be hung up on how your divination should sound like or be. If you do it often enough, you will soon get a sense for what your pendulum dowsing ‘feels’ like and what is comfortable for you.
Boom! You got this, babe!
What to do now?!
Like I stated previously, all of the above are just things that I like to do and that work for me, specifically. But I always tell people to follow their own intuition and do what feels best/right for them. Just because some of these things resonate with me, doesn't mean that you should feel inclined to do the same.
I learned these things on my own, taking a bit from here and there, listening to my own intuition in a way that I knew would be best for me and how I can use my decks for work with my clients and myself. Find your own way, as these are simply suggestions.
So please, always follow your own intuition, it will never lead you astray.
I hope that this little article helps someone out there who is beginning to trust their intuition and who would like to connect to their deck more. Anyone can do it! The more you trust your intuition and pay attention to all of the messages your guides have to offer you, the easier all of these things will come to you. It can be a beneficial method to help you understand your path and find some comfort in their messages!
You are amazing and can do this!
