Steps for Doing a Daily Reading:
- Choose 2 cards randomly and intuitively from your deck. Keep them turned over, face down, so you don’t know what they are right away. (It’s a surprise!)
- Take a few slow and quiet breaths. Feel your self coming back into your body. You might want to hum for a minute or two, sensing the vibration internally. Or you might just want to offer up a simple prayer of gratitude and a short request for assistance from the Divine during this reading.
- Turn the first card over.
- Continue to breathe. Breathe in the energy of the card. Say “Welcome” or “I really like you” or “I’m glad you’re here” or something else positive and inviting to the card.
- Spend just a couple of minutes writing some I Am the One Who… statements from this card.
- Spend another few minutes writing from the card’s point of view: My message for you today is this…..
- Silently thank this Neter for blessing you with its presence today.
- Turn over the second card.
- Repeat Steps 4-7
- Voila! You have done a daily reading.
Notes:
Do not be intimidated by the word “daily!” You can do them every-other-day or once a week. Or every third day. The idea is to get into some kind of regular practice of this, because it’s in the continual meeting and greeting of our cards that we come to know ourselves more deeply. Imagine if we never said “hello” to the people who are most dear to us. Imagine if we never gave those we love a chance to speak and share their stories. This is what we are doing in these short daily readings- giving all the parts of our inner world a chance to be heard, a chance to offer their wisdom and knowing to our lives.
These don’t have to be deep and meaningful every time! Sometimes the wisdom that bubbles forth from this practice will have you bowing down in amazement. And sometimes… not! It’s all good, and it’s all okay. The whole point is to stay in touch with all of our Neters- internal and external.
Keep them short and simple! I used to be intimidated by the fact that I was doing a “Reading.” But when I started these short every-other-daily readings, I realized that working with our cards doesn’t have to take a lot of time at all.
Above all, TRUST THE PROCESS. I find it helpful to intentionally LET GO of everything I think I know about a card, and just let the words flow. Surprises abound in this process! And TRUST that the right cards will appear each time. Welcome each part of you with reverence and expectant curiosity.
Examples of Short Daily Readings
Below are some cards that have come up for me in the last few months, and the short readings I have done with each, following the steps above.
Please notice that this works with any kind of a card: inner voices, archetypes, spirit guides, animal companions, loved ones in our personal community, even shadowy/dark parts of ourselves.
The only cards that do NOT participate in these readings are the Transpersonal cards: Source, Witness, and SoulEssence.
You can click on each thumbnail image to see the card larger and in its entirety.
Artist Muse: (Council/archetype) I am the one who is staring at your expectantly. I am the one who opens new windows of possibility for you and to you. I am the one who is Queen of the Paint Tubes. My message for you today is this: I challenge you to Just Do It- just add art back into your life, a little bit at a time, and see/notice/feel how much pleasure it gives you. The orange flower blooms behind me… all things grow and come into full blossom, full growth, and then turns back to seed and dies. As will you. Someday. Not now. Now is the time for open windows with sunlight pouring in. Now is the time to dig in to the rainbow possibilities of all the art tools that YOU have in front of YOU. (5 minutes, longhand)
Fire and White: (Suit Unknown) I am the one who is gazing at the fire. I am the one who is warm, wrapped, sheltered in my blanket. I am the one who has given myself this warmth. I am the one who stands against the cool clear backdrop of many open vessels. my message for you today is this- the fire of Spirit is always right in front of you, no matter what is in your backdrop. (3 minutes, longhand)
Without a Trace FBI Agents (Council Suit/Spirit Guides) We are the ones who seek the missing. we are the ones who bring back what was lost. we are the ones who stand under the watchful guide of Crow. We are the ones who do whatever it takes to find whatever is missing or lost, either intentionally or inadvertently. We depend on our fierce intelligence, our keen intuition and our deep compassion. Our message for you today is this: What is missing from your life? What have you lost that you would like found again? All you have to do is ask us, come to us, and we will help you find it! (4 minutes, longhand)
Death/Scarecrow: (Council/Archetype) I am the one who faces the curtain, the white curtain. i am the one who is curious about what is on the other side of the curtain. i am the one who is helpless, who has no choice in this matter. i am the one who is waiting. even though I’m a scarecrow, I cannot scare this Curtain of Death away. My message for you today is this- I am rooted and grounded in the greenness of growing things, as are you rooted and grounded in LIFE. I am here as a reminder to you to embrace life now and fully. It’s all one experience- the living and the dying. What is dying in you today, right now, in order to make room for something new? (5 minutes, longhand)
Rebellious Child: (Committee Suit/Inner Voices) I am the one who is stubborn and wants things to go my way. I am the one who rules the show. I am the one who sticks out my tongue and says, “Ha! You can’t MAKE me!” My message for you today is this– all I need is to be heard. Don’t dismiss me, don’t expect me to go away. All I need is for you to say “I really like you” and for you to be gentle and loving with me. I am just your happy inner child stoked up on fear. (3 minutes, longhand)
I Can Do It Myself: (Committee Suit/Inner Voice) I am the one who struggles to carry too much. I am the one who doesn’t like to ask for help. My message for you today is this– pay attention to some areas of your life where I am exerting too much energy. I WOULD LIKE TO PUT THE TRAY DOWN SOMETIMES!!! (2 minutes, longhand)
Seena Frost: (C0mmunity Suit) I am the one who gave you the gift of SoulCollage®. I am the one who encourages inner growth and creativity. I am the one who sends the ripples of healing and transformation outward into the world as I continue my work. My message for you today is this: be still and you will know many things. Revel in the waters of your own colorful creativity. Drink from the rainbowed rivers of your own reflection. And all shall be well.
Lion: (Companions Suit/Fifth Chakra/Throat) I am the one who is the Grand Parent of the cats you so dearly love in your daily life. I am the one who helps you rise above daily worries and fears, who carries you above the clouds and closer to the sun. My message for you today is this: take my energy with you into all of your relationships. What needs to be said? Say it. Ask yourself, and others, the questions that need to be asked. Answer them. Allow the answers to come forth. I am the energy of your throat chakra. Allow my energy to open this area of your body so that your voice can be heard, and given and received in love. (5 minutes, longhand)
A Final Word
If you are just starting out with these shorter kinds of readings, I just want to let you know that some cards will appear over and over again, and some will stay in your deck longer before they are drawn.
The best thing is… each time you draw a card, it will have something new and interesting to tell you. Or something deeper, wiser. OR it might be saying the same thing over and over until you really “get” and absorb the message!
For example, here is what my Community Suit “My Mother” card had to say to me when I first made it: I am the one who is your mother. I am the one who gave birth to you, who loves kittens and chocolate, the ocean, and YOU. I am the one who always felt connected to and IS still connected to you. My message for you today is this: I still love you. I see and am aware of the emotional work you are doing around the fact of our wounded relationship, and it’s okay. I didn’t know that the damage I did lasted this long. I am sorry. I was the best mother I knew how to be. Love transcends death. I am still here watching over you and sending blessings your way. (5 minutes, longhand)
And here is what she had to say to me 8 months later:
I am the one who gave birth to you, who loves you even beyond death. I am the one who is your mother. My message for you today is this: I held you back in life because I thought I was protecting you. I didn’t know any other way. MY fears got in YOUR way and I am sorry about that. Don’t let them get in your way now, my darling daughter. All is well and all will be well. I didn’t know that when I was alive but I do know it now. I want you to be healed and whole and free. So let it go… let it all go.
And here is what she had to say to me on a day when my two stepdaughters were living with us and arguing all the time: What I have to say to you today is this: I know you are worried about the girls, especially the older one. Remember that she needs love and kindness now. Boundaries, yes. But love and kindness most of all. Remember when she was very young and you were able to give her that. You can give her that now. And understanding too.
So my point is that depending on where you are on your own personal journey, the cards will have different things to say to you. The best thing you can do is to TRUST THE PROCESS, dive right in and start writing. Let them talk to you! Let them envelop you with their grace and wisdom! And let them tell you their stories.