Create Your Own Tarot and Oracle Card Reading Refuge

A Coffee Table Altar

Making your own tarot and oracle card reading refuge is, first and foremost, an exercise in creating sacred space so I wanted to begin this article by talking a bit about what sacred space actually is.

To me, sacred space is both a personal and a shared  location with characteristic of both the spiritual and the material dimensions.  It can, and most frequently does, appear naturally in an outside location but it can also be created in an indoor space.  In most instances the location will be stationary but it can be made mobile too. 

Mobile Sacred Spaces

A movable space can be established by using a tray (ordinary or a breakfast in bed type table) or lightweight folding table.  An inexpensive folding TV table once worked well for me.

If you find that you need to move your sacred "space" around (or put it away when not in use) I suggest using a dedicated basket or bag to hold smaller sacred items.  If you space is stationary but relatively public your may choose to do this as well.

A Resonant and Personal Location

Whether mobile or fixed, our sacred card reading space is a personal area because it provides a working space for a single individual. Because of this I recommend that you focus on personal resonance over how your space may appear to others.  To establish personal resonance be sure to include items that are reflective of the inner you.

You may choose to decorate your sacred reading space with beautiful crystals, candles, images or figurines that are meaningful to you.  If you follow an earth based spiritual path you may wish to deliberately represent the four elements as well.  

For the highest possible vibration consider carefully the colors, lighting, and residual energy of the items you choose.  You may want to include plants or uncut flowers, a shell or stone from a sacred location, a likeness of a particular deity or ancestor - and at least one resonate deck of tarot or oracle cards! 

Try to address all the senses through the use of color, scent and sound.  You can do this by choosing a table cloth, place mat or candle in a color you find appealing, selecting an incense you enjoy and either listening to ambient music or running a small fountain nearby.

If you want to be such that your space mirrors your personal intentions (increased psychic ability for example) you may wish to consult a reference such as LLewellyn's Completed Book of Correspondences when choosing the items you will include. 

Allow your space to be fluid.  Don't hesitate to change colors with the season or your own chaning goals and always be sure to keep your area clean and clutter free.

Sanctifying Sacred Space

When you set up your sacred reading space, do a bit of clearing first (and repeat with each new moon if desired).  To clear your space clean well and followup by smudging or censing the area with incense, ringing a small bell or sprinkling salt water around the perimeter.  A dedication or re-dedication to your patron deity is never out of place.

The best time to set up sacred space is during a full or waxing moon, on a Sabbat or holiday or the beginning of the year.  

The Energy of Place

Over time you'll begin to notice that the area that you've created and read in begins to take on its very own vibration.  That vibration may be subtle in the beginning but one day you'll  sit down in your space and experience the shift.  The force that fuels that shift is due in part to the energy you've infused into your location  and the respect you've according this area over days or weeks of meditation, journaling and card reading but there is more to it than that.

A Shared Sacred Location

In the beginning of this article I said that sacred space was both personal and shared. 

While we do share our sacred space with other human beings, I believe that the most important energies (next to our own) that share that space are those of our avatars, ancestors and guides.  By inviting these unseen visitors into our personal reading area, we create a very real intersection between the material and spiritual worlds.  

Because I believe that most of us work with living spiritual energies in our readings (whether we realize it or not), I recommend taking a few moments to visualize a sacred circle or sphere surrounding your reading space each and every time you read.  I also recommend that when inviting spiritual energies in, we clarify who we'd like to connect with by naming a known deity, guide or ancestor.  (If you don't work with any specific spiritual beings, you can simply ask that only those energies in alignment with our highest good appear.)

Judeo-Christian readers may find that beginning a reading with a prayer to a particular angel or saint is a better fit. In addition to some of the objects mentioned above, items for a Judeo-Christian sacred space may include prayer cards, rosaries or seven day candles honoring a specific saint.  Earth-based practitioners may choose a pentacle or other magical symbol.

For me, reading cards like almost everything in life, is a partnership between this world and the next. Our personal reading space can provide the perfect intersection for this partnership - a point that is both grounding and uplifting, offering insight and direction we might not otherwise receive.