Tarot Card Spells

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Many people starting off in paganism and Wicca want to know how to do spellwork without a whole bunch of fancy supplies. After all, if you’re broke—or it’s 2 a.m. and you need to do a working and your favorite metaphysical shop is closed—it can often be tricky to think outside the box. What can you use for a spell component when there’s nothing at hand?

Well, if you think about it, spell components are essentially just symbols. They’re tangible items—herbs, crystals, candles—that represent something else. If you think of a spell ingredient as something conceptual rather than something tangible, then it makes it a lot easier to think creatively about what you can use.

One item that many of us have on hand is a deck of tarot cards. While we often turn to them immediately as a method of divination, a lot of us tend to forget that we can use them in spellwork. After all, a tarot card, whatever it may be, symbolizes some aspect of the human existence. More importantly, you’ve got 78 cards to choose from. If you’re someone who uses reversals in your tarot readings, that means you’ve got 156 symbols, or archetypes, right there at your fingertips, just waiting for you to unleash them. By selecting a tarot card that represents your goal, or the intent of the working, you can craft a simple spell that’s just as effective as one with all the trappings and bells and whistles.

So, how do you know which card to use? Well, it will help if you have some general knowledge of ​tarot cards and their meanings.

Cup Suit

For matters related to love, family, emotions, and relationships, you may want to choose Cup cards as your focus. Consider an Ace of Cups to represent new beginnings and starting over, a Three of Cups to symbolize celebratory events like births or weddings, or the Queen of Cups to stand in for a sensual and captivating woman. The Lovers card, although associated with love and all its trappings, is one you may want to use if you’ve got a decision to make between two potential romantic partners, or if you’re trying to help someone (including yourself) overcome temptation. Cup cards can also be used to represent the element of water.

Coin/Pentacle Suit

When it comes to money, education, economic stability, or business, Coin/Pentacle cards are a good place to start. In addition, they’re the perfect stand-in for the element of earth. Use an Ace of Coins to bring about brand new prosperity and abundance—they’re perfect for money magic. The Eight of Coins represents success at work; consider this one if you’re jockeying for a promotion or raise. If you’re looking for guidance and an end to financial problems, consider bringing out the Page of Coins.

Sword Suit

Sword cards are associated with air, and they’re all about conflict. These come in handy if you’re trying to do spellwork that is damaging or destructive (as always, if your tradition forbids cursing or harmful magic, don’t do it, and you can just skip over this paragraph). A Three of Swords can bring about heartache and pain, particularly if there’s some sort of love triangle involved. Use a Seven of Swords to represent a deceitful liar in your life. The Knight of Swords will reveal the truth to those who need to hear it, whether it’s something they want to hear or not.

Wand Suit

If you’re doing a working related to communication, creativity, or the element of fire, it’s time to pull out some Wand cards. The Three of Wands represents the success you’ve been looking for, and the Four of Wands is all about celebration.

The Major Arcana

For matters related to self-awareness, intuition, and spiritual growth, the Major Arcana cards are the perfect starting point. Utilize the Magician card to help yourself take action and become master of your own destiny. Call upon the Strength card to give yourself a bit of a spiritual boost and some inner fortitude. To bring about the changes that come with spiritual rebirth, consider utilizing the Death card in a working. If you’re cursing or hexing someone, you may want to incorporate the Devil card or the Tower.

If you familiarize yourself with the meanings of the cards, there’s no reason you can’t craft a perfectly useful spell with the deck you have on hand. Think outside the box, be creative, and see what you can manifest.

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Wigington, Patti. "Tarot Card Spells." Learn Religions, Aug. 26, 2020, learnreligions.com/tarot-card-spells-2562774. Wigington, Patti. (2020, August 26). Tarot Card Spells. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/tarot-card-spells-2562774 Wigington, Patti. "Tarot Card Spells." Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/tarot-card-spells-2562774 (accessed March 29, 2024).