Welcoming a Tarot deck into your life is no small ordeal. Whether you’re still in the deck selection process or have successfully acquired the deck of your dreams, it’s no secret that bonding with a Tarot deck is incredibly important alongside your Tarot reading journey.
While all bonding techniques are important, conducting what is called a “deck interview” is one of the simplest but most powerful ways to get to know that new deck – or even get a refresher on what an older deck is all about.
What is a Tarot Deck “Interview”?
A Tarot deck interview is very much what it sounds like – an interview… but between you and a Tarot deck! In an interview with another person, you might ask the person in question what their interests are, how they like to perform certain tasks, where they come from, or generally for anything they want to share with you, and a Tarot deck interview is not all too different.
Consider your deck interview much like a regular icebreaker process with anyone else. It may feel silly at first to try to converse with what seems like an inanimate object, but it should begin to feel more natural after one or two questions and the flow of conversation has started kicking in.
How to Conduct a Deck Interview
You’re free to ask your deck about any questions, issues, or topics you might want to touch on, like what kind of readings it prefers to do (romance, career, personal growth, or something else?) or even how it perceives you at the moment.
The goal is to get a feel for the voice of the deck and what your working relationship will be like, as well as facilitate a solid bonding activity between you and the deck. Nothing should feel truly off-limits, and you shouldn’t feel nervous or anxious about seeing what the deck thinks.
Ultimately, a deck interview should be highly personal and actually reflect what you presently feel about the deck and vice versa.
Even when using a pre-determined spread, feel free to make your deck interview your own by asking any personal questions you may have. However, if you still find yourself stumped on what to ask your new magical friend, below is an example of a deck interview spread!
Tarot Deck Interview Sample Spread:
- Card 1: Introduce yourself to me! What card best represents your voice as a deck?
- Card 2: What kind of topics do you prefer to discuss?
- Card 3: What kind of topics do you not prefer to discuss?
- Card 4: What is the best way I can work with you?
Still confused? Below is an example of how to interpret this spread in a real deck interview.
Card 1: Knight of Wands
The Knight of Wands is a bold, enthusiastic, and expansive card, often indicative of someone that likes to take things day by day and spontaneously find solutions rather than plan things to a T. This indicates that this deck has a more honest, spunky, but still excited and loveable voice. This can come in the form of more “tough love” kind of messages, and will often also be pushing you to be decisive and speak your truth courageously.
Card 2: The Fool
Questions about adventure, new paths, and travel are all fantastic topics of discussion for this deck. Especially when you find yourself in a position of sitting in a large unknown and with a vast distance ahead of you with no real direction, this deck will push you to embrace the adventure rather than sit idly waiting for something to happen.
Card 3: 10 of Cups
The Ten of Cups is definitely a card of love, relationships, and can tend to lean into discussing family matters. This means that this deck may not want to discuss love or relationships too deeply, and focuses much more on the internal aspects of yourself and your growth.
Card 4: 10 of Wands
As a card of burdens, stress, and responsibilities, this card would indicate that this deck wants you to release any excess baggage in order to truly begin working with it. As we learned before, this deck moves quickly with the winds, and isn’t afraid to start a few fires to get where it needs to go. As a result, it’s important that nothing is weighing you down while you begin working with it.
Conclusion
A Tarot deck interview is truly an essential practice in bonding with or connecting to a new deck – or an existing deck in your inventory that perhaps hasn’t quite been clicking with you and your practice so far.
When you take the time to understand how it operates, it can suddenly feel like you’ve opened a door into a new way of reading or even perceiving your Tarot journey as a whole.
Related Article: What Tarot Deck Do You Need, Based on Your Zodiac Sign?