Author: Ashley Howell Bunn

Crystals are an easy, accessible, and fun way to enhance your tarot practice. Not only do they add beauty and aid with intention, they can also add clarity to your tarot readings and spreads.

Different crystals enhance different qualities of your tarot reading, and can help ground you, add a sense of calm, and block negative or chaotic energy.

You can use crystals before, during, and after your tarot readings. Every crystal or stone brings a new dimension to your practice.

Here’s some tips to get started using crystals for tarot, including a guide to pairing the best crystals with the intention of your tarot reading.

How to Choose Crystal(s) for a Tarot Reading

Before we dive into an exercise on how to use crystals with your tarot practice, it’s helpful to know how to choose the right crystals for your needs.

Intention is a great place to start when adding crystals to your tarot practice. For example, if your intention for the day is to find clarity in a situation, find a crystal that helps in clearing energy, like quartz.

Below are the features and benefits of different crystals and how each one can bring focus and depth to your crystal tarot practice.

Quartz

• Clear quartz is strong and healing, universal in its meaning and use, and it helps with all areas of the body and mind.
• Aids in clarification and can really be used in any crystal tarot reading.
• Helpful to have close by for clarity and enhancing intuition.
• Also amplifies the energy of other crystals, so you can always use it in your readings to enhance and support your intention.
• Relates to all of the chakras to create balance.

Rose Quartz

• Rose quartz is a beautiful and accessible crystal to use for tarot readings. It pulls in the energy of love, harmony, and compassion.
• All quartz variations relate to cleansing and clearing, but rose quartz does this with love and acceptance for self and others.
• Very healing crystal that can be used in all tarot readings to foster opening and vulnerability in a safe and supported way.
• Great for relationship readings, or any reading needing connection and acceptance.
• Relates to the heart chakra and can help with opening, balancing, and release.

Amethyst

• Amethyst is based in connection to spirit and internal peace.
• Enhances psychic abilities and is wonderful for meditation and tapping into your intuition.
• Provides clarity and a larger understanding.
• Amethyst can be used in any reading to aid with interpretation, and is a calming and healing presence.
• Relates to the third eye and crown chakras, so it increases vibration and helps with insights.

 

Citrine

• Citrine enhances energy and encourages hope and happiness.
• Relates to the sun, and helps with self-expression and creativity.
• If you need to reinvigorate your energy for a reading, citrine as a crystal tarot is the way to go.
• Enlivens and focuses on abundance and self-esteem.
• Connects to the solar plexus and crown chakras, assisting in manifestation and awakening. 

Tiger’s Eye

• Tiger’s eye focuses on protection and strength
• Aids in intuitive decisions, but is also grounding and promotes practicality.
• In a crystal tarot reading, tiger’s eye can aid in making difficult decisions related to money or employment.
• Helps balance emotions — if you’re in a very emotional situation, tiger’s eye can be used to help diffuse emotional energy.
• Relates to the sacral and solar plexus chakras.

Selenite

• Selenite is great for clearing energy and rejuvenating spaces and people.
• Promotes clarity and concentration, and helps with awareness.
• Selenite can be used to clear energy before or after a crystal tarot reading, or at any time there is negative or heavy energy.
• Placing selenite close to the entrance of your house or apartment can help with keeping unwanted energy out of your space.

Moonstone

• Moonstone relates to feminine energy and lunar cycles.
• New beginnings and releasing old cycles are great intentions for this crystal.
• It also relates to intuition, so it's great to use if you're having a hard time interpreting a situation or reading.
• Moonstone is calming, and it is a tool for self-reflection.
• It can relieve anxiety and stress and helps balance the sacral and heart chakras.

Red Jasper

• Red Jasper connects to the earth, and helps with stability and foundation.
• Red Jasper can be used to help with grounding in times of stress, and helps with moving forward and direction.
• In a reading, this crystal is great to use if there's a difficult situation to unravel, or if you need strength.
• Relates to the root chakra and creates a sense of will and determination moving forward.

Choose your crystal based on the intention for the tarot reading, current astrological events, or simply by using your intuition. Every crystal brings different power, vibration, and emotional and psychic elements to your crystal tarot reading.

How to Begin Your Crystal Tarot Reading

To begin your crystal tarot reading, start by focusing on your intention and needs for the day. Perhaps you’re seeing clarity in a relationships, want to set a future goal, or are simply looking to check-in with yourself.

You can choose a specific crystal that matches your intention, or use a crystal that you feel drawn to intuitively.

1. Cleanse Your Space

If you feel called, you can do a cleanse before you begin to set your intention. A selenite wand or smoke cleansing is a great way to do this.

Just make sure that if you practice smoke cleansing that you’re using plants that are sustainable and culturally respectful.

I like to use lavender or rosemary for cleansing, but find what works for you. You can cleanse the crystal you plan to use for your tarot reading, and cleanse yourself and the room to make sure there is a clear space for intention to come through.

It’s helpful to meditate on your intention with your crystal in your hand or close by to infuse the crystal with your energy and intention for the tarot reading.

If you don’t have a strong meditation practice, an easy place to start is to take a few deep breaths while holding your crystal and repeat your intention three times either to yourself or aloud.

2. Create a Space for Your Crystal Tarot Reading

During your crystal tarot reading, you can place the crystal(s) around your tarot card or spread to help guide you with your interpretation and to add a grounding focus.

If you’re using multiple crystals, you can create a shape surrounding your spread to keep out unwanted energy. It also creates a beautiful aesthetic and a way to appreciate your cards in a new way.

You can also use a crystal to place on a center tarot card in the spread to enhance the vibration of that card in the reading. For example, if you’re doing a relationship reading, you could place a rose quartz crystal on top of The Lovers tarot card to place emphasis on that aspect of your reading. 

3. Final Cleanse

After your crystal tarot reading, you can cleanse your cards, self, and space again, especially if it was a really emotionally intense process. Again, you can use a selenite wand or a smoke cleanse.

For protection, you can store your crystal tarot deck with black tourmaline, obsidian, or labradorite. All of these protect against outside energy, and help neutralize your cards and space.

4. Store Your Crystals

After your reading, store your crystals in a safe space or tarot altar so they’re at hand when you need them for another reading.

Another option for cleansing your crystals is to use water, salt water, sunlight, or even sound from a singing bowl.

When there’s a full moon, you can place your crystals outside or near a window to charge and infuse them with lunar vibrational energy.

As with everything in tarot, there isn’t a wrong way to use crystals. Enjoy the beauty and intricacies of each one, and have fun finding new and interesting crystals to bring into your tarot practice!

Store Your Crystals on a Tarot Altar

When you’re not using your crystals for a tarot reading, you can display them on a beautiful tarot altar. 

By creating your own tarot altar, you can create a space in your home that offers peace or inspiration, and allows you to deepen your tarot practice.

Learn how to make a tarot altar and 3 ways to deepen your tarot practice with your altar >

About the Author

 

Ashley Howell Bunn is a yoga guide and intuitive healer in Denver, CO. She received her MFA in poetry through Regis University, where she's also a graduate writing consultant. Ashley is a poet whose work has appeared in various literary journals. Her healing practices combine yoga, Yoga Nidra, Reiki/ healing touch, Tarot, and written reflection. When she isn’t writing, she guides and practices yoga and runs a small personal business centered around healing. She lives in Denver, CO with her partner and child. You can find more information or contact Ashley at www.howellandheal.com.