Establishing A Tarot Practice with ADHD
I keep thinking about how much my routines and structures really help my brain ground into expectations, help my executive dysfuction function better, and how anxious I get when I don’t have my routines and structures in place.
I am still moving… yes, still. I have until 9/30. I am going slow and steady. While everything that I need to function in my daily life it here, and I love my office (it has turned out so, so well), I am still struggling to find a routine, a structure, and I end up dopamine crashing a lot (falling asleep out of nowhere, brain fog, doom scrolling, mindless eating and wandering up and down the stairs).
Getting back to doing daily tarot challenges has been very grounding. There is purpose. There is excitement. There is consistency, and I can prepare for the next day the day before.
Prioritize Time for Your Practice
These are just a few of the journals that I have filled up with the monthly tarot challenges by Lion Harts and Josephine dating back to Janury 1, 2018. Tarot was brand new to me as of 12/25/2017 so it made sense that in January of 2018 I would be in full ADHD hyper-focus and excited, but the excitement never died down. My excitement, love, and passion for reading tarot only grew and continues to grow.
Why didn’t I give up like I have with so many other hobbies, crafts, journaling attempts? Well, I think it’s because this is part of my soul path. I don’t necessarily love that terminology. It’s way too new agey and gives skinny white girl pretension, but it’s the best way I can describe it. I needed this to ground me and to help me expand my spirituality and to heal. Tarot, in lieu of therapy, has been really, really helpful for identifying the inner work that needs to go on. I am not recommending this for others. It is just what I have experienced.
Month, after month, year after year, I stayed consistent. With ADHD, how was that possible? I went with my own flow. I found a topic that I was genuinely passionate about, and I prioritized my energy around it. Taking the time, reserving the energy, prioritizing this part of my journey has been vital for being able to maintain my practice
Find A Time That Works for You and Your Schedule
When I went back to work and away from working as an independent contractor, I lost my mornings to go up to Tabor and do my daily tarot routine. Instead, I changed it to a night-time routine. I am awful at night time routines because I am often so tired and burnt out after a day of movement, socializing, cooking, and decision making that I can’t do more than scroll in bed and brush my teeth. If I knew I was having a really low energy evening, I would just skip that day and catch up the next day. Or, I would skip doing the dishes so that I could have the energy to do my tarot. I would give up “normal people things” in order to reserve my energy because tarot has been that important to me for the last 6.5 years.
During lockdown, I came back to my tarot practice after a fairly long break (about a year) due to grad school, and it became my morning practice again. My energy is highest in the morning, and I feel the most grounded and in touch. Post lockdown, I tried to go back to night time tarot, and I couldn’t do it. I realized that I had to get up early and do my tarot practice during breakfast. So, for the last 2 years, I have been getting up at 4:45 so I have time to get up, make lunch, make and eat breakfast, and do my morning tarot. Work it into your routine so that there is a natural flow, and you don’t even have to think about it. Automaticity, as much as we can have with ADHD, is key.
Grab Tools You’re Not Afraid Of
This isn’t even all of my filled journals, but you can see that they are all well-loved and beaten up. That one on the far right was my first ever tarot notebook. I got it in the Honolulu airport the day after Christmas as we were heading home. I needed to write down the cards I was pulling, and I couldn’t wait. It was just a cheap little notebook with lines that were too wide, but it worked. My next (second from the left) was a beautiful, gifted notebook that I was hesitant to write in because it was SO beautiful.
Our ADHD brains can fill us with anxiety, dread, and a crippling amount of perfectionism over the smallest things: such as “messing up” a notebook. I used it though, and I went back to lower quality notebooks for my tarot journaling up until the last year and a half or so. You want your tools to be tools that aren’t a huge investment. Buy the deck that calls to you, but the notebook? The pen? The pencil? Use what you have or buy something cheap.
The ADHD dopamine hits of buying new and buying expensive are almost unparalleled. They’re huge hits that keep us in a mode of consumption. Grab the cheap stuff so you are less intimidated of messing it up, of needing to buy the next, best, more expensive items.
For my daily tarot journaling, I use these travelers notebooks. They come in a pack of 3, and I use them for about 6 months. So I am only spending $9 for a year and a half. They work perfectly for my needs. Daily pull from the Guardian of the Night Tarot on the left. Message from the Sea Soul Journeys Oracle on the right, along with a message from the planet that I am working with the for the month. As I write this, my celestial guide is The Sun. I am using the newest Moonology Deck… which is weird for the sun, but the colors and imagery were speaking to me. 6 sentences max, and BAM! A daily tarot practice that I can complete in 10 minutes while I eat my eggs.
For my tarot challenges I use these. They’re a little more expensive than I would suggest for an entry level investment, but I love the imagery and quotes. Also, the lines are perfection! they’re what I wrote in for the August Tarot Challenge that I was posting on stories.
For my tarot spreads, I use a nicer, thicker, more expensive journal because those pages often come out more artful with the letter, washi tapes, and collages. I don’t do my spreads or new moon journaling every day. For a daily practice? Start cheap!
Honor Yourself Within Your Practice
These are things that work for me, that have allowed me to have a sustained journaling and tarot practice. 4:45 wake ups won’t work for most people so truly figure out what works best for you. If something is not working, change it. You are not here to impress anyone on The Gram, Threads, Twitter, anywhere. This is a personal and sacred journey.
This is a PRACTICE. This is a real life example of the Eight of Pentacles. I know I have been harping on this a lot, the eight of pentacles, I mean, but dedication and practice to your craft, projects, education, etc. is a dedication to yourself, and that is something that we do not often hear in society.
You are worthy of the dedication to yourself, even when your executive dysfunction tries to fuck you over. You are deserving of the practice, the consistency, the comfort that comes with knowing your decks are there waiting for you, waiting to help you better access your intuition and inner power, your magic. So find a way to honor yourself, and remember that you are worthy and deserving of it. ADHD, ASD, neurodivergence in general needs the why, the purpose. That purpose, my absolute darling loves, is YOU. YOU are the purpose. YOU are the reason. YOU are worth the practice, dedication, and the freedom tarot can present. It will take time, but I believe in you and so do your decks.
Do any of these tips resonate for you? Are there any tricks or tips you’d like to add in? Let us know!
Wishing you well this week! May your life offer what you need in this moment.
With love,
Aventurine ✨
Morning practice works for me too, I try to combine it with either a short meditation or short yoga routine but sometimes I just do it with coffee. I also have found that it has been therapeutic for me too and very helpful for my shadow work.
Thanks for this! I haven't had a daily tarot practice for a while. Routines are very important. I have been able to keep a daily journaling routine and it really helps me start the day off right.