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This blog goes with Healing Thru Tarot Podcast Ep. 50: Tarot and Oracle for Kids & Teens + Review of My First Magic Oracle for Young Readers - In this blog, I discuss tarot and oracle for kids and teens, and I review Rockpool Publishing’s My First Magic Oracle. This is the perfect first oracle deck for young readers. And I also share some simple 1, 2, and 3 card pulls for young readers to start with and a 7 card weekly spread for young readers to use to navigate their daily lives. 

From the beginning of my tarot journey, I’ve always thought that the tarot would be so useful for children and teens to learn how to identify and process emotions. In therapy there are a few tools we can use to help children work through their feelings that usually includes art therapy, dolls, toys, etc. And tarot and oracle could be just as effective if not more in my opinion. Teaching them to journal early on helps them work through expressing their thoughts and feelings and to start to work on problem solving. 

Pairing tarot and oracle card pulls with journaling could deepen that process and help them evaluate their reactions and responses to issues they’re struggling with in their daily lives. 

For kids, I suggest starting with a simpler tarot deck than the typical Rider Waite Smith because the symbolism could be a bit much for them. I’d start with something like the The Young Witch Tarot, The Monstarot, and even the new Hocus Pocus Tarot deck would be perfect especially if they know the movie well. That’s such a fun one to work with. 

There’s even a Tarot for Kids deck from Theresa Reed Aka the Tarot Lady and Kailey Whitman is the Illustrator. I haven’t worked with the deck but I’ve seen the images and they’re gentle, simple, and definitely convey the basic messages of the cards in the images provided. 

I suggest showing your child images from a few decks to see which deck they gravitate to. I always work better with decks I’m drawn to. We each have our preferred aesthetics. I think you can’t miss with The Monstarot (shown in photo above). It’s full of adorable creatures in pastel colors lots of blues, yellows, and purples. It’s very kid friendly, gentle, humorous, and so fun to use. The Halloween Tarot is another deck that is perfect for kids and teens. And of course, even if you’re an adult all of these decks are great choices for inner child work and healing. 

For teens, I’d suggest the Modern Witch Tarot, The Everyday Witch Tarot, the Light Seers Tarot, the Dark Mansion Tarot, and even some older teens might resonate with the Wild Unknown Tarot although that one might be harder for beginners. I also LOVE the Harmony Tarot for older teens who may be struggling with mental health issues. It’s a gentle, comforting deck and the guidebook is focused on self-care practices. Although this deck doesn’t follow the RWS strictly so I wouldn’t suggest learning tarot with this deck. It might serve better as an oracle deck, but I highly recommend it for anyone needing extra emotional support during a rough time. I give a detailed review of the Harmony Tarot in Ep. 36 when I explore the Healer Archetype. 

Also, if you have teens who want to really learn tarot and dive in I’d suggest Little Sage Tarot’s Tarot Cards with Keywords deck (shown above). It has all the upright and reversed keywords right on the card with the original RWS imagery. It’s a great deck to learn with. You can find that deck along with her tarot journals at littlesagetarot.com 

Again, go with what resonates for your child. That’s always a good sign. 

Simple Spreads

When it comes to spreads, I think the simpler the better for younger readers. I suggest starting out with one card pulls. You don’t want to overwhelm them with having to process too much information at once. I see this issue with readers of all ages. So for all beginners, I advise to ease yourself into this practice. 

My favorite one card pulls are for the energy for the day, the focus for the day, message I most need to hear today, or a daily goal. You could alternate these prompts throughout the week. This teaches your child or teen to stay focused on the present moment when trying to zero in on the energy that is present for today and how to use that energy to tackle daily goals and how to prepare for what will unfold throughout the day. Staying in the present moment helps kids reduce anxiety about future events and promotes mindfulness. Once your child or teen feels comfortable with one card daily pulls, they can move up to 2 card spreads that dig deeper into problem solving approaches with the cards. 

Here’s a few 2 card spreads that I suggest: 

As you can see with these simple prompts, the cards can help with making choices and problem solving. This helps young readers make decisions after considering their options and helps to put them back in the driver’s seat. Learning problem solving skills helps empower kids and teens at a time in life when they might be struggling with helplessness or powerlessness. 

As a therapist, I can tell you that one of the main complaints I’ve heard from young clients is that they don’t have any control over their life or circumstances. It’s always advisable to help children find ways to feel more in control of their emotions, their reactions and responses, and their behaviors. Giving them an outlet to regain some control can drastically reduce anxiety and stress. And it lowers depression and hopelessness. Unfortunately, suicide rates have been rising in age groups below 17 for years. So, addressing these issues early in life helps your child feel more hopeful about their circumstances. Having the cards to work through these issues could be life saving in that sense. 

It’s also empowering for young readers to experience receiving guidance from their inner sage. As you know teens especially can often be defiant and might initially reject external advice out of spite, but since divination helps you tap into that inner guide, they’re more likely to listen to and accept the messages coming through. So, if you have a child that has been hard for you to reach, this tool could offer them advice that they may be more willing to accept. 

This is also a great option for a child or teen that doesn’t have many friends to talk with about issues they’re struggling with. The cards often feel like a trusted friend who offers you the perfect message you need to hear at the right moment. Also, the cards can help a young reader trust their instincts especially if the cards they are pulling seem to line up with thoughts they had been having before. They may realize that they have been tuning into their inner voice all along. This builds trust in their own abilities and strengths which is so important to improve their self-confidence and self-worth. 

I find that even in my own work with tarot and oracle that I’ve been able to balance my shadow with my inner guide that is supportive and encouraging. This helps to work through anger, resentment, frustration, and angst as well. It’s essential to learn that there’s hope and love inside as well because at that age you are very aware of the negative emotions you experience because they are so present daily. Connecting with this inner guide will help build agency at an early age that will lead to resilience, empowerment, and confidence later in life. Working with the cards helps them understand their role in their lives. They can come away feeling like they can direct their future paths more than they realized before. This could help with goal setting and learning how to meet those goals as well as manifesting a better future once they tap into that inner guidance that increases their understanding of their own power. 

Three Card Spreads

Eventually, they will get to a point where pulling a 3 card spread won’t seem so daunting. 

The more they pull cards and learn to weave a narrative through the card pulls, the better they become with writing skills and creativity in general. Working with the cards helps with story telling and connecting the dots when spreads string together several messages. This could lead to improved verbal skills in the classroom and on achievement tests. I’m sure that would be a welcome outcome to this mental health practice. This practice also helps them connect with something larger than themselves. At that age, we can feel so alone. But what’s so magical about the cards is that you start to realize there’s a larger purpose and plan that we are a part of. Becoming purpose driven is linked to a reduction in anxiety and depression as well. This is why I think tarot and oracle would be so beneficial for children ages 5 and up. 

As you can see, pulling cards, whether it be tarot or oracle, can help young readers implement self-care practices into their life. This is crucial at a stage when they may struggle with self-criticism, judgment, and self-sabotaging behaviors. Learning to care for themselves will help to improve their mental health and overall wellbeing. Of course, this practice isn’t something you can force on them. Introduce them to it and let them make the choice whether to learn more about tarot and oracle cards if they show an interest. 

Week Ahead Spread 

Larger spreads can seem intimidating for young readers or beginners so instead of pulling a larger spread of 5 or more cards I’m offering here 7 prompts - 1 for each day of the week that will help beginners plan out the week and tackle any issues or challenges that pop up that week. Once you feel more comfortable with pulling more cards at once you could pull all 7 cards at the beginning of the week for a week ahead spread if you’d like. I just wanted to offer you options here as you get started. You can start on Sundays or Mondays if you prefer. I tend to see Sundays as an ideal day for looking ahead but some people prefer to start that forecast on Monday. Either way works. So you can decide to pull them one card a day for each day of the week or in one sitting for a look ahead of the next 7 days. 

I advise journaling as you pull cards because it can help you brainstorm new ideas, marinate in the messages, and work through problems as they arise. Journaling also helps messages arise from the subconscious mind while your logical mind takes a back seat. Learning to journal early on in life helps to give you an outlet for emotions as they arise instead of bottling them up. When you stuff feelings down deep, you can’t control when they pop back up and overflow. That’s when we see outbursts and temper tantrums and rages. Writing down your thoughts and feelings on a regular basis helps to tamp down these emotional outbursts and mood swings. It helps to keep us balanced and in control of our emotional reactions. 

Writual actually created a kid’s tarot journal (shown below from the Writual site), which I highly recommend. It’s undated and in a simple format to help keep your child organized and focused when taking time to do some card pulls and self-reflective journaling daily. If you want to check out the Writual journal, use my Writual Ambassador link here - takes you right to their page. Then use discount code HEALING (all caps) when you checkout to get 15% off your Writual purchases! 

Some of my earliest podcast episodes cover shuffling and card pulling techniques and getting started on this process. These are definitely a good place to start for teens. For younger children, I’d suggest you listen to those episodes and simplify that information for younger children as they learn the process. Those episodes of Healing Thru Tarot that I suggest to start would be Ep. 3: Tarot Beginner Resources and Shuffling and Card Pulling Methods Ep. 4: Getting Started on Tarot Spreads, the Celtic Cross and How to Phrase Your Questions

Review of My First Magical Oracle for kids

Rockpool Publishing sent over the adorable new kids oracle called My First Magic Oracle. It’s so cute! This 42-card deck by Gwenaelle Dudek helps kids explore their emotions, learn to express and share their feelings, and process their thoughts, fears, worries, and feelings in healthy ways. This deck helps them learn more about themselves and how they view the world around them. 

The creator, Gwenaelle, is an illustrator, author, and personal fulfillment coach. This deck doesn’t focus on prediction, instead its focus is on self-reflection, self-awareness, emotion regulation, and behavior modification to include healthier habits in their daily life just like we were talking about earlier. Gwenaelle notes in the guidebook that when the words “magical friends” appear in the card meanings that it’s a reference to an invisible force that is supportive and can take on any form that feels right to them which could be animal, spiritual, angelic, or fantastical in nature. This is to help the child understand that they aren’t alone in any struggles they face. There is help all around. 

The cards are very bright and colorful and showcase fun-loving animals, flowers, rainbows, plenty of sunrays and nature scenes with kids engaging in outdoor activities from exercising and playing to planting seeds in a garden to care for the planet. I find that the cards are very encouraging with messages like Be Brave, Know That You Can Do It, Do your Best, and Congratulate Yourself. 

Some of the cards also encourage healthy behaviors and outlets such as exercise, eating well, drinking water, limiting screen time, taking a rest or just a breath, going outside, and having fun. Being a psychologist, I love to see cards addressing emotional regulation with cards saying, Embrace Your Emotions, Express Your Feelings, Accept Your Sensitivity, Follow Your Heart, and Confide Your Fears and Worries. 

And the card messages are very hopeful and supportive, which should help each young reader feel safe and positive with cards like Remember That It Will Pass, Feel Protected, Know You Are Always Loved, Dream Big and Believe In The Magic of Life. The cards promoting self-love are so important during the developmental years when children may struggle with body image and self-esteem issues. Cards such as Embrace Your Uniqueness, Find Your Ingenuity, and Respect Yourself can help them start to value self-love and self-care early on in life. 

Let’s explore what the guidebook says for the card “Embrace Your Uniqueness.” In the guidebook, she says, “everything in nature is varied and different. There are thousands of species of flowers, trees and animals and none are identical, which is simply beautiful! You are a part of this world and you, too, are unique. You are special, and the world is very lucky to have you because you play a role in making it beautiful. Trust in your originality.”   

And for “Express Your Feelings,” the guidebook says “you may be feeling lots of emotions right now that you don’t understand, or you may be filled with questions. Speak with an adult or friend with whom you’re close to bring these things out of your mind and into the open so you can make sense of them. You can also express what you feel and think by drawing or writing in a diary.” Imagine how comforting it would be for young readers to pull cards with such encouraging messages on a regular basis. Like journaling, pulling cards is a therapeutic exercise that helps to process confusing emotions, identify life challenges, and work through conflicts by discovering new resources and coping strategies. 

These cards are very straightforward, simple to read and understand, and are powerful reminders that each person on the planet has all the strength and resources within to overcome whatever any of us face. Thanks to Rockpool Publishing for sending over My First Magic Oracle (buy here) to review and share with you today. I highly recommend these cards for young readers from the ages of 4 through around 10 years. It would be a perfect first oracle to work with to introduce young readers to card pulling and journaling about the cards.

If you’re looking for oracle decks for teens, I suggest the Wisdom of the Oracle, Believe in Your Own Magic Oracle, and The Spirit Animal Oracle for animal lovers. That one is so colorful, animal focused, and has great advice as it weaves in messages from the animal kingdom. 

My go to pairing for teens is the Everyday Witch Oracle with The Everyday Witch Tarot (combo shown above). They work so well together. I love the images and it’s super easy to read. It’s a winning combo for me! If you’ve got kids, see if they are interested in the card images for any deck. And you may find that they want to ease in with oracle cards before tackling the tarot. Go with what feels natural to them and let them lead the process.

Links for all the decks and books discussed in this episode are located at the end of this blog.

Since the holidays are upon us, check out the Stocking Stuffers episode I released in November 2022. That’s Ep. 41: Stocking Stuffers and Holiday Gifts for Tarot Lovers. In that episode, I detailed all of my favorite picks for tarot gifts and goodies. And I include ideas for kids too. 

And check out my 2023 Tarot Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Adults and Kids that is up on my blog here.

Time to pre-order the 2024 Writual Tarot Planner

And it’s that time of year when we need to order another tarot journal. It's out now! I always order a new Writual Tarot Planner around this time. If you want one before the new year, remember you can use my writual discount code at checkout. Use my Writual ambassador link here along with my discount code HEALING (all caps), which gets you 15% off your Writual purchases when you use that affiliate link and code.

So do some holiday shopping when you’re on their site and save time and money with my link and code. Writual has a ton of tarot products you can gift others for the holidays. They have tarot stamps and stickers, dated and undated tarot journals and planners, including one for kids, tarot decks and tarot-themed mugs, candles, and jewelry plus crystal sets, which make for adorable stocking stuffers so check them out using my link.

Books and Decks shown in this blog or recommended:

Believe in Your Own Magic Oracle, The Dark Mansion Tarot, Earth Magic Oracle, Everyday Witch Tarot, Everyday Witch Oracle, Goddess Guidance Oracle, Halloween Tarot, Harmony Tarot,  Hocus Pocus Tarot, The Light Seers Tarot, Modern Witch Tarot, Monstarot, My First Magic Oracle, Rider Waite Smith Tarot, Spirit Animal Oracle, Tarot with Keywords, Tarot for Kids, Wild Unknown Tarot,  Wisdom of the Oracle, The Young Witch Tarot

Healing Thru Tarot Podcast

Link to Podcast Episode 50 click here

Related Episodes:

Ep. 3: Tarot Beginner Resources and Shuffling and Card Pulling Methods

Ep. 4: Getting Started on Tarot Spreads, the Celtic Cross and How to Phrase Your Questions

Ep. 36:  Healing with the Healer Archetype + Review of The Harmony Tarot and Other Healing Decks

My Novels - The Divining Sisters Series

And if you are looking for a good witchy book for an autumn read my new book series, The Divining Sisters, is perfect for this time of year. Book 1 in the series, The Call of the Cards is available now as an ebook $4.99 and paperback $14.99 on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Find out more details on my novels on my author website author.heatherhardison.com - That’s where I post updates on book releases, book blurbs and quotes, book covers, links to purchase, and fun things like my Spotify playlists for each book. I carefully curate those to express the energy of each book.

You can find the ebook and paperback of The Call of the Cards, We Divine Three, and The Threads of Fate on Amazon. And the eBooks are also on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, Scribd, Smash words, and more. The Ebook is $4.99 and the paperback is $14.99. If you get a copy, please leave a book review on whatever platform you buy it on if you enjoy it. That really helps me out and can help get my book in front of more readers. And if you love it please also review it on good reads.

Readers are raving about the series like this 5 star amazon review of The Call of the Cards “The metaphysical series I've been waiting for! I was hooked from the beginning and even find myself slowing down because I want it to last. The characters are so relatable and genuine, and the explanations of tarot readings and past life stories is spot on! I'm eagerly awaiting the next ones. Please please, Heather, keep writing.” 

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see updates on the book releases there. I have 2 instagram accounts My tarot and podcast account - healingthrutarot My author account heatherhardisonauthor 

Healing Thru Tarot's Spread Ebook Line

A Spread for All Seasons - 17 custom spreads

Healing and Mental Health Spreads Vol. 1 - 15 custom spreads

Healing and Mental Health Spreads Vol. 2- 15 9-card spreads

Shadow Work Spreads and Workbook - 20 spreads

Healing Thru Tarot’s Life Path and Life Purpose spread ebook includes 15 custom spreads I’ve created to help you identify and align with your life path and sail to success. Spreads like the life path alignment spread, lightwork path guidance spread, conquering obstacles on my path spread, advice from my future self-spread and karmic healing path spread will help you position yourself to step into your full power and achieve the purpose you incarnated to fulfill. Plus many more spreads offering guidance and advice to get on path and stay on track. $12

Click here to purchase any of these spread ebooks

Magic Mind

Magic Mind is my coffee replacement that keeps my mind clear and alert, so I don’t nod off when I’m up late into the night journaling or pulling cards. This 2-ounce elixir is easier on my stomach than coffee and doesn’t leave me with jitters. I sip on it right before my writing sessions and I get in a good 7 hours of productive work thanks to the natural ingredients like the nootropics and adaptogens that not only help me stay focused and inspired but also relaxed as I write through the evening. 

If you’d like to try this elixir for yourself go to https://www.magicmind.com/thrutarot 

You can use my code at checkout: HEALING20 (that’s all caps) for 20% off your one time purchase or up to 56% off your first subscription because it stacks with the subscription discount from their website. That’s HEALING20 for 56% off. And it also works if you’re already a subscriber, you save on your next subscription payment. I’d recommend the 30 pack because it’s the best deal.

If you’re a writer like me or just someone looking for enhanced productivity and creativity as you work, give Magic Mind a try.  

Listener Support

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