How to pick the right card deck for you (and what to do after you get it!)🔮💅🏻

Hey everyone! It has been a WHILE, right?

So, long story short: A while ago I decided that I needed to bring all my separate entities under one umbrella - Making It Magic, Big Worth Energy, etc - and just own all those parts of me under the Amber L. Carter banner.

And that was good. That was GREAT. It was exactly what I needed to do, especially when it came to showing up as my full, truest, and weirdest self to my entire audience.

As a blogger since 2004 and a published author since 2009, I had people in my audience who had no IDEA about the fact that I was intuitive or gave readings, and for a long time, I didn’t want them to…I didn’t want to risk opening the witch wound and subjecting myself to rejection or ridicule.

But at some point, you’ve really got to just step up and own every single aspect of you, no matter what anyone else might think. We all know that one person who thinks that manifestation and psychics and readings are bullshit…but that’s theirjourney, not ours (and also, I’m pretty sure if you dug hard enough, you would think some of the stuff they really like and believe is bullshit, too).

One of my favorite lessons in life was when someone on Twitter asked people to name their favorite movie. This was back when Twitter was pretty small and conversations like this usually involved people you knew and followed. This Twitter convo got to the point where you could tell that everyone was trying so hard to impress everyone else with their taste in movies, and then my pal Kate was just like, “My favorite movie is Shrek.” It was like you could literally hear the silence hit the room, and then the floodgates opened: All of a sudden everyone felt free to be all, “Oh, and also He-Man vs She-Ra is a very close second to my first pick of My Left Foot…”

So anyway! That’s what I was going for, when I melded this newsletter into Amber L. Carter and started doing updates from there.

But now I’m like…actually, maybe I do kind of want just a special, dedicated space to chat about stuff like spirituality and manifestation and channeling and cards. Y’know? Like sometimes it’s nice to just speak the circle that already gets it, instead of trying to bring everyone in. So I apologize if you’re like, “What? Just make up your mind!!!!” It’s just a change in direction that I’m playing with…maybe switching gears and niching back down will harken some really fun, new things in the near future, maybe not!! ✨

How to pick the right card deck for you (and what to do after you get it!)🔮💅🏻

A lot of clients who want to start doing their own readings have asked if I have any tips per picking out the right deck for you. Honestly, my advice is stupidly simple: Buy the one you’re most drawn to, or ask someone intuitive to help select one for you.

(Also note the keyword “buy” - please ignore that old wive’s tale that you can’t “buy” a deck, that it either has to be given to you or you have to steal one. That is just superstitious bullshit)

When I’m buying decks in person for myself or friends, I like to see which decks my eyes keep returning to, and then I like to hover my right hand over the deck…if I feel a warm sensation in my palm, that tells me it’s the right deck for my purpose (this also works for crystals!).

Being drawn to a deck repeatedly is also the same process I use when buying them online. It’s really just about trusting your gut instincts, though…there are a ton of decks out there whose artwork is stunning or the concept is really fun, but I can tell on an intuitive level that there’s just something about the deck that’s not for me.

However, I also had to buy a few decks and go through some trial and error before I really started trusting my instincts in this space! I bought a couple that were so aesthetically cool and beautiful, but for the life of me, I just could notconnect with the cards, no matter what I did. This happens a lot with some of the trendier, pop-culture decks out there. Anyone can make a deck, but not everyone realizes that being able to do an actual reading from a deck requires thoughtful, symbolic imagery and spiritual meaning. Just because an oracle card has Britney Spears on it, that doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to cull an actual reading from it.

Oracle or Tarot?

Oracle is an easy and beautiful gateway if you’re just starting to read for yourself. I also think that Oracle cards just feel lighter, and they tend to be more prescriptive than predictive.

Tarot is a gorgeous practice, but in my opinion, giving accurate and in-depth readings with Tarot does require a dedicated study of the cards, their symbols, and their varied meanings. For instance, the meaning of a Tarot card can be completely different when it shows up on its own vs. when it’s laid next to another card. I think that’s super magical, but others who want Tarot to be straightforward and easy to read as Oracle cards - and who don’t want to take the time to study Tarot - can find that to be incredibly annoying.

I personally had a hard time doing Tarot readings until it clicked that the major arcana is an illustrated Hero’s Journey. When I figured out that the cards could basically be read as your own personal fairy-tale adventure, my readings hit a whole new level.

Connecting with your deck

Once I get the deck home, this is the ritual I do in order to cleanse and connect with it:

First, I cleanse the cards with a wand of selenite and surround them with white light and intention. Then I sleep with the deck under my pillow for about a week. This sounds so, so silly but I swear it works! When the week is up and the cards come out from under my pillow, I make sure to do a card pull from the deck once a day for at least a week or two, just so the cards and I can really get to know each other.

For some decks, it’s like magic - the cards vibe with you and the readings feel so on point from the get. For others, though, it’s tougher and takes a little longer to really feel like you have a rhythm with the cards. This is fine, too! Sometimes it’s super great for your practice to work with a deck that’s a little tougher or harsher, because it challenges you to get really clear about your parameters (are you gonna accept reversals? Or does everything need to be upright and tight?) and your questions.

But like I mentioned above, you may not alway vibe with a deck, no matter how often you try to pair or practice with it. When that happens, I recommend cleansing the deck and giving it to a fellow card-loving friend. Maybe it wasn’t meant for you, but it was meant to be given to them by you. 💫

That’s it for now! I hope you have a magical week ✨

-AC