Struggling to stick to a journaling routine? Try the tarot

For any and all walks of life, journaling is the go-to recommendation for anyone looking to improve their lives. Want to love yourself more? Journal! Can’t figure out what your career should be? Journal about it! Intensely angry at someone and considering ruining your life over it? Take a deep breath and journal first!

What people don’t tell you is how hard it is to sit down and start a journal the first time around, especially in an age where everybody’s doomscrolling in bed after a grueling day in school or at work.

While I’ve been proudly maintaining my journaling habit since my very first diary in 1998 (which was fuzzy and had a cute, useless little lock on it), even I have a hard time tearing myself away from TikTok or the panic-button topic of the hour long enough to write a few sentences in my journaling app, much less my physical traveler’s notebook. On days like those, tarot cards are a godsend.

Why tarot cards?

Tarot cards employ a visual shorthand rich with symbolism, archetypes, and layers of meaning that resonate with what I like to call the “modern hero’s journey.” As an autist in particular I feel like they serve beautifully as prompts that bypass surface level thinking (and more importantly, overthinking about doing things the “right” way) and tap into deeper emotions, questions, and insights.

Tarot cards:

• Provide structure: Drawing a card gives you a clear starting point fr writing, eliminating decision fatigue and alleviating the terror of a dreaded blank page.
• Gently invite self-reflection: The imagery and themes of the cards encourage you to examine your inner world.
• Supply creative inspiration: The symbolic nature of tarot cards — plus the seemingly endless variety of each deck — can lead to unexpected associations and new perspectives.
• Motivate a state of mindfulness: Incorporating tarot into journaling creates a ritual that grounds your practice in intention and presence.

Not to mention, tarot is perceived as a relatively “woowoo” activity. For the uninitiated, the added allure of mysticism can make journaling feel more mystical and fun. (And if you’re part of the “uninitiated,” welcome! Not sure how you got here but I hope you stick around!)

What you need to start journaling with tarot cards

To begin, you’ll need:

1. A tarot deck, of course! Choose one with imagery that resonates with you.
2. A notebook or digital journaling app.
3. A quiet space to reflect.

How to use the tarot to build your journaling habit, step by step

Set your intention

Start your journaling session by setting a clear intention. Don’t overthink it; this could be a question, a theme, an invitation for insight, or just a general vibe or emotion. For example:

• “What is blocking my creative flow?”
• “My boss is giving me a hard time Should I be worried?”
• “I don’t know what to write about but I’m feeling annoyed today.”

Shuffle and draw a card

Shuffle your tarot deck while holding your intention in mind. Draw one or more cards depending on how much time you have or the depth of reflection you’re looking for. If you’re new to tarot, start with a single card.

Describe the card

Look at the card(s) and describe what you see. What stands out? Colors, symbols, emotions, characters and their movement (or lack of movement)? Jot them down; let these observations be your starting point on the page. What connects with you about this card with anchor your attention and help you maintain focus throughout your journaling session.

Interpret your thoughts through writing

Reflect on how the card relates to your intention. Here are a few prompts that might depend your exploration:

• What emotions or memories does this card evoke?
• How does this card’s message relate to my current challenges or goals?
• What actions can I take based on this card’s insight?

For example, if you’re worried about your boss and you pull the IX of Wands (a card signifying a last stand or final push), what did you notice first about that card? If it contains a character, does that person look weary or triumphant? Are you nearing the end of a long-running project? How do you feel about it? What do you think your boss feels?

Or if you draw The Fool, you might write about where in your life you feel ready (or not ready) to take a leap of faith, or where you might need to embrace spontaneity.

Close with gratitude

End your session by patting yourself on the back for time spent reflecting when you could have been sacrificing hours of your day to YouTube videos! Maybe even write a sentence or two summarizing your takeaway from the session.

Tips for sustaining a consistent journaling habit

Keep it simple

You don’t need to journal for an hour a day to benefit from the practice. Embrace microjournaling! Draw a card and write literally a single line about how it relates to your real life, right now. Even that carries meaning. Just make sure you write in complete, understandable sentences. That way, when you look back at your journal or journaling app six months, a year, five years from now, you’ll be more likely to understand where you were in life and what you were going through.

Experiment with formats

If traditional journaling feels stale or doesn’t fit into your lifestyle, experiment with:

• Bullet points (literally a line a day)
• Stream-of-consciousness writing (see: morning pages)
• Poetry inspired by the card you pulled
• Sketches or doodles of the card’s imagery in relation to your life (or on its own)

Use pre-made spreads

No need to invent the wheel. There are plenty of tarot books and sites offering tarot spreads tailored to reflecting on specific themes like self-care, goal setting, or emotional healing. If you love pre-mades and want more “bang for your buck,” try 1,001 Tarot Spreads by Cassandra Eason, or if you’re just curious, download Labyrinthos, which has a small collection of tried-and-true spreads to get you started.

Track your progress.

Dedicate a section of your journal to tracking recurring themes or insights. Over time, patterns might emerge that provide clarity or long-term growth. I’ve been tagging overarching themes for my spreads in Capacities while job searching, which has helped me notice and revise self-limiting narratives around how I interview.

An autist’s word of caution: be careful not to overdo it! There’s a fine line between “keeping watch for patterns” and “hopeless tracking every single thing to feel the faintest semblance of control in your life.” Not that I know anything about that…

Have fun!

Remember that tarot doesn’t have to be serious. Sometimes it really can be “just fun and games.” Approach it with curiosity, and let your inner child explore the magic of storytelling through the cards.

Tarot journaling prompts to try right now

To get you started, here are a few prompt you can use with your tarot deck:

• Draw a card and ask, “What part of my story is unfolding today?”
• Choose a card to represent a current challenge and write about how its symbolism guides you toward a solution.
• Reflect on the imagery of a card: “If I stepped into this scene, what I feel, hear, or say?”
• Write a letter to the character or archetype in a card about the concept they represent.

With consistent practice, journaling with the tarot can boost your self-awareness and strengthen your ability to navigate life’s challenges — and that’s because you’re steadily building some often-ignored emotional and spiritual muscles. The key is consistency, not perfection. The cards may guide your thinking, but you’re the one in the driver’s seat. Trust the process.