How to Get Better at Reading Oracle Cards: 5 Ways to Deepen Your Practice

Ready to go beyond the basics? These 5 oracle card reading tips, from almost 30 years of practice, will help you read with more mastery.

If you can’t tell from all the guidebooks I’ve written for them, I love oracle cards. But I’ve been practicing with them for far longer than I’ve been writing them. Dear Goddess, now that I think about it, we are talking almost 30 years.

And while there is a lot of information already out there about how to get started reading oracle cards, there isn’t a whole lot about how to improve. That’s why I want to share the most helpful oracle card reading tips I’ve gathered over the years. I mean the decades. The almost three decades. (That’s more of my life spent reading the cards than not reading them, which… if I’m honest, feels about right.)

And hey! If you’re in or around the Central Valley of California this weekend (October 17, 2026), I’m teaching an in-person class about how to read oracle cards. I hope you can join me! Here’s where you can learn more.

1: Every Morning, Consciously Attune to Your Guidance

Spiritual work is sort of like athletics. You want to stay in condition if you want to be at your best. That’s why this tip is not just for days when you’re reading oracle cards: it’s for every single day. When you practice it regularly, you will notice a real difference in the strength of your intuition and the clarity of the messages you receive.

Here’s what you do. Every morning, if you can, spend some time alone. Drink your coffee or tea (or whatever you have first thing), and then sit comfortably. Light a candle and maybe some incense, or just sit quietly outside, near your altar, or in a room with gentle, natural, or ambient lighting. You can even do this in bed. (Whatever feels right.) Take some deep breaths and relax your body.

Call on the Divine or your higher wisdom. Perhaps you’d like to invoke your ancestors, angels, and guides, and the nature spirits that live in and around your home. Imagine, sense, or just know there is a bright, white, spherical light a foot or so above your head. Let this symbolize and hold the space for your divine guidance: all the knowing that comes to you from your spiritual helpers and the beyond. Sense a beam of light moving down from this sphere into the crown of your head. Breathe, relax, and set the intention to be attuned to this source of wisdom throughout the day.

2: Personalize Your Grounding and Centering Practice

Before every oracle card reading, ground and center your energy the same way every time. In addition to opening you up to spiritual guidance, this will send a clear signal to your mind and body that you are in sacred space. You are elevating your consciousness to hear and know what your intuition has to say.

If you’d like, you can start with my practice and then tweak it until it feels just right. Or you can use my description as a template when crafting your own. Here is what I do:

I close my eyes and take three deep breaths. (If I am reading for someone else, I have them take three deep breaths as well.) Then I say, “I honor the Divine, I align with the Divine, I am Divine. There is a Divine shield of light around me so that all messages I receive and communicate are real, true, clear, and from love. In the highest and truest good of myself and All That Is [or the name of the person I’m reading for], Thank you.”

Then I shuffle and lay out the card[s].

3: Experiment with Different Shuffling and Drawing Methods

You can shuffle and draw the cards in any way that feels right to you. If you’ve been doing it the same way every time, try some other options and see what happens. You may find a technique you like even more, or you may just like to have different options for different days, depending on your mood.

You might shuffle like you’re shuffling a deck of playing cards, casually move the deck around in your hands, or make a huge mess with the cards on a tabletop or the floor and stir them around like a cauldron. (I always do this last method with my tarot deck because it’s too big for my small hands to shuffle any other way, but I like it and it works perfectly!)

It might feel right to take the first card[s] off the top of the deck, or you may like to spread the cards out and select them one by one. If you choose the latter, notice if certain cards stand out to you visually (they might sort of glow, or their color might seem brighter). Or, you might notice that when you move your hand above them, you feel a magnetic affinity with a certain card. Like your fingers or palm are just aching to draw it. You might also notice a warmth or relaxation in your belly when you contemplate drawing a particular card.

4: Always Appreciate the Artwork Before Jumping Into Interpretation

Oracle cards are not just words, and they are not just pictures. They are pictures and words. But they are also something more. They are a language that transcends language: a portal of communication that opens between Spirit and your soul.

If you jump straight into interpretation before gazing at the images, you miss the first opportunity to receive intuitive guidance. Something in the card may stand out to you that you’ve never noticed. You may feel an emotion or energy from the card that will give you a vital insight into your reading.

5: Be Alert to Words and Phrases That Stand Out to You As You Read

Once you move on to the guidebook, read slowly and carefully. Believe it or not, I still do this even though, most often, the guidebook I’m working with is one I wrote myself. This is because words and phrases will always stand out. They may glow, or echo in my mind, or feel like they’re jumping off the page. This is another way of noticing how the card specifically and personally applies.

Frequently Asked Questions about Oracle Card Reading

How can I get better at reading oracle cards?

To get better at reading oracle cards, practice regularly. And try every single tip in this post.

How do I trust my intuition when reading oracle cards?

Trusting your intuition gets easier with practice. It is like learning a language. You will naturally become more fluent with time.

How long does it take to get good at reading oracle cards?

You can start reading oracle cards right away, with great success. Then, as you continue, you will accumulate more mastery and confidence, and discover your own personal best practices.

What should I do when a card doesn’t make sense to me?

When an oracle card doesn’t make sense to you, get curious. Ask yourself about it hypothetically, as in: If I did know what this card was telling me, what would it be? Look closely at the picture and notice the feeling it gives you. Read through the entire description in the guidebook and see if even a single sentence strikes you as potentially relevant. And if all else fails, draw another card.

Should I use the guidebook or rely on my intuition?

Both! The guidebook is a jumping-off point for your intuition. Not every sentence will be applicable, but at least one probably will.

If you have any other questions about reading the cards, or oracle reading tips you’d like to share, please don’t be shy! Chime in below.