Have you been drawn to both the natural world and tarot, wondering how these two paths might intertwine? While traditional tarot often shows us humanity through structured, monarchic imagery, nature-themed tarot helps us to see our humanity and the natural world as intrinsically intertwined--with nature as kinship and plants as companions on our journey.
Why Choose a Nature-Themed Tarot Deck
In the same way that hiking through the forest or watching the sun rise at the ocean can help us to slow down and get quiet with ourselves, so can working with the tarot, especially when it's a nature-inspired deck. Being in nature and working with tarot cards can each provide us with an opportunity to look within through our connection to nature.
Whether you're a practical nature enthusiast buying your first deck or a seasoned reader exploring botanical interpretations, this guide will help you create a deeper connection with tarot and the natural world.
Getting Started with Nature Tarot
Choosing Your First Nature-Inspired Deck
The Plant Companion Tarot features beautiful watercolor botanical illustrations of native and cultivated plants. In creating this deck, I drew from my environment in the Pacific Northwest, my Pacific Island heritage and my experience as a gardener to select plant companions to represent each card. This deck is perfect for beginners, with corresponding floriography and and clear symbols to guide your practice.
Creating Your Sacred Reading Space
Your tarot practice deserves a special space, whether meditative or practical. Consider including:
- A comfortable chair to settle into
- A table or desk for card layouts
- Soft, welcoming lighting
- A cozy blanket
- Your favorite warm beverage
- A journal for recording insights
Understanding Nature Symbolism in Tarot
Plant Correspondences and Meanings
Each card features a botanical illustration and its corresponding symbolism. Some symbols arise from Victorian floriography, others from cultural or medicinal uses of the plant. Some symbols are based in the scientific elements how the plant interacts within its environment. But no matter what the plant means to the card, if it has a personal meaning to you, go with that first. This is your deck, and you get to personalize the interpretations of each card, even if it contrasts the guidebook.
Elements in Nature-Based Tarot
The deck's suits align with natural elements:
- Seeds (Pentacles): Earth & Practical Matters
- Flowers (Cups): Water & Emotions
- Leaves (Swords): Air & The Mind
- Branches (Wands): Fire & Creativity
- Major Arcana: Spirit & Greater Impact
Seasonal Connections
Each suit also corresponds to a season:
- Branches: Spring's Creation
- Flowers: Summer's Emotions
- Seeds: Fall's Harvest
- Leaves: Winter's Clarity
- Major Arcana: Life's Journey As A Whole
Essential Reading Techniques for Beginners
Single Card Pulls
Single card pulls are great for setting an intention for the day or week ahead. You can pull one card to journal on in the morning with your cup of coffee, or start your week with a Sunday meditation on the imagery of a single card.
Three-Card Spreads
Three card spreads are a common way to gain more comprehensive insight into a situation. You could define each card to represent the past, present and future; mind, body and heart; or any other group of three intentions for the question you're inquiring about.
Nature Journaling with Your Cards
You can also use the cards as a way to nature journal. Examine the botanical illustration of the plant depicted on the card. Read its corresponding symbolism on the card and in the guidebook. Research more about the plant, or if you can find it in nature, sketch it from life in your journal. This can be a really personal way to come into greater kinship with the natural world.
Special Nature-Themed Spreads
Weekly Nature Check-in Spread (4 Cards)
- Root (Ground): What needs attention?
- Stem (Grow): What's developing?
- Blossom (Flourish): What's ready to bloom?
- Branch (Future): What am I cultivating?
Monthly Growth Reading (6 Cards)
- Current Season: Where am I in my growth cycle?
- Deep Roots: What supports me?
- New Growth: What's emerging?
- Environment: What surrounds me?
- Nurture: What needs tending?
- Harvest: What will bloom from this?
Navigating Common Challenges
Working with "Challenging" Cards
The 78 card tarot deck represents all parts of life's journey, including the more challenging aspects of it. After all, it's important to face the heavier sides of life in order to come to an understanding that can help us move forward.
When drawing a card that doesn't have all the warm feelings attached to it, consider how that card can encourage you to look closer at areas of your life that might not be fully in alignment with with your values.
Is there an area that you're looking to move away from? How can the Death card's meaning of transition encourage you to make a change for the better? Are you feeling overwhelmed? How can the Tower card help you to see hope on the other side of destruction? By looking at the lessons of the cards, they become a window into growth and feeling all our feelings, instead of something to be afraid of.
Building Your Intuitive Connection
The more you work with a deck, the more your confidence will grow in your own intuitive interpretations of the messages. Consider how you can look closely at the cards and illustrations to relate them to your own life and experiences. Try to notice what a card brings up for you first, instead of immediately looking to the guidebook. There's a lot of room for personal interpretation in tarot, so trust that your own intuition can serve as your guide. There are no wrong answers here. Instead, tarot can serve as an aid in developing your self-trust.
Continuing Your Nature Tarot Journey
Establishing a Daily Practice
One of my favorite ways that's helped me to build a regular practice with tarot is to incorporate it into my morning routine. I start every morning with coffee and journaling in a way that's inspired by the concept of morning pages from Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way.
Every morning, I journal three pages: page one is releasing what happened yesterday to clear my head, page two is getting out any plans and to-dos for today out of my head and onto paper and page three is when I pull a card from my deck and journal with the prompt: "today's intention is…". I then note anything I might glean from the card, imagery and booklet to guide me through the day ahead. This practice is something I've been looking forward to every morning for about a decade now.
Ready to begin your own journey with nature-inspired guidance? Join the waitlist for The Plant Companion Tarot, and let nature be your guide.