While tarot might seem like a visual medium, you can — and should — use all of your senses during a tarot reading.

Here’s a sample “five senses” reading from my book Tarot for Writers.

The Five Senses Spread

Try pulling details and imagery from five cards — one for each of your senses. Take, for example, these impressions:

b

• Sight — Knight of Swords. Clouds race across the sky, and trees bend in the wind.
• Sound — Queen of Wands. A cat meows.
• Smell — The Sun. The air smells hot, with a hint of dry, black dirt on the breeze.
• Taste — Seven of Pentacles. The flavor of fresh tomatoes.
• Touch — The Page of Wands. The ground is hard underfoot.

As you develop your ability to sense what’s going on in the cards, you can consolidate your efforts and use all of your senses in a single card, too.