The Tarot Decks I Use, and What the Spirit Animal Card Means

I love using different decks. Each one adds its own flavour, and over time a reading starts to feel like a conversation between them. People often ask me which decks I use and why there is an animal card at the end of every reading. Here is the full picture, including how my style has changed along the way.

My main decks: Rider-Waite-Smith and its variants

At the core I stay with the Rider-Waite-Smith family. I learned tarot from the classic versions, so it has always been my go-to. These days I mostly read with the Radiant Rider-Waite, which keeps the familiar imagery in brighter colours. I started with a traditional deck and drifted towards a more colourful, modern take, and at some point I would love to create a deck of my own. For now Rider-Waite-Smith stays at the centre because it is the one I know best. As always, that may change.

What I add to it depends on my mood and the flavour I want. If I want a reading with a modern twist, I might bring in my Light Seer’s Tarot. If I am feeling more classical, I reach for an old-style deck. I keep around ten decks in rotation and bring them in as I see fit.

How my readings have evolved

Every reader evolves. If you go back through my videos you can see it.

I started the harder way, with intuitive Tableau readings. Later I moved back to the Celtic Cross, because it is such a universal tool. It has been around forever, and Arthur Waite, who commissioned the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, wrote it up in his guide to the cards. It has changed a lot since then. In the past, tarot was often very practical and sometimes too literal. Swords, for example, could be linked with surgery. Today we focus much more on how we feel on the inside rather than on foretelling specific events.

My own readings have changed too. I began with energies, and now I try to add a more realistic, practical angle, with a bit of modern working life in it, because the world has changed and tarot has to change with it. We are reading energies. They can show up in different places, but at the core they stay the same, and I try to dress them up so they are easier to relate to.

I also started with only money and work, and then realised other parts of life deserve space too, so now I cover both. And I began with a more intuitive style and have moved to a fixed structure. Again, that may change.

One card, many meanings

Take the Three of Swords. On its face it can mean a broken heart or a disappointment. Through numerology, three is about coming together, so it can also point to collaboration with other people. Same card, a very different story.

I look at every aspect of a card, including its element. Water and earth are friendly and tend to support each other. Fire and water are not, and tend to pull against each other. I also look at the numbers and how they combine across a spread.

Oracle decks: setting the vibe

I also use oracle decks, usually at the beginning of a reading, where they set the vibe. Think of them as supplementary content around the main story. They are not clarifiers. Some readers do use oracle cards as clarifiers, and it works for them. I mostly reach for a second tarot deck for that, and I explain why in what clarifier cards mean.

Oracle cards usually have a word or phrase on them, so they add detail where a tarot card could mean many things.

A money oracle deck. Sometimes I use one near the start of a reading to add a little more detail on income and opportunity. It adds colour to the story and is not there to give instructions.

Whispers of Love. This is my heart deck. It brings in guidance on love energy, and sometimes a card nudges you to look at something differently from the way you have been looking at it.

If you are single, it is perfectly normal to wonder what a love card means for you. Love is not only romantic. You have a relationship with yourself, with your friends and with your own heart, and these cards can speak to any of them.

The spirit animal card

The spirit animal card is the newest part of my readings. I wanted to give you something simple to take away, and animals are easy to understand. We all have an instinct for their characteristics. That makes it simple to bring the idea into your day.

There is a psychological side to this. Athletes have long used visualisation to prepare, picturing the performance they want. Many traditional cultures have honoured animal spirits, and some took on an animal’s spirit before a challenge. The spirit animal card is a modern version of the same idea: bringing an animal’s energy to mind may change how we carry ourselves.

There is also a more playful way to see it. We are mammals, and we share some traits with our animal relatives. If you go back far enough, all biological life comes from the same origin, so in a way we all have a tiny bit of animal in us.

Here is an example. Being a tiger in a meeting is different from being a snail in a meeting, or a bird. None of them is good or bad, each has its own characteristics. Depending on the situation, one may suit the moment more than another. A tiger’s energy in a calm conversation may not be the right fit, while an elephant’s energy might give you a completely different result. That is the idea behind the card.

Synchronicity and the ladybug

I like to bring synchronicity into my readings. It has happened a few times while I was out for a run. I saw a crow picking at something, or a cat wandering where I had never seen a cat before. Once, a ladybug landed on my shirt in a covered underground train station. Moments like that make you think there is something to them.

That is how the animal spirit oracle came into my readings. That day I was recording a reading, so I brought the ladybug’s energy into it. Strangely, I have an oracle deck with a ladybug as one of the cards.

Ladybugs are linked with happiness and good fortune, and it made me realise that I deserve to be happy. Sometimes when something good happens, I catch myself thinking something bad must be coming, as if it is too good to be true. That card reminded me that it is okay to accept good things in life and be at peace with them. It became a special moment for me.

Of course, we won’t see a bear, a camel or a dolphin on every walk. But coincidences like that make me feel we live in a more connected space than we first thought. I think it is a lovely way to finish a reading.

Working with your animal through the week

You don’t need to do anything special. You may like to keep the animal in the back of your mind through the week. When a moment comes where that energy might fit, such as a conversation, a decision or a tough day, think of how that animal would carry itself. The idea is to carry it lightly, not to force it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to own these decks to follow my readings? No. You can follow along without owning a single card. I explain what I pull as I go.

Why Rider-Waite-Smith? It is the deck I learned on, and the cards are familiar, which makes a reading easy to follow. What you learn from my readings carries over to most other readers.

Can the same card mean different things? Yes. A card’s meaning shifts with the cards around it, its number and its element. That is one reason two readers can pull the same card and tell different stories.

What if I don’t connect with my spirit animal? That is okay. Different animals suit different people, and some weeks the energy may feel a bit far from where you are. Notice what the animal stands for and see if any part of it fits.

Watch this week’s readings

Pick your sign on the readings by sign page, or open this week’s readings for all 12 signs. If you’re new to readings, start with which zodiac reading should I watch and how to get the most out of your tarot reading.

General guidance for reflection and entertainment. Not financial, legal, medical or any other professional advice; please seek that separately from a qualified professional.