Oracle cards for Beginners, With Discernment

Learn how to use oracle cards as a beginner with grounding, discernment, and integrity. A practical, intuitive guide to ethical oracle reading, interpretation, and energetic boundaries.

Oracle for Beginners, With Discernment

By Alicia Anspaugh

-How to Start Reading Oracle Cards Without Losing Common Sense or Integrity-

I receive a lot of questions about how to use oracle cards—especially from beginners who feel drawn to them but aren’t quite sure where to start, or who feel unsure about doing it “right.”

This article is meant to be a grounded, practical introduction to oracle cards that honors intuition without abandoning discernment, responsibility, or common sense.

Oracle cards are not about handing your power over to a deck. They are a focusing tool—one that helps quiet the noise so your own intuition can come forward more clearly.

Used well, they support reflection, clarity, and insight. Used carelessly, they can become confusing, overwhelming, or even emotionally entangling.

I want to be very clear from the start: you do not need elaborate tools, expensive supplies, or rigid rituals to work with oracle cards. What does matter is intention, energetic hygiene, respect for your own boundaries, and respect for the time and space of the guidance you’re asking for.

This article reflects how I work with oracle cards—what helps me stay clear, grounded, and ethical—especially when reading for others.

*Take what resonates, leave what doesn’t, and always trust your own inner knowing over anyone else’s rules.

What Oracle Cards Are (and What They’re Not)

Oracle cards are a tool for focus and reflection. They help quiet the mental noise so your intuition can speak more clearly—but they are not an external authority and they don’t replace judgment, responsibility, or lived experience.

I want to say this plainly, especially for beginners: the cards don’t have power over you. They don’t make decisions for you, predict fate, or override your free will. They act as a mirror—bringing forward insight that already exists within you.

Everyone has intuition. The strength of it varies, how people relate to it varies, and how much attention they give it varies—but it’s there. Oracle cards simply give your intuition something to “land on.” and always remember, your intuition is like a muscle, the more that you work it the stronger it gets.

This is also a big part of the reason why I favor oracle cards over tarot, especially in the beginning.

Oracle decks leave more room for intuitive interpretation rather than rigid structure. They encourage listening inward instead of memorizing rules.

Preparing for a Reading (From Simple to Ritual)

At the most basic level, all you need for a reading is:

• A clear question or intention

• A quiet moment

• Willingness to listen honestly

Everything else is optional.

That said, I personally enjoy making a small ritual out of readings—especially when reading for someone else. Ritual helps me slow down, focus, and treat the time and energy involved with respect.

Before reading for others, I make sure I’m already grounded:

• I eat first

• I have my coffee

• I settle my own thoughts and questions well in advance

• 
  

When I set up, I usually:

• Lay down a cloth so the cards don’t get dirty

• Choose crystals that support clarity and protection

• Light incense

• Select a candle based on the type of reading

• 
  

I favor jar candles for safety, easy cleanup, and convenience—because spirituality should fit into real life, not complicate it.

You don’t need elaborate tools to do meaningful work. Tools don’t create clarity—intention does. Tools simply support it.

*I will write a list of the different items(crystals, candles, incense, oils, sprays, etc) that i use and what they are for in a follow-up article as this one has gotten longer than I intended already lols.

Protection, Intention & Closing a Reading

Before any reading, I ask for guidance and protection from a higher power in a way that feels natural to me. Use language that aligns with your own beliefs—there’s no required script.

Examples:

• “I ask that information for the highest good flow clearly and honestly.”

• “Alright Boss—let me say what needs to be said to help, not harm.”

Then I cleanse:

• Myself

• The space

• The cards

This can be as simple as smudging, a pinch of salt, or a quick prayer if I’m short on time.

When I finish a reading, I always close it intentionally.

I ask to:

• End the energetic exchange

• Cut ties with the questioner or the situation

• Fully return to myself

Closing a reading matters just as much as opening one. It prevents energetic bleed-over and emotional exhaustion.

How I Actually Pull Cards (Beginner-Friendly)

When reading, I let intuition lead. I do read the guidebooks that come with decks—but I don’t follow them rigidly. The cards are a language, not a script.

The spreads I use most often are simple:

One-Card Pulls

Best for:

• Daily guidance

• Simple questions

• Emotional check-ins

Examples:

• “How should I approach today?”

• “What energy should I be mindful of?”

Three-Card Pulls

Best for:

• Situational insight

• Progression and outcomes

I often read them as:

• Beginning / Middle / Resolutionor

• Situation / Influence / Outcome

Examples:

• “How will this situation progress if I do X?”

• “What are this person’s intentions toward me?”

• “Should I continue on this path or pause?”

Simple spreads keep the message clear. Overcomplicating a spread often muddies the insight.

Oracle cards are not meant to replace your judgment, your responsibility, or your lived experience. They are meant to support clarity—not dependency.

The goal is not to ask more questions, but to ask better ones, and to hear the answers with honesty and maturity.

*One final and very important practice: always cleanse yourself and your personal items after a reading. Jewelry, watches, phones, wallets—energy loves to linger on objects we carry every day. Removing and cleansing them helps prevent energetic residue, emotional bleed-over, and unnecessary entanglement. Close the reading fully. Cut ties. Come back into yourself.

Discernment is self-respect. When you honor your time, your energy, and your intuition, the work stays clean, helpful, and aligned.

Every answer begins with a question.— Alicia Anspaugh

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