Over the last few years, I’ve developed an interest in tarot and oracle readings. Keep in mind that I grew up in an extremely conservative religious household. We didn’t even read our daily horoscope. Tarot cards were considered to be gateways to the demon realm.
But I grew up, and the religion of my past isn’t my spiritual path for the future. People change. Tarot cards and oracle decks caught my interest in the same way astrology did. I’m not looking into the future. I don’t depend on them to make life decisions. I do enjoy the deeper insights they can provide.
What Is an Oracle Reading?
According to the Practical Magic blog, “oracle cards are pieces of paper with illustrations and phrases on them to help you gain insight in order to move into the future more mindfully and with more awareness.” They aren’t meant to tell us what to do. Rather, they’re intended to help us delve into our inner wisdom to find the answers.
Sometimes, the cards we pick make sense to us. Other times, they miss the mark. Whether we’re searching for meaning or trying to make sense of a problem, oracle readings offer insight and new perspectives.
How to Do an Oracle Reading
Oracle readings can be customized to suit individual preference. It’s possible to ask a question and draw a single card for insight. Others recommend doing a three-card spread to find the intended message or meaning. The three cards can represent Past, Present, and Future, or they can even represent what we know already, what we don’t know but need to, and how we might choose to move forward with this information. Some people pull cards at random, and others have full rituals they do around picking a card.
When I’ve done them, I might have a challenge on my mind. There’s something I’m struggling with that needs more clarity. Instead of asking a direct question, I simply think about the problem and pull cards. Oracle cards often don’t have a direct meaning. Sometimes, the meaning isn’t even the one we gravitate to first. It’s important to push our preconceptions aside if we want to gain deeper wisdom into the issue.
I thought it would be fun to skip the cards and get my oracle reading directly from Spotify. I came up with a few ways to do this and found it entertaining — and strangely enlightening. Use whatever music service is available and see if it works for you.
How to Do a Spotify Oracle Reading
Spotify is my go-to music service, so I decided to try my hand at letting the artists and songs provide an oracle reading. I didn’t have a particular question in mind. Instead, I just asked, “What do I need to know today?” Then, I decided to do the three-card reading of what I know, what I don’t know (but need to), and where to go from here.
Option 1: Using Your Liked Songs Playlist
I decided to first use my Liked Songs to draw wisdom from Spotify. There’s not a deck I can shuffle, but there is an option to shuffle the songs and see what I get. I’m going to give real-life examples of how this worked out for me. Here’s what I got using my Liked Songs playlist:
What I Know: Now That We Don’t Talk by Taylor Swift
What I Need to Know: All of the Girls You Loved Before by Taylor Swift
Moving Forward: Speed Drive by Charli XCX
I’ll be honest: This one is a tough reading. The first song is about having an ex we don’t talk to anymore and how there’s a cost to losing someone we loved. Yes, that’s something I already know. It tracks, so I move onto the next.
The thing I need to know is supposed to be sourced from the second Swiftie song. It’s a song about how all the wrong turns in love can lead us to the right person. Wow! What a good reminder, right? Sometimes, the things we want don’t work out, but they lead to something even better.
The third song is supposed to be about moving forward. I’ve got a song from the Barbie movie soundtrack about female friendship and self-love. It’s an anthem about living our best lives and not caring what anyone thinks. All in all, it’s a decent oracle reading — from my playlist.
Option 2: Choose a New Music Option
Spotify offers playlists like New Music Friday, Discover Weekly, Release Radar, and Today’s Top Hits. Choosing one of these, we can try for an oracle reading that doesn’t just rely on the songs (and lyrics) we listen to regularly. I decide to try Discover Weekly. I like the template I used before, so we’ll go with that. I choose shuffle to get my answers.
What I Know: Lost the Breakup by Maisie Peters
What I Need to Know: Dancing Queen by Lizze McAlpine
Moving Forward: Look for the Light from “Only Murders in the Building”
Okay, these are all new to me. I have to go search the lyrics to figure this one out since song titles alone aren’t entirely conveying the message. In the first song, it’s about recovering from heartbreak. Yes, I’ve been there. I know that feeling well.
I know the song Dancing Queen, but I don’t know the lyrics offhand. I know it’s about being young and free, and maybe that’s what I need to remember about myself. Although I’m not 17, I’m still young with my whole life ahead of me. This could be a reminder to reconnect with that sense of joy.
This last one is actually a great song for future guidance. It’s about being brave and taking chances but knowing that we’re loved and supported while we do so. Two different readings: a lot of the same wisdom. Do you have chills yet?
Your Spotify Oracle Reading
Honestly, I just wanted to do this for fun, but the insights are on point. No demon portals were open in the reading of my playlist. I’m not making any major life decisions from what I read today. Rather, I received a good reminder to let the past go, embrace joy in the present, and be brave as I move into an uncertain future. Anyone could use that advice.
We all get guidance from different sources. Some people pray. Others read and look for answers or ask trusted friends. I know people who look for signs and people who simply trust their intuition. A playlist oracle reading is an easy, accessible way to search for insight. Maybe the answers make sense, and maybe they don’t. If nothing else, we might find a song or artist we love along the way.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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From The Good Men Project on Medium
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