February 4, 2025 • 47 mins
Do you struggle to care for yourself when overwhelmed? In this episode, I talk with Arianna Smith, LPC about allowing card pulls to guide your self-care practice and:
• The importance of starting with slow mornings and introspective practices as an HSP
• Using tarot either inside or outside of a spiritual/religious practice
• Understanding the different types of card decks and how to choose the right one
Arianna is a licensed therapist, professional copywriter, and a queer, witchy soul who dances daily between the clinical and creative. She empowers heart-centered individuals to tap into their intuition and reclaim their power through a trauma-informed, expansive approach that combines EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and intuitive practices like tarot, human design, and astrology. As a writer, Arianna merges clinical insight with feel-good content strategy to help therapists elevate their practices through authentic copy and email marketing. As a seasoned tarot reader, she blends deep reflection, spiritual exploration, and a dash of playfulness to guide clients through life’s complex questions and milestones.
Keep in touch with Arianna:
• Website: https://tarotwitharianna.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writewitharianna
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arianna-j-smith
Resources Mentioned:
• Intuitive Tarot Reading & Mentorship: https://tarotwitharianna.com
• How To Pick Your Tarot Deck: A Beginner’s Guide (includes recommended decks): https://www.ariannasmith.com/blog/how-to-pick-your-first-tarot-deck
Questions for Single Card Pulls:
Morning
• Where can I focus my energy?
• What HSP strength can I lean upon today?
Evening
• What did I learn about myself today?
• What energy from today should I release?
Mindful Break
• What is overwhelming me right now?
• What can support me right now?
Thank you to Cozy Earth for sponsoring this episode.
Find super soft and sustainable bedding and loungewear at https://cozyearth.com. Use code SENSITIVE for up to 40% off.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Arianna Smith (00:00):
When I think of the depth of processing, I think
of how each card is so rich insymbolism.
That's the thing with tarot isthat everything in there has a
symbol, has a meaning.
When you pull the Ace of Cupstoday, it's a really different
concept than the Ace of Cupsnext week.
This depth of processing,sensing the subtleties,
(00:20):
emotional depth, is so perfectlysuited to tarot.
I'm like having a depth ofprocessing moment right now.
April Snow (00:35):
Welcome to Sensitive Stories, the podcast for the
people who live with hearts andeyes wide open.
I'm your host, psychotherapistand author, april Snow.
I invite you to join me as Ideep dive into rich
conversations with fellow highlysensitive people that will
inspire you to live a morefulfilling life as an HSP
(00:57):
without all the overwhelm.
In this episode, I talk withAriana Smith about incorporating
card readings like tarot ororacle decks into your
self-reflection practice andusing the cards as a secularly
or spiritually-based practice totap into your emotions, your
intuition and support your depthof processing as an HSP.
(01:17):
Ariana is a licensed therapist,professional copywriter and a
queer, witchy soul who dancesdaily between the clinical and
the creative.
She empowers heart-centeredindividuals to tap into their
intuition and reclaim theirpower through a trauma-informed,
expansive approach thatcombines EMDR, internal family
(01:38):
systems and intuitive practiceslike tarot, human design and
astrology.
As a writer, ariane emergesclinical insight with feel-good
content strategy to helptherapists elevate their
practices through authentic copyand email marketing.
As a seasoned tarot reader, sheblends deep reflection,
spiritual exploration and a dashof playfulness to guide clients
(02:02):
through life's complexquestions and milestones.
For more HSP resources and tosee behind the scenes video from
the podcast, join me onInstagram, tiktok or YouTube at
Sensitive Strengths or sign upfor my email list.
Links are in the show notes andat sensitivestoriescom.
And just a reminder that thisepisode is for educational
(02:24):
purposes only and is notintended as a substitute for
treatment with a mental healthor medical professional.
Let's dive in, ariana.
(02:52):
Can you start off by telling usyour HSP discovery story, how
or when you realized that you'rea highly sensitive person?
Arianna Smith (02:59):
Oh my gosh, it was back in 2016, way back in
the day, and I had just moved toFort Collins, colorado, and was
so excited to be in the bigcity after living in a rural
mountain town, and I was like,how can I make some friends?
And so I was looking onmeetupcom and there wasa group
(03:20):
for highly sensitive people andI was like, huh, what is this?
Could this be me?
And I went to the couple of themeetups and just felt so much
kinship to everyone and just notlike the weirdo in the group,
like all of us were weirdos inour own way.
And then I was like, oh, thisis really clicking.
(03:42):
But I had a lot of doubt andalso, what I know now, some
grief too, around kind ofunderstanding that I was an HSP.
And so I remember doing a callwith someone who was like an HSP
coach and kind of explaining myexperience, and I remember
vividly she said well, there'snothing that you shared that
(04:05):
makes me think you're not an HSP.
And I, and so I was like, okay,all right, I think I'm a highly
sensitive person.
And then, as I read more of thebooks and then also stepped
into it being my clinicalspecialty as a therapist.
I was like, yes, this is 100%me.
And then I think part of the HSPdiscovery process that you can
(04:27):
tell me if this is the case foryou is there's almost like you
go back in time and revisit yourpast selves, and so part of my
discovery was also, as an adult,in that moment, being this is
it.
But also looking back andreflecting on all the past
experience that you know made somuch sense for me to like, as a
(04:49):
little kid, you know, in thewoods of Alaska, I would just
get lost in my imagination forhours and hours and hours.
I was like, oh, like this big,imaginative world, that's a
highly sensitive person.
On the struggle side of it, Iremember being so overwhelmed by
family gatherings and my dadhas 12 brothers and sisters, and
(05:11):
so family gatherings were like3040 people and I was just this
little HSP kid that was justlike, oh, my god, this is so
loud, this is so overwhelming,there's no time for me to sit
back and observe.
So the discovery really startedin 2016.
And kind of from there it likeforked both into the future and
(05:33):
into the past.
April Snow (05:34):
Oh, that is such a great way to put it.
It's true, it's this crossroads, isn't it?
When you realize, okay, this isme, and you take it in and you
start to accept it.
And then it's so true, I didthe same thing.
Where you go back and you lookat all your past experiences
through the HSP lens and realize, oh, it starts to click
together.
This makes sense now.
(05:54):
Now I understand why I wasoverwhelmed at the big
gatherings and wow, 12 siblingsand all the cousins, I imagine,
and all the other people.
That's a lot, and I justappreciate that you had that
counterbalance.
Maybe, maybe this is just myfantasy of being in Alaska,
where you got to retreat inthose spaces after.
Arianna Smith (06:16):
Yes, I mean, I think.
In some ways I think if I hadlived in somewhere else or had a
different environment, I may mydiscovery process might have
been different, you know, and insome ways, growing up in it's
not rural Alaska it's rural bylower 48 standards, but not by
Alaska standards.
(06:36):
Growing up in the middle ofnowhere really lended itself to
my sensitivity and to myimagination and having space to
process, and it was so quietright now.
Imagine if I was an HSP growingup in like a busy city and a lot
going on, it might've been adifferent story, you know.
April Snow (06:55):
A very different story, cause.
Something that's interestingabout your version is that you
weren't seeking this piece aboutyourself because you were
burned out or sick.
From what you said, that maynot be true.
It was more of a oh I'm just,I'm stumbling on this versus I
need an answer.
(07:16):
This, the energy of how youwere talking about, felt a
little softer than some of theother versions I've heard, so
I'm wondering if that's true foryou, if it felt more of a
discovery versus a necessity.
Arianna Smith (07:27):
You know, when I think back to this story it was
one of delight of like stumblingon of this group of friends,
but in it also were layers ofgrief after that, because I did
really struggle in some workenvironments, and so I think
part of searching out justcoincided with moving to a new
city and wanting to make friends.
(07:47):
But it also can't be separatedfrom just some of the struggles
I was experiencing at work withoverstimulation and burnout.
I don't know if I knew it wasburnout back then, but
definitely overstimulation, justfeeling so different from
everyone else in my workplace.
And so there was that componentthere for sure, but it wasn't
(08:12):
the discovery point.
April Snow (08:14):
Right and makes sense why there's this delight
in finding that group of fellowweirdos you call it that right.
Which I can totally relate tothat experience Like these are
my people.
Arianna Smith (08:25):
Yeah, yeah.
April Snow (08:30):
So at this point in your life, now that you've
learned about your sensitivity,you've gone through that grief
process somewhat, you know,starting to accept it, and I
know you've now started to putout resources for others and
help them with their process.
But what practices or ritualsreally support you in staying
rooted as an HSP.
Arianna Smith (08:48):
Speaking of burnout, I did hit burnout in
2021, 2022, as a lot of peopledid and I ended up taking a
sabbatical like a two monthsabbatical and that really reset
my nervous system like a twomonth sabbatical and that really
reset my nervous system.
So a big sabbatical was great,and now I really look for many
(09:13):
sabbaticals.
But my one daily practice thathas become non-negotiable is my
slow mornings.
I have to like I have to haveslow mornings whenever possible,
just easing into the day.
I also love body work.
That one's really important too.
I'm heading to a massage afterthis actually, and I can't wait.
Can't wait.
Tarot.
So I've been reading tarot formyself, gosh, probably for over
(09:36):
10 years now, for, yeah, for areally long time.
I just say over 10 years, so Idon't feel old, sure, you know,
like it might have been morethan that, and that's like a
really integrative process.
And then I also, along thelines of tarot I would identify
as like a kitchen witch, and soa huge practice for me as an HSP
(09:56):
is cooking and baking, becauseI think it just leans into our
gifts as highly sensitive peopleto really savor the subtleties.
And so I love when I'm cookingand I get to smell the spices
and kind of intuitively decidewhat am I going to get in here.
It's a whole sensory experience.
(10:18):
So that's another big practiceof mine too.
April Snow (10:21):
Oh, I love that.
The savoring is so nice, thetactile experience of it and
just the slowing down andsimplifying when you're in the
kitchen.
I love that kitchen, which sobeautiful yeah.
Arianna Smith (10:32):
So fun I have a magnet on that my mom got me.
It says love people, cook themtasty food.
April Snow (10:39):
And so I love.
Arianna Smith (10:40):
when I get to I don't have a great size of a
house to host, but I love, likewhen my friend had her first
baby, I like brought a thing ofchili to her.
You know, I just think anexpression of that, like I think
it's highly sensitive people.
We have to be thoughtful aboutour energetic boundaries and our
energy and I'm like, okay, thisis how I'm going to show up for
(11:01):
you in this way.
So food is one of those ways.
April Snow (11:03):
Yeah, it's so nourishing and connecting in
whatever way you can do it.
I want to go back to yourpractice of tarot that you said
you've been doing for quite along time.
Yeah, can you say a little bitmore about that?
What benefits do you find inthat practice?
Arianna Smith (11:19):
I'm like going through the catalog.
April Snow (11:22):
Yeah, there's a lot right.
Arianna Smith (11:26):
There's a lot.
So I the first, honestly, thething that came to mind is
community, and that has there'sjust something so rich with,
either in person or online, likedoing a group tarot reading
together, and it's almost likewitchy group therapy in a way,
when you're like pulling cardsand I call it group tarot
readings because you know youpull a card and you're like
(11:49):
here's my interpretation, andthen your friend is like, well,
actually I would think this tooand this too.
So community, and I thinkthat's really what first drew me
to it in my twenties when Ifirst started reading, and was
this really fun thing that I gotto do?
The other thing I would say isspeaking of this theme is
imagination.
I have if we haven't alreadydetermined, I have a massive
(12:12):
imagination and I feel liketarot is something that can keep
up with that, because there'sinfinite combinations of cards,
there's so many practices,there's too many decks for me to
catch up on and the art is sovaried and and there's you know
we might talk about this laterthere's so many different types
(12:32):
of decks out there too, and thenalso, I'd say, benefits of
tarot keeps me connected tonature and the elements, and so
in tarot in traditional tarot,each card there's four suits.
So fire is corresponds to wands,swords corresponds to air,
pentacles, earth and cups water,and so sometimes it will just
(12:58):
invite me to stay connected tothose elements.
So if I'm pulling a lot ofpentacle cards, then I'm like,
oh, do I need to go, like put myfeet in the earth?
Right now I'm getting a bunchof cup cards.
I'm like, okay, am I dehydrated?
Like do I need water?
Yes, yeah.
So those are the ones that comeup to the top of my head.
April Snow (13:19):
I didn't realize the piece about the suits being
connected to elements.
And what a beautiful guidingpractice to check in with
yourself.
What am I needing, what am Idrawn to right now?
And I just love the when youtalked about the infinite
possibilities, not just withinmultiple decks, but maybe even
within the same deck.
Yes, our ability to sense thesubtle, to tap, tap into
(13:42):
intuition, creativity.
You could just go so deep withthe cards.
Arianna Smith (13:49):
Yeah, well, yeah, I didn't make this connection
until now, but I think when Ithink of the does acronym, which
you've talked about before,when I think of the depth of
processing, I think of how eachcard is so rich in symbolism.
That's the thing with tarot andwhen I was learning it more,
everything in there has a symbol, has a meaning, there's a
(14:10):
reason there's color on this andcolor on that, and there's a
reason the clouds are shapedlike this and not like that in
different cards, and so there'sthat aspect that also, when you
pull the ace of cups today, it'sa really different concept than
the Ace of Cups next week.
So, yeah, this depth ofprocessing, sensing the
subtleties, emotional depth isso perfectly suited to tarot.
(14:34):
It didn't even.
Yeah, I'm like having a depthof processing moment right now.
April Snow (14:38):
I know we can really put the different
characteristics of sensitivitythrough the lens of tarot, which
is I never thought about thateither.
That's pretty incredible.
Yes, oh, amazing.
Arianna Smith (14:48):
No wonder I'm obsessed, I know exactly.
April Snow (14:51):
It's the perfect tool for an HSP, and you
mentioned that the cards willshift.
The meaning of the cards willshift depending on where you're,
at what lens you're lookingthrough that day.
I do want to ask you a questionabout the symbolism, because
you know every deck you getcomes with a little guidebook,
or I assume most all decks do.
Yeah, Is that something youneed to follow or can you make
(15:15):
up your own rules?
Arianna Smith (15:16):
for the deck.
April Snow (15:18):
What are your thoughts on that?
Arianna Smith (15:20):
So for the longest time.
So for the longest time.
The way I read tarot was and Ihave my deck here to
demonstrate- I would you know,I'd shuffle my deck, I'd ask a
predictive question.
Of course, which tarot?
I personally don't believetarot can predict the future
because we have agency.
(15:40):
But let's say, you know, thisis the old school days and I
pick a card and what do we gothere the seven of swords.
I wouldn't even pause andreflect, I'd go right to my book
and be like right, seven ofswords, right, and I definitely
don't want to shame people thathave to do that, because I still
look at the book when, becauseyou know it's 78 cards and a
tarot deck and infinitecombinations.
(16:01):
But was a game changer for meis when I started studying tarot
more deeply and started tounderstand the deeper symbolism
behind the cards and focus onhow to read intuitively and what
that means really is reading inyour own way.
That really means you know howthat might look like, say, I
(16:25):
pull the ace of cups and youknow my impulse might be like oh
, what does that mean?
I'm going to go look, butinstead I might look at this and
I'd be like Huh, how do I feellooking at this?
What image does this resonate?
For me?
That's really interesting.
There's a bird in there and cupssymbolizes water and emotion.
So we look at the water hereand we're like, oh, there's a
bird in there, and cupssymbolizes water and emotion.
(16:46):
So we look at the water hereand we're like, oh, there's, the
water is still, but it'soverflowing over this cup right
now.
So traditionally this cardsymbolizes new emotional
connections, right or heartfeltexpression, and so when you see
it that way but I looked at this, I pulled it before reading and
(17:06):
I was like, oh, I'm going toget a cup of tea, right, like
I'm going to get a cup of tea.
And here I am.
So I think the gift of readingintuitively is just really
building a practice aroundtrusting what you see.
So if you are a little bit morenerdy, you can totally take
courses that are based off ofthe traditional symbolism and
all of that.
(17:27):
But you also don't have to.
You can just go with what yourgut says, and neither is right
or wrong.
It's just what works for youand what feels good.
April Snow (17:36):
I love that there can be more structure If you're
looking for containment asyou're exploring and looking
within, or just not familiarwith the cards, or you can just
dive into the open waters of it.
Arianna Smith (17:49):
Yeah, yeah.
And I'm like I want to be astudent forever.
So I love I've taken a lot oftarot classes but I really had
them focus on how to readintuitively.
You know, I've never beensomeone that's like I want to
study the history of tarot.
I'm like, no, how can I connectit to my intuition, my
emotional wisdom, my day to day,like the practicality of it?
April Snow (18:09):
you know Right, exactly.
And as you're diving into thispractice, I wonder is this a
spiritual practice?
Can this be a secular practice?
For folks who aren't familiarwith it and might be thinking
well, I don't know if thataligns with my values or belief
system.
Could you speak to that.
Arianna Smith (18:26):
Yeah, I think that's a really important
conversation to have and I 100%believe that tarot can be
secular and actually be a reallypowerful secular practice, and
I probably am coming at that asa therapist, right, that knows
that at its core, tarot can be areally powerful projective tool
(18:49):
, right?
What I see actually let's do adifferent one here we see with
the four of cups is differentthan what you see, right, and so
that doesn't have to have aspiritual component.
It's the secular, likeprojectiveness.
You can also use tarot, for ifyou're an author, you can use it
(19:10):
for storytelling.
So let's actually do.
You know, maybe you're likewriting a story and you're like,
oh, like what should be thenext struggle that my character
faces, you know, and let's pullhere.
Okay, so we got the Knight ofPentacles here, which is a
person on a motorcycle.
So, like the next struggle andonce again I'm going to take out
(19:31):
interpretation like the nextstruggle is the knight is.
I mean, this is where it can beinfinite, right, like, there
can be like, and then they meeta stranger on a motorcycle like
literal right.
Or and then they I'm trying tonot bring in the traditional
stuff of night of pentacles, butthe traditional stuff of night
of pentacles is around slow,trotting, steady progress, and
(19:55):
so if they wanted to weave thatin, the author might be like oh,
they're feeling reallyfrustrated with how slow their
goals are coming right.
Not secular, you can also do itas a meditation, so I love that
you're down for these livedemonstrations.
April Snow (20:10):
I think this is great Because we're bringing in
all the different ways we canuse the cards as supports, right
yeah, creatively, spiritually,just self-care wise.
There's so many actions I neverthought of, yeah.
Arianna Smith (20:25):
Well, and also, if people are following along
like they can, this would be agood point for them to pull out
a deck too.
April Snow (20:30):
Yes, please do.
Arianna Smith (20:30):
this would be a good point for them to pull out
a deck too, but like, forexample, like if people have
their deck and they're shuffling.
This would be an example of,like a meditation, stepping into
a card.
Oh okay, so we have morepentacles today, so we got the
eight of pentacles.
So this is a person who'sworking diligently on a project.
So if someone wanted to stepinto a meditation, they might
(20:53):
step into.
Huh, what is it like to focus oncraftsmanship?
What is it like to step intothis person who's diligently and
lovingly working on thisproject so that we pulled at
random for this one?
But you could also do itintentional, like you could look
through your deck and if you'redrawn to a certain card, you
can be like Okay, I'm just goingto step into that card and you
(21:15):
can get even further around this.
I took a course around thiswhere you can get even further
and you can be like okay, whathappens after?
So after this person hascreated there, I'm holding up
the card for listeners Afterthis person has created their
craft, what happens next?
April Snow (21:34):
so you can use it in stages.
Yes, I love this.
Yeah, so I wonder if you couldgo a little bit deeper and kind
of take us through the process.
So I have my.
Okay, we have the deck in frontof us.
Yeah, we'll talk a little bitmore in a moment how to choose a
deck, but let's just say wehave a deck and we're sitting
down to do a meditation.
What type of question might weask before we do a card pull?
(21:57):
What would that sound like?
Arianna Smith (22:05):
Or is it more just setting an intention for
what we're reflecting on?
I think it depends on thequestion.
So one of my mottos as someonewho reads for myself and other-
people is specific questions,get specific answers.
So often people if they'repulling cards and they're like
this doesn't make sense.
I'm asking one how specific wasyour question was?
(22:28):
And two, was it predictive?
Right, and when I saypredictive, is it a should or a
will question?
Will I get this job, should Icall them back, or something
like that.
So I think that's the firstthing is it depends upon the
intention as well.
So let's say that you wanted touse tarot as a morning
(22:48):
reflection, so to get up in themorning.
So some questions could bewhere can I focus my energy?
And these are all very HSPspecific.
I had made these in mind.
What can help me feel groundedtoday?
What lesson is today teachingme?
This one, especially for HSPshow can I protect my energy
today?
We talked about that earlier.
(23:10):
What is my sensitive soul needmost right now?
And what HSP strength can Ilean upon today?
So you can see how thosequestions are all very specific
and they're not predictive.
So let's say someone was doing amorning card poll and we're
looking at what HSP strength canI lean on today.
(23:31):
It's so funny my gut was likebut it's the evening, why are
you doing a morning card?
We're gonna demonstrationpurpose.
So what HSP strengths can Ilean on today?
So I got the night of cups alot of nights today, which, for
listeners, is a person on amotorcycle, they have a clear
sky behind them, they're wearinga helmet with wings and they've
(23:52):
got this steamy nice thing withcups.
So I might say, okay, what HSPstrength can I lean on today?
The nights are typicallyassociated with forward movement
and cups is associated withemotion.
So my HSP strength would beleaning on moving forward with
what feels emotionally right tome.
So you can see, you can keep itso simple in that way and so
(24:15):
then say I want to journalwhat's feeling emotionally right
today.
What is a goal that isimportant to me?
Should we play around withevening?
Should we?
April Snow (24:24):
talk about evening.
Yeah, just to see thecounterbalance of that, yeah.
Arianna Smith (24:28):
So for evening reflection, we have just a
couple example ones I had.
What did I learn about myselftoday?
What energy from today should Irelease?
Big one how can I showgratitude for today's
experiences?
And another, one of my personalfavorites what part of my day
needs deeper reflection?
That's good.
(24:49):
Which one should we do for alive demonstration on that one?
April Snow (24:53):
I'm feeling caught with the deeper reflection
question Okay, yeah, okay.
Arianna Smith (24:57):
So let's say, you got your deck shuffling.
What part of my day needsdeeper reflection?
Oh, we got the death card.
Oh, interesting, which istraditionally kind of a scary
card to get.
It's a person on a white horse,a skeleton on a white horse and
there's a bunch of people.
Actually, this is a really richcard for us to talk about.
(25:18):
And on this card there's, youknow, a skeleton on a white
horse.
It's kind of symbolizing death,and then there's four other
people that all are havingdifferent responses to death.
So the death card traditionallydoesn't literally mean death.
It often means, like rebirth oran ending of something.
(25:44):
So, if I got this card around,what do I need to reflect deeper
on at the end of the day?
Some of the ways that I readtarot intuitively, as I look at
what the people on the card aredoing and I would ask, maybe,
like how am I this is what mygut saying like how am I
approaching difficult situationsin my life?
So what needs deeper reflectionis, yeah, I actually think
that's a pretty good one to doLike how am I approaching deeper
(26:06):
reflections in my life, or whatis coming to a close, you know?
to come to a close yeah, or whatis draining me, yeah, so that'd
be an example of an eveningreflection question as well.
Yes, yeah, how is this?
April Snow (26:21):
tracking for you.
No, I love this because I'mjust thinking about the
experience and, just like intherapy, what you're needing to
pay attention to rises to thesurface.
Yes, it probably doesn't mattera lot about the details of the
card.
Arianna Smith (26:42):
It's what it evokes for you, I would guess.
Yeah, and I segued a littlelike I kind of we're going all
over the place.
But you asked about thespiritual versus secular, and I
think that that plays a role inthis, right.
So if you're looking at thisjust from a secular perspective,
then it just gets to be aprompt.
That's all that you have to see.
It just gets to be a projectedprompt.
If you are working with tarotfrom a spiritual perspective,
(27:03):
that there's really no right orwrong around that, but you might
view what's being sent to youas like, maybe, a message from
whatever higher power youbelieve in, right, you might be
thinking about what steps do weneed to next steps in my
spiritual practice, right?
So I think it goes back to theintention and I think it also
goes back to how you believetarot works as well.
April Snow (27:26):
Say more about that.
You know what are some of thebeliefs about how tarot works.
Is it more just the kind ofliteral versus the spiritual
intuitive, or is there morethere?
Because then?
Arianna Smith (27:37):
you got my curiosity piqued.
Yeah, I think that anyone youask is going to have a different
answer.
You know, I mean, tarot is,unfortunately, in some circles,
associated with the occult.
That's not what I believe, butthat's what some people do
believe.
We can go on the other side ofthat that it's just a projective
(27:57):
tool, right, it's just abeautiful prompt and so it works
to help us maybe accesssubconscious parts of ourselves.
I kind of believe, just becauseI'm a therapist, I lean a
little bit more towards.
Just because I'm a therapist, Ilean a little bit more towards.
I think it helps us accesssubconscious or just unseen or
(28:17):
unaddressed parts of ourselvesthat need attention.
I have been in some tarotreadings and read for some
clients where there wasdefinitely more than that going
on right, and where we did bringin kind of their spiritual
beliefs and we would pull a card, maybe for their ancestor and
like what message does thisancestor want to say?
(28:37):
How I believe tarot works islike it helps us access that.
It helps us externalize what'shappening.
It helps us see things from adifferent perspective and from a
spiritual lens.
I do think it can be a way for,if we do have a higher power,
for one way for what we believein to communicate with us in a
(28:59):
way that we can understand right, Because right, like you, know
yes, exactly yeah, and I lovethat about it that you can go
into this practice in whateverway feels comfortable or is
aligned with what you're needingin your self-reflection
practice or potentially in yourspiritual practice.
April Snow (29:19):
You get to pull in different layers or viewpoints
of it.
What else can you really dothat with, if this feels?
Arianna Smith (29:26):
so expansive.
Well, and it can evolve overtime right.
So when we're thinking aboutthis practice for HSPs.
Maybe they go into it with asecular approach and then they
start having experiences thatfeel otherwise for them and they
actually find that it's youknow, it's part of a spiritual
practice.
So we don't actually have toknow, right, you just have to go
(29:50):
with it.
Yeah, that's it, you don't.
April Snow (29:53):
Yeah, how freeing is that?
Arianna Smith (29:55):
Yeah.
April Snow (29:56):
Yeah, so let's talk about how to choose a deck.
I know there are lots ofdifferent options or different
types of decks.
Could you speak to that process?
How do we find the right deckfor us?
Arianna Smith (30:07):
Yeah, so there's just a really many overview.
When people think of tarotdecks, there's kind of three
different decks.
So there's your traditionaltarot deck that is often known
as the Rider-Waite-Smith deck orthe Thoth.
Those are two differentvariations of like a tarot deck
(30:27):
and that's the one that peopletraditionally think of.
It has 22 major arcana cards,which we pulled one today.
The death card is a majorarcana and then the minor arcana
.
It has 50 something 56 of those.
It's 78 cards total.
So major arcana is oftenassociated with big life events,
big things, karmic aspects.
(30:49):
So back when we hold the deathcard at like a deeper reflection
, that would like whenever I saysee a major arcana, I pay
attention.
It's like the dex way of sayinghey, yeah there's some deeper
patterns here, you know.
and then the major, minor,arcana, those are the ones that
are associated with suits, andthey're numbered from one to 10.
(31:10):
And then they have four courtcards, and so there's definitely
correspondence around thenumerology and also around the
court cards as well.
So that's tarot.
And then there's also Oraclecards, which are basically as
varied as you can imagine.
There's Oracle decks that have20 cards, that have 50 cards and
they're basically cards thathave images on them, or they
(31:35):
have a little white book andthey correspond to something in
the book.
Right, I have a color prismOracle deck, which corresponds
to colors, like the energy ofcolors.
I have sacred rebels Oracledeck, which is just the artist
has chose different things andsymbolism, and then, lesser
known, but I have to name itLenormand deck.
(31:56):
Have you ever heard of Lenormandbefore?
No, I have not.
Yeah, well, I feel like just tobe a responsible person.
I have to name this deckbecause if you get this deck
thinking it's a tarot deck,you're gonna be really confused.
But the Lenormand deck isdifferent from tarot and Oracle
and it has about 36 cards thathave a set correspondence and
it's all very practical.
(32:17):
So they have bear shoe, keytree full disclosure.
I tried to get in a Lenormand.
I have a Lenormand deck.
I couldn't figure it out.
It was almost too concrete forme.
But if you are a concrete person, you might enjoy it.
It's a certain way of readingit so I can't entirely speak to
that.
So, just so, now we have thatoverview of like.
(32:37):
Okay, so there's kind of thesethree types of decks.
They might be tarot, they mightnot be right.
They're cards with images onthem that correspond to
something that's the throughline called to.
(33:08):
And that might seem a littlebit confusing because you're
like, how do you know if you'recalled to a deck?
And what I offer folks to do isto almost create a baseline in
their body and first start likeso maybe you go into a mystical
store and there's a bunch oftarot decks.
Start with picking up one thatyou know you would not like that
you're completely turned off byright, pick it up, hold it in
your hand, see how that feels,and then you have a baseline of
like, okay, that's not the rightdeck, that doesn't do that,
that's a great suggestion.
(33:30):
Yeah, yeah.
Then you can have like abaseline in your body.
What I tell folks when they'reshopping for a tarot deck is
just pay attention to mildcuriosity.
That's enough to choose a deck.
If you're enthusiastic, great.
If you're excited, great.
Go with mild curiosity and then, if you want, think
logistically, is this going towork for me?
(33:51):
Well, I want to go with anOracle deck because I can get
started reading it easier.
So even though I feel called tothis and it's not an Oracle
deck, I'll give it a try.
Or you're called to it andyou're like, oh, this isn't an
Oracle deck, I'm going to findsomething else.
So I often invite folks to leadwith just their somatic wisdom,
their intuitive wisdom, andthen test it out logistically.
April Snow (34:13):
What a great way to enter this process of, okay,
start with what you know you donot feel connected, to get that
baseline going and then see ifsomething changes as you pick up
decks that maybe you're drawnto visually and then you hold
them and you realize, okay,something is here for me.
(34:33):
Can you talk about thelogistics a little bit more?
It sounds like it's mostlyaround ease of use.
Like decks are a little bitmore, I guess, or an entry-level
deck, or is that not true?
Are they just easier toacclimate to?
Arianna Smith (34:45):
I think it is hard to compare them because I
use them for different uses.
I think it really just goesback to like what do you feel
drawn to?
Are you excited?
I think the qualifying questionwould be are you excited about
the structure of a traditionaltarot deck?
You know, because what I likeabout because that's what you're
(35:06):
going to find in every tarotdeck is there's going to be the
major arcana, there's going tobe the one through 10.
There's going to be the court,and so that can feel really
reassuring, really reassuring, Ithink, in a way.
Yeah, so I think that would be.
The first question is like areyou excited by the structure of
(35:28):
the tarot deck or not?
Yes, and if you're not, thenmaybe you want to go to Oracle,
and if you are, then maybe youwant to go to tarot, or maybe
you want to get one of both onthe days that you need more
structure, ones that you don't.
April Snow (35:35):
I love that right, meeting yourself where you're at
.
Yeah, I'm curious if you canthink of an example of when you
might reach for an Oracle deckversus a tarot deck in your own
practice.
Arianna Smith (35:46):
Well, this kind of goes back to choosing a deck,
because I have found that andthis gets a little bit more
spiritual leaning I formrelationships with my deck In
fact, you can actually interviewyour decks when you get them
(36:07):
and so I find it's less abouttarot and Oracle and more about
how that deck likes to show up.
And so I have one deck thatloves to show up.
I call it like my playfulGemini deck, like it's the deck
that I bring for group readings,like it's universally people
really like it.
(36:27):
It's the Chrisann Light Seersdeck, right.
So it's kind of like thisuniversal happy deck.
I have some decks that are justa little more direct, right.
So when I need maybe like awake up call, I'll choose a
different deck.
I have certain Oracle decksthat are a little bit more
simple.
Like I kind of talked about mycolor prism deck.
(36:48):
I love how simple and deep thatone is, so maybe I just need
like a quick vibe check and I'llpull that.
So I didn't really give a clearanswer, but I guess it's more
just, what do you feel drawn toand what purpose do you need
around it?
I think if I'm doing multi-cardpulls, I will go to tarot
(37:08):
because there is such a naturalstorytelling element that can
happen in tarot cards that maynot be feasible in Oracle.
But that's not the case.
I'm going to say that.
And there's someone to belistening.
That's like that's not the casefor me, so say that.
And there's someone to belistening.
That's like that's not the casefor me, so it's like can't do
absolutes.
April Snow (37:22):
Yeah, it can be subjective and I love the
thinking about how each deck hasmaybe a personality, serves a
certain function and also soundsgreat to buy multiple decks.
Arianna Smith (37:33):
You know, I mean that's all I do is I'm like I'm
like what's my tarot deck?
I think also there needs to bepermission for people to change
their mind about decks and tooutgrow decks.
So because if you read tarotlong enough, you're going to
eventually outgrow a deck andjust be like I'm going to pass
this on to someone else, or youcan get a deck that you thought
(37:54):
you're excited about, but thenyou pull and you see more of the
art and you're like thisdoesn't land for me.
So I think it's reallyimportant to not go into reading
tarot for self-care and there'sany right or wrong way.
It's very much experiential andit's very much about what works
for you, like any HSP approach,right?
April Snow (38:13):
Yeah, I was just thinking about what a great
practice that you could dointernally with yourself and
listening to your internalcallings, you know, setting
boundaries, letting things gothat don't serve you.
I mean, it's so rich withpossibility and self-work just
in that practice alone that youcould then take out to see so
(38:34):
many opportunities and alsoseeing why it's so rich to bring
into therapy as well.
What a compliment.
Arianna Smith (38:42):
Yeah, yeah, there's with some of my clients.
We I don't do tarot readings forthem because that's a dual
relationship but we will pullcards and like process them
together.
Or, you know, with some clientsI'm like hey, it really sounds
like you're having a towermoment.
I'm going to invite you to lookup which the tower card for
those who don't know isassociated with like big
foundational change, likeupheaval, and then also another
(39:06):
secular option we kind of talkeda little bit about meditation
and came back but you can usetarot to take a mindful break.
So you can simply ask pause,what is most overwhelming me
right now?
What's overwhelming me?
How can I get grounded?
What action can I take?
You know, and if you're askingwhat's overwhelming me right now
(39:27):
, just go with what youintuitively notice on the card,
because sometimes we think we'reoverwhelmed by one thing and
then we get this tarot card andyou're like, oh, that's, that's
right, because when we getoverwhelmed we can't always
access the depth of ourawareness, and so when we take a
mindful break with tarot, itcan sometimes help us with that
(39:48):
processing.
April Snow (39:49):
It makes sense, because it becomes an anchor
where you can then focus all ofyour energy versus getting lost
in the dysregulation or theoverwhelm, yeah, and the
dysregulation or the overwhelm,gosh, yeah, so good.
Well, ariana, as we start towrap up, I'm wondering if
there's any final thoughts youhave for HSPs who are out there
curious about this process, whowant to incorporate it into
(40:09):
their self-care routine.
Arianna Smith (40:13):
I would just invite folks to stay curious and
also to notice if there's likeperfectionism that comes up,
because there's a lot, there's alot right.
We know HSPs are also reallyprone to perfectionism as a way
to survive in a reallyoverstimulating world.
So just to notice, I thinkexperimentation is a great
(40:35):
antidote to perfectionism.
Just play with it, there's nomistakes.
Just play.
Like I say, I'm just playingwith tarot today.
You know we were playing withtarot today, that's it, yeah.
April Snow (40:47):
Yeah, what a great opportunity to practice letting
that go, softening those hardedges.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, thank you forthat.
Well, I will be sure to shareyour website, your Instagram and
the show notes so folks canreach out to you.
I know you're also offeringone-to-one tarot readings.
Could you share a little bitmore about that for folks?
Arianna Smith (41:09):
Yeah, you kind of got like a mini little preview
and a little lie.
Just some of the energy I bring.
My tarot readings are prettycollaborative, just some of the
energy I bring.
My tarot readings are prettycollaborative, pretty thorough
and not predictive.
So I'm not a psychic, I'm not amedium, so I can't tell you
when you're going to getpregnant, if you're going to get
a job, so what I do.
(41:31):
But I'm also very strengthbased, so and also action
oriented depending on it.
So I might reframe the questionof the question is like am I
going to get the job?
I might help folks reframe thatto something that is a little
more focused on their agency andtheir control, and we typically
, like I said before, specificanswers get specific questions.
So I spend time helping folksclarify their question.
(41:52):
We pull some cards, weinterpret it.
I'm really clear with folkswhen I'm just interpreting the
cards versus when I'm havingintuitive hits.
So I'll be like here's what thecar says, and then I'll be
really clear of like I'm gettingan intuitive hit around this.
Can I share this with you?
So that's just to kind ofrespect their consent.
Around this and also aroundconsent, I ask what their
(42:14):
spiritual beliefs are and ifthey do want to incorporate
spirituality into their tarotreading, then I'll be like okay,
how do we want to do that?
And if they don't, I give greatsecular tarot readings because
it's so rich, like as wedetermine tarot is so rich.
And then I typically, toaccommodate all processing
styles and that depth ofprocessing, I send folks a
(42:35):
summary afterwards that has aphoto of all the cards that they
got, some action steps so thatthey can, some action steps so
that they can continue to, andsome integration questions.
So it really is more like atarot experience than just like
this tarot reading.
I'm not like here's yourquestion and go away Like I
really want you to feel okay,what are the next steps for me?
What has emerged?
April Snow (42:56):
I love that.
It's because you're givingfolks a full experience, because
so much of the processing willhappen post session at least for
me to send the visuals and theintegration questions will be so
important for me as an HSP.
I love hearing that it's likeyou can.
You can really dive in and thendo it in a way that works for
you, based on what you'refeeling is safe or what you're
(43:18):
interested in or how you want topractice.
Lots of room there, dependingon where folks are.
I love it.
Arianna Smith (43:24):
Yeah, and if people have never done tarot, or
even if they have a tarotpractice, right, because there's
a reason that we don't do ourown therapy, right, like we need
.
Sometimes, like some of mybiggest insights have come from
when I received a tarot readingfrom other people because I'm
like, oh, I didn't see it thatway, but you're totally right.
April Snow (43:45):
Exactly, someone to hold up the mirror for you.
Yeah, yeah, I love that, thankyou.
Arianna Smith (43:50):
I'm so glad we got to talk about this.
April Snow (43:51):
I know this is incredible.
I'm sure that this is going tobe a great resource for HSPs out
there who are needing kind ofthat guide inward right.
Yeah, yeah, something concreteExactly.
Arianna Smith (44:06):
Something concrete like like it's almost,
it almost gets to be like atransitional object and just
like we're talking about thosemindful breaks around that as
well, and just somethingexplorative and curious.
April Snow (44:18):
Yeah right, exactly Something you can hold on to and
lean on.
Arianna Smith (44:23):
Yes, yeah, love it Well.
April Snow (44:25):
thank you so much, ariana.
I really appreciate it.
Thank you.
Arianna Smith (44:28):
April.
This was great Thank you.
April Snow (44:29):
This was amazing.
Thanks so much for joining meand Ariana for today's
conversation.
I hope you'll feel inspired tohonor your sensitive need for
introspection and deepreflection, whether that be
through cards or other practices.
(44:50):
And if you're curious aboutincorporating tarot into your
self-care routine or looking forguidance to get unstuck, book
an intuitive tarot reading withAriana at arianasmithcom, or
head to the link in the shownotes.
There you'll also find the listof reflection questions and
additional resources that we'vementioned in this episode.
If you enjoyed this episode,subscribe to the Sensitive
(45:14):
Stories podcast so you don'tmiss our upcoming conversations.
Reviews and ratings are alsohelpful and appreciated For
behind-the-scenes content andmore HSP resources.
You can sign up for my emaillist or follow Sensitive
Strengths on Instagram, tiktokand YouTube.
Check out the show notes orsensitivestoriescom for all the
(45:34):
resources from today's episode.
Thanks for listening.
When I think of the depth of processing, I think
of how each card is so rich insymbolism.
That's the thing with tarot isthat everything in there has a
symbol, has a meaning.
When you pull the Ace of Cupstoday, it's a really different
concept than the Ace of Cupsnext week.
This depth of processing,sensing the subtleties,
(00:20):
emotional depth, is so perfectlysuited to tarot.
I'm like having a depth ofprocessing moment right now.
April Snow (00:35):
Welcome to Sensitive Stories, the podcast for the
people who live with hearts andeyes wide open.
I'm your host, psychotherapistand author, april Snow.
I invite you to join me as Ideep dive into rich
conversations with fellow highlysensitive people that will
inspire you to live a morefulfilling life as an HSP
(00:57):
without all the overwhelm.
In this episode, I talk withAriana Smith about incorporating
card readings like tarot ororacle decks into your
self-reflection practice andusing the cards as a secularly
or spiritually-based practice totap into your emotions, your
intuition and support your depthof processing as an HSP.
(01:17):
Ariana is a licensed therapist,professional copywriter and a
queer, witchy soul who dancesdaily between the clinical and
the creative.
She empowers heart-centeredindividuals to tap into their
intuition and reclaim theirpower through a trauma-informed,
expansive approach thatcombines EMDR, internal family
(01:38):
systems and intuitive practiceslike tarot, human design and
astrology.
As a writer, ariane emergesclinical insight with feel-good
content strategy to helptherapists elevate their
practices through authentic copyand email marketing.
As a seasoned tarot reader, sheblends deep reflection,
spiritual exploration and a dashof playfulness to guide clients
(02:02):
through life's complexquestions and milestones.
For more HSP resources and tosee behind the scenes video from
the podcast, join me onInstagram, tiktok or YouTube at
Sensitive Strengths or sign upfor my email list.
Links are in the show notes andat sensitivestoriescom.
And just a reminder that thisepisode is for educational
(02:24):
purposes only and is notintended as a substitute for
treatment with a mental healthor medical professional.
Let's dive in, ariana.
(02:52):
Can you start off by telling usyour HSP discovery story, how
or when you realized that you'rea highly sensitive person?
Arianna Smith (02:59):
Oh my gosh, it was back in 2016, way back in
the day, and I had just moved toFort Collins, colorado, and was
so excited to be in the bigcity after living in a rural
mountain town, and I was like,how can I make some friends?
And so I was looking onmeetupcom and there wasa group
(03:20):
for highly sensitive people andI was like, huh, what is this?
Could this be me?
And I went to the couple of themeetups and just felt so much
kinship to everyone and just notlike the weirdo in the group,
like all of us were weirdos inour own way.
And then I was like, oh, thisis really clicking.
(03:42):
But I had a lot of doubt andalso, what I know now, some
grief too, around kind ofunderstanding that I was an HSP.
And so I remember doing a callwith someone who was like an HSP
coach and kind of explaining myexperience, and I remember
vividly she said well, there'snothing that you shared that
(04:05):
makes me think you're not an HSP.
And I, and so I was like, okay,all right, I think I'm a highly
sensitive person.
And then, as I read more of thebooks and then also stepped
into it being my clinicalspecialty as a therapist.
I was like, yes, this is 100%me.
And then I think part of the HSPdiscovery process that you can
(04:27):
tell me if this is the case foryou is there's almost like you
go back in time and revisit yourpast selves, and so part of my
discovery was also, as an adult,in that moment, being this is
it.
But also looking back andreflecting on all the past
experience that you know made somuch sense for me to like, as a
(04:49):
little kid, you know, in thewoods of Alaska, I would just
get lost in my imagination forhours and hours and hours.
I was like, oh, like this big,imaginative world, that's a
highly sensitive person.
On the struggle side of it, Iremember being so overwhelmed by
family gatherings and my dadhas 12 brothers and sisters, and
(05:11):
so family gatherings were like3040 people and I was just this
little HSP kid that was justlike, oh, my god, this is so
loud, this is so overwhelming,there's no time for me to sit
back and observe.
So the discovery really startedin 2016.
And kind of from there it likeforked both into the future and
(05:33):
into the past.
April Snow (05:34):
Oh, that is such a great way to put it.
It's true, it's this crossroads, isn't it?
When you realize, okay, this isme, and you take it in and you
start to accept it.
And then it's so true, I didthe same thing.
Where you go back and you lookat all your past experiences
through the HSP lens and realize, oh, it starts to click
together.
This makes sense now.
(05:54):
Now I understand why I wasoverwhelmed at the big
gatherings and wow, 12 siblingsand all the cousins, I imagine,
and all the other people.
That's a lot, and I justappreciate that you had that
counterbalance.
Maybe, maybe this is just myfantasy of being in Alaska,
where you got to retreat inthose spaces after.
Arianna Smith (06:16):
Yes, I mean, I think.
In some ways I think if I hadlived in somewhere else or had a
different environment, I may mydiscovery process might have
been different, you know, and insome ways, growing up in it's
not rural Alaska it's rural bylower 48 standards, but not by
Alaska standards.
(06:36):
Growing up in the middle ofnowhere really lended itself to
my sensitivity and to myimagination and having space to
process, and it was so quietright now.
Imagine if I was an HSP growingup in like a busy city and a lot
going on, it might've been adifferent story, you know.
April Snow (06:55):
A very different story, cause.
Something that's interestingabout your version is that you
weren't seeking this piece aboutyourself because you were
burned out or sick.
From what you said, that maynot be true.
It was more of a oh I'm just,I'm stumbling on this versus I
need an answer.
(07:16):
This, the energy of how youwere talking about, felt a
little softer than some of theother versions I've heard, so
I'm wondering if that's true foryou, if it felt more of a
discovery versus a necessity.
Arianna Smith (07:27):
You know, when I think back to this story it was
one of delight of like stumblingon of this group of friends,
but in it also were layers ofgrief after that, because I did
really struggle in some workenvironments, and so I think
part of searching out justcoincided with moving to a new
city and wanting to make friends.
(07:47):
But it also can't be separatedfrom just some of the struggles
I was experiencing at work withoverstimulation and burnout.
I don't know if I knew it wasburnout back then, but
definitely overstimulation, justfeeling so different from
everyone else in my workplace.
And so there was that componentthere for sure, but it wasn't
(08:12):
the discovery point.
April Snow (08:14):
Right and makes sense why there's this delight
in finding that group of fellowweirdos you call it that right.
Which I can totally relate tothat experience Like these are
my people.
Arianna Smith (08:25):
Yeah, yeah.
April Snow (08:30):
So at this point in your life, now that you've
learned about your sensitivity,you've gone through that grief
process somewhat, you know,starting to accept it, and I
know you've now started to putout resources for others and
help them with their process.
But what practices or ritualsreally support you in staying
rooted as an HSP.
Arianna Smith (08:48):
Speaking of burnout, I did hit burnout in
2021, 2022, as a lot of peopledid and I ended up taking a
sabbatical like a two monthsabbatical and that really reset
my nervous system like a twomonth sabbatical and that really
reset my nervous system.
So a big sabbatical was great,and now I really look for many
(09:13):
sabbaticals.
But my one daily practice thathas become non-negotiable is my
slow mornings.
I have to like I have to haveslow mornings whenever possible,
just easing into the day.
I also love body work.
That one's really important too.
I'm heading to a massage afterthis actually, and I can't wait.
Can't wait.
Tarot.
So I've been reading tarot formyself, gosh, probably for over
(09:36):
10 years now, for, yeah, for areally long time.
I just say over 10 years, so Idon't feel old, sure, you know,
like it might have been morethan that, and that's like a
really integrative process.
And then I also, along thelines of tarot I would identify
as like a kitchen witch, and soa huge practice for me as an HSP
(09:56):
is cooking and baking, becauseI think it just leans into our
gifts as highly sensitive peopleto really savor the subtleties.
And so I love when I'm cookingand I get to smell the spices
and kind of intuitively decidewhat am I going to get in here.
It's a whole sensory experience.
(10:18):
So that's another big practiceof mine too.
April Snow (10:21):
Oh, I love that.
The savoring is so nice, thetactile experience of it and
just the slowing down andsimplifying when you're in the
kitchen.
I love that kitchen, which sobeautiful yeah.
Arianna Smith (10:32):
So fun I have a magnet on that my mom got me.
It says love people, cook themtasty food.
April Snow (10:39):
And so I love.
Arianna Smith (10:40):
when I get to I don't have a great size of a
house to host, but I love, likewhen my friend had her first
baby, I like brought a thing ofchili to her.
You know, I just think anexpression of that, like I think
it's highly sensitive people.
We have to be thoughtful aboutour energetic boundaries and our
energy and I'm like, okay, thisis how I'm going to show up for
(11:01):
you in this way.
So food is one of those ways.
April Snow (11:03):
Yeah, it's so nourishing and connecting in
whatever way you can do it.
I want to go back to yourpractice of tarot that you said
you've been doing for quite along time.
Yeah, can you say a little bitmore about that?
What benefits do you find inthat practice?
Arianna Smith (11:19):
I'm like going through the catalog.
April Snow (11:22):
Yeah, there's a lot right.
Arianna Smith (11:26):
There's a lot.
So I the first, honestly, thething that came to mind is
community, and that has there'sjust something so rich with,
either in person or online, likedoing a group tarot reading
together, and it's almost likewitchy group therapy in a way,
when you're like pulling cardsand I call it group tarot
readings because you know youpull a card and you're like
(11:49):
here's my interpretation, andthen your friend is like, well,
actually I would think this tooand this too.
So community, and I thinkthat's really what first drew me
to it in my twenties when Ifirst started reading, and was
this really fun thing that I gotto do?
The other thing I would say isspeaking of this theme is
imagination.
I have if we haven't alreadydetermined, I have a massive
(12:12):
imagination and I feel liketarot is something that can keep
up with that, because there'sinfinite combinations of cards,
there's so many practices,there's too many decks for me to
catch up on and the art is sovaried and and there's you know
we might talk about this laterthere's so many different types
(12:32):
of decks out there too, and thenalso, I'd say, benefits of
tarot keeps me connected tonature and the elements, and so
in tarot in traditional tarot,each card there's four suits.
So fire is corresponds to wands,swords corresponds to air,
pentacles, earth and cups water,and so sometimes it will just
(12:58):
invite me to stay connected tothose elements.
So if I'm pulling a lot ofpentacle cards, then I'm like,
oh, do I need to go, like put myfeet in the earth?
Right now I'm getting a bunchof cup cards.
I'm like, okay, am I dehydrated?
Like do I need water?
Yes, yeah.
So those are the ones that comeup to the top of my head.
April Snow (13:19):
I didn't realize the piece about the suits being
connected to elements.
And what a beautiful guidingpractice to check in with
yourself.
What am I needing, what am Idrawn to right now?
And I just love the when youtalked about the infinite
possibilities, not just withinmultiple decks, but maybe even
within the same deck.
Yes, our ability to sense thesubtle, to tap, tap into
(13:42):
intuition, creativity.
You could just go so deep withthe cards.
Arianna Smith (13:49):
Yeah, well, yeah, I didn't make this connection
until now, but I think when Ithink of the does acronym, which
you've talked about before,when I think of the depth of
processing, I think of how eachcard is so rich in symbolism.
That's the thing with tarot andwhen I was learning it more,
everything in there has a symbol, has a meaning, there's a
(14:10):
reason there's color on this andcolor on that, and there's a
reason the clouds are shapedlike this and not like that in
different cards, and so there'sthat aspect that also, when you
pull the ace of cups today, it'sa really different concept than
the Ace of Cups next week.
So, yeah, this depth ofprocessing, sensing the
subtleties, emotional depth isso perfectly suited to tarot.
(14:34):
It didn't even.
Yeah, I'm like having a depthof processing moment right now.
April Snow (14:38):
I know we can really put the different
characteristics of sensitivitythrough the lens of tarot, which
is I never thought about thateither.
That's pretty incredible.
Yes, oh, amazing.
Arianna Smith (14:48):
No wonder I'm obsessed, I know exactly.
April Snow (14:51):
It's the perfect tool for an HSP, and you
mentioned that the cards willshift.
The meaning of the cards willshift depending on where you're,
at what lens you're lookingthrough that day.
I do want to ask you a questionabout the symbolism, because
you know every deck you getcomes with a little guidebook,
or I assume most all decks do.
Yeah, Is that something youneed to follow or can you make
(15:15):
up your own rules?
Arianna Smith (15:16):
for the deck.
April Snow (15:18):
What are your thoughts on that?
Arianna Smith (15:20):
So for the longest time.
So for the longest time.
The way I read tarot was and Ihave my deck here to
demonstrate- I would you know,I'd shuffle my deck, I'd ask a
predictive question.
Of course, which tarot?
I personally don't believetarot can predict the future
because we have agency.
(15:40):
But let's say, you know, thisis the old school days and I
pick a card and what do we gothere the seven of swords.
I wouldn't even pause andreflect, I'd go right to my book
and be like right, seven ofswords, right, and I definitely
don't want to shame people thathave to do that, because I still
look at the book when, becauseyou know it's 78 cards and a
tarot deck and infinitecombinations.
(16:01):
But was a game changer for meis when I started studying tarot
more deeply and started tounderstand the deeper symbolism
behind the cards and focus onhow to read intuitively and what
that means really is reading inyour own way.
That really means you know howthat might look like, say, I
(16:25):
pull the ace of cups and youknow my impulse might be like oh
, what does that mean?
I'm going to go look, butinstead I might look at this and
I'd be like Huh, how do I feellooking at this?
What image does this resonate?
For me?
That's really interesting.
There's a bird in there and cupssymbolizes water and emotion.
So we look at the water hereand we're like, oh, there's a
bird in there, and cupssymbolizes water and emotion.
(16:46):
So we look at the water hereand we're like, oh, there's, the
water is still, but it'soverflowing over this cup right
now.
So traditionally this cardsymbolizes new emotional
connections, right or heartfeltexpression, and so when you see
it that way but I looked at this, I pulled it before reading and
(17:06):
I was like, oh, I'm going toget a cup of tea, right, like
I'm going to get a cup of tea.
And here I am.
So I think the gift of readingintuitively is just really
building a practice aroundtrusting what you see.
So if you are a little bit morenerdy, you can totally take
courses that are based off ofthe traditional symbolism and
all of that.
(17:27):
But you also don't have to.
You can just go with what yourgut says, and neither is right
or wrong.
It's just what works for youand what feels good.
April Snow (17:36):
I love that there can be more structure If you're
looking for containment asyou're exploring and looking
within, or just not familiarwith the cards, or you can just
dive into the open waters of it.
Arianna Smith (17:49):
Yeah, yeah.
And I'm like I want to be astudent forever.
So I love I've taken a lot oftarot classes but I really had
them focus on how to readintuitively.
You know, I've never beensomeone that's like I want to
study the history of tarot.
I'm like, no, how can I connectit to my intuition, my
emotional wisdom, my day to day,like the practicality of it?
April Snow (18:09):
you know Right, exactly.
And as you're diving into thispractice, I wonder is this a
spiritual practice?
Can this be a secular practice?
For folks who aren't familiarwith it and might be thinking
well, I don't know if thataligns with my values or belief
system.
Could you speak to that.
Arianna Smith (18:26):
Yeah, I think that's a really important
conversation to have and I 100%believe that tarot can be
secular and actually be a reallypowerful secular practice, and
I probably am coming at that asa therapist, right, that knows
that at its core, tarot can be areally powerful projective tool
(18:49):
, right?
What I see actually let's do adifferent one here we see with
the four of cups is differentthan what you see, right, and so
that doesn't have to have aspiritual component.
It's the secular, likeprojectiveness.
You can also use tarot, for ifyou're an author, you can use it
(19:10):
for storytelling.
So let's actually do.
You know, maybe you're likewriting a story and you're like,
oh, like what should be thenext struggle that my character
faces, you know, and let's pullhere.
Okay, so we got the Knight ofPentacles here, which is a
person on a motorcycle.
So, like the next struggle andonce again I'm going to take out
(19:31):
interpretation like the nextstruggle is the knight is.
I mean, this is where it can beinfinite, right, like, there
can be like, and then they meeta stranger on a motorcycle like
literal right.
Or and then they I'm trying tonot bring in the traditional
stuff of night of pentacles, butthe traditional stuff of night
of pentacles is around slow,trotting, steady progress, and
(19:55):
so if they wanted to weave thatin, the author might be like oh,
they're feeling reallyfrustrated with how slow their
goals are coming right.
Not secular, you can also do itas a meditation, so I love that
you're down for these livedemonstrations.
April Snow (20:10):
I think this is great Because we're bringing in
all the different ways we canuse the cards as supports, right
yeah, creatively, spiritually,just self-care wise.
There's so many actions I neverthought of, yeah.
Arianna Smith (20:25):
Well, and also, if people are following along
like they can, this would be agood point for them to pull out
a deck too.
April Snow (20:30):
Yes, please do.
Arianna Smith (20:30):
this would be a good point for them to pull out
a deck too, but like, forexample, like if people have
their deck and they're shuffling.
This would be an example of,like a meditation, stepping into
a card.
Oh okay, so we have morepentacles today, so we got the
eight of pentacles.
So this is a person who'sworking diligently on a project.
So if someone wanted to stepinto a meditation, they might
(20:53):
step into.
Huh, what is it like to focus oncraftsmanship?
What is it like to step intothis person who's diligently and
lovingly working on thisproject so that we pulled at
random for this one?
But you could also do itintentional, like you could look
through your deck and if you'redrawn to a certain card, you
can be like Okay, I'm just goingto step into that card and you
(21:15):
can get even further around this.
I took a course around thiswhere you can get even further
and you can be like okay, whathappens after?
So after this person hascreated there, I'm holding up
the card for listeners Afterthis person has created their
craft, what happens next?
April Snow (21:34):
so you can use it in stages.
Yes, I love this.
Yeah, so I wonder if you couldgo a little bit deeper and kind
of take us through the process.
So I have my.
Okay, we have the deck in frontof us.
Yeah, we'll talk a little bitmore in a moment how to choose a
deck, but let's just say wehave a deck and we're sitting
down to do a meditation.
What type of question might weask before we do a card pull?
(21:57):
What would that sound like?
Arianna Smith (22:05):
Or is it more just setting an intention for
what we're reflecting on?
I think it depends on thequestion.
So one of my mottos as someonewho reads for myself and other-
people is specific questions,get specific answers.
So often people if they'repulling cards and they're like
this doesn't make sense.
I'm asking one how specific wasyour question was?
(22:28):
And two, was it predictive?
Right, and when I saypredictive, is it a should or a
will question?
Will I get this job, should Icall them back, or something
like that.
So I think that's the firstthing is it depends upon the
intention as well.
So let's say that you wanted touse tarot as a morning
(22:48):
reflection, so to get up in themorning.
So some questions could bewhere can I focus my energy?
And these are all very HSPspecific.
I had made these in mind.
What can help me feel groundedtoday?
What lesson is today teachingme?
This one, especially for HSPshow can I protect my energy
today?
We talked about that earlier.
(23:10):
What is my sensitive soul needmost right now?
And what HSP strength can Ilean upon today?
So you can see how thosequestions are all very specific
and they're not predictive.
So let's say someone was doing amorning card poll and we're
looking at what HSP strength canI lean on today.
(23:31):
It's so funny my gut was likebut it's the evening, why are
you doing a morning card?
We're gonna demonstrationpurpose.
So what HSP strengths can Ilean on today?
So I got the night of cups alot of nights today, which, for
listeners, is a person on amotorcycle, they have a clear
sky behind them, they're wearinga helmet with wings and they've
(23:52):
got this steamy nice thing withcups.
So I might say, okay, what HSPstrength can I lean on today?
The nights are typicallyassociated with forward movement
and cups is associated withemotion.
So my HSP strength would beleaning on moving forward with
what feels emotionally right tome.
So you can see, you can keep itso simple in that way and so
(24:15):
then say I want to journalwhat's feeling emotionally right
today.
What is a goal that isimportant to me?
Should we play around withevening?
Should we?
April Snow (24:24):
talk about evening.
Yeah, just to see thecounterbalance of that, yeah.
Arianna Smith (24:28):
So for evening reflection, we have just a
couple example ones I had.
What did I learn about myselftoday?
What energy from today should Irelease?
Big one how can I showgratitude for today's
experiences?
And another, one of my personalfavorites what part of my day
needs deeper reflection?
That's good.
(24:49):
Which one should we do for alive demonstration on that one?
April Snow (24:53):
I'm feeling caught with the deeper reflection
question Okay, yeah, okay.
Arianna Smith (24:57):
So let's say, you got your deck shuffling.
What part of my day needsdeeper reflection?
Oh, we got the death card.
Oh, interesting, which istraditionally kind of a scary
card to get.
It's a person on a white horse,a skeleton on a white horse and
there's a bunch of people.
Actually, this is a really richcard for us to talk about.
(25:18):
And on this card there's, youknow, a skeleton on a white
horse.
It's kind of symbolizing death,and then there's four other
people that all are havingdifferent responses to death.
So the death card traditionallydoesn't literally mean death.
It often means, like rebirth oran ending of something.
(25:44):
So, if I got this card around,what do I need to reflect deeper
on at the end of the day?
Some of the ways that I readtarot intuitively, as I look at
what the people on the card aredoing and I would ask, maybe,
like how am I this is what mygut saying like how am I
approaching difficult situationsin my life?
So what needs deeper reflectionis, yeah, I actually think
that's a pretty good one to doLike how am I approaching deeper
(26:06):
reflections in my life, or whatis coming to a close, you know?
to come to a close yeah, or whatis draining me, yeah, so that'd
be an example of an eveningreflection question as well.
Yes, yeah, how is this?
April Snow (26:21):
tracking for you.
No, I love this because I'mjust thinking about the
experience and, just like intherapy, what you're needing to
pay attention to rises to thesurface.
Yes, it probably doesn't mattera lot about the details of the
card.
Arianna Smith (26:42):
It's what it evokes for you, I would guess.
Yeah, and I segued a littlelike I kind of we're going all
over the place.
But you asked about thespiritual versus secular, and I
think that that plays a role inthis, right.
So if you're looking at thisjust from a secular perspective,
then it just gets to be aprompt.
That's all that you have to see.
It just gets to be a projectedprompt.
If you are working with tarotfrom a spiritual perspective,
(27:03):
that there's really no right orwrong around that, but you might
view what's being sent to youas like, maybe, a message from
whatever higher power youbelieve in, right, you might be
thinking about what steps do weneed to next steps in my
spiritual practice, right?
So I think it goes back to theintention and I think it also
goes back to how you believetarot works as well.
April Snow (27:26):
Say more about that.
You know what are some of thebeliefs about how tarot works.
Is it more just the kind ofliteral versus the spiritual
intuitive, or is there morethere?
Because then?
Arianna Smith (27:37):
you got my curiosity piqued.
Yeah, I think that anyone youask is going to have a different
answer.
You know, I mean, tarot is,unfortunately, in some circles,
associated with the occult.
That's not what I believe, butthat's what some people do
believe.
We can go on the other side ofthat that it's just a projective
(27:57):
tool, right, it's just abeautiful prompt and so it works
to help us maybe accesssubconscious parts of ourselves.
I kind of believe, just becauseI'm a therapist, I lean a
little bit more towards.
Just because I'm a therapist, Ilean a little bit more towards.
I think it helps us accesssubconscious or just unseen or
(28:17):
unaddressed parts of ourselvesthat need attention.
I have been in some tarotreadings and read for some
clients where there wasdefinitely more than that going
on right, and where we did bringin kind of their spiritual
beliefs and we would pull a card, maybe for their ancestor and
like what message does thisancestor want to say?
(28:37):
How I believe tarot works islike it helps us access that.
It helps us externalize what'shappening.
It helps us see things from adifferent perspective and from a
spiritual lens.
I do think it can be a way for,if we do have a higher power,
for one way for what we believein to communicate with us in a
(28:59):
way that we can understand right, Because right, like you, know
yes, exactly yeah, and I lovethat about it that you can go
into this practice in whateverway feels comfortable or is
aligned with what you're needingin your self-reflection
practice or potentially in yourspiritual practice.
April Snow (29:19):
You get to pull in different layers or viewpoints
of it.
What else can you really dothat with, if this feels?
Arianna Smith (29:26):
so expansive.
Well, and it can evolve overtime right.
So when we're thinking aboutthis practice for HSPs.
Maybe they go into it with asecular approach and then they
start having experiences thatfeel otherwise for them and they
actually find that it's youknow, it's part of a spiritual
practice.
So we don't actually have toknow, right, you just have to go
(29:50):
with it.
Yeah, that's it, you don't.
April Snow (29:53):
Yeah, how freeing is that?
Arianna Smith (29:55):
Yeah.
April Snow (29:56):
Yeah, so let's talk about how to choose a deck.
I know there are lots ofdifferent options or different
types of decks.
Could you speak to that process?
How do we find the right deckfor us?
Arianna Smith (30:07):
Yeah, so there's just a really many overview.
When people think of tarotdecks, there's kind of three
different decks.
So there's your traditionaltarot deck that is often known
as the Rider-Waite-Smith deck orthe Thoth.
Those are two differentvariations of like a tarot deck
(30:27):
and that's the one that peopletraditionally think of.
It has 22 major arcana cards,which we pulled one today.
The death card is a majorarcana and then the minor arcana
.
It has 50 something 56 of those.
It's 78 cards total.
So major arcana is oftenassociated with big life events,
big things, karmic aspects.
(30:49):
So back when we hold the deathcard at like a deeper reflection
, that would like whenever I saysee a major arcana, I pay
attention.
It's like the dex way of sayinghey, yeah there's some deeper
patterns here, you know.
and then the major, minor,arcana, those are the ones that
are associated with suits, andthey're numbered from one to 10.
(31:10):
And then they have four courtcards, and so there's definitely
correspondence around thenumerology and also around the
court cards as well.
So that's tarot.
And then there's also Oraclecards, which are basically as
varied as you can imagine.
There's Oracle decks that have20 cards, that have 50 cards and
they're basically cards thathave images on them, or they
(31:35):
have a little white book andthey correspond to something in
the book.
Right, I have a color prismOracle deck, which corresponds
to colors, like the energy ofcolors.
I have sacred rebels Oracledeck, which is just the artist
has chose different things andsymbolism, and then, lesser
known, but I have to name itLenormand deck.
(31:56):
Have you ever heard of Lenormandbefore?
No, I have not.
Yeah, well, I feel like just tobe a responsible person.
I have to name this deckbecause if you get this deck
thinking it's a tarot deck,you're gonna be really confused.
But the Lenormand deck isdifferent from tarot and Oracle
and it has about 36 cards thathave a set correspondence and
it's all very practical.
(32:17):
So they have bear shoe, keytree full disclosure.
I tried to get in a Lenormand.
I have a Lenormand deck.
I couldn't figure it out.
It was almost too concrete forme.
But if you are a concrete person, you might enjoy it.
It's a certain way of readingit so I can't entirely speak to
that.
So, just so, now we have thatoverview of like.
(32:37):
Okay, so there's kind of thesethree types of decks.
They might be tarot, they mightnot be right.
They're cards with images onthem that correspond to
something that's the throughline called to.
(33:08):
And that might seem a littlebit confusing because you're
like, how do you know if you'recalled to a deck?
And what I offer folks to do isto almost create a baseline in
their body and first start likeso maybe you go into a mystical
store and there's a bunch oftarot decks.
Start with picking up one thatyou know you would not like that
you're completely turned off byright, pick it up, hold it in
your hand, see how that feels,and then you have a baseline of
like, okay, that's not the rightdeck, that doesn't do that,
that's a great suggestion.
(33:30):
Yeah, yeah.
Then you can have like abaseline in your body.
What I tell folks when they'reshopping for a tarot deck is
just pay attention to mildcuriosity.
That's enough to choose a deck.
If you're enthusiastic, great.
If you're excited, great.
Go with mild curiosity and then, if you want, think
logistically, is this going towork for me?
(33:51):
Well, I want to go with anOracle deck because I can get
started reading it easier.
So even though I feel called tothis and it's not an Oracle
deck, I'll give it a try.
Or you're called to it andyou're like, oh, this isn't an
Oracle deck, I'm going to findsomething else.
So I often invite folks to leadwith just their somatic wisdom,
their intuitive wisdom, andthen test it out logistically.
April Snow (34:13):
What a great way to enter this process of, okay,
start with what you know you donot feel connected, to get that
baseline going and then see ifsomething changes as you pick up
decks that maybe you're drawnto visually and then you hold
them and you realize, okay,something is here for me.
(34:33):
Can you talk about thelogistics a little bit more?
It sounds like it's mostlyaround ease of use.
Like decks are a little bitmore, I guess, or an entry-level
deck, or is that not true?
Are they just easier toacclimate to?
Arianna Smith (34:45):
I think it is hard to compare them because I
use them for different uses.
I think it really just goesback to like what do you feel
drawn to?
Are you excited?
I think the qualifying questionwould be are you excited about
the structure of a traditionaltarot deck?
You know, because what I likeabout because that's what you're
(35:06):
going to find in every tarotdeck is there's going to be the
major arcana, there's going tobe the one through 10.
There's going to be the court,and so that can feel really
reassuring, really reassuring, Ithink, in a way.
Yeah, so I think that would be.
The first question is like areyou excited by the structure of
(35:28):
the tarot deck or not?
Yes, and if you're not, thenmaybe you want to go to Oracle,
and if you are, then maybe youwant to go to tarot, or maybe
you want to get one of both onthe days that you need more
structure, ones that you don't.
April Snow (35:35):
I love that right, meeting yourself where you're at
.
Yeah, I'm curious if you canthink of an example of when you
might reach for an Oracle deckversus a tarot deck in your own
practice.
Arianna Smith (35:46):
Well, this kind of goes back to choosing a deck,
because I have found that andthis gets a little bit more
spiritual leaning I formrelationships with my deck In
fact, you can actually interviewyour decks when you get them
(36:07):
and so I find it's less abouttarot and Oracle and more about
how that deck likes to show up.
And so I have one deck thatloves to show up.
I call it like my playfulGemini deck, like it's the deck
that I bring for group readings,like it's universally people
really like it.
(36:27):
It's the Chrisann Light Seersdeck, right.
So it's kind of like thisuniversal happy deck.
I have some decks that are justa little more direct, right.
So when I need maybe like awake up call, I'll choose a
different deck.
I have certain Oracle decksthat are a little bit more
simple.
Like I kind of talked about mycolor prism deck.
(36:48):
I love how simple and deep thatone is, so maybe I just need
like a quick vibe check and I'llpull that.
So I didn't really give a clearanswer, but I guess it's more
just, what do you feel drawn toand what purpose do you need
around it?
I think if I'm doing multi-cardpulls, I will go to tarot
(37:08):
because there is such a naturalstorytelling element that can
happen in tarot cards that maynot be feasible in Oracle.
But that's not the case.
I'm going to say that.
And there's someone to belistening.
That's like that's not the casefor me, so say that.
And there's someone to belistening.
That's like that's not the casefor me, so it's like can't do
absolutes.
April Snow (37:22):
Yeah, it can be subjective and I love the
thinking about how each deck hasmaybe a personality, serves a
certain function and also soundsgreat to buy multiple decks.
Arianna Smith (37:33):
You know, I mean that's all I do is I'm like I'm
like what's my tarot deck?
I think also there needs to bepermission for people to change
their mind about decks and tooutgrow decks.
So because if you read tarotlong enough, you're going to
eventually outgrow a deck andjust be like I'm going to pass
this on to someone else, or youcan get a deck that you thought
(37:54):
you're excited about, but thenyou pull and you see more of the
art and you're like thisdoesn't land for me.
So I think it's reallyimportant to not go into reading
tarot for self-care and there'sany right or wrong way.
It's very much experiential andit's very much about what works
for you, like any HSP approach,right?
April Snow (38:13):
Yeah, I was just thinking about what a great
practice that you could dointernally with yourself and
listening to your internalcallings, you know, setting
boundaries, letting things gothat don't serve you.
I mean, it's so rich withpossibility and self-work just
in that practice alone that youcould then take out to see so
(38:34):
many opportunities and alsoseeing why it's so rich to bring
into therapy as well.
What a compliment.
Arianna Smith (38:42):
Yeah, yeah, there's with some of my clients.
We I don't do tarot readings forthem because that's a dual
relationship but we will pullcards and like process them
together.
Or, you know, with some clientsI'm like hey, it really sounds
like you're having a towermoment.
I'm going to invite you to lookup which the tower card for
those who don't know isassociated with like big
foundational change, likeupheaval, and then also another
(39:06):
secular option we kind of talkeda little bit about meditation
and came back but you can usetarot to take a mindful break.
So you can simply ask pause,what is most overwhelming me
right now?
What's overwhelming me?
How can I get grounded?
What action can I take?
You know, and if you're askingwhat's overwhelming me right now
(39:27):
, just go with what youintuitively notice on the card,
because sometimes we think we'reoverwhelmed by one thing and
then we get this tarot card andyou're like, oh, that's, that's
right, because when we getoverwhelmed we can't always
access the depth of ourawareness, and so when we take a
mindful break with tarot, itcan sometimes help us with that
(39:48):
processing.
April Snow (39:49):
It makes sense, because it becomes an anchor
where you can then focus all ofyour energy versus getting lost
in the dysregulation or theoverwhelm, yeah, and the
dysregulation or the overwhelm,gosh, yeah, so good.
Well, ariana, as we start towrap up, I'm wondering if
there's any final thoughts youhave for HSPs who are out there
curious about this process, whowant to incorporate it into
(40:09):
their self-care routine.
Arianna Smith (40:13):
I would just invite folks to stay curious and
also to notice if there's likeperfectionism that comes up,
because there's a lot, there's alot right.
We know HSPs are also reallyprone to perfectionism as a way
to survive in a reallyoverstimulating world.
So just to notice, I thinkexperimentation is a great
(40:35):
antidote to perfectionism.
Just play with it, there's nomistakes.
Just play.
Like I say, I'm just playingwith tarot today.
You know we were playing withtarot today, that's it, yeah.
April Snow (40:47):
Yeah, what a great opportunity to practice letting
that go, softening those hardedges.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, thank you forthat.
Well, I will be sure to shareyour website, your Instagram and
the show notes so folks canreach out to you.
I know you're also offeringone-to-one tarot readings.
Could you share a little bitmore about that for folks?
Arianna Smith (41:09):
Yeah, you kind of got like a mini little preview
and a little lie.
Just some of the energy I bring.
My tarot readings are prettycollaborative, just some of the
energy I bring.
My tarot readings are prettycollaborative, pretty thorough
and not predictive.
So I'm not a psychic, I'm not amedium, so I can't tell you
when you're going to getpregnant, if you're going to get
a job, so what I do.
(41:31):
But I'm also very strengthbased, so and also action
oriented depending on it.
So I might reframe the questionof the question is like am I
going to get the job?
I might help folks reframe thatto something that is a little
more focused on their agency andtheir control, and we typically
, like I said before, specificanswers get specific questions.
So I spend time helping folksclarify their question.
(41:52):
We pull some cards, weinterpret it.
I'm really clear with folkswhen I'm just interpreting the
cards versus when I'm havingintuitive hits.
So I'll be like here's what thecar says, and then I'll be
really clear of like I'm gettingan intuitive hit around this.
Can I share this with you?
So that's just to kind ofrespect their consent.
Around this and also aroundconsent, I ask what their
(42:14):
spiritual beliefs are and ifthey do want to incorporate
spirituality into their tarotreading, then I'll be like okay,
how do we want to do that?
And if they don't, I give greatsecular tarot readings because
it's so rich, like as wedetermine tarot is so rich.
And then I typically, toaccommodate all processing
styles and that depth ofprocessing, I send folks a
(42:35):
summary afterwards that has aphoto of all the cards that they
got, some action steps so thatthey can, some action steps so
that they can continue to, andsome integration questions.
So it really is more like atarot experience than just like
this tarot reading.
I'm not like here's yourquestion and go away Like I
really want you to feel okay,what are the next steps for me?
What has emerged?
April Snow (42:56):
I love that.
It's because you're givingfolks a full experience, because
so much of the processing willhappen post session at least for
me to send the visuals and theintegration questions will be so
important for me as an HSP.
I love hearing that it's likeyou can.
You can really dive in and thendo it in a way that works for
you, based on what you'refeeling is safe or what you're
(43:18):
interested in or how you want topractice.
Lots of room there, dependingon where folks are.
I love it.
Arianna Smith (43:24):
Yeah, and if people have never done tarot, or
even if they have a tarotpractice, right, because there's
a reason that we don't do ourown therapy, right, like we need
.
Sometimes, like some of mybiggest insights have come from
when I received a tarot readingfrom other people because I'm
like, oh, I didn't see it thatway, but you're totally right.
April Snow (43:45):
Exactly, someone to hold up the mirror for you.
Yeah, yeah, I love that, thankyou.
Arianna Smith (43:50):
I'm so glad we got to talk about this.
April Snow (43:51):
I know this is incredible.
I'm sure that this is going tobe a great resource for HSPs out
there who are needing kind ofthat guide inward right.
Yeah, yeah, something concreteExactly.
Arianna Smith (44:06):
Something concrete like like it's almost,
it almost gets to be like atransitional object and just
like we're talking about thosemindful breaks around that as
well, and just somethingexplorative and curious.
April Snow (44:18):
Yeah right, exactly Something you can hold on to and
lean on.
Arianna Smith (44:23):
Yes, yeah, love it Well.
April Snow (44:25):
thank you so much, ariana.
I really appreciate it.
Thank you.
Arianna Smith (44:28):
April.
This was great Thank you.
April Snow (44:29):
This was amazing.
Thanks so much for joining meand Ariana for today's
conversation.
I hope you'll feel inspired tohonor your sensitive need for
introspection and deepreflection, whether that be
through cards or other practices.
(44:50):
And if you're curious aboutincorporating tarot into your
self-care routine or looking forguidance to get unstuck, book
an intuitive tarot reading withAriana at arianasmithcom, or
head to the link in the shownotes.
There you'll also find the listof reflection questions and
additional resources that we'vementioned in this episode.
If you enjoyed this episode,subscribe to the Sensitive
(45:14):
Stories podcast so you don'tmiss our upcoming conversations.
Reviews and ratings are alsohelpful and appreciated For
behind-the-scenes content andmore HSP resources.
You can sign up for my emaillist or follow Sensitive
Strengths on Instagram, tiktokand YouTube.
Check out the show notes orsensitivestoriescom for all the
(45:34):
resources from today's episode.
Thanks for listening.
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