10 Inclusive Card Decks For Creative Journalling & Self-Reflection

We are all seeking guidance and looking for reflections of ourselves. It’s the moment of validation – we see ourselves somewhere and in recognising our shape in another, we see ourselves as we are. Maybe we welcome a little bit more of ourselves (that’s why I believe in disability representation & share pictures of my daily life as a wheelchair user).

But what happens when our options to see ourselves reflected feels limited? When we aren’t in magazines, or books, or on social media nearly enough?

I have loved and used tarot and oracle cards for many years, but I have never loved them more than during this new surge of inclusive, intersectional tarot decks.

I use tarot in journalling as a mirror, a comfort and a prompt to dive deeper. All the aspects that make us human are held in the cards – the naive parts, the aspects that get tangled in our old patterns, the diligent worker, the confident adult, the one who knows and the one who doesn’t – and the intersections thereof.

If the cards can hold all parts of what it is to be human, I can pick one and reflect on where I sit in relation to it in that moment. I use whatever emerges to fuel my journalling, whether it’s an association, a memory, an idea, a story, a question or just a ramble that gets the words out of my head and onto the page.

We can’t currently go to art galleries and gaze at beautiful art, or move our pen with all it inspires in us.

It’s tricky for me to handle the large coffee table art books that bring such art into our homes.

And, of course, going online to look for images in as valid but a very different experience (although there are some virtual decks at the end of this post, shhh).

What matters is what we chose to pick up, what’s in our hands and how we related it to our hearts.

What questions do you ask when picking a card?

I adore Asali’s spreads here and I’m still using her clarifying Path, Practice, Posture spread, details here.

How do I integrate cards into my journal?

Go straight to download Esmé Wang‘s wonderful (& free) ebook, Productivity Journalling With Limitations here which offers a beautiful way to integrate card pulls with a journalling practice.

I also integrate my cards into journalling by asking:

What do I want?
What do I need?
What do I feel?

And then I pull a card and ask:

What do I need to carry into today?
What will impact my shape today? (A question about borders, boundaries and neurodiversity, more of which soon, details will go here first).
What space do I need to occupy?

And I free write about what comes up for me, with the card in mind.

And I’m delighted to share my top 10 journalling-friendly inclusive decks with you today:

1. My favourite, The Numinous Tarot. Check out Asali’s great-as-always review here.

2. The Threadbare Oracle is still funding on Kickstarter, from Cedar McCloud, the creatrix of The Numinous Tarot. I cannot wait for mine to arrive.

3. I used Thea’s Tarot for a year straight and adore it. The gorgeous book, She Is Sitting In The Night is an essential companion.

4. The Wild Unknown Tarot

5. Lisa Lister’s gorgeous oracle cards

6. Dust II Onyx Tarot plus Asali interviews Courtney Alexander the deck’s creatrix here.

7. The Star Spinner Tarot (check out Asali’s great review)

8. Kris Carr’s Love Notes are a gentle, encouraging non-tarot option, but not as inclusive as the decks above.

9. I loved Mara Glatzel’s Daily Tending cards which are no longer available as cards but have transformed into a wonderful e-course here.

10. Gorgeous Gaian Tarot online deck.

Want to know more about tarot itself?

I recommend:

Theresa Reed

Little Red Tarot classes

What are your favourite decks? Let me know in the comments! Feed my dream deck list.

Want more resources on journalling and living a good life in hard times? Don’t forget to join me Postcards From The Margins: monthly love & wellness letters from my heart to yours, packed with curated resources, inclusive support & ways to live well when hurting.