Tarot Readings With More Than One Deck: Tips And Tricks

You might have several tarot decks you love and regularly use. Combining the decks in your readings for deeper insights and answers is a great idea. You can use easy methods to implement two or more decks in your readings.

A great way to access deeper insights is to use multiple tarot decks in your reading. All decks have unique personalities, and sometimes it’s beneficial to combine them. You’re not limited to only using one deck at a time, and you can mix oracle and tarot cards if needed.

HOW TO DO TAROT READINGS WITH MORE THAN ONE DECK

Combining several tarot decks in a reading is a powerful way of accessing nuances otherwise lost. Every tarot deck has its unique personality or energy. 

One deck might be straightforward and brutally honest, another soft and gentle. I hope you follow along. When you combine the decks, you can extract information way beyond what a single deck can do. 

Two important terms to know before getting started are trump and nuance. The Trump deck is used for obtaining overarching messages. The trump deck is the deck you use for the initial spread. The nuance deck is the deck you use to gain deeper insights, the second deck.

THE TRUMP METHOD: TRUMPS + FULL TAROT DECK

What you need: 2 tarot decks

Deck number 1: Only Major Arcana (Trump deck)

Deck number 2: Full tarot deck (Nuance deck)

Spread: 1-3 card spread

1. Strip deck number 1 from the Minor Arcana and the Court cards (only Trumps left). 
2. Shuffle deck number 1 (21 card deck).
3. Shuffle deck number 2 (full 78 card deck).
4. Pull the cards from deck one according to your spread.
5. Analyze the message (only trumps).
6. Pull additional cards from deck two and place them under the Trump spread.
7. Access valuable nuances from deck number 2.
8. Add up to three layers of nuance cards. 
9. When ready, be sure not to mix the cards from the decks. 

The easiest way to use multiple decks is the Trump method. Select the deck you think might suit the energy of your question best. Strip it from the Minor Arcana and Court cards. From this deck, you only use the Major Arcana. Set it aside.

Select your go-to deck or your standard deck as the second deck. Keep it as is; you will be using all cards from this one. Set it aside.

Choose a spread that is not too complicated. I recommend a one to three-card spread if you’re a beginner. The “Past, Present, Future” or “Situation, Cause, Action” spread works well. Of course, you can choose whatever spread you like; just keep it simple in the beginning. 

Use the first deck, the trump deck, to pull the initial cards. The Major Arcana cards will give you each position’s overarching energy or message.

Now, switch deck to the full tarot deck. Pull cards and place them under the initial Major Arcana card spread (to mirror the spread). These cards are the nuances or more profound clues to the Major Arcana card. Pull up to three layers of nuances to get super-deep insights. 

This is my absolute favorite way to use multiple decks. The way you can customize the spread, the energies, and the level of depth is just outstanding.

You can switch deck number two for an oracle deck of your choice if you want.

TAROT + ORACLE METHOD

What you need:

• One tarot deck (full) Trump deck
• One oracle deck (full) Nuance deck

Spread: 1-3 tarot cards

1. Choose a tarot deck.
2. Choose an oracle deck.
3. Place them side-by-side on the table.
4. Pick up the tarot deck.
5. Shuffle the tarot cards.
6. Pull the cards according to your desired spread.
7. Read the message.
8. Pick up the oracle deck.
9. Pull one oracle card and place it below your tarot spread.
10. Let the oracle card give you direction and clues to more profound messages of the spread.

The Tarot and Oracle method is the easiest if you are a total beginner. Combining tarot decks and oracle decks is a great way to access extra guidance and support.

We all know that tarot, at times, delivers challenging answers. Oracle cards have a way to milden the blow and give us friendly direction.

If you want super-detailed direction, you can pull an oracle card per tarot card as well. I often find, though, that the single oracle card pull is the best. You can quickly get overwhelmed if you dabble too deep with oracle cards. But this is my personal experience. 

DEEPER INSIGHTS WITH MULTIPLE DECK READINGS

The benefits of using multiple decks are potent. Go with your gut feeling when choosing your decks. With time it will become easier and more manageable. It takes a little time to get to know the energies of your decks.

Suppose you want more examples of how you can incorporate multiple tarot decks in your readings; the video by TaroticallySpeaking gives you lots of helpful information. She provides examples of using two decks to do a three-card and a two-card spread.

Another great video with practical examples is this video by Ethony. I love the way she recommends readers create their own spreads and layouts. This is how I do this as well. Depending on the situation and the question, I create a suitable spread. As my collection of decks grows, I love combing them to gain the most juice out of my readings. This is also how I do it when I do complicated readings for clients. 

GREAT TAROT DECK COMBINATIONS

I recommend you work with decks you are familiar with. My favorite combination almost always includes the Rider Waite deck as deck number 2 (nuance deck). 

The benefit of a Rider Waite deck as a nuance deck is that it provides lots of symbols and scenery. This makes it easier for me to dabble down in the nuances more easily than a more abstract deck. 

My go-to combination for multi-deck readings is the Everyday Tarot and the Tarot Vintage (a variant of the Rider Waite deck).

The Everyday Tarot is very modern and stripped of unnecessary symbols. This works great for the overarching messages of the trump row. 

I love the Kuan Yin Oracle deck for guidance and support. It’s so beautiful and it gives you advice on crystals, prayers, meditation, and much more. 

If you want to try the decks, I added links below. (Paid links – Amazon)

Paid Links – Amazon

IN SUMMARY

You can use several tarot decks in a reading if you want to. One benefit is that you access more profound insights and nuances otherwise lost.

One way to get started using several decks in your readings is the Trump method. With this method, you strip the first deck of the Minors and Court cards. You create a spread according to your question. To gain deeper insights, you add the second tarot deck. Pull the cards and place them under the initial spread. Add layers if needed. 

You don’t need to use several decks if you don’t want to. As always, when it comes to the tarot, you do you. 

Have fun experimenting with your decks! It’s hard to stop using this technique when you get the hang of it.

THE DEFINITIONS IN THIS ARTICLE ARE BASED ON THE RIDER WAITE DECK AND SYSTEM.