How to Use Oracle Cards in Your Coaching Biz - 3 Steps Plus an Example! | By Ruby McGuire

Have you ever thought of using oracle cards in your business?

When I first heard about using cards in coaching I was very intrigued. Joanna Hennon, a friend who taught me about it, said you could use them in many areas in both life and business.

I decided it to give it a go. I started with the idea of using oracle cards to generate ideas for a simple blog post. So I sat down, set an intention of writing a blog post - and tentatively pulled out a card.

The card that came out was 'Take a Leap of Faith'. I laughed and thought to myself, "What can I write about that? No thanks". So I put the card back in the pack and shuffled ready to pull another one. To my surprise - and slight disgust - I drew the same card again.

Grrr, this was irritating! After repeating the process 4 times and getting the same card, I decided to write a post about taking a leap of faith. And in this post I shared with the world that I love all things 'Law of Attraction' and spiritual; what's often known as a bit of 'woo'.

Fast forward a year or two and I decided to use cards in an unplanned coaching session with one of my friends. She wanted some guidance so we decided to play. Through a combination of coaching and cards, we dug deeper than I had in any past sessions with clients. We had such a deep conversation, but with so much ease. And the results were amazing.

Now I use cards a lot with my clients.

In this article I outline the 3 steps to follow to use cards (oracle, tarot, picture cards) with your clients. Then, I share an example of how you might explore (and questions to ask) once a client has chosen some cards.

Here are 3 Simple Steps to get Started Using Cards in your Business:

STEP 1. Get permission from your client to use cards

Ask your client if they would like you to work with some cards in the session with them. This step is important as you'll find that some clients aren't open to this way of working, and you always want to respect people's values and beliefs.

If they say yes you can go to Step 2.

Action: Say something like, "I'd love to work with you deeper on this in our time together today. How open would you be to us using oracle cards together to find out if we can get any deeper insights for you? It's totally fine if they aren't for you, they're not for everyone."

STEP 2. Get your client's input and frame the issue

First, spend some time with your client exploring the issues, as you would in any coaching session. Find out what's challenging them, what they need clarity on etc. Then ask them to articulate what they'd like to know from the cards. Explain to them that they need to ask open-ended questions rather than questions that require a 'yes' or 'no' answer.

Action: Set an intention together that they will get everything they need from the cards. You can articulate this to your client by saying something like, "Let's set an intention together now so that you get everything you need from the cards today."

STEP 3. Share the message with them

Read the key message from the card to your client. If, intuitively, you notice something that you believe they need to hear, then share with them in the usual way you would when you act on your intuition. The key messages are where the magical breakthroughs can happen.

Action: Delve into the key messages with them, ask them if they make sense to them and get your client to talk through what insights are coming up for them. The cards aren't meant to replace your coaching, but enhance it. They will open up conversations that may never otherwise have happened.

A Practical Example of How to Use Oracle Cards in Coaching - Meet Sally!

So, let's make this super practical. I'm going to share a detailed example of how you could explore with a client using cards, following the above steps.

We'll use my imaginary client, Sally. Sally is struggling with bringing money into her coaching business, and it's starting to make her feel frustrated and deflated. She's wondering whether she should go and get a 'proper' job because while she loves coaching, she finds the business side of things so difficult and is losing her motivation to stick with it.

Sally has already given her permission (Step 1), and set her intention (Step 2).

Next you pull the following 3 cards together:

  1. Cat Spirit - Claim Your Independence
  2. Fox Spirit - Think On Your Feet
  3. Brown Bear Spirit - Take Time Out

Step 3 Example - Share the message and review the 3 cards Sally has pulled

1 See footnote for the exact card set I used.

Card 1. Cat Spirit - Claim Your Independence

Key messages of the card:

  • Claim your independence and allow space between you and others in life.
  • Have a healthy sense of self-respect and self-worth. When you walk with dignity, knowing who you are, self-aware and willing to grow, trusting the value you bring, the world will mirror all this back to you in kind.

Now explore the results: So for each card, the first thing you'd do is ask them what messages they received from the card. There will usually be a few key words that jump out for them. Then explore a little deeper. You'll have your own way of questioning, and each client is different, so you may choose to focus on different things.

Here are a few examples of questions I could ask Sally:

  • Where in your life do you believe you are not being independent?
  • On a scale of 1-10, where 10 is high and 1 is low, where would you rate your current level of self-respect?
  • When you say the words, 'I am worthy', what thoughts and feelings come up for you?
  • When you share what you do with others, how much do you trust the value of what you're offering?
  • When you think of the world as a mirror, what is being reflected back to you right now in your business?

As a Visibility Strategist, I'd also be exploring the business side of 'knowing who you are'. This means that by knowing who you are and showing up as you, you'll be able to stand out from the crowd. So I'd ask questions all around that too.

Card 2. Fox Spirit - Think On Your Feet

Key messages of the card: 

  • Fox spirit has appeared, and you're meant to move swiftly. Let this clever spirit draw out your creativity as you adjust to rapidly changing circumstances with resilience, grace.
  • Now is not a time to hesitate but a time for swift action of the mind, a time to think outside the box and notice the many ways in which you might make a move, aware of your surroundings and always clear on what you deserve and wish to co-create.

Now explore the results: Remember to let the client lead with their thoughts first. You can then explore their answers with them deeper.

Some questions we could ask to delve further with Sally could be:

  • Where are you not taking action?
  • What creative ideas have you had recently that you're ignoring?
  • Where are you being indecisive? What impact is this having on you?
  • How useful would it be to do some thinking outside of the box together now?
  • When you think of the word 'deserve', how true is that for you when it comes to creating business success?

Card 3. Brown Bear Spirit - Take Time Out

Key messages of the card: 

  • There is a time to act and a time to focus your attention on patient strategizing. The arrival of Brown Bear Spirit signals that you are best served by foregoing hard work toward your goals at this moment and instead taking the time out to meditate - or just take a nap so you can refresh yourself and begin planning what you want to co-create next.
  • Insights will arise as you explore the possibilities and begin envisioning your plan. Knowing what you want will ensure you use your energy wisely in the days ahead. Be patient at this time. Relax and be calm and peaceful so you can recharge. The call for action will come later.

Now explore the results: Questions you might consider asking here could be around self-care, planning and strategising. I'd probably use my NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) visioning tools here too to take them into the future of their dreams and move them into a space of possibility.

Example questions to ask Sally could include:

  • How important is self-care to you right now?
  • If you were to take a break from 'doing' and spent some time daydreaming about your dream business, how would that make you feel? (Then explore whatever comes up, i.e. fear that they won't be marketing their business so won't bring in income, feelings of guilt for taking time out etc.)
  • What needs to happen for you to build in some recharging time?
  • Who could support you?

Wrap-up

When you use oracle cards in your business, it can open up much deeper lines of conversation. For some clients, it's as if cards feel 'safer' somehow. Cards are a great way to explore hypothetical and metaphorical ideas. And unlike traditional coaching - cards can help clients suspend their disbelief and resistance for a short space of time.

Here's a quick recap:

  1. Get permission from your client to use cards
  2. Get your client's input and frame the issue
  3. Share and explore the messages with them

I hope that's been useful going through how you can use oracle cards to get better results with your clients. I love using them now with my clients.

Oh and you might wonder about the blog posts. I often use them for that too. Now though, instead of pulling 4 cards over and over again, I just trust that I'm meant to be sharing that message and get on with the writing!

I'm curious, will you have a play with oracle cards and test out digging deeper with them?

If you do, I'd love to hear how you get on. If you use them already, what great results have you got with them? Share in the comments below.

If you like this article, then you'll love the new group, Manifesting Magic Club, run by Ruby and a fellow coach and mentor. Check it out here >>

If you liked this article on using cards in your coaching business, you may also like:

1 Finally, the cards I used were the "The Spirit Animal Oracle Deck" by Colette Baron-Reid.

Contributing Author:

Ruby McGuire is a Business & Mindset Queen. She's an Accredited Master Coach & Master Mentor with the IAPC&M, Trainer, Inspirational Speaker and Author of multiple books. She loves helping her clients step up and become leaders (aka Queens) of their businesses. She helps her clients develop their leadership and business skills, create a success mindset and attract dreamy clients. She is a Brit on a mission to live a simpler life without marketing on social media so that she can spend more time in her beautiful Scottish surroundings. You can find her at her pretty online home, over on her podcast show, Rock Your Fabulous Biz, and here where she shares her Mini Guide to Marketing Without Social Media. When she’s not working you’ll find her surrounded by books, making hand-made cards, and enjoying life with her hubby, little dog and chickens (usually with a Whittard Vanilla cappuccino in her hand)!

Learn more about Ruby & see all their articles here >>

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