How to Use a Spirit Communication Deck (for Beginners)

If you’re holding a spirit communication deck for the first time, welcome. This guide is for you.

If you haven't already, begin by reading "What is a Spirit Communication Deck?"

You don’t need special skills or spiritual training to begin. All you need is the intention to listen with an open heart and a willingness to pause.

Here’s a gentle, step-by-step way for how to use a spirit communication deck:

1. Create a Moment of Stillness

Find a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted. You don’t need a formal ritual, just a moment that feels intentional. Light a candle, take a breath, or simply sit still for a minute. This is your invitation to Spirit to connect.

2. Choose Your Intention

Before picking up the deck, decide who—or what—you’d like to connect with. A loved one who has passed. A spirit guide. Your own inner knowing. You might say silently: “I’m open to hearing from whoever has a loving message for me.”

3. Shuffle the Deck

Hold the cards in your hands. Shuffle in whichever way feels comfortable for you. There’s no right way to do it; just move the cards around while keeping your intention in mind. Let your energy meet the deck.

4. Ask a Question (If You Want To)

You don’t have to ask anything specific, but if something’s on your heart, now’s the time to gently frame it. For those just beginning to explore with cards, it can be helpful to have a question in mind to act as a framework while you make sense of the messages you receive. Example questions:

• “Is there a message for me today?”

• “What do I need to hear right now?”

• “Are you here?”

• "Do you forgive me for the time that I didn't show up for you?"

Explore our post, "50 Questions to Ask Your Spirit Communication Cards."

5. Pull a Card

Choose a card—either one that falls out while you're shuffling, calls to you, or sits at the top of the pile. There’s no wrong way. Trust the pull. And pull as many as you feel called to pull.

6. Receive the Message

Read the card(s). Let the words land. Don’t overanalyze. Ask yourself:

• How does this message make me feel?

• Does it remind me of someone?

• What part of me needed to hear this?

You might journal a few lines or sit in silence. Let the connection speak for itself. Sometimes it may take a few days to fully understand a message. The important thing is to acknowledge the voice in your head that says, "I'm not doing it right," and let the thought pass without giving into it or rejecting it. 

7. Say Thank You

Whether or not you felt something dramatic, end your session with gratitude. A simple “thank you” can help close the space and reinforce your openness to future messages.

8. Return Again (Whenever You’d Like)

You don’t need to use the cards every day. Let them become a practice you return to when you need support, guidance, or connection. Some people use them weekly. Some only on birthdays, anniversaries, or hard days. There’s no rule—only an intuitive rhythm.

You don’t have to do this perfectly. You just have to begin if you want to learn how to use a spirit communication deck.

Explore Indi Star Cards