Tarot and Music: Deepen Your Readings with Sound

Tarot and Music — Deepen Your Readings with Sound

1. Why Music and Tarot Pair So Well

Music and Tarot are both tools that "let the subconscious speak."

Music: touches emotion, opens your heart
Tarot: touches awareness, opens your inner eye

Used together = your heart + eye opened at the same time, and you receive far more information than either one alone.

2. Music Recommendations for Before / During / After a Reading

Before a Reading (Cleansing + Grounding)

Ideal: calm, stable music with a "grounded" feel

Suggestions:

Flute / Piano (modern minimalism): Ryuichi Sakamoto, Ólafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm
Ambient music: Brian Eno's "Music for Airports"
Nature sounds: ocean waves, forest, birdsong (search "calm ambient" on YouTube)
Chinese classical: guqin pieces like Yu Qiao Wen Da and Ping Sha Luo Yan

Duration: 3–5 minutes before the reading

During a Reading (Meditation + Receiving)

Ideal: mid-range frequencies, flowing, not too attention-grabbing

Suggestions:

Zen-inspired music: Deuter, Kitaro
Ethereal music: Enya, Lisa Gerrard
Modern meditation music: Moby's "Hotel Ambient," Sasha's "Airdrawndagger"

Avoid:

❌ Music with lyrics (pulls your attention to the words)
❌ Fast tempos (causes distraction)
❌ Songs you know too well (triggers unrelated memories)

Duration: throughout the reading, volume lower than normal conversation

After a Reading (Integration + Recovery)

Ideal: gentle, nourishing music that "brings you back to reality"

Suggestions:

Songs you love that are gentle
Classical: Mozart, Chopin Nocturnes
Chinese traditional: Chun Jiang Hua Yue Ye
Indian classical: Ravi Shankar

Duration: 5–10 minutes after the reading

3. "Activating" Different Decks with Music

Each deck pairs with its own music, helping you tune into that deck's energy.

Major Arcana Readings — Use Deep Music

Pair with: deep, extended works by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Nils Frahm, and similar artists
This kind of music helps you enter the Major Arcana's "archetypal" space

Fire Element (Wands) Readings — Use Rhythmic Music

Pair with: percussion and rhythm-driven music
This kind of music puts you in "action" mode

Water Element (Cups) Readings — Use Soft Music

Pair with: piano, strings
This kind of music puts you in "feeling" mode

Air Element (Swords) Readings — Use Clear Music

Pair with: classical music with clean structure
This kind of music puts you in "thinking" mode

Earth Element (Pentacles) Readings — Use Steady Music

Pair with: cello, bass guitar
This kind of music puts you in "tangible reality" mode

4. Three Advanced "Music + Tarot" Techniques

Technique 1: Listen to 1 Minute of Music Before Drawing

Process:

Play 1 minute of music
Close your eyes and breathe with the music
Then draw your card

That single minute gets you into a "synchronized" state — and the card you draw often mirrors the music's theme.

Technique 2: Pair Each Card with a Song

Match 78 cards to 78 songs, so every time you draw a card, the song comes to mind.

This dual encoding of "music + card" makes your memory much stronger.

Examples:

- The Fool (0): The Beatles' "Let It Be" (lightness + setting off)

- The Magician (I): Daft Punk's "Around the World" (cycles + creativity)

- Death (XIII): Radiohead's "Exit Music (For a Film)" (ending + freedom)

Technique 3: Let Reading Music Bleed Into Your Dreams

Play the same music before and during a reading, and you'll notice the same music showing up in your dreams.

Because music enters your subconscious, and Tarot enters your subconscious, the two work in sync.

5. "Music + Tarot" Setups for Different Scenarios

Morning Draw

Pair with: gentle, sunlit-feeling music

Avoid: music that's too slow or too meditative (it'll make you want to sleep more)

Pre-Work Draw

Pair with: rhythmic, wake-up music (medium tempo)

Avoid: music that's too heavy or chaotic

Evening Draw

Pair with: calm, introspective music (ambient, light piano)

Avoid: music that's too intense or "work-mode"

Full Moon Ritual

Pair with: mysterious, ceremonial-feeling music (Indian / Tibetan)

Avoid: pop / hip-hop

Reading with Friends

Pair with: something both of you enjoy that's gentle

Avoid: anything either of you strongly dislikes

6. A Note for People Who Don't Love Music

If you don't love music, or if music distracts you, skip it entirely.

Tarot doesn't need music — it only needs your focus.

If you want to replace music with something simpler:

Silence (true silence)
Natural sounds (wind / rain / birdsong)
5 minutes of meditation (instead of music)

These are all "low-dose energy sources" that can stand in for music.

7. A Note for the "Serious Music + Tarot" Practitioner

If you want to commit to this long-term, here's what I suggest:

Build Your Own "Tarot Music Library"

Create a Spotify / Apple Music playlist with sections like:

"Pre-Reading Cleansing"
"During-Reading Receiving"
"Post-Reading Integration"

Add 1–2 new tracks each week, and let your library slowly grow into your own.

Mind the Copyright

If you create video / livestream readings, watch out for music copyright — use royalty-safe music from YouTube Audio Library or Epidemic Sound.

8. Final Thoughts

Music isn't a requirement for Tarot, but it can help you set down your "everyday mind" during a reading.

Our daily thinking is about 70% work + worry + planning, and only the remaining 30% is where we can "see deeper." Music pulls that 70% down to 30%, so your 30% becomes 70%.

That is the value of Music + Tarot.

If you're a beginner, start with "1 minute of meditative music before drawing." It doesn't need to be complicated — 30 seconds is fine.

If you're a professional reader, you should build your own music library — it's part of your "professionalism."

Our Lotus Tarot app supports a "background sound for readings" setting, letting users automatically play soothing, meditative music during their session.

May your Tarot practice, with or without music, become a support for your inner dialogue.