Someone asked me this week “Can you do a tarot reading for a pet?” and I replied with a very enthusiastic “Yes, of course!” When you do a tarot reading, you are connecting to the energy of the query. This means the query can be about a person, a place even a building or an animal. In my last post I talked about my love of The Merlin Tarot and it while I was working with that deck I did many readings for pets; my own and other people’s. It should be noted that as helpful and wonderful as a tarot reading for your pet can be, if you are worried about your pet’s health or even behaviour, your first stop should always be your vet. As with humans, a tarot reading is no substitute for professional and medical advice.
A Reading for a German Shepherd Dog
The reading that sticks out the most for me was the first one I ever did for a pet and it was for our family German Shepherd, Jack. He was with our family from 1988 until he passed in 1999. He was the perfect family dog in a household with four girls. He was protective but very mild mannered. A few years before he passed, there was a time when he became quiet and withdrawn, which was not at all his usual behaviour. He could always be found in the heart of the family and action; never off to the side alone. So my mother asked me if I could do a reading for him as a visit to the vet had shown he was as healthy as ever. I was unsure if I could even do a reading for a dog, but I was willing to try. I did a simple Celtic Cross reading, as at that time I did not feel confident enough to rely on just a simple one card or even three card reading. But as soon as I started looking at the cards, the issues became very clear; there had been a lot of changes and not all of them pleasant within our family at that time, and although on the surface the humans in the family seemed to be coping well, Jack was picking up the fact that none of us were. By doing that reading, it not only revealed what was upsetting Jack, but the fact that we needed to be more open with each other within the family. While we can hide our feelings with a smile or lie from other humans, we cannot do that with our furry friends as they can pick up any undercurrents of anxiety or sadness. We made some changes and Jack was back to his normal self within just days.
Questions to Ask the Tarot About Your Pet
You do not need to only consult the cards if there is something different in your pet’s behaviour. The tarot can be a useful tool to understand your pet better and and even a fun way to communicate with your four-legged friend. You can ask the cards questions related to your pet’s personality, which will help you to understand what he or she needs. My family has always had German Shepherds, and while the traits of the breeds were the same among all of them, their personalities were very different. Some were milder mannered, another required more discipline as he had a more aggressive personality. In a dog this is fairly easy to assess, but with some other animals it is not so simple and a reading can really help here.
You could ask what your pet would like to say to you; I had some interesting advice for my client received from a reading from a pet cat regarding his sleeping habits. There are many things you can ask the tarot to understand your pet better. The main thing to remember that as much as the reading is about the pet, it is for the human who is trying to understand him or her.
A Pet’s World
One of the things that can trip you up when doing a reading for a pet is how to apply the card meanings to his or her world. For example, say you get a few Pentacles cards that you would normally connect to money or work for a human, what would that mean to a pet who does not worry about money or have a job? The trick here is to get to the essence of the meaning of the card; practical possessions and security as could be being shown by the Pentacles cards, may relate to the pet’s toys, sleeping area or food and grooming. The people who appear in the reading may not just be the family members that the pet interacts with; a dog I read for was sensing some visiting guests as trouble makers and a threat. The owner had asked for a reading because her adult, trained dog was behaving in a destructive way; chewing and destroying articles of clothing and footwear. She disputed that her pet disliked the guests as he had not shown any aggression towards them, but after thinking about her dog’s behaviour she realised he had only been targeting their clothing and footwear. It turned out that the dog, who was normally very much a part of the family, was being left out in the garden alone more than usual, and this is when he had been tearing down clothes from the washing line. It seems like an obvious thing, but until the reading, the owner did not realise this. So, think about your pet’s world. If you see issues with friends or colleagues, think about other pet’s in the neighbourhood that your animal interacts with.
It should be noted that some readers do not use the Major Arcana when it comes to reading for a pet, but I have always used a full deck.
A Final Word About Tarot Reading for a Pet
I mentioned it at the top of the page, but I want to say again how you must never rely on the tarot to diagnose a problem with a pet, but should always seek professional advice. Vets are not just there to advise on health, but can also tell you about personality and behaviour changes. So please always have your pet checked by a professional if you have any doubts at all. Also, as a dog owner I can tell you that nothing beats interacting with your pet, and more often than not that connection will be enough to let you know what your pet is thinking or feeling. For everything else, there is always the tarot!