Walk into a metaphysical store and look around for a while. You might find Tarot decks, crystals, pendulums, runes, books, candles, and other tools. Some objects will catch your attention immediately. Others may leave you wondering why anyone uses them.
That curiosity can become the beginning of your spiritual practice. It can also become an enjoyable hobby. Those two things can exist together without being the same thing.
Over the years, I have explored plenty of metaphysical tools. Tarot, crystals, pendulums, dowsing rods, oracle cards, ribbons, runes, and feng shui crossed my path. Journaling became another important part of my practice. Eventually, that journaling evolved into blogging.
I learned something important through all that exploration. Someone else’s favorite tool does not have to become mine.
Start With Curiosity
My first real doorway into metaphysical practices came through feng shui. At that time, I worked as a REALTOR, so feng shui felt practical. I could look at homes through a different lens. I could consider how people experienced their surroundings.
I eventually used feng shui less often. Today, I occasionally notice something through that perspective. However, I trust my own gut far more than I did then.
Other tools followed different paths. I found runes fascinating, but I never developed a connection with them. Dowsing never clicked for me either. I tried them, learned about them, and eventually moved along. That doesn’t mean those tools have no value. They simply don’t speak to me in the same way.
That distinction matters when exploring metaphysical practices. We sometimes assume every tool should work for us. We can also assume something went wrong when it doesn’t. Usually, nothing went wrong. We simply learned something about ourselves.
Give Yourself Time to Learn
I eventually developed my own rule for trying new tools. I give something at least three months before abandoning it. That doesn’t mean using it every day. It means giving myself enough time to move beyond the initial learning curve.
Some tools need time before their possibilities become apparent. Ribbon reading provides a perfect example. I first encountered ribbon reading during a class. Someone demonstrated the technique, and I immediately became curious.
I didn’t know then how important ribbons would become within my own practice. I explored them, practiced with them, and watched what happened. Eventually, I began making connections that felt natural to me. Now my ribbons travel with me to every show. They also sit on my desk during readings.
That experience taught me something about discovery. Sometimes the tool finds you before you understand why.
You can read more about my approach in my article, “What Is Ribbon Reading?”
Learn the Rules Before You Break Them
I don’t believe you can develop your own approach without learning the foundation first. You need to understand how people traditionally use a tool. You also need to know its established meanings and methods.
When I learned Tarot, I read constantly. I took classes, studied books, explored information online, and practiced. I also kept extensive journals about my readings. Those journals became one of my most useful teachers.
I could look back and notice patterns that I missed initially. I could see which interpretations continued to resonate over time. Critical thinking played an important role throughout that process. I didn’t need to accept every interpretation simply because someone taught it.
Instead, I could study an established meaning and then observe what happened. Eventually, I developed my own vocabulary. That doesn’t mean I ignored traditional Tarot meanings. I learned them first. Then I learned how the cards spoke to me.
Learn the rules. Understand the system. Study from people who know the tool well. Then go do you.
Your Tools Can Speak the Same Language
The more tools I explored, the more connected everything became. My Tarot cards and ribbons, for example, have surprisingly similar qualities. Both offer layers. Both allow movement and interpretation. Both leave room for intuition.
Neither requires me to force one absolute meaning onto every reading. That doesn’t mean every tool works that way for everyone. Someone else might experience that same freedom through a pendulum. Another person might find it through crystals.
I can understand that without needing to make their tool mine. I can also bring pieces of one practice into another. A chakra concept might become useful during a Tarot reading. A crystal might communicate something to me that a dowsing rod never could.
Over time, the boundaries between individual tools became less important. I became more interested in what each tool helped me notice.
Not Every Tool Needs to Stay
Some tools become permanent parts of your practice. Others serve you for a while and then fade into the background. Journaling stayed with me, although its form changed. Today, much of that reflective practice happens through blogging.
Tarot stayed. Ribbons stayed. Feng shui became something I revisit occasionally. Other practices became less necessary. My work with chakras and Reiki changed over time. Oracle cards still occasionally enter my practice, but they don’t hold the same place as Tarot.
That evolution doesn’t mean I abandoned something that failed. My needs changed. My understanding changed. My own intuitive confidence changed. Sometimes we outgrow a tool because we no longer need it. Sometimes we simply discover something that fits better.
A Tool Can Matter Without Becoming Yours
I have also learned that a tool doesn’t have to become part of my practice. Sometimes learning something gives me enough understanding to help someone else.
Pendulums provide a good example. I have owned pendulums that never resonated with me. Then I have handed one to someone during a class, and something clicked immediately. Watching that happen changed how I viewed my own experience.
The pendulum didn’t fail. It simply wasn’t my tool. That person found something through it that I couldn’t access in the same way. My role became understanding enough about the tool to recognize what was happening.
Sometimes we need to learn only enough to help someone else. That can be a worthwhile reason to explore something.
Integration Means Knowing When to Reach for Something
For me, integration means more than using a tool regularly. It means understanding when a particular tool can help.
Suppose someone asks me whether their boyfriend is cheating. I don’t use Tarot to pretend I can establish that fact. Instead, I might pull my cards and ask a different question. What is making this person feel insecure in their relationship?
That question can open a much more useful conversation. The cards become a tool for exploration rather than an authority delivering a verdict.
I use ribbons differently in another situation. Someone who has never experienced a reading may feel intimidated by Tarot. They may already associate Tarot with something overly mysterious or “woo.” Ribbons can offer another doorway.
They give someone something visual and tangible to explore. The experience can feel more approachable. The tool becomes a bridge rather than a barrier.
That is what integration looks like for me. I don’t use every tool in every situation. I choose what makes sense for the person, the question, and the moment.
Explore Without Losing Yourself
There is nothing wrong with collecting metaphysical tools. I collect Tarot decks myself. Collecting Tarot decks is a hobby. Reading Tarot is a practice.
The same distinction applies to crystals, pendulums, Ouija boards, or anything else someone enjoys collecting. Owning something doesn’t require you to use it spiritually.
The real question comes when you decide to make something part of your practice.
- Does it help you connect?
- Where does it encourage curiosity?
- Does it help you notice something differently?
- How does it give you another way to explore your own intuition?
Those questions matter more than having the largest collection.
When you begin exploring, walk into a metaphysical store and look around. Pick things up. Read the books. Ask questions. Notice what catches your attention.
If something draws you in, explore it. If someone suggests another tool, remain open to the possibility. Sometimes another person points you toward something you weren’t expecting. Perhaps that suggestion comes from ordinary curiosity. Perhaps it feels like something your guides wanted you to notice.
Either way, explore before deciding. You don’t have to make everything part of your practice. You also don’t have to reject something because it feels unfamiliar.
Let Your Practice Become Your Own
My spiritual practice looks very different today than it did years ago. I didn’t create that practice by choosing one system and following it perfectly. I experimented, studied, questioned, and paid attention.
Most importantly, I learned to trust what delighted me. That might be the best advice I can offer someone beginning this work. Learn enough to understand what you’re exploring. Give yourself time to develop a relationship with the tool.
Then notice what happens.
You may discover a tool that becomes central to your practice. You may find something interesting but ultimately unnecessary. You may learn enough to recognize its value for someone else. All three outcomes have value.
Your spiritual practice doesn’t need to look like anyone else’s. The tools you use don’t have to match someone else’s collection.
Explore. Play. Stay curious.
And if someone tells you that you must use a particular tool, pay attention to that feeling. You might want to run.
Colleen’s Book
Find Her Book on Amazon: Guided by Spirit: A Development Circle Guidebook offers a practical and flexible roadmap for anyone on a spiritual journey. Whether you’re an experienced circle leader, a group just starting out, someone already part of a development circle, or a solo seeker, this guidebook provides clear, compassionate guidance to deepen your connection with Spirit.
Designed as a 13-lesson program, this guidebook builds progressively, allowing you to grow at your own pace. Its adaptable structure makes it perfect for individuals and groups alike. With journal prompts, meditation scripts, and practical exercises, it supports reflection, skill development, and meaningful spiritual growth.
Guided by Spirit: A Guidebook for Enhancing Mediumship and Psychic Skills: Irwin, Colleen: 9798999475305: Amazon.com: Books
ROC Metaphysical Interview With Colleen
Colleen Irwin’s website: https://www.talkwithcolleen.com
PJ Perkins 
Lady Shiya