Draw one journaling card to find out what you’ll write about today.
When you feel stuck and don’t know what to journal about, take out a deck, shuffle cards, and draw one card to find a prompt to write about. It will create an air of mystery, chance, and excitement because you never know what topic you might end up exploring that day.
There’s no doubt journaling helps explore thoughts and feelings better than just thinking does.
While writing about what you did and thought during the day is a good daily practice, it can get a bit repetitive over time. Some days you might even skip writing altogether because you might feel uninspired. Or you’ll take your journaling notebook and stare at the page not knowing what to write about because every thought that comes seems dull or negative.
Journaling cards add a dose of fate to your journaling practice. Instead of consciously choosing what you’ll write about. You let your fingers draw a random card. Many times the question you’ll draw will be exactly the one you need to ask yourself at that moment.
Using journaling cards as a source of inspiration for writing creates a lot of opportunities for “This is exactly what I needed!” moments.
There are many decks on the market to choose from. To help you with the search for the perfect journaling cards I bring you an overview of the most popular decks available.
THOUGHT-PROVOKING JOURNALING CARDS
TheSkinDeep – {THE AND} – self edition
Number of cards: 199
This deck of question cards emerged from the Emmy award-winning docuseries The Skin Deep. After seeing how impactful good questions are for engaging in deep conversations, they created conversation cards everyone can use to engage in meaningful conversations with others but also themselves. This is the self-edition that guides you to explore yourself.
Cards are lightweight so you’ll need to handle them carefully if you want them to last. Box on the other hand is sturdy and made for frequent use. Good variety and number of questions.
Questions will prompt you to find purpose, identify goals, strategies, and thought processes.
You can read more about TheSkinDeep deck of question cards here.
COLOR-CODED JOURNALING CARDS
Number of cards: 52
Holstee is a well-known company in the area of self-improvement. They even created a journaling app with lots of useful features and prompts. Their question cards are beautiful with colorful abstract art on them. The backs of cards are all different and can be assembled, like puzzles, to create one big piece of art.
The cards are excellent quality, similar to really good quality playing cards. The cards come in a paper box.
Each card has two questions, one lighter and one deeper. Questions are unique, interesting, and thought-provoking. They will motivate you to think about different areas of your life in new ways and look at your life from different perspectives. Cards are color-coded with 12 colors covering 12 themes that represent different areas of life, those are intention, kinship, wellness, compassion, simplicity, adventure, creativity, passion, resilience, integrity, gratitude, and reflection.
Read more about the Holstee deck of reflection cards here.
Holstee also published 2 more decks of question cards.
One is for gratitude, you can check it out here, and the other is for reflection cards for kids, you can look at it here.
JOURNALING CARDS TO REFLECT
Number of cards: 52
RYVE is a lifestyle brand specializing in creating motivational and empowering journals, calendars, and cards. This deck of question cards is created to inspire you to reflect on important life questions while journaling.
Cards are 4″x4″ squares made of thick cardstock, the box is sturdy and made for frequent use. The art on the cards is beautiful with neutral colors and foil accents.
Journaling prompts are beautifully worded, inspiring self-reflection. Each question is different, no two questions are similar. They are the type of questions that everyone should ask themselves from time to time. The questions will motivate you to examine your actions, motivations, and intentions.
You can even check all the cards that are in the deck.
JOURNALING CARDS FOR DAILY POSITIVITY
Allura & Arcia – Self care – Empowerment
Number of cards: 52
Ideal journaling cards for focusing on the positive while journaling.
Good quality, sturdy, and durable cards. The box is thin, and very tight so it can rip while trying to get the cards out, not made to last.
Simple questions that cover everyday topics, perfect for everyday journaling sessions. Questions are positive and created to encourage self-reflection, kindness, love, gratitude, and future planning. Most questions are goal-oriented, they make you focus on concrete steps you can take to achieve either a self-care or a self-growth goal.
You can read more about Allura&Arcia journaling cards here.
COLORFUL JOURNALING CARDS
Sunny Present – Empowering Questions
Number of cards: 52
These journaling cards were first published in Finland in 2015. where they were so well received that they decided to translate them into English and offer them worldwide. Colorful backgrounds are made using pictures of beautiful doors in Tallinn, Estonia. They also make a wonderful metaphor as each question can be viewed as a door to a space within yourself.
Good quality, durable cards. They are square-shaped 3.5″x3.5″. The cards come in a regular paper box.
The deck has a decent variety of questions from very deep to light. Questions cover topics like self-analysis, goals, values, motivation, gratitude, and emotions.
Read more about Sunny Present question cards here.
DEPTH-ORIENTED JOURNALING CARDS
The Insight Deck – Self-Reflection Cards
Number of cards: 59+1
These journaling cards will make you dive deep into self-exploration.
The Journaling cards deck is of excellent quality. The cards are thick and sturdy, and the box has a magnetic closure and 2 ribbons for pulling out the cards. This deck is made to endure frequent use.
Questions are made for deep introspection. They make you explore some possibly uncomfortable thoughts, memories, and emotions. Each question card comes with one to three additional questions that expand the initial question.
You can read more about The Insight Deck here.
ART JOURNALING CARDS
Number of cards: 75
Art therapy combines art and introspection. Through the calming activity of art creation, you access a meditative state of mind which allows new thoughts to form and forgotten memories to come up. Cards are created by a licensed art therapist.
The cards are of good quality. They come in a sturdy box. The whole deck is made to last and endure frequent use.
Each card has a therapeutic goal, an art activity to perform using an artistic medium, and questions to answer after the activity to explore your thoughts and feelings. Art activities include a variety of artistic mediums like painting, drawing, collage, photography, and mixed arts. All activities are suitable for beginners and non-artistic people and are possible to make using limited supplies. The deck comes with a booklet with detailed instructions. If you’re interested in trying art journaling then this deck could be a perfect starting place.
You can read more about the Art Therapy Card Deck here.
GRATITUDE JOURNALING CARDS
ThinkPsych – Moments of Gratitude
Number of cards: 52
ThinkPsych was created by two psychologists who specialized in positive psychology. They created the Moments of Gratitude journaling cards deck to encourage people to practice positive thinking which is an essential skill for mental health.
The cards are of good quality. The box is sturdy and the whole deck is made to endure frequent use. Cards are designed to have a calming effect with a pastel floral background and light brown letters.
Prompts are positive, making you think about the good things in your life. They cover simple, everyday topics which makes them appropriate for all ages. They don’t go in-depth but mainly aim to remind you to be grateful for the little things in life.
Read more about Moments of Gratitude cards here.
MINIMALIST JOURNALING CARDS
Number of cards: 100
Minimalist journaling cards where questions are in the focus. The design of the cards is minimal so it doesn’t distract from questions which can be very important in certain situations.
The cards are good quality, the same as regular playing cards. The cards come in a paper box.
The variety of questions is excellent. Questions are deep, thought-provoking, and reflective. They cover all important life topics. This deck offers good value for the price.
You can read more about the Empowering Questions card deck here.
SHADOW WORK JOURNALING CARDS
Zenfulnote – Conversations With Your Inner Self
Zenfulnote is the creator of the popular “The Shadow Work Journal”. After the journal gained popularity they created shadow work journaling cards as an additional resource for people who are interested in shadow work.
If you don’t know what is shadow work or if it is for you, you can read more about it here.
The cards are thick and of good quality. The box is also thick and sturdy.
Cards are divided into two parts. Part one contains questions that should help you identify your shadow. Part two has questions that should guide you to accept your shadow. Shadow work can be very overwhelming for some people because it digs deep into uncomfortable and maybe even painful thoughts and memories. Questions in both decks are solid and could be helpful for both beginners and those who already practice shadow work.
Read more about Shadow Work journaling cards here.
JOURNALING CARDS FOR LOVE
Pauseology – I’m ready for the love of my life
Number of cards: 55
The theme of these journaling cards is love and romantic relationships. They are based on the law of attraction theory. Since these question cards have a very specific theme, they may not be suitable for everyone. Each card has an affirmation and a question related to the affirmation. The idea is to meditate on the affirmation and then use the question as a prompt for journaling.
The cards are of good quality. The thickness of the cards is the same as regular playing cards. The cards come in a regular paper box.
Affirmations are decent, and questions are interesting. If you’re having difficulties with romantic relationships and wish to explore ways you can improve the quality of your relationship, or discover reasons behind bigger issues then you’ll find this deck useful.
You can read more about these journaling cards here.
JOURNALING CARDS WITH QUOTES
ARTAGIA – Self-empowerment Cards
Number of cards: 150
Self-empowerment deck of cards contains 100 question cards and 50 affirmation cards. Each card features a quote from an influential person to inspire you.
The cards are good quality, the same as regular playing cards. The box they come in is sturdy and convenient for frequent use.
The deck contains a good variety of questions that touch on all important aspects of life. They motivate you to think about how you are now, where you are heading, where you want to get, and how you wish to be.
Read more about Self-empowerment cards here.
Sometimes it’s easier to answer questions that come from outside of you than those that come up from inside. Because we’re all too used to pushing away uncomfortable questions and thoughts. Drawing a card with a question to journal about will give you opportunities for self-exploration that you might not have otherwise.
I hope this overview of journaling cards was helpful and you found the deck that will inspire many interesting and empowering journaling sessions.
While you’re choosing the perfect deck of journaling cards you can find inspiration in this collection of 365 journal prompts.
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