Any special rituals you follow?

[Deshy]

I'm new here and interested to know whether you guys follow any special procedure or ritual when handling the cards?

 

Few things I do:

1. Wash hands prior to handling cards

2. Burn incense sticks 

3. Put cards on a fresh clean cloth. Never on dusty surfaces

4. Call upon my guides to be present

[DanielJUK]

I've moved this to the Tarot Main Discussion area 🙂

I know you are getting used to the forum @Deshy but do think about where you are starting a new discussion thread. We love new discussions being started but when you start them in really quiet non discussion areas, sadly no one will see your thread and you won't get much response until we catch it and move it

[Teemu]

I never do rituals. I do not consider washing my hands or cleaning the table a ritual, it is just something I do regularly to keep everything clean. I do not need velvet or incense (or candles or stones or anything frilly, gaudy or kitschy) and my guardians are always with me, so no need for much ado about nothing here.

 

Surroundings must match though. TV has to be off, music calming but not new-agey, but again it is not a ritual but just a necessity to reach the required calm of mind.

 

[gregory]

Oh I'll read with the TV on. What I won't do is read when drink alcohol. Or when eating - but that's for the safety of my cards...

[Deshy]

34 minutes ago, DanielJUK said:

I've moved this to the Tarot Main Discussion area 🙂

I know you are getting used to the forum @Deshy but do think about where you are starting a new discussion thread. We love new discussions being started but when you start them in really quiet non discussion areas, sadly no one will see your thread and you won't get much response until we catch it and move it

Sorry! And yes, I'll be sure to pay more attention next time.

[DanielJUK]

I used to do numerous rituals before reading and now I do a lot less 🙂

I do believe you can just take out a deck anywhere and it will be fine. But I do like a quiet, peaceful place to read, I don't like to be disturbed and I don't like music or tv on. I need silence to concentrate. I always lay down a cloth and just spend time quiet time / meditate a little before reading to clear my mind. Sometimes I light a candle, sometimes I don't

[Natural Mystic Guide]

I begin each day with about an hour of meditation -- communing with God/dess, my ancestors, my Spiritual Guidance Team and my teachers, and All That Is.  Part of this includes renewing my presence in a magic Virtual Krystal House, K'li Hanecha.  In this KH, I have a beautiful altar set up for the purpose of Tarot card reading.  So I start the day with this foundation.  Also I do a number of chants, purification rituals...  Then, when I am going to do a specific reading, I light incense.  I do a special balance, grounding and prayer.  I call in my team.  I visualize that I am sitting at that table altar inside of my KH.  I spend time in meditation while I am shuffling to open myself as a channel.  What I do and how I do it is always evolving as I evolve.  Thanks for starting discussion on this great topic Deshy, and have more fun!

[Deshy]

Thank you everyone for replying!!

[Misterei]

On 5/15/2023 at 7:47 PM, Deshy said:

I'm new here and interested to know whether you guys follow any special procedure or ritual when handling the cards?

 

Few things I do:

1. Wash hands prior to handling cards

2. Burn incense sticks 

3. Put cards on a fresh clean cloth. Never on dusty surfaces

4. Call upon my guides to be present

I LOVE the wash hands.

I also make sure my hands are clean. Not so much in a ritual sense ... but yeah ... I DO feel basic cleanliness is important for spiritual work. I would never read in a dirty or disordered area. My house or office is always clean when I read. If my desk is dusty or crumbs on table I wash the surface. Even incense is cleaning the air when you think about it.

I do about the same what you do.

Edited May 20, 2023 by Misterei

[Grizabella]

I don't do any rituals.  Cleanliness is important, though, of course, but since I mostly read at home, I don't have to be concerned so much with that.  I just put out the reading where I know the space is clean.  If I were to read somewhere else, I'd have a spread cloth with me or a scarf to use if there wasn't a nice, clean space.

 

I don't have guides.  I have a spiritual way of life but it's a part of and within me instead of requiring anything external.  I know ritual is meaningful to lots of people to enter into a certain mindset and I understand and respect that but for me it just doesn't play a part.

 

[KiMo]

So like others here have said, the first thing I do before a reading is make sure my reading area is clean and wiped down, and I wash my hands. I put down a reading cloth but that's because the only place I have to read is the dining table and as I have a six year old, it can get sticky sometimes 🙈

 

The only other thing I do is sit quietly for a few deep breaths while holding my deck, and I imagine a light around my hands. I think this started more as a way to centre myself but recently I've started noticing quite a strong reaction in my hands and feet when I do it, so I guess I must be doing something right!

[shadowcatto]

I really like KiMo's answer, I don't have any fixed rituals but I do sometimes close my eyes and take deep breaths too, and imagine a light flowing from just above my head, down the centre of my body, down my arms and to the deck which I'm holding. Sometimes I use two crystals and place one on top and one below the deck while I do this. I'm hoping to take my deck outside more and haven't thought about rituals for that, so it's reassuring to know that it'll mostly be ok even without elaborate cleansing rituals.

[Grandma]

Before I read at home I use sage to smudge my apartment. I strike my gong bowl and then I center myself in time, space and all five senses. I hold my hands in the namaskar. I take several deep relaxing breaths. The sage and gong are not rituals, though. I just love them. Well maybe they are, because I would find it difficult to skip these steps. The centering breaths and the namaskar are important rituals, but not specific to Tarot. I do this throughout the day, especially before eating and drinking, meditating, yoga, and exercise. Oh who am I kidding? When is the last time I exercised? I'm also trying to remember to do this ritual before activities such a cooking, reading, making the bed, and the like. Oh who am I kidding? When is the last time I made the bed?

 

And when I read not-at-home, usually in my daily bakery/café, I center myself as described above. 

[Esclarmonde]

I wash my hands, but that's not meant to be a ritual, it's just to keep the deck from becoming greasy with use. I lay a cloth, but not always, and I like to light a candle, which I usually do. I like to read after doing zazen meditation, as that helps me to concentrate on the question that I want the cards to answer. But I don't do any fixed rituals - these are just things I find useful.

[Silverlotus]

I almost never do anything particular special when I do a reading. I do make sure my hands are clean (as a needleworker, I am almost obsessive about clean hands) and a close my eyes and take a few deep breaths to settle myself, but that's about it. I think if I were to read for others again (which I haven't done in several years), I would maybe light a candle. I do use a cloth if I lay my cards out somewhere other than my desk.

[Guest]

I only have three:

 

1. I wash my hands or at least rub alcohol on them prior to a reading.

2. I wear the crystals I assigned for the specific deck I'm using, which is a different one for each wrist.

3. I pray before and after a reading.

[thetarotlass]

On 5/15/2023 at 10:47 PM, Deshy said:

1. Wash hands prior to handling cards

 

3. Put cards on a fresh clean cloth. Never on dusty surfaces

 

1. Yes!!

3. I love how you show respect for the Tarot, by placing your cards on a cloth 💜
 

On 5/16/2023 at 5:34 AM, Teemu said:

TV has to be off

YES

 

On 5/16/2023 at 6:49 AM, DanielJUK said:

I need silence to concentrate.

100%.

 

On 5/20/2023 at 7:28 PM, Misterei said:

I LOVE the wash hands.

Me too!! Not just in the sense of literally keeping your cards clean, or as clean as they can be with regular/semi-regular use, but also to show respect, and to be fully open to receive from the Divine. In many faiths, washing before prayer is an absolute must - to me, washing before handling the cards almost seems along these same lines. 💜

[Miemza87]

I always ask my guides for guiding me “in love and light” before I touch my cards. 

[Morwenna]

I don't do anything special at home beyond seeing that my hands and the layout surface are clean, though more often than not I read on the bed which means there most likely will be cat hair. 😊 The TV is in a different room so that's no bother; whatever I can hear I just tune out. If I'm anywhere other than home I make sure there's a clean surface. Other than all that, it's just a matter of shuffling well while getting myself into the necessary mindset. If reading somewhere for pay, such as at a renfair, I'll have a reading cloth or tablecloth that I think will enhance the experience. That's all. (Though if I am going to read for pay, I will make sure I start the day well-rested with as nutritious a breakfast as I can devise, and no alcohol the night before.) 

[Xavier]

I don't use any ritual, but I always wash my hands very well so as not to dirty the cards with cosmetic lotions, sweat or anything else that could inexorably ruin them over time and I only start doing them when I feel inspired and I'm calm, serene and rested.

I do my tarot and various oracle readings using only my Conscience, that divine part that has always been naturally within us, even without external help because that part I'm talking about is simply all of us and I feel strong this.

 

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Xavier

[Guest]

I do wash my hands before and after touching my cards. I cleanse my cards every so often. I call upon my ancestral house and the gods of my ancestors before I start a reading. Personally, I don't like to talk or hear a lot of noise while doing my cards. When I read in a quiet area, I tend to get into a trance. I like to have incense in front of me, if I am guided to have it during the reading. Sometimes, I get messages through the smoke.

[Saule]

I also wash my hands before reading. That's the bare minimum for me. Sometimes I also shower before a reading, it helps me ground. If I'm reading in the morning, I brush my teeth before touching my cards. I like feeling clean before a reading :) 

I also lay down a reading cloth. Then, I pray to Goddess and God and spirit guides to assist me with this reading. I ask them to clear the deck of any negative energies and energies that aren't mine, and imagine white light coming out of my hands and onto the deck, surrounding it.

I don't do a "proper" meditation before a reading, however, I use shuffling as a mini meditation. I overhand shuffle 15 times and count this in my head, trying not to think of anything else except for the counting. It makes my busy brain slow down for a bit :)

Oh and also, I knock on the deck 3 times and blow white light onto it before fanning it. 

This might sound super long but it only takes a couple of minutes and helps me get in the right mindspace for a reading.

Edited November 29, 2023 by Saule

[Tanga]

So lovely to read everyones different rituals.

 

- Hands must ofcourse be clean to touch cards.

- I lay down a pretty cloth (from a small collection), & I usually read in a quiet place (if it's for a client - I have two beautiful

velvet Tarot cloths made by Sulis (SulisCreations - Etsy UK) which I use.

- I never read when I'm tired (and I don't drink).

- I may say (in my head) my personal grounding, creation of sacred space, & invitation for Spirits to speak chant

(this is quite short and easy to remember - rolls off the tongue). Or I may not and just go on to:

- I always shuffle. I have no particular pattern - just do as I feel. Shuffling is meditative and I usually BREATHE whilst doing it.

 

If I am doing one reading after another for people (rare now) - I will shuffle and may bump the deck on the table whilst I think "Clean Please!"

- a call to my guides and my subconscious to begin with a clean slate for the next person.

[tetragrammaton]

If I am doing a casual reading for myself or for a loved one, aside from basic cleanliness I don't do much. I might read Uriel's psalm to ask him for help, but not much.

For a serious reading, I full on evoke angels for assistance.

[Iepure_luna]

To be honest, I only wash my hand, put some hand cream, and keep my one year toddler away from me for a while  I read in a very casual way, but silence is necessary. If I am disturbed by any noise or any thoughts I'll do the reading after a while (which happened a lot........