tarot beliefs

[GeminiLady]

The other day I was at my local bookstore checking to see what kind of decks they had. The cashier says to me, "you know--you aren't supposed to buy your own tarot cards" Turns out he had an exgirlfriend who did tarot at one time....

Anyways..it got me thinking about the different tarot myths/beliefs...and I really think it is just a matter of what YOU believe about what you are doing..

So far, I've heard...Don't buy your own cards...Don't read for yourself or you will lose your ability...If you HAVE to read for yourself, use a separate deck....Tons of storage rituals...Don't take money for a reading in your hand...you get the picture...

So gang, which rituals do you find meaningful?

Personally, I buy my own cards(I'd never get a deck othewise!)
Store my main deck in a wooden box, but use nice little cotton or silk bags for the others.
I read for myself, although that can be tough. -No separate deck, although I am wondering more about that.
I have cleansing rituals, and I also like to just let my cards get a little sun now and then-not enough to fade them, but I like the idea of a sun charging.
I don't know about the money, so far I haven't received any..LOL...

Just thought I'd see what your opinions are on this.

Love and Light,
Gem

[Rhiannon]

Gem,

I'm with you on buying my own cards. Although I have friends who might buy them for me as gifts for birthdays or whatever, I'm afraid they do not always share my tastes and might buy something I don't like.

I keep my 3 decks (modest collection so far ;) ) in a wooden box that was purchased at a Michael's craft store. I think it was supposed to be a recipe box. I stained it and decorated it myself. I am planning on getting a spread cloth, but I haven't found any I like yet. I think I may have to go to a fabric store and attempt sewing one (yikes!).

I usually carry at least one deck with me. Most often my Robin Wood. I rarely use my Rider Waite anymore. And my Fantastical and I are sort of at odds right now. :D

The only rituals other than that I can think of is that I usually sleep with a new deck under my pillow for a week. I haven't asked for any money for my readings yet either. I've never heard about not taking money in your hand. That's interesting...

Rhiannon :)

[jade]

i break them all!

i read for myself with lots of success. i take money in my hands and say 'thank you' while looking directly into the clients eyes and then i place the money under my cards to thank them. LOL

i wrap all my cards in different things but all the bags or cloths are made from natural fibres, this does allow the energy to 'breathe' IMO...but that is just my preference.

i do readings outside which i've heard is supposed to be bad cause the wind and open spaces will dissipate your energy....hogwash! i do it all the time, there or in a coffee shop....both places work fine for me, but that's not to say that it won't work for others.

find your own little rituals and what you feel comfy with and then let them be your 'security blanket'. if you feel like you have more intuition on a deck that someone else purchases for you, then that is right for you etc.

blessed be.
jade

[New River]

hi! i, too, keep my cards in boxes. people seem to give me boxes as gifts that are perfect. i've always bought my own cards. it would take someone pretty special to know how the cards feel to me!

the only ritual i use is blessing my cards with prayers every time i use them. i also keep an owl feather in with the deck i use the most. i use voyager and haindl decks.

i allow my guidance to tell me what's right in each situation. a candle or incense is nice but not necessary. i've yet to find a place where i couldn't read effectively. bad vibes, in other words. if a reading is meant to happen it will.

this was a good question. i'm always interested in other's rituals. love and light, New River

[tiger lily]

Oh my!

I don´t have *any* rituals at all... no cards under the pillow (I sleep without a pillow, so there...), they are all in their cardboard boxes, I don´t even have a spreadcloth! I read for myself, because noone else will do it for me :-) I buy them because noone will buy them for me... and only if I lay them out for someone else do I ask for guidance.

But so far, no damage ... ;-) I´m just not a "ritualistic" person.

[jade]

yah!!!! another voyager lover!!!

jade

[destinyawaitsme]

I finally got a spread cloth but before that, no rituals whatsoever. I kept my favorite deck in a crown royal whiskey bag (they are the perfect size) and the others I keep in their boxes...I don't bless them, or pray...I reorder them every once in a while ( you know to "clean" it) but other than that...I break all the traditions and rituals.

[EveAnna]

I always like to buy my own decks, I have a small deck of 22 Majors that a friend gave me and I love it,
I keep all of my decks in wooden boxes, and my Original Rider Waite, the deck I use the most, wrapped in black silk inside the wooden box,
I use a purple spread cloth because purple is my favourite colour and the cards look nice against it,
I always draw the cards with my left hand, I handle my cards everyday, sometimes not to read just to shuffle them,
When I'm doing readings I like to light a candle, sometimes scented, and incense if I use a plain white candle. Wow I've rambled on lol :)

[Mojo]

Nice to see so many non-conformists in the crowd.

tigerlily, i'm with you all the way (except I DO sleep with a pillow)... absolutely no rituals here. All my decks are in their original boxes and then all boxed together in a cardboard box with a giraffe skin pattern on it (I collect giraffe stuff)...

My main deck, the Royal Fez, I carry around in my little bookbag absolutely everywhere I go. It's wrapped in a piece of cloth cut out of the back of my late partner's favorite t-shirt for purely sentimental reasons.

My #1 backup deck is the Lo Scarabeo Universal and like destiny, I keep that one in a Crown Royal bag, again for sentimental reasons.

I'll read anywhere, anytime. I'll only buy my own decks because a deck has to speak to me before I'll consider owning it.

And as for the money, they can put it on the table, they can hand it to me... hell, they can stick it in the waistband of my undies if they want, as long as they keep giving it to me.

[truthsayer]

i don't have any tarot beliefs that i stick to consistently. i do whatever my whim is. occasionally, i'll sleep w/ a new deck in my pillow case.(makes for a lumpy pillow). i'll sleep w/ them beside my bed. lately, i've started keeping my new cards in their original boxes. earlier ones are wrapped in scarves. i only use a spread cloth when i don't want to lay my cards on a dirty surface. i keep my favorite decks in a bamboo chest that's scented w/ lavendar. i'm a lavendar freak. i don't need candles but sometimes they're fun in the winter. when it's hot, i don't do candles due to the heat and aromas can be stifling. i don't read for my husband b/c he told me it's baloney. i don't read for my mother b/c so many bad things happen to her, i all ready i have tarot block. neither of us believe it if something good happens to her!! LOL :D
(even tho we are happy. i just wouldn't believe it if i saw it in the cards and would be wary of telling her b/c i wouldn't want to dash her hopes.) i read for myself all the time. money is good as a spiritual exhange of energy for balance but i don't ask for it either. i'll read via internet or email. the only deck i haven't bought for myself didn't click w/ me so i wouldn't have any decks if i wanted for someone to send me the "magic one"! i read outside if i choose. i can't think of any more rules i've kept or broken. :D :p }>

[Kiama]

I reckon all those Tarot myths are just there to try and keep the Tarot Mystique in there... Try and make it sound occult and weird...

Personally, I have bought every single one of my own decks. I have a collection of about 20, and so far, I can read with all of them, even though I bough them myself... I have a friend/not so friend anymore, who regularly says that her deck is better (Even though she's only ever used it once, three years ago, cuz it was blessed by a Witch, and cuz the cards were bought for her by her mother... I reply to this that, I can bless my own cards, hankyou very much. And there is nobody who I know who would think of getting me a deck for my birthday or Xmas, mainly cuz they don't know which decks to get me!

I keep my decks in different wraps, and my fave one in a wooden box (Robin Wood). I usually use silk for them, but many different colours depending on what colours the deck feels like. (My Inner Child cards for example are wrapped in pink and red dyed silk... My Robin Wood is in it'sbox, resting on deep red velvet, wrapped in black silk..)

I always read for myself, cuz I have nobody else to read for me. This is also the way I learned Tarot, cuz I had nobody else who would take it seriously enough to get a reading... I don't use seperate decksfor myself and others. I use the Robin Wood all the time unless the qeurent likes another of my decks (Witches Tarot, by Reed, or Celtic Dragon, by Conway are two faves)

And I prefer to read ourtside. Often I feel more relaxed and can concentrate much easier... I feel closer to Earth there, and I find that the wind and open space singing to me can really help me with readings.

Money.. I've never been paid for a reading yet, cuz I always read for friends who I wouldn't take money from unless they volunteered it first... But I don't think the way you receive the money they pay you should have any effect whatsoever except on your bank balance!

I do what I want, when I want, with the Tarot. I hate all of those pointless myths about not buying your own deck. It's just not practical. And superstitiuos. It defies logic.

Just my rants.

Kiama

[Major Tom]

Kiama (04 Sep, 2001 18:33):
I reckon all those Tarot myths are just there to try and keep the Tarot Mystique in there... Try and make it sound occult and weird...

Kiama

and to keep down the competition. :D Or even more sinisterly to keep the knowledge hidden.

It's very good to see enlightened practice on the board. }>

I do keep the decks I use (the major arcana from the BOTA deck, the Rider Waite deck, the Universal Waite deck and of course, Major Tom's tarot }> ) in a wooden boxes (just seems a sensible place to keep them). I use a gold duster as a spread cloth for the BOTA deck.

[Kiama]

Major Tom: I was wondering if you did create the Major Tom Tarot (Stupid wonderment, but you never know. There could be two Major Toms!) WOW! Well done. I relaly liked you deck when I saw it on Aeclectic...

Kiama

[Major Tom]

Kiama (05 Sep, 2001 18:26):
Major Tom: I was wondering if you did create the Major Tom Tarot (Stupid wonderment, but you never know. There could be two Major Toms!) WOW! Well done. I relaly liked you deck when I saw it on Aeclectic...

Kiama

Thank you for your comments (blush). Yes, I'm the artist behind Major Tom's tarot - it's still a work in progress - growing in fits and stops and providing major learning. }>

[tarotbear]

Interesting - the store clerk was effectively 'turning down' your sale of the cards. It seems like a conflict of interest to me. Kind of like the head waiter telling you to eat in the restaurant across the street! What if you didn't buy them and sent a friend in for them...and they went to a different store? She may have been trying to not have you make a 'psychic mistake' (if there could be such a thing), but a store possibly dissuading you from buying something...??? ???

[Demon Goddess]

I really only have two beliefs when it comes to Tarot, one is that God is where the information the cards give me comes from and two, that I won't do readings for someone who won't answer my questions.

I've done readings for my HIV/AIDs charity and then, I do the "get up", scarf, black silk cloth on the table, candles, etc... but for me, the only important thing to the reading is my meditation.

Oh... I forgot... I don't allow my kids to touch the cards unless I'm doing a readin for them, because they tend to lose stuff and I don't need to be missing cards.

Speaking of which, does anyone else ever read for kids?

[purplelady]

tigerlily (04 Sep, 2001 05:29):
Oh my!

I don´t have *any* rituals at all... no cards under the pillow (I sleep without a pillow, so there...), they are all in their cardboard boxes, I don´t even have a spreadcloth! I read for myself, because noone else will do it for me :-) I buy them because noone will buy them for me... and only if I lay them out for someone else do I ask for guidance.

But so far, no damage ... ;-) I´m just not a "ritualistic" person.

I sleep without a pillow also,and have for the last 20 years , as I believe it's better for my neck!!! All the tarot decks are kept in the boxes they came in If the box is the right size.Otherwise , I sew a bag for the deck. I buy decks for myself , no one else buys me any. And I read for myself also as no one else does!! I have never had a spread cloth . I Do a grounding and centering before each reading . And occasionally will cleanse my decks.

[StarShine]

I think the thing about your first deck should be a gift is cool, but I also know that no one could ever figure out what calls to me in a deck. The things I like in other situations usually aren't what I like in a Tarot Deck. I was fortunate, my first deck was a gift from my Honey, but I got to pick it out! Worked out Great.

I will sleep with a deck if I feel the need, and I do make a bag for each of them. (I need to get to work, I have 2 decks in original boxes! GASP!) I like the Crown Royal Bag idea though! It happens to be my Honey's poison of choice so there are plenty laying around!

Other than that, nothing special about my rituals or lack thereof!

[Kiama]

Major Tom (05 Sep, 2001 18:45):
Thank you for your comments (blush). Yes, I'm the artist behind Major Tom's tarot - it's still a work in progress - growing in fits and stops and providing major learning. }>

Who's the man in the Fool card? I think he's cool....

Kiama

[Major Tom]

Kiama (06 Sep, 2001 18:58):

Who's the man in the Fool card? I think he's cool....

Kiama

His name's Alan - he'll be tickled to know you think he's cool. :D

[Jeanette]

I love sewing so I sewed a little bag for my cards. I also made a spread cloth out of navy silk-like material; since I have an embroidery machine, I embroidered a celestial sun in one of the corners of the spread cloth. The sun is gold, with navy outlines for the face and details. I also have a sachet in the bag with the cards; so wherever you go with them you can take along a little bit of whatever "cleansing" fragrance you prefer!

[Talisman]

'Lo all,

Great topic!

Jeanette, the spread cloth you make sounds so pretty.

The very first time I ever saw tarot cards used a woman layed them out for me at a party. It was perfect. The lighting was candles. She rang a little bell. (Don't ask me why.) After shuffling, she instructed me to cut the deck into three piles and put it back together in any order. With my left hand. I was bubbling with a thousand questions. This was one I asked. "Why the left hand?"

"Cause," she says, "your left hand is closer to your heart." I think she was laughing at me. This may not make any sense, least not to me, but I've always done it that way.

One more story. Shortly after that first reading I acquired my first deck. This was back in the ancient past. It was in the last century! No internet, no tarot bookshops, decks were hard to find and there were not many to choose from. At the same time I bought a used, and very strange, book on tarot. The book said you should always "seal" your deck before putting it away with a special card on top and on the bottom of the deck.

I did the Mary Greer thing to find my personality and soul cards, and it was one of those years where it adds up to three cards, The Sun, The Magician, and The Wheel of Fortune. So, I have always "sealed" THAT DECK ONLY by putting the Sun on top and the other two cards on the bottom.

Does that make sense? 'Course not. What it is, it's a nuisance. Still, with that deck I've always "sealed" the deck.

Talisman
What do Alexander the Great and Winnie the Pooh have in common? They have the same middle name.

[EveAnna]

Hi talisman,

She told you right, in quite a few of the older tarot and playing card divination books, the drawing of the cards was always done with the left hand because it was nearer the heart and the power hand and the cards were always turned like a page and not flipped. Most of my newer tarot books don't mention these little rituals at all and yet if you start doing them as a newbie to card reading you tend not to change and the habit stays. :)

[Talisman]

EveAnna,

In my case, you are absolutely right. All the rituals, strange or not, are continued from my first, and only, reading and from the time I got my first deck.

For instance, the woman referred to the remainder of the deck, after laying out a Celtic Cross, as the "Daath" (I have no idea how that is spelled) pack, for unrevealed knowledge. Have no idea where that came from, but have always thought of it that way.

Also, when I was beginning, book in hand, I would lay out the Celtic Cross, with all the cards face down. Then I would turn the cards over one by one, looking up each card in the book as I went.

It was only after each card had been looked at individually this way (twice, once for the card and once for the spread position -- my book got a workout) that I attempted to read the cards in relationship to each other. What was there, what wasn't, what story threaded its way through the spread.

So, I still do it that way. Lay the cards in the spread out face down. Silly, huh? 'Course, I never read for other people.

Newbie ineptitude led to a ritual I still follow.

Talisman

[Jane]

talisman (09 Sep, 2001 02:03):
[snip]
For instance, the woman referred to the remainder of the deck, after laying out a Celtic Cross, as the "Daath" (I have no idea how that is spelled) pack, for unrevealed knowledge. Have no idea where that came from, but have always thought of it that way.
[snip]

Hi,

You've spelled it correctly. Daath is the invisible sephiroth on the tree of life in the qabala. It represents knowledge.

Jane

[EveAnna]

Oh I still do that too talisman :) - I like to draw the chosen cards out into the spread before i turn them over - I seem to get the full impact that way rather than seeing a card at a time :)

[Kiama]

talisman (09 Sep, 2001 01:05):
After shuffling, she instructed me to cut the deck into three piles and put it back together in any order. With my left hand. I was bubbling with a thousand questions. This was one I asked. "Why the left hand?"

"Cause," she says, "your left hand is closer to your heart." I think she was laughing at me. This may not make any sense, least not to me, but I've always done it that way.

Well, that's what I do too! But I ask the querent to cut only twice with the left hand. I don't know why, it's just something I've always done...

The idea that your left hand is closer to your heart is also reiterated in the tradition of putting a wedding ring on your left fourth finger, not your right...

Kiama

[xx yy]

You won't get the deck that feels good to you unless you either purchase it yourself, or ask someone to get it for you.

Anyways...thinking about the different tarot myths/beliefs... I really think it is just a matter of what YOU believe about what you are doing..

Don't read for yourself or you will lose your ability?
I really think it is just a matter of what YOU believe about what you are doing..


...If you HAVE to read for yourself, use a separate deck....
I really think it is just a matter of what YOU believe about what you are doing..


Don't take money for a reading in your hand...
I really think it is just a matter of what YOU believe about what you are doing..

So gang, which rituals do you find meaningful?
I ask the person whether or not they believe in angels, spirits, ghosts and the like. Also, whether they believe you can contact them and ask for "assistance or guidance". If the person says yeah, then we pray and ask the "invisible spitits" to help out by moving the querents hand in selecting the cards which most clearly relate to what we're doing. As the cards are laid out in a circular manner, the other person moves his/her hand above each card seeking a "feeling" and they pick the next card. After all cards are picked (by them) I assist in interpreting what is before them. They must strongly believe that some invisible power is guiding their hand and they must believe in the invisible or it won't work.

[luna]

[quote]destinyawaitsme (04 Sep, 2001 08:31):
I kept my favorite deck in a crown royal whiskey bag (they are the perfect size)

I got a Crown Reserve bag and happened to put the cards in it for travel once. Been there ever since. I don't usually have many rituals. There's incence, when I can find it. The way I shuffle is probably the most ritualistic thing I do and even that is not exactly the same every time.

[tarotbear]

Did a search to find this one ...

I believe that tripe about not buying a deck for yourself goes back to the dark, dark days of the 1950s when you did not just walk into the local Barnes & Noble and select a deck off a shelf and buy it. Tarot cards were considered 'witchcraft' and even into the 1970s there were laws on the books forbidding their sale (I know you young people find this hard to believe, but it is true!) so to have a deck on display was an invitation for the law to come in and close you down. The only way to buy a deck was to know someone who knew someone who knew someone who could get you a deck. If you were a starnger and walked into shop and asked to buy a tarot deck, if the clerk didn't know you, you would be told there were no decks for sale - for fear of selling a deck to an undercover cop.

I have 40+ decks in my collection; if I was to wait for people to give them to me I'd only have two or three....

What other Myths have you been fed lately? LOL!

[Fudugazi]

Good lord!

I don't think we ever had that problem here - not since the bad old days of Church confiscating woodblocks in the 17th century. As far as I can remember, you could always get tarot decks in most good bookshops.

Of course, they were all Tarot de Marseille or its cousins ;)

[tao51]

but...some beliefs may be false but gain the aura of truth because so many repeat them. I bought my first deck. It has been a valuable tool. Frankly, I have been given only two decks. Wherher to have a ceremony or some ritual is all up to the situation. I have done rituals to create a mood in a skeptical querent. I am aware of some fairly mystical ceremonies which coul put goosebumps down the spine. The several readings that I did today involved no ritual. I revere the Tarot as my ancestors did. They played music and burned incense. They lit candles. This was all for the querent. It helped create a mood or a relaxed attitude.--Tao

[tarotbear]

Good lord!

I don't think we ever had that problem here - not since the bad old days of Church confiscating woodblocks in the 17th century.

Dear Helvetica -

Here in Connecticut, USA, it was illegal to READ tarot cards (on the books, anyway) until the law was rescinded in 1992 -- that's 1992, not 1792!

Of course, no one ever appied these laws, but a lot of us did not miss the fact that the law was rescinded on the anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials ...

[tarotbear]

So, who was told you could only wrap your deck in black silk ???

What were you told was the 'proper' way to store your deck when not in use?

********
My decks are wrapped in tomato red silk because I was lucky enough to be working in a fabric store at the time. A fellow reader who is very intuitive was holding my deck one day and said that she thought the cards were depressed by the green and black patterned silk scarf I was wrapping them in, and suggested the tomato red.

When you get down to it, we (may) wear black to absorb the psychic energy around us, so why wrap your deck in something that will suck up the vibrations - good or otherwise- around it while not in use? When I teach a class I tell my students the 'traditonal', and then tell them that I feel that any natural fibre will work just as well - don't use that ancient polyester leisure suit you found in the back of the closet! LOL!!!! I agree with tao that sometimes things get repeated so often that they build up an aura of truth. Since silk was a fabric that the common person may not have had access to, giving it an aura of being special to wrap that deck that you had so much trouble buying in the first place - it just all feeds in together.

IHMO - although the native americans may disagree with me, I don't feel that you should wrap your deck in leather, either. After all, it is the skin of a slaughtered animal. Wear leather shoes, but please don't wrap your cards in it!

So, who was told you should only store your deck in a wooden box?

[Fudugazi]

Here in Connecticut, USA, it was illegal to READ tarot cards (on the books, anyway) until the law was rescinded in 1992 -- that's 1992, not 1792!

Of course, no one ever appied these laws, but a lot of us did not miss the fact that the law was rescinded on the anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials ...

I'm smiling, but it's not really funny :(
I'm wondering if the difference in approach between Europe and the US is not because your country grew to maturity at the same time as tarot was being been reapprpriated by the occult movements in Europe - therefore tarot was only ever seen as a magical occult practice, whereas here it was thought for many years only a game (even if it was created as more than that), with some gipsies using it for cartomancy - long before the 18th/19th centuries occult movements, by which time there was also a powerful anticlerical movement, born out of Enlightenment.

And yet, the freemasons - an esoteric initiatory movement - went to the young United States, I believe?

So why the fremasons and not tarot? :confused:

[Fudugazi]

IHMO - although the native americans may disagree with me, I don't feel that you should wrap your deck in leather, either. After all, it is the skin of a slaughtered animal. Wear leather shoes, but please don't wrap your cards in it!

I don't see the logic in your statement, tarotbear. It's OK to wear slaughtered animals on our precious bodies, but not wrap them around our cards ??? Slaughtered animals are part of the cycle of life and death, as long as balance and respect is maintained (which it isn't always, I agree).

Pesonally I keep my decks in used Christmas Pudding boxes - the cards seem like that - at least they haven't complained :)

[Ahria]

I was orginally told always cut with your left hand, a particular way to shuffle ie dont do a shuffle like in the casino's (best way I know how to describe it) and keep the cards in a natural light shade fabric.

These days I still use the above but more for me, as I have read about the left hand being closer to the heart which I like, the shuffling makes u take time to actually think about what you are doing so you focus more and I keep my cards in a silk orange box, the cards are wrapped in pieces of a old pillow case which is sentimental to me.

I keep a white quartz with my cards and always read with a rose quartz that is rough. I often light candles but that is more for mood and colour if I am asking on a specific area in my life, I have always read for myself even when told it was not a good idea (I wouldnt have learnt otherwise), and the cloth I use for my spreads is a throw for a bed which is navy and cream with stars and moons over it.

I also read somewhere that if you shuffle less than six times the cards are not random, so I also do that. But mostly I do the things that I believe in and feel comfortable with.

[NightWing]

A quick thank-you to all who have contributed here. It has been educational for me, and has given me a sense of the diversity of practice(s) out there.

I never did accept either the "can't buy your own deck" or the "can't read the cards for yourself" ideas. If I had I could never have started up in Tarot!

I like the wrapping and boxing of decks as a practice; it is something I do for me and my attitude. So decks currently in use get the treatment. Others must reside boxed and locked in a large, secure filing cabinet. Someday I hope to have a custom display case.

Candles, cloth, incense, and invocations strike me as good for the querent; a quick way to set the mood and scene. And money? Money should always be received with a smile and a "thank-you".

[WolfSpirit]

So, who was told you could only wrap your deck in black silk ???

Unfortunately one of the first tarot books I ever got said this...and a lot of other stuff too: about the "energy" in the cards - I wanted to store the deck in a bookcase close to my bed, but when I read about the energy in the cards I thought it might not be a good idea to keep them so close to my bed, just to be on the safe side.
It also said you could rid a deck of its bad energy by burying it in the ground for a few days. Maybe the author lived in the desert ? If I buried my deck in the ground it would come back with lovely energy but completely mouldy and sticky and plain unusable if it was still recognizable as a deck at all :D

As I said, this was one of my first books on tarot, I think I found it in a second hand bookshop and it really made me think if I wanted to go on with tarot. Luckily I later found other books to support my level-headed nature.

[tarotbear]

Dear Wolfspirit -

Did you ever hear the argument that you should NOT store your decks close to the floor (Mine are in an underbed box due to lack of having anywhere else to put them) but rather store them 'up high' on a shelf? Something about bad spirits lurking at ground level or some other bizarre reasoning like bad spirits can't levitate up to your high shelf or something.

*****

As far as wooden boxes for storage, I'm also sure that the fact that it would be something made by hand (at least in part) and made from a natural material would be considered far better than an injection-moulded plastic box made with chemicals.

Until my collection outgrew it's bounds, I used to store my decks in a fancy 'sewing box' - the kinds they sell around Mother's day with a section or two and usually a fabric-covered top. The ones that unfold with 6-8 little sections are terriffic for storing decks!

[WolfSpirit]

Dear Wolfspirit -

Did you ever hear the argument that you should NOT store your decks close to the floor (Mine are in an underbed box due to lack of having anywhere else to put them) but rather store them 'up high' on a shelf? Something about bad spirits lurking at ground level or some other bizarre reasoning like bad spirits can't levitate up to your high shelf or something.


That's new for me - I must have skipped that page in the book ;)
I have most of my decks together in a big basket, which is probably wrong too - think of all the energies mixing together !! And not high enough either - the bad spirits can still reach it if they jump.

[tao51]

many ideas about the Tarot. Some of them are based on fact. The caution about storing close to the floor relates to flooding and damaging anything at floor level. I have kept my first deck in a leather pouch for over 30 years. They are still full of energy. I like to use a silk cloth to spread my cards. This is just a personal lpreferance. I just had someone new ask me for a reading. She asked me so many questions like "Would you tell me if I were going to die?" She required assurance that the Death card did not actually mean death. --Tao

[Fudugazi]

I have most of my decks together in a big basket, which is probably wrong too - think of all the energies mixing together !! And not high enough either - the bad spirits can still reach it if they jump.

If you sprinkle your basket with some fresh spring water collected by a virgin by starlight on the first day of the crescent moon, saying the words, get thee behind me, bad jumping spirits...

...you'll have some very wet tarot cards :D:D:D

[tarotbear]

Interestingly, in one of the three Campanelli books published by Llewellyn, there is a comment that they had a cabinet with pieces of ancient pottery and religious statues in it and the C's were always hearing pops and noises from the cabinet. They surmised that different religious objects were having problems with other religious objects and had to give a 'talking to' to the items in the cabinet!

You could get a separate wooden box for every single one of your tarot decks, but having 40 little boxes spread out all over my house would be silly, and get too much interest from visitors! I don't see any problems with storing all your decks together in one place ... hey! Maybe that's why I have odd dreams with all those decks fighting under my bed all night? LOL!!!!!

[September Pixie]

I don't see any problems with storing all your decks together in one place ... hey! Maybe that's why I have odd dreams with all those decks fighting under my bed all night? LOL!!!!!
LOL!

I store mine together.. some 'special' decks get their own special bags.. other decks remain in their boxes..

[WolfSpirit]

If you sprinkle your basket with some fresh spring water collected by a virgin by starlight on the first day of the crescent moon, saying the words, get thee behind me, bad jumping spirits...

...you'll have some very wet tarot cards :D:D:D

Hehe...I know I could count on you guys to give me some great advice ;)

[Majecot]

I don't have any that are wrapped in silk. I buy almost all of my own decks.. I would have only two if I waited for someone to buy them for me. I used to have one deck in a wooden box, and the rest in a cardboard one...lol, it is wood right?

Then the numbers stared to grow, and I stuck them all in a drawer together.. (and they all got along just fine!) then the drawer got too small, now they are in an overflowing bigger wooden box :)

Some where I read that you have to read always facing north....or maybe it was south.. oh well I think I usually face the west because that is the side I like to sit at in my dining room *shrugs*.

(nice resurection BTW- fun thread)

[paradoxx]

My daily astrology reading for my rising sign virgo from richard cainers site reinforced my opinion that "you (I) am not like 'other people' and that I am more determined to stick to my own belief and be picky about what I do and don't want." Most importantly it indicated that it is not a good idea to judge yourself by others standards and that when you feel that you are right, stick to your standards and let others know that is how you feel.

I jus thought that this reference would be a good addition to this thread.

I am having to be more conservitive with my decks, I only have a few pouches but I 'bind' my deck with those black and colored cloth hair bands, they seem to work a great deal better than rubber bands and the colors work for certain decks.

[Pook]

Some where I read that you have to read always facing north....or maybe it was south.. oh well I think I usually face the west because that is the side I like to sit at in my dining room *shrugs*.

(nice resurection BTW- fun thread)
Hmmm...interesting....I think I read that you should always read facing the east, toward the rising sun, if you want advice on how to bring something new into your life, and facing west, towards the setting sun, if your question is concerning leaving something behind.
Not that I follow this advice. I read mostly in a big comfy chaise lounger chair that has a lot of room on the end for as big of a spread as I can manage at my level of tarot knowledge, and it faces, well....sort of northwest.....it's at an angle in a corner.

I do like to light a candle, mostly fo rmeditational purposes. I stare into the candle and think of my question while shuffling the cards to focus my concentration. Then when I am ready, I lay out the cards on the end of my chair and sometimes laugh or talk to the cards depending on what I see in them.

[paradoxx]

Would that depend on what is to that direction. If I face west, I am facing the Rocky Mountains just beyond the horizon line, I call forth the spiritual energies that I know are over there (old hills, dense woodlands, backroads, and the flow of the river among other powers). If I face East, there is some government offices and little to no population. That and my room layout is limited at this time (I plan to change this soon, so I will keep this in mind, but the sunsets are so vibrant here in Wyoming :) )

[tarotbear]

So did any of you ever sleep with the deck under your pillow for x-number of days the way someone told you you were supposed to?

Never have and never will.

Several years back while at the Mardi Gras I talked about in the thread on bad locations to read tarot, some snippy teenage witchlet wannabe stepped up to my table and intoned sharply (I'm older than her father you have to realise) "DID you sleep with these under your pillow for three nights?" as though it was chiseled in stone somewhere. I looked at her and in the most dry deadpan voice I could muster without laughing , said " Yeah - maybe TEN YEARS AGO!" She took the hint she was out of her league and left.

[ivyrita]

super thread!
i've never shared a bed with my cards, and have bought my own cards.
i wrap my cards in what i believe is supposed to be a dishtowel. it was part of a christmas gift, this wonderful earthy looking striped cloth.. i think it's a cotton, but not sure. i also read them on this cloth.

[Annabelle]

Interesting thread! I've heard about many of these tarot "rules," but I have yet to follow any of them myself. All of my decks with the exception of my RWS are still in their original cardboard boxes. So far, I don't keep them in a special box, or put them on a special shelf, wrap them in a special cloth, or put them in bags. I have never cleansed or charged a deck, regardless of whether I bought it new, used, or had it given to me as a gift.

So far, I've only done readings for myself, and I've never felt that anything was wrong with that. And I don't have any special, ritualized method for shuffling or cutting the cards...I often will just lay them out on the floor, table, etc. and scramble them around gently, then collect them back into a stack. Scrambling works well for me--it saves wear and tear on the cards, and it tends to result in some reversed cards (which I don't mind...I enjoy reading reversals).

Not that I mean to imply that I don't take tarot seriously, or that I'm not protective of my cards. Reading tarot is a spiritual act for me, and I have a great respect for the cards. But still, I've never felt the need to follow the "rules."

[tarotbear]

Do any of you use a special cloth to spread out the cards on?

I have a square of this astral kind of print - wished I had yeards of it! I trimmed it even all around and then hemmed it and stitched it with silver thread. I use it over the top of the purple cloth I have when using a circular table for readings, but I also fold it up and take it with me when I go out reading and carry my 'Port-a-tarot' - which is actually a carry case for CDs and a personal CD player - nice size and square to hold two decks.

I find it helps to equalize everything when you do readings on the grass or cover the bird droppings on a picnic table. It serves to keep the cards clean when the only flat surface is questionable.

[tarotbear]

So, what's up with this card, anyway? It gets referred to as 'the Wish Card' in many books.

Before you shuffle the cards for a reading, you are supposed to make a wish? And if this card appears in the spread, your wish will come true? What if the card doesn't appear and you made a wish -- will it not come true?

[tarotbear]

The big bugaboo in Tarot is should you charge for a reading or should you be giving them away for free?

In truth, I give away free about 90% of all the tarot readings I do. I only charge when I am doing tarot house parties, or being a reader at a psychic fair or when doing the local Mardi Gras. Charging sets you up to weed out those who would waste your time (offer a free reading in a group of 500 people and they will line up so thick you'll have to beat them off with an Ace of Wands). Thrill seekers are cheap; those with needs are willing to pay someone for an honest answer. Charging tells the public that you are not here to waste your time, and that your time and expertise are worth something. Giving something away for free indicates that it has no value. There is nothing wrong with asking for compensation for your travel, gas, or time. I don't believe in charging off a querent's left nut to give them a reading.

There is a belief in the Tarot World that your ability to read is a 'gift' and that to charge for your 'gift' will cause your 'powers' to diminish. Obviously the people who belive this don't have a bill to pay, rent to pay, or have a care in the world.

Robin Wood does not charge for tarot readings; she feels that charging is a 'contract' and she doesn't want to enter into any contracts! Being paid means to her that she has to produce - right now- for the querent's whim, and would rather set her own rules, reading when she wants to, not when she is commanded to. It works for her, I guess.

[tarotbear]

Have you ever heard that when you start the spread that if the first card is reversed that you should turn the card around to upright and turn the entire pack around? Something about never starting off a reading with a reversed card ...

[paradoxx]

Do any of you use a special cloth to spread out the cards on?

I have a square of this astral kind of print - wished I had yeards of it! I trimmed it even all around and then hemmed it and stitched it with silver thread. I use it over the top of the purple cloth I have when using a circular table for readings, but I also fold it up and take it with me when I go out reading and carry my 'Port-a-tarot' - which is actually a carry case for CDs and a personal CD player - nice size and square to hold two decks.

I find it helps to equalize everything when you do readings on the grass or cover the bird droppings on a picnic table. It serves to keep the cards clean when the only flat surface is questionable.

Cloths:
I have several cloths I can use, for readings and spellcasting that may or may not include tarot cards. Dark Green, Grey-green, grey, astral purple/blue/green (very nice) a dark blue 'carpet' cloth with suns, moons, and stars, gold and black. HMM, I need to get some more, I am lacking red and orange, but the shimmering purple/blue/green may make up for a great deal.

9 of cups
More like 'a card of equlivent exchange.' strangely enough, this card reminds me of a metaphysical shop I visited a while ago, where the tarot decks were behind the man on a raised 'pillar' like the RW archetype. This of course was for theft deterent, but the symbolism was appropriate: Give and take. Nice decks though.


Reversals
I don't use them that often, but as of recently I have encountered a situaiton where everything 'seems' backwards, so I am going to try something. I am going to read the deck in reverse with only a portion of the cards right-side up. I will keep the cards face down during the selective process of deciding whcih cards will be the 'other direction.' My readings of late have been foggy to say the least, so I'll let you all know what the results are (maybe I'll post it if I can make some sense of it.)

Readings:
the area where I live doesn't see Tarot as very acceptable, so widespread readings are out of the question for now, but If someone felt that they would receive a better reading for money (which right now is the only reason I would take money for a reading), then I would agree assuming that I needed the money, otherwise i would inform polietly them that the money that they give (if they give) would go to charity or some other worthwhile cause as long as I wasn't in absolute need of it.

Storage:
I usually don't have a great deal of resources available for storage. For example, the Shapeshifter Tarot I have was a gift from a friend, who put them in a leather camera case, considering that animal was already sacrificed using the leather doesn't bother me. Although I would prefer Bison hide. My Celtic Dragon Tarot is in a red dragon tarot bag, it seemed appropriate. My Cosmic Tarot and Sacred Circle Tarot decks are stored in old 'Scrabble' game time bags, energized with the power of the word (or at least that wordgame :) ) Most of my decks are still in their original cartons, although the cardboard of my thoth tarot is falling apart, I guess I will need to locate another bag soon.

[Ceit]

IF I didn't buy my decks I would only have one which although nice looking I can't read from it.

I think we make are own rituals and use others that fit our needs.

[tarotbear]

dear paradoxx~

When working for the fabric store I did make altar cloths in every color, using machine embroidery to make a large pentagram in the center of each. To even off all the edges I pulled and removed threads, then used all the threads to make a thread charm!

[Stacie Doll]

I revere the Tarot as my ancestors did. They played music and burned incense. They lit candles. This was all for the querent. It helped create a mood or a relaxed attitude.--Tao

One quarent asked me to light candles. I personaly like to but I think it would freak alot of people out.

[Stacie Doll]

Cloths:
9 of cups
More like 'a card of equlivent exchange.' strangely enough, this card reminds me of a metaphysical shop I visited a while ago, where the tarot decks were behind the man on a raised 'pillar' like the RW archetype. This of course was for theft deterent, but the symbolism was appropriate: Give and take. Nice decks though.


i get this card fairly often. that is the meaning i have applied to it concerning myself.

[Stacie Doll]

one thing i always do is close my eyes while shuffling. it just feels better that way.

[Gwynne]

If I'd waited for someone to buy me a deck? I'd still be waiting! When I first became interested in Tarot I didn't know anyone who was!

I keep my Connolly deck in a Tarot back that was made for me, and I have a set of Runes in a matching bag. I keep them together because I use them together. I just got the Housewives Tarot yesterday, and I keep it in the box it came in, and will continue to do so because the box is just too cute.

The only time I've ever cleansed my cards was after doing a reading for someone who was really, really negative. Other than that I haven't had any problems.

Reading for myself is tricky only because it's so hard to remain objective. I have a bad habit of projecting my desires as opposed to seeing what's really there.

I have no problem taking money in my hand. I'm hoping to make a living at this after all!

If I slept with them under my pillow they'd quickly be lost and scattered into the abyss that is under my bed. I toss and turn a lot.

[tarotbear]

Does anyone really use a Significator? Why, and under what circumstances?

I always feel that removing a card from the pack when it might be needed for the reading itself is not a great idea, but that's me who does not use a Significator at any time.

[Gwynne]

I never use a Significator in a reading. If I know the persons sign, I will have an idea of what to look for. For instance my husbands card is the King of Swords. Whenever I do a reading for him, if that card comes up I know that it means he's either too focused on himself or not focusing enough on himself, depending of course on the position and surrounding cards.

Also if the King of Swords comes up in a reading for myself, it's generally referring to hubby in one way or another.

I don't like to take a card out that could otherwise have important meaning to a reading. I personally associate strongly with The Hermit, being a Virgo and a bit of a loner, as well as having quit a few 9s in my Numerologic chart.

However to remove that card from the deck, and thereby removing it from the reading seem... wrong. That card in the past could indicate a time to move past isolation, in the future could mean a need for self-reflection, among other things. And if it's not available for placement in the spread I could miss out on a key point the cards want to make.

[Annabelle]

Does anyone really use a Significator? Why, and under what circumstances?
Oh, I'm so glad you asked that question! I've been wondering about that too...one book I have suggests picking a significator, but my other books do not. Personally, I tried it a time or two, but it didn't seem to help in any way, and I felt uncomfortable taking a card out of the deck that might otherwise have come up elsewhere in the reading. Anyway, I've wondered for while about whether other people typically use a significator or not.

[WolfSpirit]

Significator
I tried using a significator a few times, but I never felt it added anything.
Now I think it is better not to use them at all: noone can be represented by the same card all the time, we all play different roles at different times - and which card fits us best now, can better be decided by the cards. I think choosing a card myself is too much "choosing my own reading".

Sleeping with a deck
No, I have never done that. And I still dream about cards nonetheless.

Wish card
I knew 9 cups was often called the wish card but I did not know what people meant by that precisely, LOL. I never treated it as a wish card.

Reading cloth
I don't need a certain surface to read on, but I like reading on a wooden surface. I often use a wooden chopping board to put my cards on. I can also put the board on my lap and that can be handy too.
It is not suitable for taking with me though, and I do have a few reading cloths, dark blue with silver dragons on (I think they came with the druid animal oracle). I find most cloths too flimsy though - I backed them with a thick fleece fabric so they stay in place better. Great for readings outside.

Tarot bags
I put most my decks in bags, because I like bags and because I like making them myself (which also keeps them affordable), I never considered it a must though. And I still keep the decks in their original box too, for extra protection.

[paradoxx]

Signifier.

Electronic readings, yes
physical readings, no

With a program I have called "Tarot Magic" you can select the card you want without having the shuffling of the deck disconnected. Same with www.facade.com you can choose your signifier and then have the deck shuffle wihtout having to look through each and every card, which seems like cheating the cards (in tarot as well as poker).

I do have two Cosmic Tarot decks, I can probably use one deck for the signifier card and the other for the reading, but then the decks might get blended. Got to be careful of that.

As for dreams:

I had a dream with tarot cards in it, it wasn't the Thoth Tarot but it had the same kind of coloring and some of the general artwork stylizations of Harris, but the deck was strewn about and the cards were unfamiliar, but it was a tarot deck. The one card I focused on looked like it was a giant Olmec head in browns and reds. Weird.

[rainwolf]

Ive heard of putting the new cards under your pillow for a week, but ive also heard of doing that anytime if you feel the need to connect with them. I TAKE :-{ napkins from resaurants (the nicer cloth ones mind you) and use them for reading cloths *note i am not a kleptomaniac*, but they are the perfect size!!!.
I cut with my left hand if i remember, my family doesnt believe in any of it so i buy all my own decks, but dont read for myself, i have a friend do taht...most of the time.
I cant read with a new deck for other ppl until ive used it several times myself...i dont know if thats a tendency for most ppl, but ill throw it out there.
I honestly dont know why ppl made up significators anyway...your not reading with a full deck...;)

[MercyMe]

I'm still a new reader so I haven't really developed many beliefs or rituals associated with tarot yet. I did just purchase a few velvet beaded and embroidered bags to hold each deck. (Thread drift: I found these gorgeous bags 50% off at a discount store called Tuesday Morning in the holiday clearance section. They were fabric *gift bags*. $2 each. I bought five, all they had, because I anticipate filling each one with a deck. Anyway, they were the perfect size and they have inspired me to make tarot bags to give away as gifts and/or sell to local shops)

I kinda freak out if anyone touches my decks without asking me. If someone randomly plays with them or shuffles them or even looks through them without asking me first, I want to throttle them! Possessive much? I think it's because they become so very, very personal to me it feels very much like a personal boundary violation. I know those who don't read tarot don't understand the connection between a reader and her deck and may view them pretty much like any other playing or collecting cards, but wow, even I was surprised by the strength of my reaction.

I like the idea of lighting a candle for readings. I may do that.

I "cleanse" my decks on occasion only by putting them in their proper order and leaving them until the next reading.

I keep them in their original box to protect them. It all goes inside the bag.

~Mercy

[Cerulean]

The reader pulls out a major, ace, court and minor in one square or four-card spread and then four minors next to it. The Major as a trump card, I believe, sets the stage and gives an 'energy symbol' for the answer to the question; the court and ace also show powers and elements as a major incentive or factor for the question...and the minor card in the first four cards points to a significant root/element factor. The four minors add clarity and suggest balance or more detail.

I may be wrong in how I remember this card pull, but it gave me a good basis for
using a deck and thinking how I would see the card layout as suggesting actions, answers and interactions or patterns.

If I add the designation that the reading has to suggest one action for me to do, this becomes a stronger incentive to think of how to act on the 'wisdom' or thoughts arising from the layout.

Regards,

Cerulean

[Phoenix Rising]

I don't have any beliefs. I feel beliefs can be restricting and limiting. I want to be the one in control of my cards and not the other way around.

Because I'm into cartomancy at the moment, I've decided to even play games with them. I sort of look at them like my pet dog, who loves to be involved with playing games, to get as much interaction as I can with them.
And while I'm playing the games, I'm reading them at the same time, just to get more practise so to speak. And if I'm playing with others, read there's too, without them even knowing about it.
I don't think having other peoples interaction with them is going to take away anything from it. Just like people we play and then we get serious.

The cards are a reflection of our environment, and that's all things and all life.

[Ulfdis]

Did you ever hear the argument that you should NOT store your decks close to the floor (Mine are in an underbed box due to lack of having anywhere else to put them) but rather store them 'up high' on a shelf? Something about bad spirits lurking at ground level or some other bizarre reasoning like bad spirits can't levitate up to your high shelf or something.


Actually, I've heard of something like that, but not applied to Tarot. I read somewhere that it was customary in days of yore for the texts of the I Ching to be stored up high as a show of respect. I've also read that the same treatment was given to anything written by the Chinese Emperor, that because he was divine, everything he wrote had to be held up and stored up above the head of the reader.

[M-Press]

I don't mind people touching my decks, especially students, but I do have 2 decks, that are mine, and mine alone- one next to my computer table, and one under my pillow. So I can draw a card, anytime ;)

All my decks are in pouches, and in a few metal boxes. I'm looking now for a huge wooden box, to put them all inside. That would be nice company!

I have a spread cloth, black velvet, and I use it when I want to impress someone. Otherwise, for myself I usually read on my..computer keyboard!
well, I also eat there and do all sorts of things, so it happens, that it's not a no-no place for the cards either.

Although I do think it's good to cleanse the cards, I never do. I got over it. But I do keep a journal, to learn and show my respect!

[tarotbear]

Have you heard the theory that if the first card out is reversed that you should NEVER read with the first card in that position - that you should turn it upright and turn the pack around? The posting elsewhere that the first card out as the Fool should not get read prompts this question.

[souljourney]

Well...I'm pretty new to this and have read and heard about a lot of these beliefs. I don't really use any of them.

I store some decks in their original box, some in bags. My Gilded does have a very nice silk bag with 3 pouches. One big enough to fit the companion book. I do like the books to fit in the bags since I still refer to the books sometimes. I would like to get bags eventually for all my decks. I don't feel it's required though.

I don't shuffle or cut with my left hand.

I store them in all in a box in a bookcase except for the my Gilded...it pretty much goes everywhere with me, even if it stays in the car.

I don't sleep with them, but I did have the Gilded on my nightstand when I first got it.

I do like to do the new deck reading and look through a deck a bit before I read with it for anyone else.

Generally I don't mind if people touch my cards, but I've only read for friends. If I read in public at a party or something I'll probably shuffle and let them cut them until they are happy with it.

I don't have a spread cloth, although I do need to get one. I make sure wherever I lay my cards is clean. And having a cloth would help that. Plus I just think it adds a nicer feel.

I love your "porta-tarot" tarotbear. I need to do something like that too. Something I can throw in my backpack to keep a cloth, and a couple of decks and a small journal in all together.

Oh, and I don't use reversals...I tend to incorporate that into the meanings and readings. When I read for friends we end up talking about the readings. I don't if I need to be more focused on reversals or if my "intuition" of meaning would work well with public readings.

SJ

[rachelcat]

Why does everyone say make sure your wrapping and reading cloths are natural fibers? Sure, that would be nice, but around here silk scarves are quite high-priced. I use scarves sold by street vendors--probably 100% polyester! But very pretty. I try to match colors or designs of the cards. I just got a scarf with a two big stylized eyes on it for my Cosmic Tribe. And one with very large orange-red roses for my Thoth (to go with the rosy cross, of course). I should take Tarotbear's lead and go to the fabric store and hem them myself. That way I could make them any size I want, too!

[Annabelle]

Have you heard the theory that if the first card out is reversed that you should NEVER read with the first card in that position - that you should turn it upright and turn the pack around? ...

Yes, I've read about this in at least one of the books I own on tarot. But I'm not quite sure whether I agree with this advice or not. Having the first card turn up reversed has only happened to me a handful of times, and so far, I have NOT turned the card upright and turned the deck around. Instead, I continue laying out the cards, and in the event that every card is reversed (this only happened to me once), then I reshuffle and start again.

[Kara]

I love this thread... some really good ideas posted here, like burying the deck in earth for several days..:) Can you wrap them in plastic?

I love rituals. I love prayers, candles, flowers, incense, pictures, mini altars, stones and jewelry, getting my mind and body reading for readings(when I have time)...the whole nine. But the rituals are for me, and I don't think they are necessary, I just like stuff like that.

So I have: consecrated my decks,
knitted/crocheted personal bags for them, with beads and jinglejangle, I keep them all together (so they can exchange info:)) They have their own, beautiful, flowery, pailletted little traveling bag, which I don't use for anything else. Made by Oilily, not me.

My favourite laying out space is the blank top of a wooden table, although a huge black velvet spread cloth is something I'm looking around for now..and I'd love to get a large crystal ball, for deco. But not a glass one, preferably a real one. Dreams can come true...

I don't really watch the left hand/right hand use, and I don't use reversals in my readings. What else? I prefer sitting next to the person I'm reading for, instead of across from them. I don't mind people touching my decks, unless I don't like/feel comfortable with the person. But even then, it's not really an issue, just a 'are you done yet?' type feeling.
Actually, to 'break in' my new decks, I have as many people shuffle them and just look at the pictures as I can. Usually I bring them to work too, so I can have many in one day.
In the beginning, some did laugh, but not maliciously or anything, and now no one minds/cares, they even ask when I'm bringing them again, so they can have a reading.
It does help to have a boss who also loves cards, and to work with about 28 women and only 5 men though, lol...

Decks to me are just tools, but tools I love, for something I love to do, so I try, in my own way to take care of them. And I think taking care of something binds you to it, like plants, children, anything. Like artists take care of their brushes...some do, some don't.
Like I said, though, I don't think it's absolutely necessary. A friend of mine keeps hers simply wrapped with a rubber hair band. They work for her anyway.

[caridwen]

Yes, I've read about this in at least one of the books I own on tarot. But I'm not quite sure whether I agree with this advice or not. Having the first card turn up reversed has only happened to me a handful of times, and so far, I have NOT turned the card upright and turned the deck around. Instead, I continue laying out the cards, and in the event that every card is reversed (this only happened to me once), then I reshuffle and start again.

The Tarot has a good sense of humour though - I remember one time I was obsessed with this bloke and kept doing readings for our 'relationship' - you know, does he like me etc etc Of course I scanned my readings for any cups looking for signs of mutual feelings and love...(rolls eyes)

One time I did a reading and every single card you could imagine to do with love came out and they were ALL reversed. The Tarot was telling me in a very clear way that NOTHING was ever going to happen along those lines and you know what - it didn't. lol

[psychic sue]

I sincerely believe that you should do whatever feels right for you.

If I didn't buy my own decks then I wouldn't have any!

If I am reading for someone else then I ask them to lay the cards on the table and mix them all up - purely to cleanse of the previous influence.

I keep the deck i'm currently using in a silk bag - because I like the bag really! The others I keep in a decorated wooden box - again because I like the box. I read for myself, though this is hard and I dont do it very often. I use all my decks on myself and other people.

The only rule which I think is the golden rule, is dont let anyone else read with your cards. And always treat the cards with due respect.

Hope that helps!

[caridwen]

I have several Tarot rituals but no fixed beliefs. My first deck was bought for me but that was coincidence more than anything else (or was it? roll spooky music)

My deck has been in various boxes and bags, even a plastic bag once when one of my boxes fell to pieces. Now it's in a nice little black velvet bag that I found and fits it perfectly.

My only rituals are cutting the deck three times, placing my hand on the deck before I cut and asking for guidance, also to centre myself. Speaking the question out loud and thanking my deck before I put them away. I also speak out loud the spread I'm going to use as well while I shuffle.

I always ask the querent to shufle and cut, but I ask them to wash their hands first.

[jay_haque]

I find it odd that so many people here diss out rituals and myths. I love the rituals and myths. They're what initially fascinate and intrigue me and if it wasnt for them and fairy tales and dress-up and all that, well, I don't think this world would be much fun.

So umm :) my tarot rituals.

I sleep with the cards sometimes. Beside my pillow, not under it.

I keep a piece of Bacalite (amber) with my favorite deck which sits in its own wooden box.

I use a spreadcloth for readings and I almost always perform readings on the floor,

A: so I can spread the cards long and wide.
B: so the querent and I can acknowledge that what follows is something special.

I occasionally shuffle the deck image-side-up infront of a sunny window to cleanse them.

I always cut and draw with my left hand - partially because i'm left-handed but also because I feel it connects to my heart/is the hand which transmits/acts...sorta like the magician's hand placement.

I continuously shuffle the deck while i discuss the question/query with whoever im doing the reading for. I think it allows the deck to become better acquainted with the person and the query itself. Its also a form of meditation as the shuffling gets into a nice synchronized flow since my conscious attention is focused on the querent.

I usually place the piece of bacalite to my forehead and say a quick 'thank you' before or after a reading with my fav deck. I'm not sure who i am thanking, but its important.

I designed four cardboard pieces to place around the spreadcloth before performing a reading. whats written on each is as follows:

Judge not others lest ye be judged yourself

There is good and evil, and then there is what is

There is right and wrong, and then there is what is

The kingdom of God is within you. God Bless.

the reason theyre on cardboard is because i usually change these quotes to others depending on how i change/feel internally. They serve as a sort of reminder to me (and the querent). They also create a sense of sacred space and Most Importantly, they keep outsiders from interfering. I also sometimes use them as a means to explain why my reading comes out as it does to the querent e.g. if a querent is insisting to have a choice made for them by me, i can point to one of the cardboard chits and explain my viewpoint using it as a pillar of guidance.

thats all! I hope I didn't freak out the non-ritualists :) personally, if i did this for a living i would probably build further rituals around it - but thats just me! From my point of view, if i went to see a tarot reader i would want a good reading tempered with a good presentation which would stay in my memory as an experience.

in harmony

Jay

[Kara]

Just thought, I'd let you all how great it is that we are all different. Because, otherwise, I wouldn't have this:
I have a spread cloth, black velvet, and I use it when I want to impress someone. -M-Press
this: I always ask the querent to shufle and cut, but I ask them to wash their hands first. -caridwen
or this:I designed four cardboard pieces to place around the spreadcloth before performing a reading. whats written on each is as follows:... -jay_haque
Those pieces are genius, if you really wanted to, you could get them engraved on pieces of brass or something... or made as weights for the cloth (you know like the weights that keep a tablecloth from flying away outside). Yeah, seems like I am one of the few left too, who likes things like that. And I agree, that clients over here, still like a little bit of show around it. This lady I knew had a Reading party, with a real belly dancer as an intro. I'm not kidding. She also had friends of hers exhibit their paintings(hobby artists, nice artwork)in her home, and me and this other girl do card readings. While they waited for their readings, they looked at the artwork. But in the States, I can imagine the warning bells of 'fraud, fraud' going up , for all kinds of reasons... All depends where you are, I guess.

There was a post way in the beginning, by Talisman, about a reader that rang a bell before doing a reading. Just in case it still interests, maybe she rang it because the ring of bells supposedly clears the air, of negativity. I remember reading somewhere, that that is how/why medieval churches started up with bells. And especially before mass, and longer on major christian holidays like easter, christmas, etc. Later, they also started ringing to tell time. Unfortunately forgot where I read it, just a little tidbit floating uselessly through my mind, until I got here, lol...

[tarotbear]

BUMP !! BUMP BUMP BUMP --- I think this was the thread I was looking for....

[tarotbear]

Time to bring this one back up again! LOL!!!!!!!

(ouch - my head is starting to hurt!) LOL!

[Crowqueen]

Nothing out of the ordinary for me except I check my answers using my own patent form of number divinaition (NOT numerology, at least, not in the classic sense) - you need a watch with a second hand or to be sitting somewhere where you can see a lot of random numbers, e.g. in a cafe in front of a well-used newspaper rack or where you can see passing car number plates and so on.

I do focus on cards themselves/artwork rather than LWB meanings, and in my eBay readings I print out their invoice with the name and address on it so I can have some kind of focus, but ... I seem to get by without too much ritual at the moment. Though doing it with a candle lit is quite pleasant.

[chersprite]

I think using incense and a candle sounds nice, but I don't usually make much ritual around my tarot readings. My mum bought me my first deck and I have bought the rest. My favourite deck (the fey) I keep in a black silk box, but that's just because it's the right size and I like it. I keep a couple of crystals in there too. I like to thank the energies after I use the cards and spend a few moments focusing first. I'd like to know some good methods of cleansing them though....

[gregory]

If I EVER read face to face I might use my singing bowl as a starter, to sort of clear the atmosphere....

- then again who knows what I'd do. Ain't never going to happen !

In my own home and in private - I have even been known to watch TV... as have others here so don't pretend you haven't - I have posts to prove it ! :D

I think it is likely what helps on any one day ?

[Lillie]

I read in front of the TV.
Almost always.

Sometimes I think it helps.
All that yapping in the background helps drown out the bit of my mind that over analyses things.
Then that lets the inspiration through.

[gregory]

I read in front of the TV.
Almost always.

Sometimes I think it helps.
All that yapping in the background helps drown out the bit of my mind that over analyses things.
Then that lets the inspiration through.
That is a good reason for my doing it... Thanks !

It even makes sense; being deaf with tinnitus, "white" noise helps; I usually have something on in the way of sound to drown it all out !

[Crowqueen]

I read in front of the TV.
Almost always.

Sometimes I think it helps.
All that yapping in the background helps drown out the bit of my mind that over analyses things.
Then that lets the inspiration through.

Have you ever thought that the TV acts as a kind of oracle, i.e. that the programme you are watching is in some way relevant to the reading itself?

[gregory]

Have you ever thought that the TV acts as a kind of oracle, i.e. that the programme you are watching is in some way relevant to the reading itself?
Given some of the stuff I "watch" - I certainly hope not.............

[Liralen]

Have you ever thought that the TV acts as a kind of oracle, i.e. that the programme you are watching is in some way relevant to the reading itself?

Oh, that's interesting. I've always wanted to use TV as an oracle, just like books in bibliomancy, but somehow I've never got round to actually doing it.
Have you ever tried it? Do you think it could work?

[Crowqueen]

Since I hardly watch "normal" TV at all (prefer DVDs or stuff on satellite), I know that if I walk in on something like a news programme that it means something, even if it is to gauge the political "temperature". I got depressed with the amount of (verifiable) lies even the BBC spouts and decided that the media would only tell me the truth. Since I am trying to get to the bottom of politics, what better wish to ask of Spirit?!

Sometimes you have to listen to the detail of the programme to get the message. The mention of the town Llanelli is a good omen for me for let us say personal political reasons (e.g. on bus timetables, people talking about it, my healer is originally from there), and once there was a programme where they were discussing - completely at random on a non-political show - how to pronounce it. I took that as a favourable discussion. For other more general TV, I don't find it ties in, but I suppose if say my lucky number comes up or I decide to try and test my divination powers, then it can be divinatory in function. Like the time I saw a number 4 and decided that the next numeral to come up - as a picture - would be a 7 (47, you see). It was :): it was a broadcast with subtitles, so the 7 was part of a date (October 7th).

As regards cards - I would find it a bit distracting to be honest, as I need to concentrate on what I'm doing, but I have often used TV as "wallpaper" noise to while away an afternoon working on my art, and since that could be classed as a form of divination for me, then TV's influences could creep in, if say I decide to draw the TV show I'm watching in the context of the comics.

[Kilted Kat]

If you sprinkle your basket with some fresh spring water collected by a virgin by starlight on the first day of the crescent moon, saying the words, get thee behind me, bad jumping spirits...

...you'll have some very wet tarot cardsThis is too funny!

Actually the reason I am even on this forum, the path I followed to get here, is because a "wacky wiccan" told me I had a deck of possessed tarot cards! He said I had to bury it in the ground each day for each card. The responses I got from you people were unequivocal "Nos!" "Send the deck to me!" "It'll get moldy!" "Kick that nut in the sack for telling you that!"

I believe that perfect practice makes perfect performance, and while I am weaning myself off ritual, being a recovering <retired> organist/minister of music, I feel the rituals of lighting candles, burning incense and shuffle-cutting-shuffling is a way to center my mind and concentrate on the querent/question. It also helps the querent (when I actually have clients) to focus better. I am practicing for the future.

I have been gifted exactly one deck of tarot cards, and that was over ten years after I actually started reading. It is amazing to me that myths like this can perpetuate themselves, even though tarot was illegal in this country as late as the 1950's in some areas (and is still illegal today in some states.) Urban myths materialize in all areas of interest in life. It's just a fact of life, I suppose.

K:spade:K

[Kilted Kat]

...I might use my singing bowl as a starter, to sort of clear the atmosphere...
This is a wonderful idea! Although I may use of crystal glass. You are talking about wetting your finger tips and rubbing the rim to make a pitch, correct? Like Ben Franklin's glass harmonica?

K:spade:K

[gregory]

This is a wonderful idea! Although I may use of crystal glass. You are talking about wetting your finger tips and rubbing the rim to make a pitch, correct? Like Ben Franklin's glass harmonica?

K:spade:K
Well, no - it came with a special wooden stick that you pass very gently around the rim. When you get it going you can increase the pressure. It is a very old one, and so is the stick. I guess if you are out there in a Buddhist temple you can't keep stopping to wet your finger again.... ;) (I bought it in Kathmandu from a guy who showed me how to do it.)

I never thought to try it with fingers and water.... I will let you know later !

Oh - but of course -if you are using a crystal bowl that is something different again of course.... I guess that would have to be water.

I will now try my stick on a wineglass....

[cybercat]

This is too funny!

Actually the reason I am even on this forum, the path I followed to get here, is because a "wacky wiccan" told me I had a deck of possessed tarot cards! He said I had to bury it in the ground each day for each card. The responses I got from you people were unequivocal "Nos!" "Send the deck to me!" "It'll get moldy!" "Kick that nut in the sack for telling you that!"

I believe that perfect practice makes perfect performance, and while I am weaning myself off ritual, being a recovering <retired> organist/minister of music, I feel the rituals of lighting candles, burning incense and shuffle-cutting-shuffling is a way to center my mind and concentrate on the querent/question. It also helps the querent (when I actually have clients) to focus better. I am practicing for the future.

I have been gifted exactly one deck of tarot cards, and that was over ten years after I actually started reading. It is amazing to me that myths like this can perpetuate themselves, even though tarot was illegal in this country as late as the 1950's in some areas (and is still illegal today in some states.) Urban myths materialize in all areas of interest in life. It's just a fact of life, I suppose.

K:spade:K

I have run into a few people that have gotten advice from these wacky wiccan types. It seems that many new people to the wicca religion do not read too much before spouting advice to everyone. Many newbies read one or two books and think they are law. Most rituals now days you hear about come from authors way of doing things. Like sleeping with deck, crystals with deck or not letting others touch deck ect. The fact is what you do is your choise do not do it because some one said you should.

Now as far as not buying your own deck that has a very long history. One reason it was thought, that a reader would keep compition down by telling that to those that wanted to get a deck and read. It is very sad that there are people with no knowledge spouting off these old myths. I would say one should enlighten them of their misconceptions.

[Sian100]

I read in front of the TV.
Almost always.

Sometimes I think it helps.
All that yapping in the background helps drown out the bit of my mind that over analyses things.
Then that lets the inspiration through.

TV and other noise just distracts me personally, but the idea of using TV as an oracle as Crowqueen mentioned is just fascinating!

[Lillie]

Hey! Crow queen!

I live just near Llanelli!
I go shopping there every week, at ASDA.

TV as oracle. Hmmm.
Yes, it has happened occassionally when some random comment has seemed specific to the reading I am doing.

Lot's of people do find the TV distracting, but I'm used to it.
If I turned it off He would start talking to me, which is far more distracting!

[Crowqueen]

Hey! Crow queen!

I live just near Llanelli!
I go shopping there every week, at ASDA.

TV as oracle. Hmmm.
Yes, it has happened occassionally when some random comment has seemed specific to the reading I am doing.

Lot's of people do find the TV distracting, but I'm used to it.
If I turned it off He would start talking to me, which is far more distracting!

Who's "He"?

As for Llanelli I don't know it myself, just seems to ...follow me around a bit. No idea why.

[gregory]

Who's "He"?

I don't think you really want to know (I have had a PM about He earlier today....!)

[Lillie]

Oh, he's sweet. (sometimes)

He is hubby. With a capital H.

Llanelli is actually a dump.
You don't want to go there, ever.
It has an ASDA to recommend it, and that's about it.

But if the name is lucky for you, that's cool.
It's a good name. ll them L's

[Crowqueen]

Oh, he's sweet. (sometimes)

He is hubby. With a capital H.


Interesting...sorry, just a little bit of synchronicity there. Eerie. Give him my regards anyway.

Many newbies read one or two books and think they are law. Most rituals now days you hear about come from authors way of doing things. Like sleeping with deck, crystals with deck or not letting others touch deck ect. The fact is what you do is your choise do not do it because some one said you should.

If you read enough books, you'll never do anything, because if you read enough they all contradict themselves anyway, even sometimes on card meanings. I'm still not sure whether The Chariot is a good or bad card, and that's even before you get to the extra stuff.

[gregory]

I'm still not sure whether The Chariot is a good or bad card, and that's even before you get to the extra stuff.
It depends whether or not you need to get somewhere in a hurry. :D

(not being entirely silly; so much depends on context.)

[Crowqueen]

It depends whether or not you need to get somewhere in a hurry.

(not being entirely silly; so much depends on context.)

I've learned that. It could mean that the person is railroading something through, riding roughshod over someone, or being pulled apart by two opposing forces. For me the cards sometimes even move to show me which part I should be concentrating on (that's why I like vivid imagery). But when it occurs on its own, like it did for someone, I wasn't sure whether to say something good or bad. I wasn't into clarifying back then, so I had no idea what to put them down for. Luckily it was a dummy run (reading for a random person I knew, but they didn't know I was doing the reading for them, and I never wrote it down anyway), though we haven't gone far enough down that line to see what it actually means.

Maybe I should try that guy again and see what exactly it meant.

Anyway, enough chitchat. Once I get my room(s) sorted out I will probably develop more of a ritual, but I'm having difficulty finding space for everything, let alone a ritual place to keep my cards in the manner in which they would like to become accustomed to.

[gregory]

Situations like that make me ever more glad I went the intuitive route. Any card I read means exactly what I see in the picture before me.....

Bless Simone.....