Cleansing your Deck

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 26 Oct 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

ol_crazy_Legs	26 Oct 2003
Im new here... I Was wondering hos some of you cleans your decks

jmd	26 Oct 2003
Welcome to Aeclectic, ol_crazy_Legs. With regards to the cleansing of your deck, it probably depends on the type of cleansing and the reasons for it. For example, if the deck is new, a simple good shuffle, and careful looking and 'taking in' each card may be sufficient. If the deck is soiled, then a moist tissue, with even maybe a drop of lavender oil, would do it. If the deck is 'psychically dirty', then wiping each card with a moist tissue with maybe a drop of rosemary or eucalyptus oil, followed by a censing, and leaving them opened in a pile overnight may do it. In each case, ask yourself whether you also wish for more ritualistic cleansing, or whether the above or similar is sufficient. Each of us is different, and am sure you will get yet other suggestions.

Umbrae	26 Oct 2003
in the upper corner is a hyper-link for Search. Go there. Enter: 'cleansing a deck' in the upper left field. you will then have four pages of cleansing deck ideas and discussions... n-joy!

paradoxx	27 Oct 2003
reorder the cards to their prop[er places, place the suites in the order you whish them to be, place the stacked deck upon a mirror, surround with charged cyystals and candles or other items of clensing power and let teh energies charge the deck and the mirror wipe away the negativity. also a full moon is useful to clear the deck of unwanted spiritual energies and using the sun is also an effective method, although wtih teh sun, if its very warm out the cards may stick together untill shuffled. This isn't a bad thi ng, it just means that they are overcharged and need to rest a while so they can give clear readings. ther eare multipel methods, expierement.

IrishRiotGrrrl	28 Oct 2003
I usually just place my tarot into a box full of salt to cleanse them. Usually for protection from any negative energy I wrap them up in black fabric when they are not in use. I heard several people say on a similar thread that they smudge their cards with sage before they do a reading.

Mystic Zyl	29 Oct 2003
Well I use most of the previously mentioned methods, sage, full moon, salt, black cloth, wooden box for storage, placing them in order,waving them over a flame or smoke. I also put nickel size alum crystals in the cards to cleanse them too. I change the crystals weekly, it is like the baking soda in the fridge!

Diana	29 Oct 2003
Just wondering. All these cleansing methods that some of you use bewilder me because I am wondering where all this negative energy you are trying to cleanse comes from? Do you all live with evil people or something? Or does the devil come for supper sometimes and plays with your cards? Or do you have dark magicians as neighbours? How come my decks work just fine without any cleansing at all? Is it because Switzerland is such a clean country? :D Puzzled.

Star Spirit	29 Oct 2003
When I first got my deck I don't recall going through any special rituals, but I did make sure I had a nice bag to keep it in, which was later replaced with a satin scarf and wooden box that cost more than the deck ;) I just make sure I keep them in a safe place and don't let anyone else touch them (aside from my soul mate) for fear that their negative energy will rub off on the cards. Those are pretty much the only superstitions/rituals that I follow right now. If the deck seems to not be working properly, I might put the cards back in their correct ordering and sleep with them close to my pillow or something, just to re-establish the connection.

IrishRiotGrrrl	29 Oct 2003
Diana... When I say cleanse from negative energies I mean the "blah" that everyone comes in contact with every day. Maybe its a thought about someone at work that really pissed you off...or having to go to class when you are just too tired and want to go to bed. Maybe it's someone that got nasty with you today at the bank...or maybe it's someone that you did a reading for who was pretty nasty with you or rude. I figure if you hang on to this stuff and some of us do without realizing it, it's very safe to cleanse your deck especially if you handle them on a regular basis. I think it's kick butt that you feel you don't have to cleanse your deck. I just do it as a means of precaution, kinda like locking the front door when you enter the house...it's not always necessary but it's a good habit. Thats how I look at it atleast. I

Mystic Zyl	30 Oct 2003
Diania, when I first started to do readings I did not cleanse my cards between readings and I noticed something wierd. The same cards kept coming up in all the readings. The first person that touched them left such a strong imprint on them, that the same cards, like 7 out of 10, carried over to 4 other readings! I soon learned to break the last person's energy that handled the cards to get an accurate reading. People that I read for on the whole are not negative, however, they emit energy. that is why I have them shuffle the cards. I am a firm believer in cleansing!

TemperanceAngel	08 Nov 2003
I love to put my cards out in the full moon, to charge, refresh ad cleanse them. I used to put them on an amethyst cluster, but it went missing, as crystals do sometimes! Sometimes I smudge them, especially in a hectic day of reading. other times I blow "pure" breath on them. Enjoy! XTAX

Dexter	10 Nov 2003
I cleanse my deck between readings for myself as well as for others. I fan the cards out on the balck cloth I use to lay the cards on and then move a cyrstal pendulum across the cards. It will spin over specfic cards as it draws away any negative energy left on the cards. I feel also that some people carry negative energy around them and are able to leave bits of it behind. I may also be having a paticularily bad day due to people I have come in contact with and therefore am also able to leave this energy on the cards.

Majecot	10 Nov 2003
The only thing I do is to reorder them. That is I will occasionaly place them back in "new" order. no special ritual.

firestorm	10 Nov 2003
I've never cleansed any of my decks and I've never had any problems with negative energy. However, I do have a deck where the same 10 or 12 cards repeatedly come up and it happens to be the only deck that I had gotten from someone else......hmmmmmmmmm.

Josephine	12 Nov 2003
I've just gotten my first deck and I feel a bit overwhelmed reading this thread. These cards were new, but not brand new. The woman I got them from said she opened them but never did any readings with them, but I still feel I should "cleanse" them and make them mine. But most of these posts seem to be complicated ways of cleansing and it kind of confuses me and I don't know what to do. I wonder where all these many, many ways of cleansing came from?

Alissa	13 Nov 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Josephine I've just gotten my first deck and I feel a bit overwhelmed reading this thread. But most of these posts seem to be complicated ways of cleansing and it kind of confuses me and I don't know what to do. I wonder where all these many, many ways of cleansing came from? They came from a whole lotta people with a whole lotta ideas about what's "right". And, whether it's superstition or faith, it goes a long way for some folks who feel like they have to DO something to their deck. But me, I've never cleansed a deck. Why bother? The magic's inside me. My rule of thumb : why make life more difficult than it already is? Don't let the rituals, the smoke and mirrors, confuse you. The only thing your deck needs is for you to use it, imho. Just my two cents ....

jmd	13 Nov 2003
I tend to support Alissa's non-nonsense approach to this - however, I also read in Josephine's post that she 'still feel[s she] should "cleanse" them and make them' hers. Here, I would ask simply what would make you feel comfortable. There are undoubtedly cases where certain forms of cleansing are needed. It doesn't appear that this is one of them. The need is more for 'making them yours'. If such is the case, then, depending on how ritualistic you may otherwise be, reflect on some of these posts and choose which, if any, seem to suit you.

lark	13 Nov 2003
My ritual comes from one of my favorite books A Magical Course in Tarot by Michele Morgan. I don't do this often, but sometimes especially if a deck came used from someone else you just feel you have to do something special to make it your own. I take a bowl of water and float rose petals in it then I dampen a soft cloth (damp not wet) and I gently wipe off each card front and back. As I do I look at the art and the symbols, meditate on the card, connect with it. By the time I'm finished I really feel the deck is truly, intimately mine.

Josephine	13 Nov 2003
Thanks very much for your posts, it is greatly appreciated. I feel better knowing not everyone feels so strongly and seriously about this sort of thing. It's a bit much for people just beginning to read what people do, in a silly way you start thinking oh god am I doing it right. People make it seem like there are right and wrong ways and others say do what makes you comfortable. So I think I'd just prefer to do what feels comfortable. Last night I decided to put the deck back in it's order and sleep with it nudged under my pillows. I ended up having tarot card dreams, which is understandable the amount I've been thinking of the cards recently, but I woke up choking twice and coughed continuously until I fell back alseep. There was a constant feeling of something in my throat, this never happens. So it wasn't very nice. :)

Diana	13 Nov 2003
Josephine: take the Empress out of your deck, and prop it up on your bed-side table next time you sleep. She's good with throat problems. (I don't think the card has any power, don't get me wrong here - but she symbolises something and the symbol will hopefully penetrate your subconscious when you are asleep.) And if the same experience happens again, then I strongly suggest you do a reading to ask what you are needing to communicate and with whom..... I think you received a message - not from your Tarot deck (I don't believe that Tarot decks can think), but from the powers-that-be that are using your new interest in divination to speak to you. You could always post your reading on the Your Readings forum for our feedback if you want to.

The Cleansing your Deck thread was originally posted on 26 Oct 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.