Sharing Tarot 'rituals'

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 07 Aug 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Satori	07 Aug 2004
As I take my tarot deck out of its bag I think of the deck as slumbering. I take a moment to shuffle it before handing it to the Querent. In my mind I whisper, awaken, I have need of you....and I pray that I might offer only the highest and best information to the Querent. Sometimes, I invite the Q's guides to participate with my guides during the reading. Do you shuffle first or hand the deck straight to the Seeker? Do you pray, or call in angels or guides before the reading? After the Querent shuffles I cut the deck, unless they ask to cut it. I am wondering if I am trying to control the reading or involve myself in their reading more than I should..... Who cuts the deck when you read for someone? When I am laying out the cards, depending upon the spread, I do not lay out the cards all at once face down. I lay them out all at once face up. I take some time to look at the entire picture before I begin to speak, although I admit to squealing with delight or grunting in frustration if the first series of cards hits me a certain way....this can startle the Querent. I don't recommend it... Do you lay out your cards all at once? Face up or face down? Do you ever respond to the throw, almost without meaning to, by making noise, laughing, gasping, filling up with tears? When I end a reading and take down the cards I will sometimes offer certain cards to the Querent for them to examine more closely. I try to give them the Majors or cards that spoke to me the loudest during the reading. I feel like the symbols will perhaps be more readily absorbed by the Q if they come into contact with the cards. Do you offer cards from a reading to the Q for them to see better? Do you ask them for input about what they see in the card? Do you build on what the Q tells you about the card when you read? Sometimes either before or after a reading I will pull a card from another deck, like the Soul Cards or a Rune card or other oracle. Sometimes even from another Tarot. Do you offer secondary divinations even if the Q is quite happy with what you've said? or do you offer a secondary reading to counteract what was discovered in the first? Does the secondary reading ever hit better than the first? or does it just tear down every wonderful image from the first? Thank you for sharing your tarot rituals. I look forward to hearing from you. Namaste

Pook	08 Aug 2004
Most of the time I only read for myself, or on occasion, I read for a good friend on the phone, since I haven't worked up the courage to do a face-to-face reading yet. But, even though I read in the privacy of my own home, I have to make sure it's very quiet (which means the baby's sleeping, and my SO is at work.....he likes the TV way too loud for me!), and I also light a scented candle or start some oil burning, which calms me down and gets me 'in the mood' for a reading. When I do phone readings for my friend, I always shuffle until she says to stop and then I ask if she wants me to cut the cards or not. I personally dont cut cards for myself, but since she is a tarot reader herself, and she does, I like to give her the option even though most of the time she tells me no.

littlehermit	08 Aug 2004
Probably 2/3 of my readings are over the Internet. Whether online or in person, I always shuffle the deck for a while before I hand it over or start to concentrate on the question. I prefer quiet - maybe some soft music, if it's appropriate, but that's all. (That being said, I've done online readings between phone calls at work, and there's nothing peaceful about that environment. Based on the feedback I get, that hasn't hurt the readings very much.) When I'm alone, and reading for someone online, I often chant a mantra (lately it's been "om asatoma") while I'm preparing to shuffle for their question. I sing it until it feels right to stop, and then I shuffle until it feels right to stop that. I don't watch the deck closely - I may actually be shuffling with my eyes closed, trying to reach out. When it's in person, I have them shuffle and cut. Sometimes I even let them lay out their own spread (I have a friend for whom I read a lot, and he's growing increasingly comfortable with my deck and his intuition, so I just describe a spread to him, let him deal it, and then we read it together). Cards are usually laid out face up, one at a time. If reading in person, I don't say a whole lot until the entire spread is down, though I do allow my expression to change as each card is dealt and I begin to see patterns or something catches my attention. Once (before I knew that it was inappropriate to read for someone without their permission) I did a reading to find out how a dear friend of mine was doing, and when the last half of the spread came up majors, ending with the World, I gasped or exclaimed as every card came up. That reading is still the one that most blew me away with the power of the experience I sensed she was having and the emotions it stirred in me. (I haven't heard from her in a long time, so I have no idea whether I was accurate.) I let the querent look at their cards for as long as they want to, if it's in person. If online, I link them to a site where they can see my entire deck. If I'm undecided about the interpretation of a card, I listen to what they see in its images. The only time I offer secondary readings on the same question is if the first reading was so unclear as to be -in my opinion- unsuccessful (this seems to happen most with in person readings where the querents are awkward in shuffling my deck, and/or work in reversals when I ask them not to - I generally don't reverse my Spiral deck), or if the reading's outcome seems very negative or pessimistic. Secondary readings don't always help - sometimes my deck just throws almost the exact same cards, and then I know I just have to go with what I've already read.

DuskHawk	12 Aug 2004
I change it too much. Being a beginner I am constantly trying new things to find what works best for me, but then again that is also my nature. Lately I sweep the area with my hand to physically clean it. Then I sweep with my hand above the area to clean off the spiritual junk that may effect the reading. After that I mentally flip a switch (kind of like a radio) in my mind and tell myself silently I now recieve the answers I need most clearly. I begin to shuffle the deck thinking only about the question (usually I chant the question or name of person I am doing a reading for to ensure I am thinking of nothing else.) I cut the deck with my left hand into three piles from left to right. Then I gather the deck from left to right and deal from the top of the deck. This is most certainly subject to change, because there is something about dealing that doesn't really feel right.

Satori	12 Aug 2004
Quote: Originally posted by DuskHawk I change it too much. Being a beginner I am constantly trying new things to find what works best for me, but then again that is also my nature. Lately I sweep the area with my hand to physically clean it. Then I sweep with my hand above the area to clean off the spiritual junk that may effect the reading. After that I mentally flip a switch (kind of like a radio) in my mind and tell myself silently I now recieve the answers I need most clearly. I begin to shuffle the deck thinking only about the question (usually I chant the question or name of person I am doing a reading for to ensure I am thinking of nothing else.) I cut the deck with my left hand into three piles from left to right. Then I gather the deck from left to right and deal from the top of the deck. This is most certainly subject to change, because there is something about dealing that doesn't really feel right. Dusk Hawk, what a beautiful name! Thank you for sharing your ritual. You have created some wonderful mechanisms for clearing the space and preparing yourself to go into reading mode. I think that as you spend more and more time reading your cards and studying (whatever that is for you...sometimes I consider seemingly non-tarot things to be study. Like watching the tracings of a hawk flying above me a tarot meditation and study.) you will find yourself changing your rituals all the time! For me, the most important part is the need for the connection with the Tarot and it's wonderful storehouse of wisdom. Ultimately the cloths, and the incense and the statues etc. are just symbols to the mind that it is time to "flip the switch" as you so eloquently put it! I started the thread to see how much ritual people use or don't use when reading. In fact, many times I use very few supportive elements, but still get great reads. So, ultimately I don't think the Tarot cares about the cloth or the incense or the card bag or the candle. We are the ones who place the importance on the props. As long as the intention is pure and the need is there, I think we can do readings wherever we find ourselves, with whatever comes to hand, and still have a divine experience.

ros	12 Aug 2004
Sometimes I don't have the time to do rituals if people just are near and ask for a reading. I choose the chair I want to sit in, shuffle the cards and begin!

Luminessence	12 Aug 2004
Quote: Do you shuffle first or hand the deck straight to the Seeker? Who cuts the deck when you read for someone? When I'm reading for somebody else, I let them shuffle the deck, and I don't cut it after they're done shuffling - I just lay out the cards as the querent shuffled them. I figure it's their reading, so they should be the one shuffling, not me. I think I may start shuffling the deck just a little before handing it to them to shuffle, though - just because it would feel better for me if I could tell the cards what the pattern of the spread is. After all, I know that, and the querent doesn't, and although the reading seems to come out fine either way, I feel better if I can sort of let the cards know what the spread is going to be, so that they can fall in the correct positions. I got my shuffling method from the Quest Tarot book (except I don't do the part that reverses some cards, because I don't use reversals). I shuffle them three times, then separate them into three stacks and re-pile them, putting the bottom stack on top and the top stack on the bottom. I do this three times, then cut the deck if it feels right to do so. Quote: Do you pray, or call in angels or guides before the reading? While I'm shuffling - or, if I'm reading for somebody else, while the querent is shuffling - I ask God to show me, or the other person, what I/they need to know. I also make the same request of my/the querent's higher self. Sometimes I have my eyes open while I'm shuffling, and sometimes they're closed, and when they're closed I sometimes get images of a particular card in my head - and often that card shows up in the reading. When I was doing a reading the other day with my Tarot of Transformation, I didn't even know what card it was that I was seeing until I saw it in the reading. Also, if I'm reading for somebody online, and I have my eyes closed, my hands start to feel different - I feel like I'm shuffling with the querent's hands, instead of with mine. Quote: Do you lay out your cards all at once? Face up or face down? Do you ever respond to the throw, almost without meaning to, by making noise, laughing, gasping, filling up with tears? I usually lay out all the cards at once, facedown. Then I turn them all over before I start interpreting the reading. I could just as easily lay them all out faceup, but I prefer laying them out facedown and then turning them over. I like the suspense of wondering what the cards are going to be, I guess :) As for responding to a reading in that way, I don't think I've ever done that. Quote: Do you offer cards from a reading to the Q for them to see better? Do you ask them for input about what they see in the card? Do you build on what the Q tells you about the card when you read? Sometimes I'll hand the cards to the querent for them to look at, especially if they comment on the way a particular card looks. I don't generally ask for their input, and I don't usually build off what they tell me about the visuals in the card (though I probably should), but when I say something about the card's meaning and they tell me how that fits in their life, I try to say more about how the card could relate to that particular situation. Quote: Do you offer secondary divinations even if the Q is quite happy with what you've said? or do you offer a secondary reading to counteract what was discovered in the first? Does the secondary reading ever hit better than the first? or does it just tear down every wonderful image from the first? I don't usually do secondary divinations, escept to draw a clarification card every once in awhile (and, as I mentioned in another thread, my decks are very stubborn about not giving me any additional information in the clarification cards). If an outcome card is negative, I'll sometimes draw a card asking how I/the querent can change the outcome. I'm firmly believe that people change their own future.

Satori	12 Aug 2004
Thank you Ros and Lumi, appreciate the input. I think the most consistent thing I've done since starting to Play Tarot, is to shuffle, then cut three times to the left and I always put the cards back together with middle stack on top of the left stack and then on top of the right stack. Middle stack always goes on top. Do you ever ask the Querent's permission to call in their guides? It sometimes seems to me that if the guide is present it is a better reading, but not everyone who reads cards taps inot the guides consciously anyway....and it still works!

sassygirl3124	18 Aug 2004
Basically I find the tarot a very personal thing so when doing a reading for myself I usually do whatever feels right to me to get myself in the mood for a reading. I always come up with some sort of ritual though. When I do a reading for someone else usually over the internet then I do the same ritual everytime it helps me focus. The ritual I do is I light like 8 or 9 candles to call on the energy from the other person since they are not there with me, then I light an insense to also help me visualize the energy from the other person coming to me. I also like to run my cards thru the smoke to infuse that persons energies into the cards to get an acurate reading. And last before I start to read the cards I hold them in my hands for a minute and just let my energies combine with the energies of the other person to make it a somewhat personal reading that I am able to better understand. When I am done with the reading then I just shaffle the cards to get the other persons energies out of the cards. I really find that this works best for me but the wonderful thing about the tarot is that everybody seems to have their own ritual. Julie

eastarot	19 Aug 2004
I like to face East while I read for someone....its supposed to be full of positive energies as thats where the sun rises. I also like incense and a lot of quiet while I meditate and focus on the question. I usually shuffle and cut the cards and spread them out and request the cleint to pull out the cards according to the spread I have in mind. I also insist the cards be face down.

The Sharing Tarot 'rituals' thread was originally posted on 07 Aug 2004 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.