Your Tarot Rituals

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 03 Mar 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

LestISmiteThee	03 Mar 2005
are there any rituals that you practice before/during/after a reading? or is there a certain way you like to shuffle/lay/collect the cards? is there any special significance to the bag/box/"container" that holds your cards? are there any other items that you use with the tarot during a reading, such as herbs, incense, etc?

gareth.	03 Mar 2005
I think all that.I just love picking up the cards and feeling a frission down my back (dont know whether imagined or real!).But I must admit to keeping the cards in a lidded vase that has the face of a mythological god.I do believe in empowering the cards when not in use!!G.

HenryLee	03 Mar 2005
I like to count all of my cards before and after a reading. (I'm scared of losing them) I also sit quietly for at least a minute with the deck edge against my forehead and just concentrate on the reading. Then I just shuffle until I feel comfortable and let the cards fall. I say do what you want, do what feels right.:) Henry

mehndigirl	03 Mar 2005
HenryLee wrote: I like to count all of my cards before and after a reading. (I'm scared of losing them) I do this now too. I once found 2 cards from my favorite deck behind my dresser. Who knows how long they'd been back there and how many times I'd read with that deck with out them!

WalesWoman	03 Mar 2005
LestISmiteThee wrote: are there any rituals that you practice before/during/after a reading? or is there a certain way you like to shuffle/lay/collect the cards? is there any special significance to the bag/box/"container" that holds your cards? are there any other items that you use with the tarot during a reading, such as herbs, incense, etc? No, nope, none, huh uh. Maybe rituals can put you in a better mental space, while clearing your head...but I don't think I have any, other than concentrating on the question and who I am reading for...mostly remembering to take a deep breath and go for it. I don't count this as a ritual. It might be good for me to decide I'm finished doing a reading and say so, because my readings seem to follow me around, niggling me with new insights so I feel like it might take me all week before I feel finished.

Milamber	04 Mar 2005
I do do the same things every reading, so I suppose it could be interpreted as ritual. I refer to it as "my way of reading" though. I sit oriental fashion, sitting on my feet, knees bent 180º, because that position conserves the most space around me for the cards. I repeat the question aloud (quietly) and within my mind (two or three voices, to help prevent distraction -- I think of them as the conscious voice, and the unconscious voices) as I shuffle the cards. Then I cut the deck, and lay the cards one by one -- sometimes face down, sometimes face up. I then interpret, recording my thoughts as they come with pen and paper. Then I collect the cards, and shuffle them very thoroughly back into the deck to break up the spread. The most ritualistic thing I do is the "chanting." But it's actually not spiritual in any way. It's actually my way of retaining focus during the reading, because my mind drifts very easily.

Phoenix Rising	04 Mar 2005
Only ritual I suppose is that I put the cards back in it's natural order after, the days readings!

WalesWoman	04 Mar 2005
Wow! I've never broken up the spreads or reshuffled before putting the cards away, which has come in very handy at times, when I did a reading for myself and didn't write it down. I can usually pick up the deck and lay out the cards again to refresh my memory, if I get another thought about it later. After reading Milamber's description of reading, I guess I sort of do the same things she does, smooth the cover on the bed, get out my notepad and spread I'm using and then shuffle tons of times and think about the question, if it's for someone else, making sure I state their name and their wording for the question and then deal it out and just look at it for a while before I start writting down my thoughts and impressions....then I look up things in books just for other thoughts and ways of interpreting it if it isn't gelling for me. The next thing is grabbing everything and scanning the reading and posting it here...this is the only place I do readings for anyone. LOL I'm still working up my nerve to go "public" and no one who does know has asked.

psychic sue	04 Mar 2005
I think its important to have a little ritual before you do your readings. It connects you to the cards. If I've got someone coming over for a reading I place my cloth out on the table, I put my red lights on (to draw spirit guides etc closer to me) and I light candles and incense. Then I say a little prayer, holding my tarot bag and cards, asking for insight and that my words will someway help the person I am reading for. When the reading is over I say another prayer, thanking the powers above and the cards for their assistance. I think everyone has their own little ritual. My advice would be, do what comes naturally to you. Sue x

Elmcarra	04 Mar 2005
So far, I have just shuffled the cards again after a reading before putting them away. For readings that I do for others...dunno why, but after the reading, I fan the deck and wave it over a candle flame for a few minutes. Who knows what moved me to do this. =) -elm

seneris	05 Mar 2005
Before I do reading I take a deep breath and concentrate. That's it. I like to do my readings in a quiet space, so I usually sit in the bedroom and close the door. Then I put on the little light on my dresser so the desk looks cozy. And then I start. That's it. No incense, meditiation or something. Perhaps, someday. I'd like to try something different although I don't respond well to incense, I tend to get a head-ache from the smell... :(

Simone	05 Mar 2005
:laugh: :laugh: I shuffle the cards before the reading... everything else changes all the time, no other rituals here... ;) :laugh: Love Simone

tarotbear	07 Mar 2005
When I had a 'tarot space' I conducted things a particular way every time - which I guess is considered 'ritual.' I would come in, close the door to keep the kitties out, then select a deck. Music was put on next to sooth the mood and drown out extraneous noise. If it was daylight I closed the blinds halfway. Day or night, I lit a candle always but incense maybe half the time. Music playing I would ask the question and shuffle the deck. After the reading I always recorded it, then placed the cards back onto the deck and shuffled them again to mix them up. Put the deck away, open the shades, extinguish the candle, turn off the music, and leave.

Raven Reed	07 Mar 2005
I haven't really developed any rituals yet...

Elmcarra	08 Mar 2005
I decided after shopping for a container for my new deck, I would paint a box for them. The box is unfinished, I am still in the process of painting it, but there they are already living. I got frustrated with myself as far as the painting goes, so I havent finished the box yet. What is funny is that I was doing my own readings and kept getting the moon card. At the end of thirteens interp. for that card, it suggests, "paint something!" So off to the craft store my mother and I went to purchase a new starter kit for acrylic painting. So there you go, I literally took the advice. =) If I cant get back into the groove of things, Ive decided to enroll in a class for painting to get my technique back. Be happy thirteen! You have made a difference, however small, in my life. If things go well and I get good, I may offer to paint boxes for members who would like to purchase. I am mainly good at painting figures, fairies, elves, leaves, flowers. I am still working on my ritual, but mainly I just meditate to soft music before a reading and yes, light a candle. I was taught to light a candle with an "intention" in mind...to pick a word for that reading or that day, that meditation, to carry me forward. It can be any word, openness, peace, trust, purity, etc...

lunascorpio	08 Mar 2005
I'm new at this, so I'm just starting to create and adjust a sort of ritual that feels right for me. I try to keep a very clean and neat room to work with my cards. I light a candle and have incense to help me feel focused and in touch with the energies, put on some music, and that's it for now. Hugs.

Milfoil	08 Mar 2005
My only rituals (I suppose you might call them) are to: a) a small, dark crystal of Amethyst is kept in or on the box where my tarot deck is kept (the deck I'm using currently). b) I take a moment before the reading to clear my mind, ask for guidance, concentrate on the question whilst holding another larger Amethyst crystal (sometimes to my forehead if I feel that fuzzy) c) sometimes (only sometimes) I light a candle, one I keep for just this purpose but thats only usually when I feel distracted and need to focus. The room doesn't have to be particular in any way but I do LOL ;)

SexiSadi	08 Mar 2005
I don't think I have any retuals. Perhaps just a few small quirks though. :) Usually I just light a candle and start shuffling. I can read with the tv on and the cats climbing all over me (she likes the candles too, as she now has no whiskers!) The only thing I won't do is read with two seperate decks on the same day. I have no idea why. Maybe I think I left all my energy on the first deck, so the second deck gets grumpy, I don't know. All I know is that if I try to read with a second deck in the same day, it feels really cold to me. Which kinda sucks when you get a new deck in the mail and you've already read with something else!! ha ha

Joermit	08 Mar 2005
I'm still in the process of developing my rituals... I keep adjusting various practices as I find what I like and what works best for me... lately I've been doing the following: I retrieve my cards from their bag, keeping them face down (for some reason I prefer not to see any cards until I flip them over in a spread. Of course, should a card jump out while shuffling, I certainly pay attention) I also keep a couple of polished stones (nothing special, just ones I like) in the bag with them and I take them out as well and set them on the table... I riffle the cards to clear any energies and then focus on whomever I'm reading for while I shuffle... I often repeat their names in my mind as I shuffle--sort of like "this reading's for ____, this reading's for ____ ....." etc. I let whomever I'm reading for then hold the cards for as long as they like and shuffle if they feel the need, all the while concentrating on their question or focusing their energy into the cards... they then give the cards back to me face down and I lay the cards in their spread... I then place the remainder of the deck face down on the table and pick up one of the polished stones and hold onto it while I read, rolling it between my fingers and hands and playing with it... I like the way the stone heats up in my hands and helps me to focus... I proceed with the reading and when I finish I gather up the cards, give them a quick riffle/shuffle, and put them back into their bag with the stones... pretty simple... I must say the stones really help me to focus and not fidget... I also feel they pick up my energies and then keep those impressions with the cards while they're in their bag....

Elektra	08 Mar 2005
lunascorpio wrote: I'm new at this, so I'm just starting to create and adjust a sort of ritual that feels right for me. I try to keep a very clean and neat room to work with my cards. I light a candle and have incense to help me feel focused and in touch with the energies, put on some music, and that's it for now. Hugs. Interesting - I don't have any rituals, but I also feel like the room needs to be clean and neat in order for me to read. I can't read in a messy room - I can't focus.

SexiSadi	09 Mar 2005
Elektra wrote: Interesting - I don't have any rituals, but I also feel like the room needs to be clean and neat in order for me to read. I can't read in a messy room - I can't focus. Interesting indeed. I have never noticed this before, but now that you mention it, I don't like reading in a messy space either. Which is odd, because i'm kind of a slob and a pack rat. I notice that when I go to read, I have to put everything on the surface away. Perhaps I should try reading on a different surface every day of the week and then eventually my house would get cleaned! lol

lunascorpio	10 Mar 2005
LOL! You're so right Sadi. I'm definitely going to give it a try Lunascorpio.

SunChariot	10 Mar 2005
LestISmiteThee wrote: are there any rituals that you practice before/during/after a reading? or is there a certain way you like to shuffle/lay/collect the cards? is there any special significance to the bag/box/"container" that holds your cards? are there any other items that you use with the tarot during a reading, such as herbs, incense, etc? I don't have a lot of rituals, but I do always light a scented candle before starting a reading. I find the scent relaxing as it watching the flame flicker. And I do tend to stop and do a short meditation before a reading to stop and rambling thoughts and to try and fill my heart with love and beauty before starting. I have 8 decks that I use (and one mini one I carry around in my purse). All the ones I use are in silk lined pouches, each with different colours and patterns. Yes, I do choose them to suit the personality of each of the decks. I have my Goddess deck in one with hearts on it, as to me that deck is about self-love. My Lover's Path one is in a black suede beaded pouch, black for the mysteries of love in the beginning, the beads for its beauty. My Ancestral Path pouch has moons and suns on it to remind me that our ancestors gazed at the same moon and sun as we do.... Guess that's about it for rituals. :-) Bar

Moontears	11 Mar 2005
i am new to tarot, and i'm practicing. I like what Elektra said about clean surroundings... i feel uncomfortable in a messy room, (since my room is usually messy i don't do it in my room at all). i usually light an incense as well...whenever it is available. Right now i just like an environment that i am comfortable with like a park or my back yard...etc.

Elven	13 Mar 2005
With my rituals, and I do have some, it all depends on where Im reading from. If I'm in a forum of people I tend to concentrate on protection rituals - open yet protected. If Im reading at home for my self I love to get right into the swing of things and hold an elaborate ritual - sometimes I will bath and cleanse with candles and smudge myself and my card. If I am reading for someone in my home - I will smudge the whole house and the decks I use as well as protect my home and belongings. Or if Im going to someones house, I will smudge my self and my cards. It always seems to depend on where I am. Great question and great thread, Elven x

NightWing	13 Mar 2005
I guess these are by definition "rituals" since they are what I have come to do with every reading. They may well evolve further. These days, this is how it goes for private/personal readings: 1. Spread a cloth on a table, clearing the table of other extrania. I tend to use silk for wrapping, spreading, and bags. 2. Take out the deck and shuffle it thoroughly. 3. Let the deck "rest" while selecting a "query" and a card spread. 4. Enter the date, deck, spread, and query into my tarot journal, and leave space to list the cards drawn for each position. 5. Close my eyes and focus through breathing, repeating the query, and invoking the Spirit,...since my own belief is that Tarot "works" through a combination of the Spirit, my mind, and synchronicity. 6. Slowly lay out the cards while repeating to myself their positional title. 7. One at a time, turn over the cards, and determine their individual meanings and note them in my journal, particularly when there seems a difference between my intuited meaning and the "official" meaning". 8. Study the overall spread, the cards in relation to each other, etc. and note that in my journal. When there is a clear conclusion, I write that out. When there is not, I leave space to return to it later. 9. I pause to examine the cards one more time to see if I've missed anything, then pick up the cards and replace them in the deck, and shuffle it again. Then the cards go back into their bag/cloth/box, as the case may be. 10. A silent pause for recollection and thanks, is followed by folding up my reading cloth, putting it away, and reading over my journal entry, adding any additional thoughts. Then that too gets put away. A fairly straightforward reading like this takes me nearly an hour; there is no rush. This is pretty basic, ordinary, and some might think even boring. Candles, incense, and such are optional for me. Sometimes I do use them. Often not. I think what's important is to discover what works best for YOU. No matter how banal or exotic one's process may be, it has to work for the reader, whatever their beliefs, personality, setting, abilities, deck, or concerns.

The Your Tarot Rituals thread was originally posted on 03 Mar 2005 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.