Do you use special rituals, etc before starting a reading?

[catlin]

Hi,

What rituals do you use before starting a reading? If so, why do you use them, if not, why not?

I usually breathe deep several times before starting the reading and I like having an aroma oil lamp burn. It is like shaking off everyday nuisance.

A good shuffling of the cards helps me to focus on the question I have in mind and then: there it goes.

After the reading I make sure to put the cards all in order again. That is all I do for "ritual".

[Kiama]

Well, I usually say a short prayer to the Gods, and breathe deeply, realx, and just open myself to the cards. I try and focus as much as possible, and imagine my third eye and mind opening wider like a huge hemisphere which space rockets come out of (Y'know what I mean, don't you...?)

I also like to create atmosphere, if I'm reading for otehrs, just cuz I like it.... Candles, black silk... etc. I also prefer reading outside at night. Okay, so the pictures are a bit more difficult to see, but it really helps me concentrate....

Kiama

[misifu]

I'm pretty much with the rest of you, I just make sure that my mind is free of any stress. I like to read my cards on an old wooden table, silly as it sounds, I feel like I get a lot of positive energy of that table, and I light white candles for purity of thought, and ask my guardian angel to give me inspiriation, and that's about it. Love, Misifu.

[EveAnna]

I like to do my readings in the same place, on a table in my breakfast room - the room painted an orange colour so always looks bright, then I light a couple of candles, place my tarot cards in their wooden box on the table, relax as I take my cards out, shuffle, concentrating on my question then do the spread.

[tarotbear]

Alas! I used to have an entire room devoted to Tarot, but it's long gone! :-( It had a table with two chairs, a nice sound system for meditative music. Also stored there was all my 'paraphenalia' so I had all my colored candles and incenses and other witchy necessities. The room also had my reference books, and my altar.

I would play some nice soothing music, light some incense and candles, chill out a while, then do a reading- usually by candlelight.

[Kiama]

WOW, Tarotbear!

I gotta get me one of those... A whole room just for Tarot. Actually, come to think of it, that's basically my bedroom right now....

Kiama

[Logiatrix]

wow, a whole room devoted to tarot...how extremely nifty that would be!
someday...
right now, i can think of only a couple of things i do consistently before a reading: first, i pray until i am serene, meditative and positive within my skin (that's a part of my visualization--the skin thing, i mean). the other thing i always do is shuffle the cards exactly three times before i pass them to the querent to cut them; however, for my own readings, i shuffle 'till it feels "right", whatever THAT is!
these are those kind of quirky rituals that just evolve and seem to stick around, i guess. i hadn't thunk on it before--good question, catlin!

[Kiama]

Actually, now you say that, Metaz, I agree: These littel things we do just grow with us!

My shuffling ritual has grown with me.... I shuffle the cards, then, when I feel ready, pass them to the querent, or keep them myself if I'm doing my own reading, and ask the querent or myself to cut the cards twice with the left hand, reforming the pack each time. I don't know why it's the left hand, or why twice... It just goes well with me and my cards....

Kiama

[GeminiLady]

I start off with all of my grounding/centering/protection exercises. Then I say a short prayer for guidance and protection. -And I rub my hands together-seems to add to the sensitivity.
I have recently got into the habit of returning the cards to their suits after a reading.

Question for those of you who like to shuffle until the cards feel right.--I always liked to do that, even in readings for other people. The last time I did it however, I spread the cards and realized that the reading was not for my querent, but was for me.--I'm not sure if I hadn't taken enough time to prepare, or what went wrong, but I have been afraid to do it when reading for others ever since.

The querent in this reading was my mother, so is it just a possibility that the link is so close...?

It's totally different if I am reading for someone who isn't present with me at the time. --So I am really wondering about the mother/daughter connection.

Any thoughts or advice on this? I would like to go back to shuffling even just to ensure that the cards just get separated from their suits, but I've held back since that happened with my mother.

Love and Light,
Gem

[tarotbear]

GeminiLady - I had similar things happen to me: I was doing a reading for a client and when I started to type it up I realized that it was not for the client at all, but for myself! I contacted them and explained the situation, and sent it to them along with the promise to do another for them in a couple of days to let 'things settle'. The second reading was correct.

I feel that since the client had some parallel situations to me that the cards picked up on me instead. I suggest that before you shuffle that you make sure your mind has cleared. Sometimes I speak the question aloud several times while shuffling so that my mind will not wander, since I feel that unclear readings are garbled by the unconscious trying to ask too many questions.