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

I make sure there are no distractions, hold the deck of the day, take a deep breath, and say a short prayer. I then shuffle the cards, cut the deck in two, shuffle again, cut to three heaps, and pick one card from each heap, for the reading of the day.
I usually follow this 'ritual' even if I have one inquiry anytime during the day. But in the latter case I fan the deck after I shuffle and cut it, and pick one card with my left hand.

I haven't really developed a ritual yet, since I'm so new at it. Right now I simply hold the deck between both hands, calm my mind, concentrate on my question and generally ask for guidance. I have a habit of shuffling the cards three times, cutting them either once, or three times, depending on my mood, then I throw the spread.

I try not to take any of it too lightly, but I guess I'm also not the type of person to give ritual a lot of weight. I've found in the past that if I do so, I have a tendency to become too rigid: it MUST be done this way or it won't work. So, now I'm kind of trying to go with the flow.

rituals

hi,
I give myself a little reiki to purify myself and also the cards.. i then make a silent prayer to the energy around to help me to help the querrent in the best way i can..Have you heard of the practice of taking something as an exchange.e.g. money.. it seems if u dont then u are taking on the karma of the querrent! have u ever feltthe negativity coming on to you in case you havent been doing this? pleasethink about this and lemme know

Re: rituals

mme -x said:

Have you heard of the practice of taking something as an exchange.e.g. money.. it seems if u dont then u are taking on the karma of the querrent!

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Reading for another person always involves an exchange of some kind whether money changes hands or not. I personally feel that it is up to the reader to insure the exchange is an equal one.

I could be wrong here, but it seems to me that you couldn't take on another person's karma even if you wanted to...karma doesn't work that way.

Now I suppose you could take on a new karmic lesson for participating in an exchange where one of the parties involved felt cheated.

i still haven't develpo any rituals yet...
but i insist on doing every reading by following your own heart...
so any things can be done, only if you wish to......i think

Rituals

So here's the old queen of swords who picks up her Moon Garden deck from the middle of the dining room table, pushes some of Himself's papers aside and shuffles seven times. Then cuts twice with the left hand (because the left hand is connected to the creative side of the brain -- as opposed to the intellectual, just-the-facts, ma'am, side) and takes the top three cards from the second cut.

And she wonders why she can't seem to "read" from the cards themselves and needs to rely on Pollack, et al, to understand what the cards say.

Ah well, live and learn. I think I'll glean some mystic rituals from my ATF friends and see if I can do a better job of understanding the cards themselves.

Thanks, guys.

AS I reread this, I worry that some will consider my posting as a kind of tongue-in-cheek put-down. But it's not. I'm really impressed with what I've learned from all of you. Maybe I'll be able to activate more of the right side of my brain and read for myself instinctively.

what a great question!

I have a special cloth that I have made. First it just started as a piece of material that I love. It has black velvet moons and stars on a deep purple background. Then I hemmed it and attached a pretty background. Since then i have attached these beautiful bells I found at my health food store. I have two on each corner.
so as far as rituals - I spread the cloth, light either incense or candles and shuffle. viola

I lie to light a candle, I feel it energises me. I make sure I can read, if I'm in the right stae of mind, I put some soothing music low in the background (Adiemus is always good!). When the querent shuffles, I imagine his spirit entering the cards. Maybe it in my imagination, but I find it calms me further, so it has use.
Then I read.

Usually I say a prayer to my God for guidance, then I do some breathing exercises to clear my mind. Sometimes I like to light some candles and burn incense or some oils that have been blended specifically for oracle work.

I like to be sitting cross-legged in my bed as it's the most calming and comforting place for me.

I let the client pick out what he/she wants. I ask: What gemstones would you like, color candle, incense, music? I always lite a candle though, and use my wrap as my reading cloth. (I also dont alow smoking until the spread is laid out.) Then I clear my mind and shuffle the cards. Some usually pop out and read those. If they have to do with the client. Then I slide the cards to them and let them shuffle. I tell them to until they feel their question is in the cards. I tell them to relax, and clear their mind of anything but what thier asking. I ask the goddess silently to help me inturpret the cards correctly, and help them understand the reading while they shuffle. Then they hand them to me and I lay out my version of the celtic cross spread, and read!