dependancy on ritual

I never could spell !!! LOL

I've had to think this over a little bit. I'm not sure that I do perform any specific "ritual" before, during, or after a reading. If my mind is feeling particularly cluttered or busy before a reading, I'll do a brief clearing and centering before I shuffle. I almost always do say a brief prayer for guidance in helping the person I'm reading for in finding the answers she or he is in need of. I have tried doing things in a more ritualized manner but have found that the more attention I focus on the ritual, the more trouble I have doing the reading. In otherwords, I tend to subscribe to what my father used to call the "K.I.S.S." method...

moral of the story: don't fetishize your ritual

Whether it's ritual or habit are just as essential to the process as anything else. Although I'm sure many would make the distinction that ritual is spiritual and habit is more mundane, bottem line is they're the same, in both good and bad. A habit such as driving w/o a seat belt can be just as detrimental as a ritual that requires you to dance naked before a full moon in below zero degree weather. On the same note it can be very helpful in the same effect. Turning the temperature down or dimming the lights give the same effect as the day turning to night and gives the mind the impression that it's time to sleep. (This can be very helpful if you're trying to get into a medative state) Putting the spiritual aspect aside, biologicaly, dimming the lights, lighting incense, or playing music all have an effect that can be used for desired purposes. And if you want to bring it to the mundane level, we have rituals (habits) that get us in the motive to do our desired chore. Putting on shoes to go outside, opening a book to read, picking up the phone to make a phone call. It is just up to you whether your habits are effective(dimming the lights), pointless (speaking in a tounge you don't understand) or harmful (cutting yourself).

*sorry if I've just repeated what's been already said, just felt like I needed to put my own take on the subject.

The way I see it, whatever you believe will work, will work. In a way not having a ritual is a ritual - you still shuffle the cards in a way personal to you, and lay them out or choose the cards in a similar way each time without realising this is your own personal ritual. My way of reading is quite simple and I find it really helps in my readings. It is true when I first started Tarot the rituals I read about seemed difficult and hard to remember - it seemed like trying to remember the steps just for the sake of it, taking the focus off the reading. However once I had done it a couple of times I could do it without thinking and now I would feel quite unnerved by not doing it. I have also incorporated a few extra things I made up myself which I felt like doing. I find it really hard to relax - I'm quite a nervy person so rituals really help to settle me down and focus! All in all it only takes about 1-2 minutes before I reveal the cards so it's not like it takes a lot of time - which would really be a turn-off for me!

That is interesting. We are sometimes creatures of habit though. I think it's a good thing that you realized this. I would do a reading with my other deck that is working well and ask about what to do about it. Sounds like a trust issue. That you are used to things and don't expect/trust they can work another way.

I tend to read the same way with all my decks: light a scented candle, try to shuffle 4 times, ....except for my Faeries Oracle deck. I call that my freedom deck. It's my playful deck, each time I try to invent a new fun way to read the cards. I have never used them the same way twice. Once I just thought of numbers...i.e 18 came up so I counted off 18 cards and chose the 18th card as my answer. Once I just threw them all up in the air and went "Wheeee!" and the few that landed closest to me were my answers...I adore that deck. They like to play and no matter what I do the right cards come up.

Babs