Deck cleaning and what tarot book to buy? Help please!

Hello! I am not sure, if its on right place, but ...

I recently bought Golden Tarot deck. I am not sure how to properly clean and prepare GT cards before readings etc. Is there some specific affirmation for that? How you do it? Do you cleanse them for all the readings, even if you do readings many times a day? (So far I have done it with other deck and a bit of GT deck)

Second - I don´t truly understand the meanings of the tarot cards. I know I should buy tarot guidebook but does it matter what book? Or all the tarot books suit well for different tarot decks?


All suggestions and helpful information are welcome! Thank you!

You don't NEED to do anything to your deck other than shuffle it. Some here have their own rituals; most (I think) don't. I have never cleansed a deck in any way unless you count sticking one that smelt terrible (from brand new !) in a box with lavender candles till the smell went away.

As to where to start with meanings - you can't do better than this:

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/meanings/

It's here; it's free, and it is streets ahead of many of the various dodgy books out there. Take one card a t a time and read it up. Also, though, look at the card for yourself and see what it says to YOU. Most of us here find cards have their own meanings for each of us. Memorising can be daunting and is certainly not something I have ever chosen to do; what I know, such as it is, has built up over years of reading anything that crossed my path, and, much more, looking at the cards.

As to GOOD books - they vary hugely. They can vary with decks too - but some of the most reliable ones with no personal agenda attached are those by Barbara Moore, Kim Huggens and Mary Greer.

I've collected so many tarot books through the years. The one I wish had been written sooner, to save me from buying so many books, is "Tarot Plain and Simple" by Anthony Louis. He has collected just about every possible meaning that has ever been attributed to each card. What I like is that the meanings are not tied to a specific deck and can be used with any tarot deck out there.

As far as learning how to read with the cards, there weren't many books available when I started learning. I've bought many through the years, and learned a little something from each, but the one I started with is still the one I like best: "Tarot for Yourself" by Mary Greer. She answers many of the basic questions I had starting out. She does give some info on purifying the cards and establishing rituals. I don't do most of those, but when I want to "cleanse" a deck to remove traces of old readings, I take one of Ms. Greer's suggestions and arrange the cards in order and turn all of them upright. For me, it's like starting with a new deck again. I don't do that very often or for every reading, just when I feel like the deck needs it.

I really like Tarot 101 by Kim Huggens, I wish I would've found it when I had just bought my first deck.

Oh and I never cleanse my decks. I like a lot of energy in them!

I use sage smudge sticks to cleanse my decks. I've also cleansed using clear quartz, leaving the crystal on the deck for a period of time. I use crystals with my decks a lot though, each of my decks is kept with a crystal and I will often lay crystals around spreads when reading.

I don't cleanse for every reading. I do cleanse new decks and then it's just when I feel they need to be. Everyone is so different though, and as other's have said, not everyone cleanses them.

I rarely cleanse my decks when using them for divination, but I pull the cards through smoke from incense while saying a suitable affirmation, when I feel it's appropriate to cleanse them. Alternatively, moving an incense stick over the fanned out deck is effective too.

As to books, yes, it does matter that the book suits the deck you are using. There are some more widely applicable ones, to be sure, but I wouldn't use them in lieu of one specific to your deck. At least as close as it gets (not for every deck a book has been written, besides the LWB that comes with it). I am not familiar with the Golden Tarot, but I'm going to have a look at it online now. If I have a recommendation for you, I will come back later.

I found that there is more than one Golden Tarot. Are we talking about Kat Black's deck? That one seems to be a variation of the famous Rider Waite deck, so Rachel Pollack's very recommendable Seventy-eight Degrees of Wisdom should go with it well.

I would like to thank all, who answered here. Michael, yes, I own Kat Black GT deck! Yet I´m not sure, which book to buy or should I buy!?

Hmm, I think that when starting cleansing, sometimes I might use sage or crystals if I feel I need to. I have a lot to learn! Its good to get smarter!

I personally follow this routine when getting a new deck or cleansing it before starting reading. I organize the deck in order first by the major arcana, then by suits starting with swords , Wands,cups, then pentacles. Then I use sage and or incense and clear them with the smoke and I then mark them by blowing or kissing the cards, after that I shuffle the deck until I feel they have been mixed up enough. When I first bought them I also slept with them under my pillow, I bought a nice velvet sack to keep them stored in, I made a box to keep the cards and sack with a few crystals in.

I also bless the deck and light a candle before starting a reading. When finished with a reading I blow out the candle and thank the cards and wash my hands. That's what I have done

=Extraterrestrial;4666013]Hello! I am not sure, if its on right place, but ...

I recently bought Golden Tarot deck. I am not sure how to properly clean and prepare GT cards before readings etc. Is there some specific affirmation for that? How you do it? Do you cleanse them for all the readings, even if you do readings many times a day? (So far I have done it with other deck and a bit of GT deck)

Second - I don´t truly understand the meanings of the tarot cards. I know I should buy tarot guidebook but does it matter what book? Or all the tarot books suit well for different tarot decks?


All suggestions and helpful information are welcome! Thank you! [/QUOTE]

Tarot Plain and Simple is a really good book but lets not forget www.learntarot.com by Joan Bunning.