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

[MeeWah]

Catlin: Sometimes I do; it depends. I don't always know how I'll proceed until it happens. Sometimes I go the whole 9 yards: a ritualistic cleansing, meditation & use my altar. Other times all I need do is grab a deck of cards & I'm all set. Or I'll throw a spread, write down the cards & do the reading at my PC. Of course, I don't do the last with an in-person reading.
Also, agree with Tarotbear. I did a spread for someone which made no sense. After looking again at my notes (I keep a written record of spreads) I realized it related to me. Another time, a reading for a woman turned out to be about her younger son. A few years ago I threw a spread for me & knew as soon as I looked at it that it was about hubby! I do not know if it was because he'd been standing a short distance away, observing. He'd had an aversion to what he termed "the occult" but he's grown to respect & accept my interest. He now makes it a point to stay away from me when I'm with my cards

[nexyjo]

i'm most like meewah, in that i don't have any set ritual before reading. for pulling my card of the day, i go through my usual morning ritual - grounding and centering, protection, prayers, and then i pull a card. but for readings, it's pretty spontaneous. i'll add that i don't do many readings, as i primarily use the cards for meditation, self exploration and discovery, and because i like to look at the pictures
i suppose that if i began to use the cards for readings on a regular basis, i might develop a ritual for that purpose.
luv and light,
nexy

[KyrieSummer]

I wouldn't say that I have a set ritual that I do before readings. I do take a couple of cleansing breaths and to take a moment to empty my mind of "excess" thoughts of my day, but other than that . . .

[purplelady]

I always do a grounding that I learned from the "motherpeace" book. Basically , you ground your body to the center of the earth , the sky above, and then open your heart center to Love. Sometimes I light a candle and /or incense,but not always.

[ericadoe]

I have a very simple ritual that I do before I work with my cards. I just light 1 candle, nothing more. Watching the flame has a very calming effect. I do have a very special place that I do my readings, in my bedroom at my grandmother's very old writing desk (it has a mirror that reflects the candle almost mystically 'cause it is so old.) Just being at Gram's desk helps me focus on the things outside of myself, beyond the here and now (like laundry, cleaning, mowing the lawn). I also HAVE to cut the cards after shuffling - twice, left handed, and to the left - the hand closest to the heart (wedding bands and all that!) It is the little rituals that make it calming, anything complex is just too difficult to do for me....

[Kat]

If I've had a particularly ungrounding day, I like to take a bath with some really nice scent in the water or maybe a shower. I visualize that i'm bathing in light and it's clearing out all my chakras--especially mind, speech, and body chakras... at the heart,the throat and top of the head. At a minimum, I'll light some incense, then I'll open the box I keep my tarot cards and run them over the smoke. I like to keep a mala close by and will do some meditation or focusing as well as maybe chant a mantra to help with clear speech and mind. Before I start, I light a white candle and do a one card read on myself. I enter this in my journal and look at it as something I need to be aware of in myself that may influence my readings either postively or negatively for the day, taking the lesson from the card to heart so that i can better serve my clients. I always take at least three very deep, from the diaphraghm cleansing breaths before each reading. I frequently will return to the energy from my mala (some folks use crystals) to recharge my hands if i've had a very taxing reading. Then I will also rub my hands together after as a way to recharge. If it's a particuarlly intense session, I may light special incenses to help center me. My rituals are heavily based in my tantric buddhist practice.

[genna]

I use my godmother´s old wooden table with the deck´s scarf on it,and the deck´s stone(rock crystal,amethyst or moonstone).I also have a candle for my guardian angel(pink,favourite color) in it´s holder and a white candle too.

Short prayer while I shuffle,and keep shuffling until I happen to divide the deck "by accident".Then I lay out the cards.

Sometimes I fan the cards and pick the ones I use instead.
Sometimes I have classical music on the CD.

Light and Love,Genna.

[Athena]

catlin,
Hello,

I have learned that for me, Ritual adds power and importance when I give a Reading. It reminds me of when you don a particular item of clothing, like lets say a tiara. Suddenly you could start to feel something like somebody in a pageant, or maybe even a beauty queen. I believe that you affect the exterior body, to change the interior mind, spirit, what-have-you.
I always start by laying out my cards in front of the person. Then I light a candle, usually white, for myself, and they light another one for themselves. A bit of incense that does not offend their nostrils is next I'm not picky about that.
Then I have them choose which deck they feel comftorable with, and I shuffle it to *blank* it of the last persons energies. While I do this, I usually envision little white stars falling off the cards. When I feel the deck is neutral, then I allow them to shuffle.
This is where it gets a little weird, I read in a book once that the hand you write with, is your Concious hand, standing for everyday life, and the realm of man. The hand you do not write with is your Unconcious hand, standing for your intuitive spiritual soul side. I usually explain this to people, then I have them shuffle the cards backwards. Using their intuitive hand to place the cards. (Most people actually enjoy this, and if they are tense, it gives them something to joke about, helping them to settle down).
I then give my second reminder to invert half the deck while they shuffle, as the cards I use have inverted meanings. While they shuffle, I center myself, connect to my higher power, and ask for guidance.
Then we begin.
It probably sounds like a lot, but it all goes by very quickly
Of course, from reading someone else's suggestions, I'm thinking that maybe I should shuffle afterwards as well, to cleanse the cards. Hmm, we shall see

[StarShine]

I never really thought of it as a ritual, but I guess it is. When I pul my 1 or 3 cards in the morning, I do it as soon as hubby goes to work and before the little one wakes up. There is not much time in there so I do not have time to do lenghty rituals. I always light a short stick of incense and put my headphones on with whatever music I feel like that day. Usually it is nature sounds or of a Celtic nature. Some days I like to light a candle, white for a general reading, or a color that corresponds to my question. I do not always do this, just when I feel like I need it. I breathe deep, relax, shuffle and pull my card/s. That is pretty much it.

I like some of the other suggestions I have read. Maybe when I have some more time, I will try some of them and see if they fit me

[rexenne2003]

I like to clear the table that I work at, then light a smudge stick of sage, cedar, and sweetgrass. Then I smudge the area and imagine all the blackness known as negativity being pushed out and away, back to the Goddess for recycling for something more productive. Once the air is filled with the wonderfully smelling smoke, I let it sit in an abolonie (sp?) shell while I take my take and upright any reversed cards. This, I feel, clears the deck and prepairs myself for a reading. Once all the cards are upright, I pass the entire deck through the flame of a candle that I only light while doing readings. Three time clockwise, and I ask that the cleansing powers of fire, clear the deck and give it power, and to help me interpret whatever is laid.

Then I shuffle the deck with both hands by spreading the cards, face-down, all over the table. When I feel that the deck is ready, I gather them up into a loose pile, cover it with my hands and image the question that I hold in my mind, travels from there through my arms and into the deck and to whatever powers would be around helping me.

I then gather up the deck, cut three times to the left, then deal in whatever pre-chosen layout.

It sounds like a lot of work, but really isn't and has proven very benificial to me in preparing the mind set needed to interpret the cards.