"So, I’ve got my first brand new Tarot deck. Now what?"
Hey Friends!
Well, in the past I’ve had a post dedicated to choosing your first Tarot deck and if you already have purchased yours or had a deck laying around for some time, this Blog post will be very helpful to you.
I have seen many people stating that they’ve had the same deck for 5, 10, 15 years and never cleansed it and it’s their choice.
But! We are here to make things right, aren’t we?
And if you want your Tarot deck to become your best friend, then you need to treat it as such.
RELATED POSTS: TAROT FOR BEGINNERS: STARTING WITH BASICS. HOW TO CHOOSE A TAROT DECK that is right for YOU.
If you are reading Tarot on a filthy dining table in the middle of dirty dishes, the answers you’ll get from the reading will be just as muddy.
And it’s not only due to the disrespect of your divination tool, it’s also because the energy you are working in is a mess.
If you are a Tarot reader who doesn’t believe in energy...Are there Tarot readers who don’t believe in energy...? Goodness gracious, I hope not.
Well, then how do you take care of your Tarot cards deck?
Read this Blog post to get all the proper instructions step-by-step!
This Blog post is going to be long and detailed, with lots of examples and choices, so go grab yourself a cup of tea and get comfortable.
Make sure to read till the end for a BONUS TIP that will help you to manifest your goals with Tarot without doing ANY ritual or magical work. The secret is in STORING your Tarot cards deck properly!
Part 1: Why Should You Cleanse a New Tarot Deck? And How to Cleanse Your First Tarot Deck?”
When you are working with Tarot, you are working with energy.
I mentioned in my Blog post “Is Tarot Witchcraft or Evil?” that a Tarot or any kind of divination reader does not primarily work on their own energy, they act as a guide between the querent (asker) and the source where the information comes from.
RELATED POSTS: Are Tarot Cards Witchcraft, Magic or Evil? Understanding How Does A Tarot Reading Work
This does not, however, mean that the Tarot reader’s energy field does not get affected. The energy still passes through the Tarot reader and the reader not only needs to cleanse the deck, they also need to know how to protect and cleanse themselves. If that’s something you want to know more about, drop me a comment below and I would be happy to create a Blog post dedicated to protecting yourself as an energy worker.
When you grab a new divination Tool, be it a pendulum, a set of Runes that you did not create yourself or a Tarot deck, there are some situations you need to consider:
1. Who made this object?
How was your Tarot deck created? Are you sure the person had a good heart, positive energy and intentions? What if they were angry that day because they had an argument with their neighbors?
The strength of a negative emotion can be very powerful and it will inevitably stick to anything a person touches and what if this is your future Tarot deck?
1. Who sold you this Tarot deck?
Again, this can be a very serious matter.
It can be a beautiful store with a nice and positive worker.
It can also be a place where things have gone a wrong way and the energy is dark and ill.
And sometimes looks can be deceiving.
I hope I’ve convinced you that cleansing your Tarot deck is essential.
Ways to cleanse your Tarot cards deck
Smudging: cleanse your Tarot deck using herbs
This is the most popular and easy way.
How to use herbs to cleanse your Tarot deck?
You are going to burn one or mix of the following herbs and run your deck through the smoke until you FEEL like that’s enough.
Here is the list of great herbs:
1. Sage. Sage is the most used herb for smudging and for this reason it is the easiest one to acquire. Sage has banishing and cleansing properties.
You should always keep some sage at home and you can use it once in a while to cleanse your Tarot deck if you do frequent readings or after someone touches it.
1. Cedar. Cedar is also a great choice and you can do cider smudging sticks yourself if you are on a budget. Cedar is often used together with sage in a smudging stick.
2. Rosemary. Rosemary is another great herb to cleanse negative energy.
3. Mugwort. Mugwort can be ADDED into the mix of your herbs. It’s not particularly cleansing on its own but has good protective qualities and is said to increase psychic ability.
4. Palo Santo. Palo Santo has been used quite a lot LATELY in ritual magic and spiritual healing. You can definitely use Palo Santo to cleanse your Tarot deck but make sure you buy it from a known supplier, as there are a lot of fakes out there.
Crystals: cleanse your Tarot deck using crystals
You will definitely find a lot of information of using crystals to cleanse your Tarot cards deck and divination tools BUT here’s the kicker:
You have to cleanse your crystals after you use THEM to cleanse anything because they absorb the energy like a sponge.
Nevertheless, crystals are worth to mention because they really are a great cleansing tool.
How to cleanse a Tarot deck using crystals
With tumble stones, you are going to place them on top of your Tarot deck. There is no need to use more than 3 stones. In fact, if it’s a large crystal, one is enough.
If you are using druses, then depending on the side you can either place the deck on top of the druse or put the druse on the deck, it really doesn’t matter.
1. Clear Quartz Crystal. Clear Quartz Crystal, just like sage is something you should always keep at home. It’s an amazing universal crystal that can be used for any matter, from healing to charging with any intention.
2. Citrine. I have seen a lot of people using Citrine to cleanse a Tarot deck and while it’s not really a cleansing crystal, it is good at BALANCING the energies.
3. Shungite. While Shungite is mostly known for its protective qualities, it is also an excellent cleansing crystal. It is also used to cleanse water.
EXCEPTION: Using Druses to cleanse a Tarot deck.
Druses are an excellent choice for cleansing an oracle or Tarot deck for the following reasons:
They ALL have cleansing properties. You can use amethyst, quartz, fluorite, literally any druse you own.
Druses do NOT need to be cleansed as they don’t absorb energy like other crystals
Sea salt. Sea salt is a universal cleansing tool. Normally you leave an object in a bowl filled with sea salt for 24 hours. After that you throw the salt out.
Final Word
All the tips we mentioned are not used exclusively for a NEW Tarot cards deck. You should cleanse your Tarot cards after the following:
· You had an energy draining Tarot reading done for a client;
· Someone touched your cards;
· You had a client with a lot of negative energy outbursts;
· You feel disconnected from your cards or the messages they give are confusing.
Part 2: How to Charge or Bless a New Tarot Deck?
You can charge your new Tarot deck once or you can charge it after every time you cleanse the cards to give it an energy boost.
Alternatively, people also wonder how to bless their new Tarot deck?
My favourite way to bless a Tarot deck is by chanting a beautiful Mantra or an affirmation.
Charging Tarot Cards Deck with Moonlight or Sunlight.
Moonlight:
Full Moon is the perfect time to charge your new Tarot cards deck.
You can simply place the deck on the area of your home that is usually hit with Moon light.
You can also surround your deck with crystals. Not only you will also charge your crystals with powerful energy, you will also give some of that energy to your Tarot deck.
Sunlight:
What I do NOT recommend:
I do not recommend charging your Tarot cards deck with direct Sunlight. Depending on the material used for your Tarot deck, this can result in images fading.
INSTEAD, you can wrap your Tarot cards in a cloth and only then put them under the Sunlight to charge.
Final Tip: I advise that if you use this method, you charge your deck with BOTH Moon and Sun lights to balance the feminine energy on the Moon and the masculine energy of the Sun.
Charging Tarot Cards Deck with Music
Sound is an excellent choice for charging objects.
Choose one from the following suggestions:
Sound Bowls. You can use regular metal singing bowls or a crystal bowl if you have it. Those vibrations are very powerful.
Mantra. If you are using Sanskrit Mantra, make sure you know the meaning and also try to choose something neutral and not dedicated to a deity, unless you are working closely with a specific God or Goddess. For example, Mantra “Aham Prema” (I am Love) is a better choice than “Om, Krishna”. Also, check out 108 Mantras, they are the most powerful. These are essentially Mantras chanted 108 times, which is considered to be the sacred number.
Meditation music with affirmations. There are many to choose from on YouTube. Good example is “I am the light of my soul” by Snatam Kaur.
Charging Tarot Cards Deck with Elements - Simple New Tarot Deck Ritual
This method is incredibly powerful and great to give your Tarot cards or an oracle day the ultimate energy boost. It is also the longest one in a sense that it requires the most prep time.
Just like with Sun/Moonlight method, you’ve got to keep balance when it comes to elements.
You can't turn to the power of Fire and Earth elements and leave out Water and Air.
So, if you are choosing this method, here are the instructions:
Place your elements according to the four directions: East - Air, South - Fire, West - Water, North - Earth.
Place Tarot cards or oracle cards deck in the middle.
Starting with East - Air, ask the element to charge your Tarot deck. Activate each element. For example, light a candle, ring the bell or pour water in the cup.
So a short meditation. Just imagine how the power of the elements is charging your Tarot cards.
When you are done, express gratitude to the Elements and the Source.
Choose from the following to represent each Element:
Air: incense, bell, feather, smudge stick
Fire: candle, burn paper or herbs in a cauldron
Water: fill a cup or chalice with water, place sea shells, collect rain water
Earth: place salt or soil on a plate, use crystals, plants or flowers
Bonus Tip: How to Store Your Tarot Cards Deck?
There are three options for you:
1. Store it in the original box. This is perfectly acceptable.
2. Store it in a nice pouch. Preferably, this should be made from a material that is not see through.
3. Store it in a scarf. No, not in your winter cashmere infinity scarf. For divination or Tarot deck storage, use a scarf that is beautiful, it can be bright in colours and it should have flowers. This is an old practice and there is a reason behind these specifics.
Why you should store your Tarot deck using these suggestions?
Well, you probably already know the answer. Tarot absorbs energy. Tarot gives energy. Tarot exchanges energy.
To prevent all this from happening in unnecessary times, it is better to keep your deck stored in a closed environment.
But...WAIT!
Final Bonus Tip!!
How to PASSIVELY Manifest Your Goals Using Tarot Cards!
What you need to do is take your Tarot cards deck and choose a card that will represent your desired goal. For example, you are seeking abundance, so you choose 10 of Pentacles.
Now, take the Court card that REPRESENTS YOU in the tarot deck.
This card will be the last one at the bottom of your deck, image facing you.
For the purposes of this exercise, stick to the astrological correspondence of the ELEMENTS. For example, if you are a female who is LEO, your Element is FIRE and your Tarot Court card is Queen of Wands.
(If you have no clue what your card is, leave a comment below and I will help you out.)
Place that “Manifestation” card, which is 10 of Pentacles in this example, on top of your court card, image facing INside of the deck.
So, your Queen of Wands image faces 10 of Pentacles.
This will create a closed energy loop and will work on passively manifesting your goal, while you are not using your cards.
If this description is confusing, check out my Instagram for video instructions.
I hope you found this Blog post useful. Feel free to check out my related Blog posts below.