Caring for your Tarot deck

Now that you found the perfect deck it is necessary to properly care for them.

The first thing you will want to do is to cleanse and bless your deck. There are several ways to do this:

• You could write a Tarot cleansing and blessing ritual
• You can cleanse them with any or all of the elements
• You can smudge them
• You can leave them sit on a window sill for 24 hours so that they will be cleansed and charged by both the Sun and the Moon
• You can put them in numerical order (this is a quick way to do a cleansing of lingering energy. It is not recommended for an initial or a thorough cleansing).
  
• Etc.

From Apythia: Personally, when I first get a deck, I do a thorough cleansing ritual. I go through the deck card by card, very lightly sprinkling each card with salt water and then placing it through the smoke of the burning sage incense (which for this purpose, represents air and fire as you wouldn't want to put your card through an actual flame for obvious reasons).

I then ask the goddess, god and ancient ones to bless each of my cards so that they may be used as proper tools through which the Lady, Lord and spirits may send me knowledge and guidance. I then bless them with burning rosemary or jasmine or any other herb or incense associated with psychic ability.

I usually leave the cleansed and blessed deck on my altar for 3 days with properly blessed crystals and amethyst before using them. (The crystals and amethyst are then kept in the bag with the cards.)

I will repeat this about once a year for each deck used for public readings.

You will know when it is time to cleanse your deck. You will notice a change in energy or the way you feel about your deck. Readings may also become less clear.

I find that if I put the deck in numerical order once a month or so, I tend not to have to do as much major cleanings. After a particularly nasty or trying reading or if I feel the connection dropping between myself and the cards, I will leave them on my window sill.

Storing your deck

Most Tarot readers suggest storing your cards in a black-lined bag or in a wooden Tarot card box. This not only physically protects your cards, but it also keeps them from picking up whatever energy is floating around.

You can include gemstones and herbs with divinatory powers or psychic improvement abilities with your cards.

Keep your cards covered when not in use.

When doing a reading

You probably noticed that most Tarot readers will spread a cloth over whatever surface they are doing readings on.

This serves two purposes. On the practical side, it keeps your cards clean. On a psychic side, the color you chose to use can help with the vibrations of the card.

It is up to you as to whether or not you allow the seeker to touch your cards. Some readers encourage their seekers to shuffle the deck so that they can infuse it with their energy. Others don't let seeks touch their deck for the same reason. They prefer to have no one else's energy on the deck but their own. The choice is yours.

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