Consecration is a ritualistic process in which you consecrate your tools to a predetermined use.
In magick, a tool’s primary function is to carry a correspondence and represent particular features of the outer world as a symbol.
A ritual chalice represents our love, and a ceremonial sword represents our will (and the will of the cosmos) (and the grace of the universe).
A magician (or a priest, witch, or shaman) making a forceful statement when they trace a sword around a circle may seem weird to outsiders. They are putting their will into action in the universe, and by forming a circle, they are bringing the entire universe into alignment with their will.
Since the circle is a representation of that unity, anything done inside of it has meaning for the entire cosmos.
Your tarot deck might be dedicated as a holy device and a universal mechanism.
You separate your cards, box or bag, and other paraphernalia from everything else by conducting the consecration, making them sacred in the process. It is no accident that many terms with magical connotations have meanings related to “separation,” such as “temple,” which derives from “templum,” which means to “separate out.”
There is first a first act of cleansing, or purification. Before the items are consecrated, all undesirable forces, influences, and psychological attachments are eliminated from them.
In order to perform a consecration, you must first prepare a distinct workspace where the rite will take place. This is essentially a form of self-consecration. This might be as complex as creating a ritual temple or casting a full witchcraft circle, or it can be as simple as bringing yourself to a special place outside that seems precious to you.
A ritual’s five fundamental steps are as follows:
A straightforward ceremony for your brand-new deck of tarot cards could be as follows:
- Banishing Using your finger, form a circle around yourself in a clockwise direction. Sprinkle some salt and water inside the circle and say “I create a workspace for myself and drive away any negative influences.
- Purification
- Sprinkle a small amount of fresh water over your tarot bag (not the deck! ), saying “I cleanse this bag, removing all associations and influences from it.
- Consecration
- Visualize the bag being held up, heavily charged with protective energies, and declaring “I now dedicate this bag solely to keeping my precious divination cards safe.
- Invocation
- make a request for the consecrated object’s blessing to a higher authority, such as: “May the Light Forces emanate from within and without, blessing these holy cards with the strength of Truth. Think about this blessing for a moment.
- Sprinkle salt and water within your circle one more time while stating, “I remove any leftover forces from this working space.” Then, draw your circle in an anticlockwise direction while stating, “I close this working space.”
If your intention is focused and the ritual activity is performed according to the above order, leaving your bag in soft sunshine (or moonlight) for a day (or night) will also have the desired effect.
For instance, consecrating something without first cleansing it is pointless. This is comparable to attempting to prepare a vegetarian salad on a surface that still has Sunday roast leftovers.
If you want to invoke a particular deity, such as Circe, Athena, Hecate, Thoth, Hermes, etc., then use the proper invocation. You will also observe that this ritual is non-denominational.
You can summon Thoth after consecrating your object by saying something like, “Thoth, God of Wisdom and the Word, may your Wisdom guide my hand as I utilize these consecrated cards of art to get real understanding of hidden things, to the glory of thine unfathomable name.”
After a brief period of meditation or communication with the called deity, do the final banishment.
Similar to how several cards may offer various modifications to your fundamental ritual
Shakespeare can be read to the Waite-Smith Tarot cards to strengthen their consecration, and a Thoth deck can undoubtedly profit from a Thoth invocation or image throughout the rite.
As it is the simplified form of most ritual activities, this ritual template can be used for any object and any consecration, not just tarot.
In This Article...
How do you activate tarot cards?
What to Do First:
- Get out your tarot deck.
- The cards are in your hand.
- “Knock or tap the pile of cards numerous times while holding them in your palm to disseminate your energy throughout the deck.
- Shuffle the cards completely.
- The cards are divided into three heaps, which are subsequently reassembled into one pile.
Before utilizing a tarot card, how do you bless it?
Here are four simple steps to purifying tarot cards.
- Meditate. Simply unwind for a moment and get rid of all your thoughts.
- Pass each card through the smoke after burning sage.
- Place bay leaves within the deck of cards.
- And for protection, place a crystal on top.
How are tarot cards charged?
Leave your deck in a sacred location where you can “knead (shuffle) it each hour, giving it your magical power with your hands, for one waking day, much as you would a loaf of rising bread.” The greatest time to use this charge is when you’re taking a day off at home or in a retreat.
How are tarot cards energized?
Being outside and breathing in some fresh air has a calming effect, and tarot cards can sense it.
Take your cards outside and fan them in the fresh air, advises Magdaleno, “especially if you’re feeling stuck or static with your readings,” to help them move more freely.
Since you don’t want to unintentionally bleach your cards in the sun, it won’t take long.
Questions you don’t really want answered
Even though it might seem apparent, it’s advisable to refrain from asking the tarot cards questions that you aren’t prepared to hear the answers to. That’s because answers to these questions can reveal information you’re just not quite ready to hear.
“Tarot can definitely come off as offensive if you’re not willing to hear the truth or consider an opposing opinion. Tarot reading Nicole Fortunaso
According to tarot reader and life coach Nicole Fortunaso, “tarot may truly come out as offensive if you are not willing to hear the truth of the problem or look at an alternate viewpoint.” She advises analyzing why you’re reacting the way you are in order to reflect on how to effectively address the underlying problem if you ask the question and aren’t satisfied with the response.
Without sage, how can a tarot card be blessed?
While rearranging the cards in the tarot deck is a good approach to purify and clear their energy, there are some circumstances in which you might wish to perform a more specialized ritual. If you’re just getting started with tarot, cleaning your deck can be an excellent place to start.
You might want to clean your tarot deck for a variety of reasons, including:
- beginning with a fresh deck
- readings for other people
- You think you need to recharge.
- Your card readings seem a touch “odd” or “disconnected”
- Your deck hasn’t been used recently.
- Your deck has been handled by others
- You think you’ve been utilizing your deck a lot. A LOT, especially for books with strong emotional content
Why should you cleanse or clear your tarot deck?
Tarot deck cleansing helps keep the energy flowing between you and your deck. Consider it as a little spiritual hygiene to maintain a strong and clear connection. It’s not necessary, but if you have any of the aforementioned symptoms, try a few of the energetic cleansing techniques listed below and note which ones seem to work the best for you.
How often should you cleanse your tarot deck?
This is another way of stating USE YOUR INTUITION: there are no hard and fast laws. Don’t stress if you don’t believe it is necessary for your deck. Alternately, if you like to cleanse them once per week or once per month, that’s great. If it feels appropriate to you, you can even place your favorite crystal on the balcony each night.
If you frequently place crystals on your deck and store it on an altar while not in use, you might not feel the need to cleanse it frequently because this quick ritual will likely be sufficient to keep your deck feeling nice.
There are numerous ways to cleanse your cards, just as there are numerous reasons why you might desire to do so.
Different ways to cleanse your tarot deck
Use holy smoke. Light a dried rosemary, lavender, cedar, sage, or palo santo cleansing wand until it begins to smoke. Hold the smoke a safe distance below the deck while holding the burning herbs in one hand and the deck in the other so that the smoke drifts upward onto the cards. Turn the deck so that the smoke covers it from all angles. Next, safely put your deck to the ground and put out the fire.
On the deck, set a selenite stone (or a black tourmaline or a transparent quartz). It works well to leave it like way for an hour, but I prefer to leave it overnight.
Set them on display during a new moon. The New Moon is energy of a blank slate; you can purify the deck by setting it on a window sill on a new moon night. At this moment, you can also make a brand-new intention for your deck.
Place the cards in a salty dish. A strong and stabilizing cleaner is salt. My preferred choice for a thorough cleansing is this. Allow it to sit anywhere from one to eight hours in a dry area.
Unorderly shuffle. Spread the cards out on the ground, then shuffle them around like a child playing in dirt. This method’s freedom and randomization serve as an excellent reset.
the shuffle and sort. Set up the deck in rows of seven cards across, commencing with the Major Arcana numbers 0 to 22. (see photo above). Next, arrange the cards, Ace through King, one for each suit, as follows: Swords, Pentacles, Cups, and Wands. View the deck in this configuration, then mix everything up (like the chaotic!) and shuffle it thoroughly.
How are cards blessed?
Your playing cards will inevitably take up on any unfavorable energy that gather around you as you employ them. On the other hand, the leftover energy of the people you’ve given readings to can also accumulate.
It’s a good idea to routinely cleanse your cards because of this. The goal is to realign the cards towards their receptive neutral default condition by clearing the opposing and adversarial energies surrounding them.
The full moon charge is a common practice for blessing playing cards. You can achieve this by setting your playing cards beside your window or somewhere else where they can get a lot of moonlight on a full moon night.
Filling your cards with the sun’s radiant energy is an alternative. The procedure is the same as a full moon charge, but you should exercise caution because heat and humidity might warp and harm your cards.
You can choose to bless and purify your cards with a crystal as well. When your cards are not in use, you can continuously purge them of any lingering outside energy and concentrate the cards’ inherent power by placing a piece of clear quartz on them.
Other well-liked gems include black tourmaline, which acts as a grounding agent and can absorb bad energy, and amethyst, which can enhance psychic insight.
How are tarot cards charged in the sun?
Some of my students prefer to set the deck on their window sill so that it may catch the moonlight. It seems that the Moon’s energies can greatly revitalize the cards. And they typically wait for a night with a full moon to do this.
Because the Moon crescent continues to develop until it becomes full, the New Moon is connected to fresh starts. The Full Moon denotes accomplishments, climax, and satisfaction because it is the result of all the work that went into the Moon’s growth on Full Moon night. Choosing which Moon to go with, I suppose, relies on the “feel” that one gets from the cards.
The energy of the moon is feminine, intuitive, and creative. They therefore opt to use this energy to charge their cards.
What kind of incense works well to purify tarot cards?
For purifying rituals, incense is burned in many religious traditions. The most widely used purifying incenses in the West are white sage, sweet grass, or palo santo. My favorite aroma is that of palo santo, which is both bright and woodsy.
Stick, cone, or loose incense are more options. Pick an incense that is connected with blessing or purification.
Some readers clean their deck of cards one by one. However, if you want to use the entire deck in one attack, go ahead and do that.
Additionally, it’s a good idea to cleanse yourself or your reading area to remove any unwanted energy. Tarot readers frequently smudge themselves before and after readings (particularly when reading for someone else).
Use cleansing sprays produced from essential oils if you enjoy incense but suffer from severe allergies or are sensitive to smoke. Sprays for cleaning are excellent.
Sprays come in a range of base oils, including sage, palo santo, etc. Simply spray yourself and your surroundings for the aura-cleansing sweetness to take effect. Avoid directly spraying your cards or you run the risk of harming them.
As a side note, using incense to purify is known as smudging. You should read Asali Earthworks’ piece, “Language Has Power,” which discusses the problems with this term’s adoption.
How do I quickly charge my tarot cards?
How to Cleanse and Charge a Tarot Deck
- the sunlight or the illumination of the full moon.
- Send Reiki to them to heal them.
- Place the Deck in a new order on the altar.
- Grid Your Cards with Crystal.
- Cleanse Their Energy and Place in Wooden Box after Wrapping with Silk.
- Singing bowl bath and crystal bowl sound bath.
- Beach day, nature hike, or holy site.