Incense is one of the most widely used techniques for purifying tarot decks.
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.
In This Article...
How are tarot cards blessed and purified?
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.
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 can I give my tarot cards more life?
“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.
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.
Do I need to allow people to handle my tarot cards?
If you have been reading Tarot for years without allowing anybody else to touch your cards and this is how you prefer it to be done, maintain reading in this manner. Do it if it works.
However, if you are new to tarot and unsure about whether you should allow others to touch your cards when reading for them, REST! Others are welcome to touch freely. In fact, I believe that doing this makes a reading seem more genuine. You simply need to believe in the strength of your intention to afterwards purge any negative energy from your Tarot deck.
What are your thoughts on this? I’m interested to know! Therefore, please share your thoughts regarding individuals touching your cards in the comments section below. Do you agree with it? Or do you strictly enforce a no-touch policy?
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.
Do I need to purify my tarot cards?
That’s correct
Magdaleno really suggests cleaning your deck before each reading to achieve the most accurate results. She advises starting with a cleansing to make the cards clear for your reading, whether it’s for yourself or someone else.
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.
When was your birth?
By calculating your birth card, you can greatly personalize your tarot readings and get guidance on your life’s path.
The Major Arcana card that corresponds to the sum of all the digits in your birthdate is your birth card, sometimes referred to as your “life path card.” This card can be used in a number of ways to enhance your tarot practice, such as a significator (a card specifically chosen to represent you or the subject of your reading); a card to explain your daily card; or a focus for meditation.
To discover your soul’s function, you might also consider how you already do or could do the positive traits of the Major Arcana card.
