Cleansing The Cards
It’s
natural for tarot cards to accumulate & harbor energy, since that
is the primary force they operate through; it can “clog” or “restrain”
them, making them rather unproductive, though it doesn’t damage them.
They simply need to rest and be refreshed every now & then, just
like the reader does.
METHODS ||
I suggest trying all of them out & sticking to the ones that work for you.
Shuffling
Simply
shuffle the deck with the intention of cleansing it, in whatever way
that’s most comfortable for you & for as long as you feel you need
to.
Sorting
Sort the cards – arrange them in order of
the 22 Major Arcana and 4 suits of the 56 Minor Arcana. Allow the deck
to “rest” in proper sequence for a while. You could also simply sort the
cards so that all are upright & none reversed.
Knocking
Tap the deck against something, or tap it with your hands / another object.
Sunlight
(This
method is better for projective/masculine decks.) Place the deck in
sunlight and leave it there until you feel that all the unwanted energy
has been burned, faded, blinded, or driven out.
Moonlight
(This
method is better for receptive/feminine decks.) Place the deck in
moonlight and leave it there until you feel that all the unwanted energy
has been drained, coaxed, flushed, or guided out.
Salt
Place
the deck in a sealed, air-tight plastic bag and bury it in organic
salt. Let the salt soak up the excess energy for a few days, or until
you feel it’s done.
Crystals
Place a crystal that
corresponds to your intention upon the deck, or somewhere near it. You
could also form a crystal grid around it.
Smoke
Pass the
deck through the smoke of incense or burning plants that correspond to
your intention (most people would use dried sage or rosemary).
Pendulums
Swing
a pendulum of your choice clockwise in circular motions above or on the
surface around the deck with your intention in mind until you feel that
all the unwanted energy has been drawn out & expelled.
Sound
Play
any instrument with your intention in mind, or place the deck near a
speaker and play music that corresponds to your intention.
*You
can also cleanse each card individually rather than the whole deck at
once, if you prefer. It takes longer but it’s more thorough
& “intimate”
MAINTENANCE ||
After
cleansing your deck, store it in a special box/bag/cloth and/or with a
quartz crystal to protect and generally upkeep its clean state.
Simple tip: cleanse
your deck every time you use it. This is the easiest way to maintain a
healthy deck, & the ritual of it can improve your general
relationship with the cards as well as your connection with them in the
moment.
Other good opportunities to cleanse your deck:
- It’s brand-new / inherited / borrowed / secondhand
-
Another person has come into contact with it (especially if it was
without your permission – the deck will let you know if it’s been
meddled with)
- It has come into direct contact with a surface or
object you didn’t want it to (this mainly applies to the tarot readers
who take extra precautions to preserve the energetic integrity of their
deck – such as only laying the cards on a designated cloth/mat/board,
not allowing others to touch them, etc)
- It has come into direct contact with another deck
- It hasn’t been used for a long period of time
- It’s been accidentally scattered/messed up/physically damaged
- Many different readings have been performed with it
- An extensive/intense reading has been performed with it
Symptoms of a deck that needs to be cleansed:
- An irregularly large amount of cards drawn in a reading are reversed
-
An irregularly large amount of cards are falling or popping out of the
deck while you shuffle & handle it in general / the deck won’t stay
together
- The readings are becoming unclear, or you’re having an
unnecessarily difficult time interpreting & discerning their
meaning; you’re getting mixed messages, the cards aren’t cohesive, and
so on. If you feel like you’re not gaining anything out of the readings
you do with a deck, you need to cleanse it.
- You get the sense that
you need to cleanse the deck. This could manifest in many different
ways; perhaps you feel bored of the deck or distant from it, or perhaps
its “personality” changes, or perhaps you simply feel off about it.
Common “off” feelings are slowness or lethargy, disengagement,
bitterness, exhaustion, a sense of a contrary or combative disposition,
misplaced irony, dullness or hollowness, strain, stress, aggravation,
confusion, or alienation, and may come from either you or the deck
itself when you interact with it.
- You can’t bring yourself to focus
on the readings you do with it; neither you nor the deck can maintain
your concentration / awareness / full presence.
- You consistently
lose and misplace the deck or you can’t find it when you want to use it –
or other people have moved it, even just once. If you don’t give it a
spot and it tends to wander around your house, that may translate into
your cards. Cleanse them and pick a permanent/regular place to keep
them.
- The deck loses its “magic” and begins to feel like plain paper to you
-
Using the deck consistently drains, frustrates, upsets, or annoys you /
using it no longer brings you whatever beneficial quality it usually
does.
