Do you use special rituals, etc before starting a reading?

WalesWoman

I don't... do anything "special" besides avoid distractions and shuffle a lot, find a quiet private space (usually on top of the bed) and concentrate on the question and the person asking, with pen and paper at hand. But then I've only done readings in the exchange or email or maybe with a text messenger, those I don't do anything more special than clear off the table top next to the computer.
 

Dexter

It took me a long time to find what felt comfortable for me. Before I start to read I place a balck cloth on th etable , that I mad from a really pretty peice of material I found. Although it is all black it has a raised black embroidery on it and I hemmed it by hand, don't know why since I do sew and have a great sewing machine which would have been much quicker but it felt right to sew by hand. Anyway I lay the cloth with points to N, S, E and W. I then take the cards out of their bag and place them in the centre of the cloth with my crystal pendulum laid across them from N to S. Then I draw a cirlcle around me. I sit and breathe with my eyes closed visualizing pure energy entering and my everyday thought leaving with each exhaled breath. I them light a candle at each point and see my quardians appear and lift their wings providing an enclosed circle of pure cleansing light. When they apprear I ask them to protect me during the reading and give me guidance. After the reading I extinquish the candles thank each of my quardians for their protection and ask them to take away any remaining enrgy left over form the querent. I then remove the circle of protection. I know this must sounds like a lot of stuff but you must remember this is all done visually. That way I can read anywhere at any time and feel the same energy etc that I would get if I was physically doing the whole thing. When I am at home and reading for myself I like to sit right on the floor with my cloth spread in front of me. We have oak hardwood floors and it feels just as right as sitting at a wood table. I have most of the times laid on the floor studying the cards in front of me. Now the only downfall of using the floor is that my cat seems to think that the cloth and cards are a great place to lay.
 

ladymermaid

i do all my readings in my bedroom i have this table in my room i go there a do my readings. i like to burn incense and candles i bless my self with holy water then i get my deck out whatever one i want to use thn i close my eyes i ask the question in my mind then i bring my tarot deck to my forehead tell the deck my question then i pick cards and give my self a reading i put crystals on my cards so my cards hav more power.
 

ShekinahMoon

I read my cards in my living room. I have a black bathroom rug that never did make it as a bathroom rug (changed the color scheme) so it now gets used as a “cloth” for laying out my cards. It sits on the floor and on it I have a combination candle and incense holder. I light the candle and a stick of Spiritual Guide incense and mediate. Once the meditation is over I place the cards to my forehead and then ask the question. I next breath into the cards and then I do my spread. I do this every morning and I wear a long red dress I got from a Metaphysics store, a white head wrap, and sacred jewelry. I always use the Voodoo Tarot in the morning.

Through out the day if I do a reading for a specific question the environment is not as formal. And the red dress stays in the closet until the next morning. Just something about the morning that’s important to me in setting the tone for the rest of my day.
 

Balsamo

Years ago I was studying the cards for my own enlightenment - and also doing payed consultations for several people.

When I worked with the deck by meself, I handled the cards fairly informally.

But at a consultation, I would set out to get the person I was reading for into a contemplative frame of mind - by burning sandalwood, reciting a verse, that kind of thing.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be refamiliarising myself with the cards - I still have a few books on the topic, as well as these wonderful online resources.

We'll see if my approach to the ritual has changed or not.
 

Mitchichen

The only thing even remotely close to a ritual that i do is to light a vanilla scented candle. It helps me concentrate and makes the area seem very peaceful. sometimes i'll bring some incense in, but it's usually a specific candle...holiday vanilla :3
 

catlin

I just came across my old thread again :) Wow, I have to admit that I have changed quite a lot from that one :)

I have developed into an everytime-anywhere reader.

Ok, I still love to light a candle and have something nice like one of my handmade incense in a burner, but rearranging all cards after a reading? I don't do that anymore, just counting the cards (yes, I've lost the 2 of cups after a public reading 2 years ago and since then I count my cards when I have done readings in public space), turning the upper card of the stack around so that the back is on the outside (like closing a book) and placing them back in the baggy or the box.

Edited typing errors.
 

SuzanneMoon

I am hoping to start decorating my little spare room for the tarot.

I like to have my incesne burning and i also clear my mind and maybe do some meditation before a reading :)
 

SunChariot

I have my Tarot table where I always do my reading (I read only for myself or for others on the Net, so I read alone). I do tend to stop and quiet my mind, light a scented candle (currently it's black cherry scented) and sometimes meditate on the flame, ask for help in finding the right answer and in understanding it as I am meant to, repeat the question over and over in my head as I am shuffling. I tend to try and shuffle four times, as I have it in my head that four is the number of completion, but if they don't feel "right" yet after four times I keep shuffling till they do. And I guess that's about it.

Oh yeah, after shuffling, I also split the deck into 3 piles, with my right hand. Then put my left hand over each pile to see which feels like its giving off the most heat or energy. Then that pile goes on the top,with the other piles on the bottom. And I pull the cards from the top.

I don't put the cards back in order after a reading. I will shuffle them one more time though, so the cards I just used are integrated back into the deck. And if I used reversals I will put them all going in the same direction before I put the cards away. That just makes it easier considering I sometimes use reversals and sometimes don't, so I don't want reversed cards showing up in my next reading unless I chose to use them

And I guess that's it. Although yes, me too, I always wash my hands before touching my cards, even just to look at them.

Babs
 

Briar Rose

I have a friend that has books on energy and posture. She said to stop your energy from transfering to another person, or to stop picking up on their energy (like when they are shuffling the cards) turn slightly sideways. This way the question remains theirs, not yours. Then face them head on.




I have to try the rubbing of the hands. What I usually do is put my hands together (like praying) and then move them apart, but facing hand to hand. I am feeling a magnetic force. This builds energy where I can feel that force when my hands are 2 feet apart (facing each other).

I hope I am making sense.

The ritual I have before a reading is I like to wash my hands, and have the person I am doing the reading for do the same thing. And I light a candle, and burn incense. I like the idea of vanilla scented candles that someone mentioned. I know, vanilla has that meditative appeal.