Tarot in rituals

Farzon

So I just started reading Portable Magic. The idea of using Tarot as a ritual tool fascinates me though I don't have experience with rituals (despite my own daily readings which I would consider some sort of ritual). That's to say, I'm looking for some advice about Tarot in ritual work.

So my questions to those who use Tarot for rituals:

For what kind of rituals do you use the Tarot?
On which sources do you draw and how do you implement the Tarot into the rituals?
Do you perform traditional rituals or individually developed ones?
And to satisfy my bibliophile tendencies: any books you can recommend?
 

nisaba

For what kind of rituals do you use the Tarot?

Tarot, like any other magical tool, isn't magical in-and-of itself, and makes NOTHING happen, in ritual or out of it. The most a Tarot image or even the most expensive ritual Athame owned by a line of hereditary witches stretching back to the 1400s can do, is to act as a focal point for your mind. All magic is generated in your mind and the energy-fields (bio-electricity) in your body.

A disciplined mind can be in a totally motionless body doing exactly nothing, and magic can happen. Or even in a body doing the laundry or scrubbing the kitchen! Some of the best magic happens that way.

I have magical tools, many of which I have owned and used for decades, and I love them and use them. But they work because I have years of experience at magic, which comes from *me*, not from tools. They are merely aids to my intention when I am alone, and visible evidence that something is happening to other people who might be present. In fact, alone I haven't actually used tools in probably six or seven years.

Work on your powers of concentration and visualisation prolonged through time first, last and always. If Tarot helps you do that, then it is very useful indeed.

On which sources do you draw

er ... On myself. That being said, I have a library of magical or qusasi-magical books amounting to nearly 800 of the things, many of them written in the Golden Age of modern magic. But ultimately, books do nothing. Books can't make you magical. Books can't give you a list of objects to collect and words to say to make magic happen. Magic happens from you. The best books are the ones from the said golden age, not more recently-written "magical recipe books" which don't actually explain how to turn yourself into a potent force of magic.

and how do you implement the Tarot into the rituals?

I've entered into the scene of a card and interacted with characters and objects in the card.

I've hung images on walls where I can see them often and be reminded of their energy.

Anything you can think of to do will help - as long as the magic comes from YOU.

Do you perform traditional rituals

Unless you belong to a group like the Golden Dawn or the Servants of the Light or even unless you are clergy in a mainstream church, there really isn't proper traditional ritual. Even the Gardnerian/Alexandrian stuff is modern reconstructionist stuff dating back only two generations, and drawing heavily on Freemasonry.

or individually developed ones?

<smile> If it doesn't feel right to you, you are not going to be able to draw the energy out of yourself to work the magic. So the best rituals are mostly self-designed, IMO.
 

Farzon

Tarot, like any other magical tool, isn't magical in-and-of itself, and makes NOTHING happen, in ritual or out of it. The most a Tarot image or even the most expensive ritual Athame owned by a line of hereditary witches stretching back to the 1400s can do, is to act as a focal point for your mind. All magic is generated in your mind and the energy-fields (bio-electricity) in your body.

A disciplined mind can be in a totally motionless body doing exactly nothing, and magic can happen. Or even in a body doing the laundry or scrubbing the kitchen! Some of the best magic happens that way.
I realized that already. Your example reminds me of Zen which is a state of mind not only exercised in seated meditation but also in doing your daily work.

I have magical tools, many of which I have owned and used for decades, and I love them and use them. But they work because I have years of experience at magic, which comes from *me*, not from tools. They are merely aids to my intention when I am alone, and visible evidence that something is happening to other people who might be present. In fact, alone I haven't actually used tools in probably six or seven years.

Work on your powers of concentration and visualisation prolonged through time first, last and always. If Tarot helps you do that, then it is very useful indeed.
It does help me indeed. I use visualizations of Tarot cards in meditation sometimes and find it very effective. The thing is, I think especially when starting something, rituals are immensely helpful. Like daily practicing an instrument at a fixed time.

er ... On myself. That being said, I have a library of magical or qusasi-magical books amounting to nearly 800 of the things, many of them written in the Golden Age of modern magic. But ultimately, books do nothing. Books can't make you magical. Books can't give you a list of objects to collect and words to say to make magic happen. Magic happens from you. The best books are the ones from the said golden age, not more recently-written "magical recipe books" which don't actually explain how to turn yourself into a potent force of magic.
That is not my aim as well... but, at least for me, books always are a great inspiration. It's the same with Tarot in general - I own a nice stock of books in the meantime, but in the end it's all about the individual practice.

And ultimately, I'm not interested in ritual work only because of their magical power. I'm drawn to them, as well as to the Tarot, because of the inherent beauty of the performance. And starting with designing my own would feel rather arbitrary to me at this point.
 

Scarlet Woodland

My mini tip would be to have a deck you use just for magic and ritual, that way you can immediately be keyed into the right energy/mindframe when you look at the images.

One simple yet nifty way to use them is as the elemental symbols in ritual... its not always ideal to be faffing about with water/candles/incense etc... but it is nice to have something, so the four aces or queens (for example) make a great substitution :)
 

earthair

Yup, everything Nisaba said :thumbsup:- make everything bespoke for you and what you're doing. You are an artist working in the medium of magic, using Tarot or other items as your brush/paints.

Like Scarlet said, keep specific decks for specific magic/rituals...and if you ever dabble in anything experimental or dark, (and you will get curious where the/your boundaries/limits are) make sure you never want to use that deck for readings or happy magic ever again, as I discovered to my cost :rolleyes:

I have a feeling that if you need to be told how to do it, it doesn't work well, because it would be like working from someone else's brain/body/spirit! You'd get their intentions not your intentions. When you know how to do it, you won't need books...feel your way :livelong:

You might find this interesting http://www.llewellyn.com/journal/article/1799
 

JackofWands

I don't practice magic, but I do have a Tarot altar setup where I do my daily draws. Every morning and evening, I light a few candles, spend some time thinking about my card for the day, and offer what some people might consider a prayer. I also borrowed a page from the GD/Thelema/ceremonial-magick book and made a categorical listing of the names of angels and archangels to be associated with each card. I use these as invocations.

Not sure if this is exactly what you were asking about, but I thought I'd share anyway.
 

Tanga

TAROT IN RITUALS! YES!

WAHEY! - at last someone's into 'Portable Magic' and is asking questions about it directly here on AT! :) :) :)

I am Wiccan (Alexandrian initiated - though I'm solitary now if you'd like the detail) and I love props and ritual. Like Nisaba, I have a few props (doubtful that a ritual Athame 1400 years old actually exists - as that word, Athame, is not that old, I think. Other forms of ritual blade maybe. But - I am not a historian, so I cannot make further comment on that here.), and like Nisaba, I do the "entering into the images of the cards" and "hanging of cards on the wall for their energy" amoungst a number of other things. All of which I consider "ritual".

Also - as she says - I doubt there are any recorded "traditional" Tarot rituals in existence. Apart from however the Golden Dawn have and perhaps still do use it (don't know these, as I'm not one of them).
The 1st I saw of Tarot cards being used actively in ritual was in a TV episode of Buffy the Vampire slayer over 10 years ago - where the character Willow (who is the practicing and growing witch of the series) uses it in a spell. :)

I presently have 3 Tarot decks set aside for ritual/magic:
1) Tarot of the Cat People (by Kyukendall).
I like this deck for use as Donald Tyson describes in his book (or my own variations of it) because the images are (to me) clear and stark, and I like them. They lend themselves easily to my "vision" if you like (I'm a fantasy and sci-fi fan, so Tarot set in alternate realities appeals to me) - and I find them easy to visualise in my minds eye.
I use this deck to "construct" my magic circle including banishing, calling the 4 quarters/elements, and invoking Deities/Entities etc. Then vice versa. Generally the cards are a wonderful visual guide and lend an air of "structure and gravitas" if you like - to my ritual.

I don't use them every time.
The use of Tarot as a tool in ritual, happens according to my mood, just as it does with all the other rituals items that I have.
One week - I might use my Traditional Wiccan pieces, of Wand, Chalice, Pentacle and Athame.
Another week I might use nothing but my imagination.
A third week - I might be away on holiday somewhere and just use props that have come directly out of my immediate environment - say knitting needle, tea cup, side plate and scissor (as opposed to Wand, Chalice, Pentacle and Athame).
And on the fourth week I might using Tarot for the whole thing. So nothing but the cards.

It keeps things interesting and gives a greater colourful variety of props to work with throughout the year, and during the 8 annual pagan festivals that I keep my eye on.

2) Barbara G Walker Tarot.
I've always loved the "Witch-like" imagery of this deck. Infact, it was one of my 1st decks and exploring it whilst reading the companion book by Barbara, was a strong influence on me investigating Wicca many years ago. I.e. it facilitated who and what I am in my spiritual practice today.
I've recently discovered it's great as a visual aid for when I practice my LBRP
(Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. A ritual that aims at clearing the space, and the individual of "cluttered" energy; grounding, aligning and strengthening, before the person embarks on magical ritual, or meditation, or even their usual journey into their day. Or for use possibly, if they wish to give their Tarot cards a massive "cleanse" etc. ad infinitum. Ofcourse what one is mostly "cleansing" imo - is the inside of one's brain.) :).

I recently posted this LBRP use here on AT (no replies. Perhaps I should have tried the Thoth section. :) ) - you'll need to look at the thread entitled "LBRP...and other things" (which is under 'Talking Tarot'. Sorry I'm presently unable to post the link directly to this page - I'm accessing AT via my Facebook page whilst on holiday and... it just gets a bit complicated from there. If the thread doesn't come up, look it up on my profile page under all the posts I've made. It wasn't that long ago.).

I may use either of these decks for imagery that represents other people when I'm in ritual mode - for example if I'm "sending healing thoughts" in their direction.
Y'know - like when one might use a photograph for distance healing (I know this format from Reiki - but it's not the only way people will use the photo of a person to focus on if they're "praying" for them).
I may also use the imagery from these decks as talismans for myself.
E.g. say I've been ill and my immune system appears to be slow recovering - I may choose a card that in some way speaks of swift recovery and strength and use that as imagery to meditate on - with the intension of boosting my immune system.
Or it might be my state of mind which I want to work on getting into a different shape for something particular... etc.

3) Golden Tarot (by Black). Recently just begun using this deck to communicate further with my spirit guides and perhaps at some point even my ancestors (after those recent threads on AT about using the "Tarot for ancestor work". Again - you'll have to search. I do have "spirit guides" but had never thought of communicating with them via cards - and as for my ancestors - well, I explain in the "Tarot for ancestor work" thread my personal reasons for why I'm somewhat reluctant to do ancestor work ;) :) ).

I also have the Pagan Lenormand which I suspect will become ritual deck no 4) at some point...
I shall discover how in time...

I see earthair may be into chaos magic. :) ( :) :) :) and including "dark" comments).

I might modify earth air's comment a bit here:
When people are beginning at the beginning - they do need to be "told" how to do something. Either through reading about how these things are "done": traditionally from grimmoires and the like, or/and in more modern forms, from having for example - the Reiki instructress say "This is the way to do this - using these symbols" - or the colour analyst say "this colour is a more peaceful and appealing colour - repaint your house with it and it's more likely that you'll sell it". etc. etc. etc. (magic is everywhere in many forms). What has to be added to that, is the understanding that the magic is really within the person (back to Nisaba again) - and their BELIEF. And - in the longstanding idea that "traditionally" practiced things (over and over through time) have greater power, simply because so many more people believe in them, that they perhaps develop a "group conscious" energy of their own. Or - that everyone has subconsciously "bought" into the belief.

The basic structure of something, and the roots or protocol, has to learned first (as with all things - in studying of any kind) - before improvisation and personalisation can follow.

Enjoy Donald Tyson's "Portable Magic" !
 

Ambrosia

I read somewhere once (can't remember where) that Tarot can be used as a full magical toolkit in and of itself. A complete and portable ritual cornucopia if you will...
The aces are your elements (or used in place of the chalice, wand, athame and pentacle), majors can be focal points (as can any card really), majors can also be likened to God/goddess (though so can court cards), minors to flesh out or bring more focus to the ritual...the possibilities are endless.

I don't really practice spells or anything like that, but for ritual focus and meditation tarot is wonderful.
I don't agree that you need one deck put aside (at least I don't, I tend to use whichever deck seems right for what I'm trying to achieve, or otherwise I'll use my favourite go-to deck because it is imbibed with all my energy and intent and I know it so well).

I have used Tarot in all of the ways above, as well as meditation, pathworking, creating a focal mandala, with crystals and other objects that lend themselves to the working...

I agree that magic lies within ourselves, the tools we use are merely to aid our focus but I'll admit, I'm a visual person, and Tarot is second to none for me for any kind of ritual use for those reasons.

Makes you feel light and free when all you need is a deck of Tarot in your pocket...

ETA - One little ritual I enjoy is consciously choosing an archetype to focus or meditate on. Then I will choose an object, usually a crystal, which I feel compliments the working. I'll lay the crystal on the card and visualise the message or lesson from the card absorbing into the crystal. The crystal can then be carried with you as a reminder. But then again, so can the card... :D
 

Tanga

I read somewhere once (can't remember where) that Tarot can be used as a full magical toolkit in and of itself. A complete and portable ritual cornucopia if you will...

Donald Tyson's "Portable Magic - Tarot is the only tool you need" - which the OP points to - gives an in-depth description of how to do this.


I don't agree that you need one deck put aside (at least I don't, I tend to use whichever deck seems right for what I'm trying to achieve, or otherwise I'll use my favourite go-to deck because it is imbibed with all my energy and intent and I know it so well).

No rule says you have to.
Depends how well you can separate in your head, the different uses of a deck.
That's quite individual.


I agree that magic lies within ourselves, the tools we use are merely to aid our focus but I'll admit, I'm a visual person...

:) Bring on the visual delight of props!
 

earthair

I recently posted this LBRP use here on AT (no replies. Perhaps I should have tried the Thoth section. :) ) - you'll need to look at the thread entitled "LBRP...and other things" (which is under 'Talking Tarot'.

I did ask Closrapexa if we could have a Magical use of Tarot section, but was told there weren't enough posts- maybe you and I should archive them all together?



I see earthair may be into chaos magic. :) ( :) :) :) and including "dark" comments).

:grin: I'm into experimentation with whatever I'm studying at the time... so yes I probably fall into this category of magician- I only wish chaos magicians would stop writing about meta this and meta that :joke: I prefer to think of myself as a Womble- making good use of the things that I find :angel: Plus the Wombles use the M/W symbol from Ace of Cups https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWQMMPFtoG4

I might modify earth air's comment a bit here:
When people are beginning at the beginning - they do need to be "told" how to do something. Either through reading about how these things are "done": traditionally from grimmoires and the like, or/and in more modern forms, from having for example - the Reiki instructress say "This is the way to do this - using these symbols" - or the colour analyst say "this colour is a more peaceful and appealing colour - repaint your house with it and it's more likely that you'll sell it". etc. etc. etc. (magic is everywhere in many forms). What has to be added to that, is the understanding that the magic is really within the person (back to Nisaba again) - and their BELIEF. And - in the longstanding idea that "traditionally" practiced things (over and over through time) have greater power, simply because so many more people believe in them, that they perhaps develop a "group conscious" energy of their own. Or - that everyone has subconsciously "bought" into the belief.

The basic structure of something, and the roots or protocol, has to learned first (as with all things - in studying of any kind) - before improvisation and personalisation can follow.

Nicely put :thumbsup: