FAQ - Tarot reading rituals - info please!

MCsea

And after?

I just wondered if it was appropriate to add/ask here what do you do to conclude a reading?

I always try and disconnect (pink/white light) myself from the person I just did the reading for, I always do a quick shuffle between readings, I usually remember to leave cards out overnight either in the moonlight or under crystals (probably more for my piece of mind than anything else) and I like to 'pray' or have positive intent for the people I have just read for.

Sometimes its harder for me to let it go than to work up to a reading...

:)

MARINA
 

tarotbear

MCsea said:
I just wondered if it was appropriate to add/ask here what do you do to conclude a reading?

Put my clothes back on? :smoker:

O.K. - since I started this thread (four years ago!) It may be appropriate do discuss how I 'complete' the readings.

'Way back when I had a private Tarot room that I could close the door and it would remain undisturbed, things were simple. All I did was extinguish the candle, let the incense burn itself out, and fold the silk over my cards; they were going to be there whenever I was able to return.

Now when I conclude a reading, I replace the cards into the pack and shuffle a few more times to mix those cards back in. I place a 3-inch clear crystal point next to the pack and wrap it carefully in my silk and place the wrapped deck back into a carry bag for storage. I don't burn candles or incense any more; it was a great mood setter but now I end up doing readings at my PC and 'rituals' take up too much time. When I complete my move and have 'my own space' once more, I may return back to a more formal, ritualized manner.
 

WalesWoman

Ok, you answered my question just now Tarotbear. When you started this thread you asked what rituals people did before reading, but didn't say what yours was until just now, when you said how you closed it. :D

Before reading...I shove everything on the table to one side, scrape off the macaroni or spaghetti, then I shuffle. (only slightly kidding here, that's one reason I usually read in my bedroom)
when I'm done reading... I put my cards back in their box or bag. Not shuffling the deck again or mixing the last draw has helped me so many times, because if I didn't journal the reading...and want to look at the cards again to jog my memory... there they are.
 

tarotbear

WalesWoman said:
Ok, you answered my question just now Tarotbear. When you started this thread you asked what rituals people did before reading, but didn't say what yours was until just now, when you said how you closed it. :D

Thank you for bring up that point, waleswoman; I have come to hate a thread where someone asks a question about how or what people do, but never answers the question themselves. They find out everything about us but we never find out anything from them. From hereon in, I propose that if anyone asks a question along these lines that they tell us what they do first!

***

To elaborate, my Tarot Room was on the back of the house where the street noises could not reach. It had a nice sound system (with separate speakers, not a boombox) to play my mood CDs. My altar was also in there, along with my magickal 'stuff', so candles and incense were easy to obtain at a second's notice. I would extinguish the room lights and read by candlelight - usually taking my eyeglasses off. The round table (with two chairs) was always set up, so I could merely light the candles and incense, put on music, draw the blinds and turn off the lights and be in a 'tarot mood' rather quickly. It was wonderful, and I miss the experience. Hopefully, when I finish the move and have an 'office' once again, I will be able to start up like this again.
 

MCsea

Checks my post, wipes brow in relief thank the universe I offered my '2 cents' worth while posting......

Thank you for your responses.. the need or desire for ritual is a really personal thing isnt it... but so important too...

Tarotbear - here is to you regaining your personal space and tarot office ;)

I do many of my readings from my computer now too, and I have a semi alter I suppose at the side of the printer - crystals unicorns printer paper and a teddy bear.. amulet and OH a dictonary of first names.. hmm whats that doing there !


Marina
 

firecatpickles

When I do a reading by myself and my querent is far away, I light one candle in a closed room and then I leave, closing the door behind me. I re-enter and do the same thing (in and out) 3 times, bringing more and more ecoutrement into the room with me each time: sage, cards, totems, etc. Eventually I lay the deck I will be using in the center of my space, underneath my husbands Start of Solomon (a huge wooden structure) with a penny to the left, a pencil above, matched/smudge stick to the right; and a small bottle of oil underneath. After I have channeled the positive energy/my ancestral spirit guides (i.e., entering and exiting three times) and sweep the altar with my broom, I take off all my clothes and lightly coat the palms of my hands with 5 drops of essential oil; and I sit cross-legged and light a smudge-stick and purify the cards by making 5 counterclockwise motions over them and then over my head. I do the same thing clockwise but add an additional motion over my head for a total of 21.

When I shuffle the cards I ask the querent's question silently in my head while shuffling 8 times: "What makes us, [insert querent's name =x], spiritually free is the insight into who we were, x, what we have become, x, wherein we have been cast, x, where we have been, x,whereto we are hastening, x,what we will become, x,what birth really is, and what rebirth really is. I cut the deck 3 times and say "Christos, Logos and Sophia." I reassemble the deck the way I cut them out, for a total of 12 movements. Then I do an intuitive reading...

My husband thinks I have lost my mind.

KK
:THANG
 

fluffy

Honestly you do KK?

Bloody Hell KK, that is a lot of preparation, makes me a little guilty about how I do my readings! I write down the question on paper, put it infront of me, look at it whilst I shuffle and visualise the querent (or what I think they look like if I don't know). I stop shuffling when it feels "right" and deal out the cards. That's it :)

I may try lighting a candle next time, BTW I do sometimes coat my hands in essential oil (usually lavender 'cause I am worried about other oils staining my cards) because the smell calms me whilst I am shuffling.

Love Fluffy
x
 

firecatpickles

The whole thing only takes about 5 minutes. It seems like a lot but I'm a bit like a high-strung poodle who needs the relaxation...

KK
:THANG
 

Baroli

Reading Rituals

I do most of my readings in my livingroom. The TV is off, no sounds whatsoever, as I get easily distracted. No incense, candles, nothing to distract. Then I do deep breathing exercise to center myself, and begin to shuffle. If there is a person there, I ask them to think about what they are going to ask as I am shuffling. Being since I haven't done too many face to face in a good long while, I am still feeling my way. Now if I am using software and doing a reading to send to someone, for some reason it is easier to concentrate. I have had some very good readings doing that. But getting back to the subject, as long as it is quiet atmosphere, I am centered and ready to go.

Baroli :)
 

starrystarrynight

Geeze, am I the only one who asks for positive protection (through brief meditation) before asking the cards to read for me or my querent well? Doing a small ritual like that tends to ground me--I hope (think) it makes me do a better job.

And then I thank the cards when I'm done...if I remember. At least I try to at the end of the day.