Special Tarot Rituals

[EmpyreanKnight]

I am a newbie, just beginning an in depth study of the Tarot including its supplementary disciplines like astrology, the Kabbalah, etc. I just have a question that's very apropos for the coming holiday.

Do you have any special Tarot ritual/s you hold during specific days? Like Samhain/Beltane, the Christian Holy Week, during equinoxes/solstices, full moons, at the beginning of the year, every Tuesday/Friday, etc. This can be anything from the consecration of new Tarot decks or the purificafion of your current ones, or ones designed to increase their "powers" or just to bind them closer to you. Don't be afraid to put as much detail as you can, but please do mention where you learned them, whether from books or mentors or if it's a standard ritual of a society you belong to or an established practice of an order (like Wicca, Thelema, etc.). Thank you so much!

 

[Tanga]

Nope.
I have designated "ritual" decks that I use as-and-when, or at specific festivals/times of the year, but not a designated "time for focussing on tarot decks".
(I might get the urge occasionally to "charge" one of my decks by full moonlight - or "clear" it within a little ritual which has a Wiccan basis. For a run-down of my personal general Wiccan ritual format, check out post 3 here:
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=245701).

But - now that you mention it - I quite fancy adding an extra consecration/powering-up/re-affirmation of all my "ritual" decks - to the Samhain/Halloween ritual I already have planned.

 

[nisaba]

Do you have any special Tarot ritual/s you hold during specific days?

No.

Thirty years ago, even twenty years ago I might have, but not for a long time. I'm a bit over that.

Time is a continuum, dates mean, essentially, nothing. It took me over half a century to learn that, so I'm not expecting anyone to agree with me.

 

[SwordOfTruth]

Do you have any special Tarot ritual/s you hold during specific days? Like Samhain/Beltane, the Christian Holy Week, during equinoxes/solstices, full moons, at the beginning of the year, every Tuesday/Friday, etc. This can be anything from the consecration of new Tarot decks or the purificafion of your current ones, or ones designed to increase their "powers" or just to bind them closer to you. Don't be afraid to put as much detail as you can, but please do mention where you learned them, whether from books or mentors or if it's a standard ritual of a society you belong to or an established practice of an order (like Wicca, Thelema, etc.). Thank you so much!

I've always been a laissez faire kind of person when it came to spirit, until recently. Creating routine and stability in my life is a major life lesson for me this lifetime so now I am beginning to work with specific phases and seasons as a way to integrate a more structured way of living. But I don't think any of this is really necessary for developing good reading skills. I do it because it's personally significant to me, and I don't follow any traditions per se apart from the ones I create for myself.

I do like practising my own brand of magick because it adds an element of enchantment to my life which is something I really need to feel in order to be connected to my life experience. I am very much a water laden individual and can get vague and ungrounded quite easily which leads me into bad mental places if I don't feel connected to my life experience.

As with all things though each to their own.

 

[JackofWands]

On special occasions (birthdays, holidays, etc.) I'll generally pull out a deck and do a massive, in-depth reading. This year, I've been using the Golden Dawn's Opening of the Key spread quite a lot.

Aside from that? Meh, not really. I have a daily practice, where I'll light a few candles, pull a card for myself, and say a few words. I think it's much smaller-scale than what you're hoping to find, but there you have it.

 

[Tanga]

...Time is a continuum, dates mean, essentially, nothing. It took me over half a century to learn that, so I'm not expecting anyone to agree with me.

Yes.
Yes.
Meaning and structure is something that humans invented and like to have.
It's also more handy if one is trying to rally a group together to do stuff.
But - it's not "the truth'.

 

[Aunty Anthea]

No.

Thirty years ago, even twenty years ago I might have, but not for a long time. I'm a bit over that.

Time is a continuum, dates mean, essentially, nothing. It took me over half a century to learn that, so I'm not expecting anyone to agree with me.

Yes.
Yes.
Meaning and structure is something that humans invented and like to have.
It's also more handy if one is trying to rally a group together to do stuff.
But - it's not "the truth'.

I wholeheartedly agree with you both

Although some spirits do perform the same actions repeatedly at the same time of day/night, akin to the one I had who flushed the toilet at 3am every morning, I have never heard of a spirit wearing a watch

Humans invented structures and even religions in order to make sense of something far beyond human comprehension. Then they used those structures to control and suppress populations

 

[Tanga]

I wholeheartedly agree with you both

Although some spirits do perform the same actions repeatedly at the same time of day/night, akin to the one I had who flushed the toilet at 3am every morning, I have never heard of a spirit wearing a watch

But - they might have done in life! (or that time may just have been relevant even if watches didn't exist) So maybe that energetic bit is "stuck" too.

Humans invented structures and even religions in order to make sense of something far beyond human comprehension. Then they used those structures to control and suppress populations

Yup. We're such sneaky buggers really.

@EmpyreanKnight - so, I did as I described.
Within my ritual for Halloween/Samhain, I used one deck for the "reading" (Golden Tarot, by Kat Black),
and I placed my other designated ritual decks in the centre of my ritual circle and a) "cleared" them by ringing my tuning fork over them, (bought this years ago on-line. It's an "upper C" - it's short enough to fit in a pocket and is made of aluminium) b) focused on them as ritual decks and just thought something along the lines of "HI guys! - you are my ritual decks, thank you!.... looking forward to many more fruitful collaborations with you guys as my fabulous ritual tools".

 

[EmpyreanKnight]

Within my ritual for Halloween/Samhain, I used one deck for the "reading" (Golden Tarot, by Kat Black), and I placed my other designated ritual decks in the centre of my ritual circle and a) "cleared" them by ringing my tuning fork over them, (bought this years ago on-line. It's an "upper C" - it's short enough to fit in a pocket and is made of aluminium) b) focused on them as ritual decks and just thought something along the lines of "HI guys! - you are my ritual decks, thank you!.... looking forward to many more fruitful collaborations with you guys as my fabulous ritual tools".

Hey Tanga, thanks for this and for the previous link too! Simple, but sincere.

Mine was more of the same, and a bit impromptu to boot, as I do not really know any formal rituals for this. I conducted a personal rite opening three new decks I'd be heavily using (the Golden Universal, the Golden Dawn Magical Tarot, and the Kabbalah Cards) and consecrating two decks I've been using for some time (the Original Rider Waite and the Thoth Tarot). Basically the same thing as you, just lit a purple candle, contemplated each card of each deck, and passed each deck through the fire thrice (did that quickly though, I dont want to burn my cards heheh) while asking them to guide me in my journey, and let me see only what was true in the past and present, the most possible futures and how to get the best outcomes for these. Basically that was it. It was improvised, but I'd definitely be adapting that to more formal rituals I'm going to learn.

And yeah, I'd be using the candle in my future readings and rituals. I even brought it last night when we went to the tomb of our relatives and ancestors (in our country, this is a normal family event held between Halloween and the Day of the Dead). As I lit the candle, I offered a short prayer assuring them of my love and respect, and asking them to help me accuracy and foresight. This won't only redound to my personal benefit, but it will greatly help our family as well. I hope you guys won't think that this has necromantic overtones though.

 

[EmpyreanKnight]

Now, that you mentioned it Tanga, that bit about the tuning fork gave me an idea, thanks! See, I've always been interested in singing bowls. Aside from crystals ( I have a rose quartz chakra pendulum and will be getting a red jasper pendulum too), sound is also used to purify Tarot cards. I'd be buying myself one of those, I think these would fit my readings.

By the way, when I opened the Ciceros' Golden Dawn Magical Tarot kit, it came with this hugely informative book. It has lots of Tarot rituals in it. Previously, I planned to use the Tarot strictly for divination a d meditation only. I think I am going to try some of these though.