Tarot cards are not just for fortune-tellers. You can use them to explore your own thoughts and emotions or as a tool in meditation or therapy. Tarot decks come with their own set of rules, so it’s important to know how to cleanse your deck if you want the messages they provide to be accurate. This blog post provides easy instructions on cleansing tarot decks!
Cleansing your Tarot cards is important. If you do not, your readings will not be good and you will not get a connection with the cards. On this website, I look at ways to cleanse your Tarot cards and when you should do them.
Why would you want to cleanse or bless your tarot cards? If they’re used – Who knows who originally owned the deck. Was there any negative, anxious, or obsessive energy linked with their usage? It’s preferable to clean them and tune them to you as the new owner.
It’s debatable whether or not it’s necessary to follow this belief. It is, however, optional if you believe your cards read differently after someone else has handled them. If you think that someone else’s touch affects how your cards read, don’t allow people to handle them. Otherwise, it’s a matter of personal taste -not a hard.
When Does A Tarot Deck Need To Be Cleansed?
You may know when you need to cleanse your Tarot cards because you will have a feeling that something is not right. You may also feel this feeling when there are different situations, such as:
- Your cards have been touched by other people.
- You’ve purchased a new or secondhand Tarot deck.
- You’ve completed a particularly tiring Tarot reading.
- For a long time, your Tarot cards have been dormant or in use.
- You’ve been exposed to a lot of negative energy (for example, a particularly terrible client, or a difficult situation in your personal life)
- Your Tarot readings are becoming jumbled, disconnected, or “stuck.”
- Your cards have fallen on the ground, or they’ve had an accident of some sort.
- You only want to reconnect with your cards.
The most common reason for cleaning a tarot deck is that it has become dusty or dirty. Other reasons include:
- Getting started with a new deck
- Taking readings for others
- You feel like you need a change.
- Your card readings seem “off” or disconnected.
- You haven’t used your deck in a long time.
- Others have dealt with your deck.
- You feel like you’ve been using your deck A LOT lately — particularly for emotionally charged readings
How To Clear And Cleanse A Tarot Deck
There are a variety of ways to cleanse your Tarot deck and remove negative energy. The most important thing is to select the method(s) that feel right for you and the circumstances (e.g., one technique between readings, and another to cleanse once a year). Here are a handful of different methods for cleaning and purifying a Tarot deck:
Sorting and Shuffling. Sort your cards in order, starting with the Major Arcana. Put them into each of the suits of the Minor Arcana. Do not look at each card too closely, but remember their special message for you. Sort your cards. Put them in order. Shuffle them and put energy into the cards. Some people like to shuffle their cards seven times and then put them in a big pile. Others prefer to shuffle the cards and pick one randomly. There is no right answer, so do what feels comfortable to you.
Meditation. Hold your cards in both hands. Close your eyes and relax. Allow yourself to be free of any thoughts and feel the cards. You may want to picture the energy from the universe flowing through you and your cards. You can surround your cards with white light. If you know how to use healing energy to cleanse your cards by channeling it through them. This is my favorite because I can do it when I have a break between reading to someone. It helps me concentrate and focus on the next person.
Moon Bath. For your cards, the moon is a fantastic energy source. You may just lay your cards on a window or even in the yard to absorb the moonlight. This time is often used to perform a distinct ceremony or re-enact important incantations in order to purify their Tarot cards.
Salt Burial. When you draw out negative energy from your cards, use salt in the same way you would use it to draw away moisture from a meal. To begin, cover your Tarot deck in a plastic bag as firmly as possible. After that, place your wrapped cards in an airtight container that is larger than your Tarot deck and fully encircle them with salt on all sides, above and below. It’s critical that the container is airtight, because salt not only absorbs the energies from a Tarot deck well but also any moisture in the air, potentially harming your cards. Keep the cards close to the salt for at least a few days or a week before removing them and eliminating the salt.
Fresh Air. Place your cards outside after a rain shower or even while the sun is shining to absorb the moisture and breathe in the healing rays. Of course, keep in mind the practicalities and be cautious not to place them in a high-traffic area or at risk of being blown away!
Smudge Stick. Simply pass the cards through the smoke several times after burning a little dried sage or rosemary (or using a store-bought smudge stick). You can also cleanse any crystals you employ throughout the procedure.
Elemental Clearing. The technique of elemental clearing is about using different techniques that are aligned with each of the four elements used in the Tarot. For Earth clearing, go with the Salt burial; for Water cleansing, try the Moon Bath or a sprinkling of water on your cards; for Fire removal, pass your cards over a candle; and for Air purification, try using a smudge stick. You may want to go through each of the four components in more depth for a thorough cleaning.
Readers generally perform some form of clean-up when they read, whether it’s a simple shuffle of the cards or a meditation. Sometimes you may want to do a more substantial cleaning procedure to rejuvenate your cards. Again, pick what method and frequency feel right for you.
How to Keep Your Cards Clean
How do you keep your Tarot cards clean after they’ve been cleansed? Here are a few suggestions:
- Keep your Tarot cards in a unique cloth or in a special Tarot box to protect them.
- Quartz crystals are excellent absorbers of energy. If you want to keep your crystal clean, use any of the methods described above to clean it.
- Place your Tarot cards on an altar created specifically for this purpose.
Why should you cleanse or clear your tarot deck?
Cleaning your tarot deck is a great way to keep the energy between you and your deck flowing. Consider it as a mini spiritual hygiene session to keep the connection clean and in good working order. It’s not necessary, but if you’re feeling any of the above symptoms, consider clearing your deck energetically in a number of different ways (see below) and which ones seem to work best for you.
How often should you cleanse your tarot deck?
There are no hard and fast guidelines to follow, which is one way of saying trust your instincts. If you don’t think your deck needs it, don’t worry about it. If you want to cleanse them once a month or every six weeks, that’s fine. You may even place your favorite crystal on the deck each night if that feels right to you.
If you’re putting crystals on your deck and setting it up as an altar when you aren’t using it, you may not feel the need to cleanse it frequently because this tiny ceremony can be enough to keep your deck feeling great.
Clearing A Brand New Deck
When you get a new tarot or oracle deck, the energy it picked up throughout the manufacturing process, packaging, display, and delivery must be cleared. Also, you need to imprint your own energy onto the deck so that you can work as part of a team when performing readings.
- Remove the box from the package.
- Take the cards in your hands and pay attention to how they feel.
- Set the goal of purging the cards of any energy they’ve acquired on their journey.
- Focus your attention on clearing the deck in your hands by breathing deeply.
- Take a few deep breaths, keeping the CLEARING goal firmly in mind.
- Viola! Your new deck is squeaky clean and ready to be used.
You may also perform this intention-setting ritual with a used deck you purchase, but I also recommend working on a deeper cleansing of a deck that someone else read to completely get rid of any energy residue from the previous owner.
How to Cleanse and Bless Your Tarot Cards
1. Incense/Smudging
Incense is one of the most frequently utilized techniques for washing tarot cards.
In purification ceremonies, many religious groups burn incense. White sage, sweetgrass, or palo santo are some of the most common incenses used for cleansing in the West. Palo santo is my favorite because of its woodsy scent and bright essence.
Choose an incense with a good or purifying energy associated with it.
Some people clean each card in their deck one at a time. But if you want to do it with the whole deck, that is okay too!
Clear the energy in your reading space before and after reading. This is common practice for tarot readers.
If you love incense but are allergic or sensitive to smoke, make use of essential oil-based cleansing sprays. Cleansing sprays are fantastic.
There are sprays made from a variety of base oils, including sage and palo santo. Simply spritz your area and yourself for that aura-cleansing goodness to take effect. Keep in mind not to spray your cards directly; otherwise, you might harm them.
2. Under the Full Moon
Place your tarot cards on a table or in a window seat where the moon’s light will shine upon them.
Every 29 days, the moon is entirely full. You may download apps that will notify you a few days before the full moon. I use Deluxe Moon Pro and Briana Saussy’s Astro Rx calendar, which can be downloaded to your phone.
The moon moves through the twelve zodiac wheel positions as it changes phases. You may also charge up your deck with an intention using the zodiac sign of the full moon, which is one of the strongest symbols in magic.
Capricorn is associated with business, career, and authority. Let’s pretend it’s a full moon in Capricorn. To give your deck properties relating to business and employment, cleanse and charge it under that moon. You may study on business or career issues for yourself or for clients that night, or the next morning. On matters ruled by Capricorn, your deck would have a bit more oomph.
If that’s too complex, moonlight is just as good!
3. A Sun Bath
You may leave your cards out during a sunny day, or in a location where they will get enough sunshine.
In a humid climate, I wouldn’t suggest this; unless warped or bent cards don’t matter to you. Cards have even warped from exposure to the late afternoon sun, regardless of whether they’re kept inside or outside on my reading table. I acknowledge that I reside in a hot and humid climate. Your results may vary! This is still a fantastic approach to charge your cards with good, light energy if you wish to do so.
4. Singing bowl
If you have one, give it a try. Some people believe that the sound of the bowls can purify and tune individuals or things. As you ring your deck, place it in the bowl or in the vicinity of the bowl.
5. Reiki
Reiki is a type of energy therapy that uses the hands as channels for energy. Traditionally, Reiki instructors are recognized by a teacher or organization. If you’ve studied Reiki, use it to cleanse your cards. If you’re not trained in Reiki, think about what you want while meditating with the cards in your hands.
6. Salt
Some people swear by the salt method. Wrap your cards in plastic and bury the deck in a container of salt, according to many readers. If it interests you, go ahead and try it. Personally, I find the idea of swiping through a deck to be excessively cluttered as well as jeopardizing my cards’ wellbeing (can you tell how particular I am about my cards yet?). Many tarot practitioners, on the other hand, appreciate this technique.
Place your cards on top of a Himalayan salt slab if you’d like to keep them clean. They’re available in most large supermarkets.
7. Crystals
Tarot and crystals go together like peanut butter and jelly. One of my favorite techniques for rejuvenating and cleansing a tarot deck is to utilize gemstones. When not in use, place a clear quartz point on top of your deck. It’s simple.
Here are some cleansing tarot card crystal suggestions:
Clear quartz – The card is drawn from the deck and cleansed. It also enhances the cards’ energy.
Selenite – Connecting with your spiritual guides and cleansing your energy.
Black tourmaline – It reduces static electricity and grounding. It absorbs negative energy.
Amethyst – Quartz has similar properties as other types of quartz, however, it also enhances psychic abilities and intuition.
You may put the crystals on top of, between, or beneath your cards.
8. Knocking on the deck
That’s correct. As you would a door, knock three times on your tarot deck.
People told me that this both cleans the cards and wakes them up. I think they are animists. This is the best way to clean cards that I have ever found. It is easy and fast.
9. Blowing on the cards
There are people who can make their cards disappear by doing this.
Using your breath for cleansing is an intriguing method. I don’t know the origin of this practice, but it reminds me of gambling folklore. Players will frequently blow on cards in Baccarat, a card game, to remove bad luck. This practice is also observed in dice-based games, where players blow on dice for good fortune.
This technique of creating a deliberate, written connection to the past may have originated with tarot’s origins as a card game. Whatever the case may be, it works for a lot of people!
10. Visualization and meditation
Visualization is a technique that can be used to clean tarot cards. It might help to imagine a ball of light or wind blowing away the energy on the cards. You could do this while shuffling or holding the cards in your hands.
Similarly, some people say prayers to cleanse and charge their cards. When you are deciding on a prayer or meditation for your cards, ask yourself what you want your deck to help you with. You can have it help with guidance from the spirit or your higher self, serve the people who use it or help with healing.
11. Reordering the deck and shuffling
This is how I get to know decks that have been in storage for a while or meet new ones.
To do this, reshuffle a shuffled deck from beginning to end, starting with the Major Arcana and finishing with the Minor Arcana. So for me, it starts at 0 with the Fool and finishes at 22 with the World. I build up the suits in ascending order from Ace to 10, with the court cards starting at Page, Knight, Queen, and ending with King. They’re all returned to a stack (no preference for which suit goes first).
WHY CLEANSING YOUR TAROT CARDS IS IMPORTANT
Do tarot cards work if they aren’t cleansed, cleared, and charged? Of course. I believe they will. Even though the subtle energies aren’t maintained, you may still interpret archetypes and read cards.
However, over time, you’ll need to clear out your cards and replenish them, just as you would your computer or phone.
Consider it this way: if you had a stunning painting on your wall and it accumulated dust year after year, your capacity to see and enjoy it would be damaged. Even if the change is minor, it’s no longer as evident when something was new and vibrant.
Different ways to cleanse your tarot deck
Use holy smoke. Fill smoking rosemary, lavender, cedar bark, sage, or palo santo cleansing wand with burning until it begins to smolder. Place the herbs and deck on the table with one hand while holding smoke just above the cards with the other. Ensure that the entire deck is immersed by the smoke. Set your deck down and safely extinguish the smoke.
Place a selenite stone (black tourmaline or clear quartz) on the deck for overnight use. I like to leave it like this overnight, but an hour would also do the trick.
Put them out under a New Moon. On a new moon night, you may cleanse the deck by putting it on a window sill. You may also create an entirely new purpose for your deck at this time.
Stick the cards in a bowl of salt. Salt is a powerful and grounding cleanser that can be used to cleanse your body, mind, and spirit. This is my favorite method for a complete cleanse. Allow it to sit for 1-8 hours in a dry place (be wary of humidity!)
Create a very chaotic shuffle. As if you’re a kid playing in the mud, spread the cards out on the floor and mix them up. This method’s unpredictability and freedom is excellent for resetting your mind.
The sort and shuffle. Starting with the Major Arcana cards 0-22 in lines of 7 cards across (as shown above), layout the deck. Layout the cards Ace through King in order of each suit, starting with Wands, followed by Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. Mix everything up (like the chaotic!) and shuffle well after viewing the deck in this form.
CLEANSE YOUR CARDS BASED ON YOUR CULTURAL BELIEFS
The finest approach to figure out what will work for your method of clearing or cleansing is to consult with your own spiritual ideas and techniques.
The most effective technique to care for your cards energetically is to connect the process with whatever is significant to you, whether it’s based on your spiritual practices or simply what works for you.
The simplest approach to do this is to perform the procedure in a straightforward manner. This allows you to direct the bulk of your attention toward the task of clearing and purifying your cards.
TAROT DECK CARE AND MAINTENANCE
In addition to the spiritual and metaphysical aspects of maintaining your deck, there are mechanical factors to consider.
Do you enjoy reading for your own pleasure or to share with others? If you read for others, you should think about whether or not you want strangers to handle your cards.
However, regardless of whether or not you allow others to handle your tarot cards, it is important to clean and purify them on a regular basis. Consider cleaning and purifying your cards once a month if you only handle them yourself.
If you let others use your cards, then you will need a separate deck for readings. You will not want to let the other person touch your personal deck.
In order to get a more comprehensive clearing of the energy from a previously used tarot deck, I recommend the following:
Smudging
A sage smudge stick or incense stick is another approach to clean and clear the energy of a new tarot. You may clean the energy of your tarot oracle deck by smudging it straight out of the box, as well as after you’ve been using it for some time.
I recommend passing a little smoke over each card. You may do this quickly and easily by keeping the deck in one hand and the smudge stick in another. You can either push each card off the deck onto the table below with your hand holding the smudge stick or grasp each card separately and hold it above the smoke issuing from your smudge
This can be done once a month if you like. If you have a lot of readings with the same deck, do it once a week instead.
Reiki Your Deck
If you are a Reiki practitioner, you may clear your tarot or oracle decks using Reiki after they have been used for a while. I feel as if I’m strengthening my connections with my decks and releasing their potential when I Reiki them.
What is the best way to send Reiki to your tarot or oracle deck?
- Establish a Reiki link with your clients.
- Keep the deck in your grasp.
- Draw a Cho Ku Rei or Dai Ko Myo symbol. * If you haven’t reached Level 2, simply allow the Reiki to flow.
Your deck will feel more alive as a result of the Reiki healing. It’s like a flow from the deck to me, and it always feels wonderful.
Crystals
Crystals can act as powerful allies in assisting you in cleaning and purifying your tarot and oracle decks. There are a number of different options available to assist you to clean your tarot and oracle card decks, both of which will allow you to quickly clear them between readings or if they begin to feel odd or sluggish.
Clear Quartz
You can keep your decks in a Clear Quartz that has been set with the goal of clearing and safeguarding them between sessions. You may also place the Clear Quartz in your tarot bag or silk scarf where you store them.
Selenite
Selenite is a high-vibe crystal that can be used to clean your tarot and oracle decks in between sessions, as well as a part of a regular cleaning and clearing regimen. Selenite may also be used to cleanse your inner space in the same manner as other gemstones, such as amethyst. You can either tap the entire deck with your Selenite wand, lay it down, and sleep on it overnight with a Selenite on top, or go through each card one by one to remove them.
Black Kyanite
Black Kyanite fans are also wonderful energy cleansers that can reset the energy of your tarot or oracle deck. You’d use it similarly to a Selenite wand: tap the deck, lay it on a Black Kyanite, then store it with a Black Kyanite on top.
Amethyst Bed
If you have a large, beautiful piece of Amethyst, you may keep your deck on top of it to protect the energy of the cards.
Rose Quartz, Labradorite, and Lapis Lazuli are other kinds of crystals. They make you feel like the tarot is easier to read. But they might not be the best kind to use for clearing your deck.
The Moon
Setting your deck on the windowsill during a full moon can help to clear and recharge the cards. You can set out the whole deck, you don’t need to spread them out or lay them out individually. Again, this is an exercise in intention setting and letting the moon do her beautiful thing in clearing and charging your tarot deck.
Reorganize Your Deck
Another approach I use to discharge the energy from my tarot decks is to arrange them. For each suit, I arrange the cards from the Fool to the World in the Major Arcana, and then I stack the Minor Arcana in ascending order from Ace to King for each suit. This is followed by stacking of the suits in this order: Pentacles, Wands, Cups, Swords (to indicate a rising progression of elements).
Of course, give them a good mix before reading with them again to ensure that they are thoroughly mixed and have a random layout.
What NOT to Do if Your Tarot or Oracle Decks Need Cleaning and Clearing
Water-Based Clearing Techniques
Water will cause your decks to warp and deteriorate. Don’t do it. LOL! Spraying them with holy water, moon water, or a spray-based mist may harm your cards.
Salt
Another thing that is wonderful for absorbing bad energy is salt. However, salt can cause havoc on your deck if used incorrectly. Salt can damage the paper stock of your cards by causing them to dehydrate.
What To Do With A New Tarot Deck
When you buy a new Tarot deck, it’s important to be aware of the three methods of reading a card. These methods are sometimes called the common way, the card-oriented way, and the object-oriented way.
Organize your cards according to which casting method you’d like to use for this reading. Mixing them up may affect any subsequent readings that you do with these cards!
The Common or “intuitive” Way is suggested if you’re not sure how best to read individual cards – shuffle them around and lay them out in whatever order feels right at that current moment of time. The Card-Oriented Method is helpful when working with any Tarot deck that has certain sets regarding themes (i.e. the Celtic or Tree of Life decks). The object-oriented method is used when you want to focus on a particular card and its individual meanings, such as in a reading for yourself.
Tarot cards can be difficult to understand sometimes! If you’re confused about any aspect of your deck – don’t hesitate to ask us questions! We love helping people out and learning new things!
How To Connect With A New Tarot Deck
To connect with a new Tarot deck, it is necessary to do the following:
– center self and ground energetically. This can be done by going into a dark room, closing your eyes, and releasing any extraneous thoughts that may be running through your head. It also helps if you rock back and forth for a few minutes or simply take deep breaths.
– go through each card in the deck one at a time, asking them questions about themselves such as “How old are you?” or “What do you want from me?”. The cards will talk to you in their own language so try not to resist when they answer your questions in images instead of words. You will know when they have answered because you will see the images in your mind.
– make sure you thank each card after asking them questions and before setting them down on top of your deck, face up or face down to be shuffled. Thanking each one will show that you acknowledge their presence and respect their wisdom!
Ask for their help with whatever issues are troubling you at this time!
– Once you have finished your questions, go ahead and shuffle the cards. You may wish to ask for guidance from a higher power such as angels or spirit guides. They can help connect you with this wisdom!
– After shuffling and asking again, cut the deck into three piles starting with yourself on top of one pile then moving clockwise for the next two piles.
– Lay down your top three cards and see what guidance they can offer you!
How To Charge Tarot Cards In Moonlight
Methods of charging Tarot cards (and other similar items such as crystals and pendants) vary, but it typically involves exposure to or holding in the moonlight. Exposure may not be for a prolonged duration due to possible “energy drainage,” so while some people might think this is a way of making the item more potent, you’ll soon find that your memory and other cognitive faculties will quickly deteriorate and subsequently become useless if you take too long. So I recommend only 15-minutes of exposure every night, preferably two nights before use if possible, for best results.
Many other methods exist such as soaking the cards in milk under the full moon. Keep in mind that because milk contains both water and fat these should ideally be removed before use if you plan to store the cards in it.
Some people have said that this method works best with round items such as crystals, so try removing them from their packaging and placing each one in a glass of water or bowl of milk during full moon hours for several nights in a row. You should see some pretty amazing results!
How To Bless Tarot Cards
There are many different ways to try to be more in touch with what your Tarot cards have to say. Whenever you read them, it’s important to set the tone for the reading and make sure that you give it your undivided attention. If you do all of these things, you will feel like a higher power is guiding and giving the purpose of your words:
First and foremost, always shuffle and cut (also known as shuffling and cutting) the deck before starting a new reading. Shuffling not only mixes up all of the cards within each other but also clears out any residual energies from previous readings that may be lingering over time. Cutting breaks down those residual energies into smaller pieces until they’re gone for good.
In order to bless the deck, it is best to do this with a ceremony. You can either light some incense or sage in your hand and waft the smoke over each card as you ask for protection from any harmful spirits that may be lurking around them, or simply hold both hands gently above the cards while chanting something along these lines: “I ask for your protection. May the highest good surround you and remain with you always.”
Then, either bury or burn (also known as burning) them outside to release any unwanted energies that may have attached themselves over time. You can also keep the cards in a cloth bag when not using them so they are never exposed to anything harmful.
Most importantly, if you take care of your cards and bless them every few weeks or so, they will take good care of you!
How To Read Tarot A Modern
Reading tarot cards is never a straightforward task, and it can take years of practice to learn. There is an infinite number of things affecting the reading that could prevent you from understanding the message behind a card or neighboring cards, or even a complete deck. For example, if your intuition is telling you that something is going to happen in your future but you drew a card with nothing happening on it, then draw attention to yourself! Forgive me if I seem overly dramatic when I tell you this – especially if the future didn’t include any devastating natural disasters – but there’s no do-over in life so stay mindful of what your gut says!
Now that you know how to cleanse your tarot cards, hopefully, they will provide the answers and guidance you need in order to move forward with confidence. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about this topic, please leave a comment below! We’d be happy to help answer any of your queries so we can continue providing helpful information for our readers.
