It most certainly is. Tarot is a technique that aids in deepening our understanding of the present moment, honoring our intuition, and predicting future possibilities. Although it might seem complicated, the technique is actually quite straightforward.
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Tarot cards are available as gifts.
The holiday season is approaching, and if you’re looking for the ideal present for a buddy who leans toward metaphysics, go no farther than our list of the top tarot card decks. Even though we may have already compiled a list of the top presents for our fellow sister witches, we believed that the tarot merited its own comprehensive guide.
We picked 14 of the most unique and collectible tarot cards available as a vital divination tool for the contemporary witch (and, hey, curious non-witches, too).
These choices are guaranteed to be favorites, whether they are intended for a seasoned card reader wishing to upgrade from their Rider-Waite deck or a friend looking to explore the mystical for the first time. These major and minor arcana interpretations are true works of art in addition to being functional. If you need more proof, just look at Serpentfire’s gorgeous She Wolfe deck by author and artist Devany Wolfe or the ferociously feminist Slutist Tarot by artist Morgan Claire Sirene.
Bonus? These decks are perfect for beginners because some of them include their own tarot guides in the packaging.
Below are our top deck options for your companions’ (or your own) occult adventure.
Questions you don’t really want answered
Even though it might seem apparent, it’s advisable to refrain from asking the tarot cards questions that you aren’t prepared to hear the answers to. That’s because answers to these questions can reveal information you’re just not quite ready to hear.
“Tarot can definitely come off as offensive if you’re not willing to hear the truth or consider an opposing point of view. Tarot reading Nicole Fortunaso
According to tarot reader and life coach Nicole Fortunaso, “tarot may truly come out as offensive if you are not willing to hear the truth of the problem or look at an alternate viewpoint.” She advises considering why you’re responding the way you are in order to reflect on the best way to address the underlying cause if you ask the question and are unsatisfied with the response.
What should you do initially while using a Tarot deck?
What to Do First:
- Get out your tarot deck.
- In your hand, hold the cards.
- “Knock or tap the pile of cards numerous times while holding them in your palm to disseminate your energy throughout the deck.
- Shuffle the cards completely.
- The cards are divided into three heaps, which are subsequently reassembled into one pile.
My Tarot deck needs to be cleaned.
There are occasions when you might want to perform something more particular and ritualized rather than simply shuffling the tarot deck to purify and clear the energy of the cards. Cleaning your deck could seem like a nice place to start if you’re just starting to understand tarot.
You might want to clean your tarot deck for a variety of reasons, including:
- beginning with a fresh deck
- readings for other people
- You think you need to recharge.
- Your card readings seem a touch “odd” or “disconnected”
- Your deck hasn’t been used recently.
- Your deck has been handled by others
- You think you’ve been utilizing your deck a lot. A LOT, especially for books with strong emotional content
Why should you cleanse or clear your tarot deck?
Tarot deck cleansing helps keep the energy flowing between you and your deck. To keep the link strong and clear, think of it as a little spiritual hygiene. It’s not necessary, but if you have any of the aforementioned symptoms, try a few of the energetic cleansing techniques listed below and note which ones seem to work the best for you.
How often should you cleanse your tarot deck?
This is another way of stating USE YOUR INTUITION: there are no hard and fast laws. Don’t worry about it if you don’t think your deck need it. Alternately, if you like to cleanse them once per week or once per month, that’s great. If it feels appropriate to you, you can even place your favorite crystal on the balcony each night.
If you frequently place crystals on your deck and store it on an altar while not in use, you might not feel the need to cleanse it frequently because this quick ritual will likely be sufficient to keep your deck feeling nice.
There are numerous ways to cleanse your cards, just as there are numerous reasons why you might desire to do so.
Different ways to cleanse your tarot deck
Use holy smoke. Light a dried rosemary, lavender, cedar, sage, or palo santo cleansing wand until it begins to smoke. Hold the smoke a safe distance below the deck while holding the burning herbs in one hand and the deck in the other so that the smoke drifts upward onto the cards. Turn the deck so that the smoke covers it from all angles. Next, safely put your deck to the ground and put out the fire.
On the deck, set a selenite stone (or a black tourmaline or a transparent quartz). Although an hour would suffice, I prefer to let it rest like this for the entire night.
Set them on display during a new moon. The New Moon is energy of a blank slate; you can purify the deck by setting it on a window sill on a new moon night. At this moment, you can also make a brand-new intention for your deck.
Place the cards in a salty dish. A strong and stabilizing cleaner is salt. My preferred choice for a thorough cleansing is this. Allow it to sit anywhere from one to eight hours in a dry area.
Shuffle in chaos. Spread the cards out on the ground, then shuffle them around like a child playing in dirt. This method’s freedom and randomization serve as an excellent reset.
the shuffle and sort. Set up the deck in rows of seven cards across, commencing with the Major Arcana numbers 0 to 22. (see photo above). Next, arrange the cards, Ace through King, one for each suit, as follows: Swords, Pentacles, Cups, and Wands. View the deck in this configuration, then mix everything up (like the chaotic!) and shuffle it thoroughly.
After a breakup
Draw one card for each of the following inquiries if you’ve recently broken up with someone and want to know more about the reason or determine whether you’ll get back together:
- How energetic is the partnership right now?
- What caused the divide in the first place?
- What do they really think of me right now?
- What do they intend for me right now?
- What kind of relationship will this be in the future?
- Which action is ideal for me to take right now?
When job searching
You can lay out this spread and see what kind of career guidance the tarot can offer if you’re feeling uncertain about your career path or thinking about a new employment. Draw one card once more for each query.
- How active am I in my career right now?
- What challenge must I overcome?
- What is my calling in life?
- How can I follow this calling more closely?
- What should I do to prepare for the upcoming month?
When deciding between two options
This spread can highlight the benefits and drawbacks of each option, guiding you toward the best decision if you’re using tarot to decide between two possibilities (two job offers, two apartments, perhaps a love triangle???). The deal is this: Per card, pose one question.
- What is the fundamental cause of this fork in the road?
- What is the likely result of choosing option A?
- What is the most likely result for option B?
- What more should I take into account that was overlooked?
- What’s the best thing I can do right now?
When something is off with a friend
You may explore what insights and solutions this spread reveals if you’re concerned about the status of a friendship or feel that something is amiss but can’t figure out why. Ask one question per card, once more, I repeat.
- What makes this friendship so crucial?
- What led to this sudden change in tone, and why?
- What has changed, in my friend’s opinion?
- What can I do to make this matter more urgent?
- What is the next step for this friendship?
- What should I do at this moment?
Do tarot cards answer yes or no questions?
You can swiftly get solutions to specific questions with the aid of Tarot readings. Because they are so straightforward, yes-or-no tarot readings are great for novices. They consist of a specific question and typically one to three cards that stand for “yes,” “no,” or “maybe.”
How are tarot cards charged?
Leave your deck in a sacred location where you can “knead (shuffle) it each hour, giving it your magical power with your hands, for one waking day, much as you would a loaf of rising bread.” The greatest time to use this charge is when you’re taking a day off at home or in a retreat.
Can tarot readings be done during periods?
You would expect that by the year 2020, society will have overcome long-standing taboos and become more educated. In offices, hospitals, schools, and colleges, we surveyed a number of young ladies. But little appears to have changed. These are some things that women are still told today.
1. If you’re a woman and angry, you must be having a period.
2. If you’re a woman in pain, you must be having your period.
3. If you’re a woman and you’re walking funny, you must be having a period.
4. Even at home, while you’re on your period, you should have a separate room, dishes, and restrictions.
5. Consuming cold food or beverages can stop your flow.
6. You are unable to exercise, visit a place of worship, or swim when you are menstruating.
7. Avoid cooking, hair-washing, and handling dairy products or pickles when you’re menstruating.
8. Women often utilize the excuse of PMS to escape uncomfortable circumstances.
9. Tarot readings are not permitted during times.
10. Women are more susceptible to supernatural beings and are more easily possessed during their periods.
11. Periods for women are voluntary and controllable. Because they enjoy the drama and the days off, they have them every month.
We’re sure you’ve found many of them to be gratingly familiar if you’re a woman. But if, like us, you’ve rolled your eyes till you thought they might pop out of your head, pause and consider why.
Why do we still lack a fundamental understanding of how a woman’s body works physiologically in this day of rapid scientific advancement, a wealth of data, and the Internet? Modern, educated women may not wish to have children or be held captive by these misconceptions and lies about menstruation. However, the majority are helpless against ignorance, a lack of appropriate education, and ignorance.
It all boils down to what people were taught as children when it comes to how our friends, coworkers, family members, and neighbors believe. Don’t you think we would be having a different kind of discourse today, whether you live in a city, a small town, or a countryside, if having periods were accepted as normal rather than taboo?
The truth that there is nothing “impure about menstruation” does not empower young women. There has never been a greater pressing need for this topic’s education and understanding across cultural and economic boundaries. The changes in their bodies and how to handle them should be anticipated by young females. Girls can continue in school and aid working adult women, especially in more disadvantaged places, to keep gainfully occupied throughout the year by providing education, sanitary napkins, and sufficient water and bathroom facilities.
However, change won’t happen until there is a movement that holds the view that all women’s lives can be improved with a single switch. Instead of outdated misconceptions with no basis in reality, girls and women of all ages need to start hearing new messages. Two-thirds of young girls in smaller towns and villages frequently don’t understand what’s happening to them when they first encounter periods, whereas women in cities have advanced to using sanitary pads, tampons, or menstrual cups. When and how should they be informed?
when they are young and during academic coursework. Discussions regarding periods need to sound more like this while they are still in school and developing:
We should be more cognizant of our flow, menstrual patterns, and the potential for infections during our periods. However, it doesn’t weaken you.
No more than you would be if you bought yourself soap or toothpaste, purchasing sanitary napkins shouldn’t make you feel humiliated.
It’s not necessary to hide and discard used sanitary towels while no one is looking.
Contrary to women who use filthy wads of cotton or rags, using sanitary napkins can reduce your risk of developing cervical cancer.
Cheaper does not always equate to better. Look for goods and businesses that are making an effort to demonstrate their dedication to timely menstrual hygiene education (especially post COVID).
Whisper has been leading the effort for the past three decades, teaching 45 lakh girls in 40,000+ schools about menstrual health and giving away free sanitary pads. Not only have they taken on period taboos head-on, but they have also educated and empowered women to become change agents at the most fundamental levels and earn a living by selling sanitary products. This ought to be the legacy we leave for future female generations. We need to picture a society in which periods are not taboo and where people aren’t scared to talk about them, share information, and work to make the world a better and safer place for all.