How To Break In A New Tarot Deck

You can experience confusion and overload if this is your first experience with tarot and other woo-woo practices. You quickly shuffled your cards before flipping over each one one at a time. It’s not like you’ll be able to instantly remember what all the cards signify, and you still don’t feel ready to pick cards for yourself or others.

Breathe in deeply. Not all of us instantly become instant readers the moment we hold a deck of cards.

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Focus first on giving your new tarot deck a hefty break-in.

You need to play your cards a little bit, just like you would with a pair of running shoes, a hard pair of pants, or homemade pizza dough. Allow them to stretch a little. Let them help you exercise your tarot-reading skills.

Whether you’re a preternaturally woowoo person or a pragmatic person (like me), there are ways to use your new tarot deck a first time that will help you break them in.

You can get to know your deck on your own terms by using these exercises, which are suitable for both muggle-centric tarot aficionados and ritual-obsessed witchy individuals. Consistently using these methods can gradually pique your interest in learning the tarot within the parameters that your new deck establishes.

How does a tarot deck get going?

What to Do First: Get out your tarot deck. The cards are in your hand. Take a few deep breaths and request the presence of your spirit guidesor whoever you feel is communicating on your behalfduring the reading.

How can a fresh tarot deck be energized?

It’s time to program a deck with intention once it has been properly cleansed and is prepared for a reading.

Vanderveldt advises holding the deck in your hands while saying aloud your goal for it after spending a few minutes lighting a candle or making an intentional area.

Magdaleno enjoys verbally declaring his intentions when making them. She shuffles the deck and announces the purpose of the reading and what she will be drawing cards for aloud before each reading.

She explains that, for instance, she will state aloud as she shuffles her deck, “I’m performing a career reading for myself and will be choosing three cards that represent my career past, present, and future.

According to Vanderveldt, you can even use a tarot spread to assist you clarify your intention. She advises posing queries to your deck, such as, “How am I supposed to work with this deck in this season?” How can I help this deck’s goal in the greatest possible way? What strategy would be beneficial?

How is a fresh Tarot deck connected?

Advice on connecting with your tarot cards whether it’s your first time using them or you’ve owned your deck for a while.

Connecting or reconnecting to your deck can be a helpful activity, regardless of whether you haven’t picked up your deck in a long, are hesitant to conduct a reading for yourself, feel “wrong” with the readings you’ve been conducting, or have purchased a new deck.

Check out Reading Tarot for Beginners: How to Start Reading Tarot for Yourself for advice on how to pick your deck.

Being a competent reader requires you to connect with your tarot deck. But you must invest time, effort, and attention in a good relationship.

How can I tell if I’m not meant to work with a deck or I just need to reconnect?

The connection you have with the deck has to be strengthened, or it might not be the best fit for you at this time, if you’re having trouble getting a good reading from it or feel off with it.

It’s possible that you and your tarot deck aren’t intended to be in a serious long-term relationship if you don’t feel like you connect with it or if you don’t appear to speak the same language. There is a deck available for you if you want to learn, therefore this does not imply that you are not destined to be a reader.

However, there’s also a strong chance that you can establish the connection with a little time and effort. especially if you were initially drawn to your deck.

You can utilize some decks for specific purposes and not others. The majority of your magic will probably be performed with one main deck, although you may occasionally use other decks for fun, support, or clarity. Since decks are exquisite works of art, I love collecting them. And I adore using them when I want to switch things up or am performing a certain style of reading, but I only use my original ride or die deck for all of my professional readings and lectures.

All of this is to indicate that testing out a variety of decks is a wonderful idea. For your first deck, conduct some study, examine the imagery, and choose the one that sparks your interest.

Here are some methods for getting back on your deck. I’ve listed them in the sequence I’d perform them, but you should feel free to customize this exercise according to your own preferences.

How to connect with your tarot cards

You can accomplish this in a number of ways, including by shuffling, using crystals, moonlight, salt, or sacred incense. Click here to learn more about cleaning your deck.

Hold your cards firmly in your palms while taking a few deep breaths. After that, think about the intention you want to have for your practice with them. It could be a word, a sentence, or an emotion. You can use this time to ask any guides or spirits you enjoy working with for assistance or to help you open your channel to divine advice that is in your highest and best interests.

Cleaning the energy in the deck through shuffling. Additionally, it creates the random system that allows us to access the advice we need from the deck. We can gain a completely new viewpoint from the cards because of the randomness that shuffling creates; by doing so, we are deviating from logic and embracing the unknowable. Check out this article on card shuffling.

To get to know one another, gain some fresh perspectives, and, yes, bond, spend some time completing a tarot spread that is tailored to your deck.

What details about you do you want me to know?
Your restrictions?
What type of partnership are we capable of having?

What task are we supposed to complete jointly?
Which card can currently be my teacher?
How can I use this card to explore deeper?

Make putting your deck away a ceremony. You might keep it in a box, cover it in a special scarf, place a crystal on top of it, or place it on an altar while not in use. Choosing to follow this quick procedure at the conclusion of each session or day is a way to show your deck some love, gratitude, and appreciation.

Bonus Tarot bonding exercises:

the whole picture The Major Arcana numbers 0 to 22 should be arranged in lines of seven cards across. Next, arrange the Ace through King cards for each suit in the following order: Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. Take a good look at the deck in this format. Then thoroughly jumble everything together.

Select a map. To serve as your anchor and guide for connecting with your deck and intuition, choose a card based on its look and/or its meaning. Write down all the thoughts, emotions, and queries this card triggers for you in a journal. Use it to meditate. Keep track of how it manifests in your daily life and tarot practice (and keep a notebook of your observations!). When not using your deck, place this card on your altar. You can carry out this for a week or a lunar cycle before selecting another.

Put your deck beneath your pillow while you sleep. You can connect with the cards in your unconscious time if you can make it comfy.

Also keep in mind that it takes time to establish a connection and relationship with your deck. Like any relationship, it evolves as you develop and gain new knowledge.

What must I do before I read the cards in my tarot deck?

Tarot is definitely in vogue. Even if it weren’t frequently reaffirmed in the comments of our Fool’s Journey series, it is evident from the way tarot is sprouting up everywhere that an increasing number of people are taking up a deck of cards to see what it can do for them.

Hurrah in the first place if you’re one of those people! I’m so happy you made that decision! Tarot is stimulating, imaginative, enjoyable, thought-provoking, motivating, and, in the end, I think it may change your life. Tarot cards can be used for practically anything you can imagine, including problem-solving, getting to know yourself and your friends, planning, and meditation. There are as many ways to read tarot cards as there are people, and the tarot community is enormous and diverse. Once you have your cards, it is entirely up to you how you want to use them. It can be as mystical, as realistic, or both.

It can be intimidating to learn your first tarot deck, though. How can you begin to understand what each of those cards means? And how exactly do you do a reading? Do you read for yourself, other people, or both? What exactly does it imply when someone claims to be using their intuition? And just what is a “tarot spread” exactly?

Ah, indeed, there is much to learn. But don’t let this overwhelm you; if you have a deck of cards, you already have all you need to begin developing a rapport with them and increasing your self-assurance. Here are some advice I have for beginning.

Get used to holding the cards in your hands

Make it a practice to pick up your cards and shuffle them whenever you find yourself in a bind. If you’re not a natural shuffler or they initially feel awkward in your hands, don’t worry; just keep picking them up and they’ll start to feel more normal.

Daily cards

I know I keep saying this, but truly, this is a terrific, easy method to progressively get to know your cards. It’s an easy procedure. Every morning, choose one card and take a moment or two to truly look at it, identifying any symbols, colors, or other aspects of the image that stand out to you. then research it online or, if you have a book, in it. For the remainder of the day, keep your card in mind. Where in your daily life do you see certain energies, behaviors, or thoughts expressed?

For bloggers and journalers, this is a pretty common practice, and it’s actually how my site got started. Here is an archive of my personal “daily sketch” posts.

Get a good book

There is absolutely no shame in researching tarot card interpretations. I say this as a seasoned reader who frequently searches through her books to see what various authors have to say about this card or that. Yes, you will eventually form your own opinions regarding the meanings of the cards, but when you first begin, I highly suggest having a book on hand.

Some decks, such the Steampunk, Wildwood, and Shadowscapes Tarot, include substantial instruction manuals. If yours didn’t, the following suggestions are for you:

Tarot trainingJoan Bunning
Eighty-seven levels of wisdom

Pollack, Rachel
21 Ways to Interpret a Tarot Card
John K. Greer

Oliver Pickle’s She Is Sitting in the Night: Revisioning Thea’s Tarot

There are many free sources available as well if you’re on a tight budget to research the meanings of the tarot cards. My two favorites are Biddy Tarot and Joan Bunning’s Learn Tarot (the complete text of her book is available online).

Dive right in and try a simple self-reading

The first time you read for yourself could feel unusual if you’ve never done it before. Not to worry! It seems completely strange to sit down with a deck of cards and ask them about your life, but you’re going to do it nevertheless.

Tarot readings don’t require a special sacred setting, but some peace and quiet are a good idea. Grab a cup of coffee, shut the door, and make a little space for yourself by organizing your workstation, coffee table, or blanket. To cut down on distractions, put your phone away.

Before reading their cards, some people like to perform a small ritual.

anything you choosegrounding, praying, lighting a candle, etc. Or you might just start by closing your eyes and taking a few really deep breaths. , or none of those options. You are you.

You can take your time shuffling the cards. When ready, place three cards face up in the following manner:

1. You are currently the central card. It might symbolize your current mindset, your actions, your goals, or a circumstance or problem you’re going through.

2. The card on the left stands for letting go of something. This could be someone, a method, a behavior, or something else that is now hindering you.

3. The rightmost card is a piece of advise. It can be a strategy you can use, a force you can add to your life, or just something you should do.

If you don’t instantly comprehend the cards, don’t give upthis is very normal! Take your time, research the cards in a book or online, make a list of the points or thoughts related to each card, and try viewing them from several perspectives. For instance, receiving a card in the advise position that seems awfully negative is perplexing! Or perhaps the central card is completely illogical. You’ll understand what they’re trying to tell you if you keep looking and paying attention.

Last but not least, try to distill the main takeaway from the reading. What should you remember from this?

Read with a friend!

While reading for yourself is fine and dandy, reading for and alongside others is also a fantastic learning opportunity. I wholeheartedly recommend having a traditional tarot session if you have a friend who is into them. Bring your own decks of cards so that you may compare and contrast your favorites (bonus points if you have various decks! Together, you can read aloud, discuss potential meanings for each card, and support one another’s academic growth.

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 opinion. 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 analyzing why you’re reacting the way you are in order to reflect on how to effectively address the underlying problem if you ask the question and aren’t satisfied with the response.

If someone touches your tarot cards, what should you do?

If you have been reading Tarot for years without allowing anybody else to touch your cards and this is how you prefer it to be done, maintain reading in this manner. Do it if it works.

However, if you are new to tarot and unsure about whether you should allow others to touch your cards when reading for them, REST! Others are welcome to touch freely. In fact, I believe that doing this makes a reading seem more genuine. You simply need to believe in the strength of your intention to afterwards purge any negative energy from your Tarot deck.

What are your thoughts on this? I’m interested to know! Therefore, please share your thoughts regarding individuals touching your cards in the comments section below. Do you agree with it? Or do you strictly enforce a no-touch policy?

Infuse the cards with your energy

Pichinson advises first imbuing your oracle cards with your energy by playing with them or even carrying them around with you in order to develop a deep bond with them. She claims that your cards will work for and with you more the more you use and interact with them.

Without sage, how can a tarot card be blessed?

Tips for Purifying and Blessing Your Tarot Cards

Incense/Smudging. Using Palo Santo incense to purify tarot cards
During a full moon. Tarot cards are purified using the moon.
Sun bathing. Tarot Deck Cleaning with the Sun.

bowl that sings. Use it if you have one.
I rap on the deck.

How are tarot cards charged in the sun?

Some of my students prefer to set the deck on their window sill so that it may catch the moonlight. It seems that the Moon’s energies can greatly revitalize the cards. And they typically wait for a night with a full moon to do this.

Because the Moon crescent continues to develop until it becomes full, the New Moon is connected to fresh starts. The Full Moon denotes accomplishments, climax, and satisfaction because it is the result of all the work that went into the Moon’s growth on Full Moon night. Choosing which Moon to go with, I suppose, relies on the “feel” that one gets from the cards.

The energy of the moon is feminine, intuitive, and creative. They therefore opt to use this energy to charge their cards.