Three Important Aspects of your Tarot Ritual

When you hear the word "ritual" what comes to mind?  Secret, dark ceremonies performed in a forest?  Sacrificial rites performed by a cult?  Voodoo spells?  A great many people find the word off-putting, but ritual is highly important to a good reading.

The wonderful thing about your Tarot ritual is that it can be whatever you want it to be as long as it helps you clear your mind for the reading(s) ahead.  An unclear, emotional mind will definitely muddle a reading--bits and pieces of you and your own situation will leak through and affect the cards.  As you grow as a reader, you'll see this and begin to recognize it more readily.  It's one main reason that I read my cards so infrequently....it's really hard for me to approach what bugs me with a clear, neurtral mind.

When creating your ritual, you'll want to think about the following:

1.  Space:  We don't always have the luxury of dedicated spaces for our Tarot, but finding a quiet, calm spot away from the noise and distraction of electronics and family is important.  Once you've found your spot, try to do your readings there when ever possible.

2.  Preparation:  There are many ways to prepare for a reading.  You could find a special cloth you like to spread out to lay the cards on.  You could also light a candle.  Perhaps you could say a prayer, meditate or imagine positive energy filling the space around you.  The important thing is to approach the cards with a clear mind.

3.  The Cards:  Shuffling may seem like a minor detail, but I have always felt it was key to a good reading.  If I'm reading for another person and they are in front of me, I usually let them shuffle.  I start my readings by pulling a signifier out of the deck to represent the person, then I lay them all out on the cloth face down, mixing them up as much as possible and trying to touch every card.  I then divide the deck into thirds, placing the 2nd or middle third on top.  This is just an example--you will want to develop a certain way you like to mix up the cards that feels right to you.

The key to a good ritual is clarity.  Anything positive that gets you to a place where you can approach the Tarot with a calm, clear mind is definitely worth considering including in your ritual. Put your own personal touch on your ritual and it will work well for you.

Slacking

Seriously slacking here in so many ways......see that side bar on the left?  I have made no new hats since the 6th.  I'm going to have to mail them from Georgia when ever we get there.  I've "half-assed" organizing the house all day and spent all day yesterday crocheting instead of doing anything remotely productive.  The movers come Friday.  Time's a ticking and here I sit on my backside surrounded by the mess of decluttering.  I am crazy.

Random Review Friday: 52 Mondays: The One Year Path to Outrageous Success and Lifelong Happiness

 

I have a love-hate relationship with a lot of self help books and programs out there.  Vic Johnson's book, however, completely surprised me in a very pleasant way.   I read it today while I was dying on the elliptical, having come across it awhile back on the 'ol Kindle.  While I'm not sure he truly introduces anything new (the basic message is:  Get off your butt if you want to accomplish anything) his approach is definitely new and falls more on the pragmatic side.

The book is, as you can imagine, broken down into 52 different sections, one for each Monday in a year.  Each chapter builds upon the last so you get a little reminder of what your lesson for the previous week was.  There is a lot of what you'd expect from a self help book--positive encouragement, anecdotes from famous and wealthy, inspirational quotes--without all of the nonsense a lot of authors try to sell about our desires and wishes being enough to attract great things.  

Don't get me wrong....I strongly believe that our energy and thoughts have a significant affect on our lives, but wishing all day to be rich isn't going to get you there.  This is where "52 Mondays" is different.  It's angle is to get you up and going and keep you in motion as you work towards your goal.  

I know it's nearly the end of January, but it's not too late to start implementing these ideas into your own life.  In fact what better time than now as those all around you give up on all of those New Year's resolutions.  Here's a way to help you stay strong throughout the year.

Home again, finally

I have spent the past 6 days mostly in my husband's car, unfortunately, driving across the southeast (yes the entire southeast) and unfortunately I'm not done yet.  But soon, very soon I will be finally, finally settled in a house in Georgia where we will live until the Army tells us it's time to repeat this insane process all over again.  I'm afraid I've completely ruined myself for normal adult life.  When I grew up we only moved once.  My son, in his seven years on the planet has lived in six different cities, my daughter two before her first birthday.  It's crazy but part of me fears getting bored (as I do now) of the place I'm living and not being able to move (because you just don't do that as a civilian unless you're a glutton for punishment or a nomad.)  But there is a part of me that longs to live in one place for a very long time, to get to know my neighbors, to ensconce myself into a community.  Why is it we always want what we can't have?

Properly Storing Your Tarot Cards

Leather Drawstring Bag from My Grandmother's Hands

If you've decided that this year you are going to begin learning the Tarot or if you've simply just decided as I did many years ago that Tarot cards are neat and you want to collect them, then you are going to want to learn about how best to keep and store them.  How you accomplish this will depend completely on your intent for the cards you have in your possession.

I'm not by any means the supreme Tarot expert, but in my experience, Tarot cards that you collect and Tarot cards that you use have to be treated as two separate things, though not for the reasons you think.  Many people will tell you that storage of your cards effects their energy.  This is where I disagree.  The power of any type of tool comes from the bearer and not the tool itself.  Tarot cards are just pieces of paper until you touch them and allow your energy to guide the cards.  Many Tarot readers will tell you that you MUST store and handle them a certain way, but the truth is there is no super secret mystical reason for the various methods of storing cards people insist on.

If you are collecting cards then you want to be practical in your approach to caring for them.  Generally, cards you are collecting should be protected just as with any other collection, so you should store them just as you would any other collectible.  I don't have room to display my collection, so for the time being mine are kept in a heavy duty plastic container with a lid.  When I'm not looking at them or showing them off, I keep them in a dark closet away from the sun.  When I take them out of their plastic box, I keep them away from water, wash and dry my hands before handling them and don't allow food or drink near them.

If you plan on using a Tarot deck and actually reading from it, you will want to keep it in a special way.  Ritual is incredibly important to reading the Tarot--having a ritual you maintain every time you read is essential to getting your mind ready and clear for the reading ahead.  How you store and care for you cards is a major part of this ritual.  As I mentioned before you'll find some very strong opinions on this (I've even seen people berated for the way they maintained their cards).  You'll also find that there are as many different opinions on how to store your cards as there are readers, but I've found having them wrapped or contained in special bag, pouch or box made of natural material is not only a good way to begin this ritual but it also serves to protect the cards better. (I like natural material pouches and boxes because for me the texture and feel of the pouch or box is important.)

Oftentimes when you buy a set of cards it comes with a pouch which is generally a see-through tulle type fabric.  There is nothing inherently wrong with keeping them in this type of bag (and if this feels right for you, then you should carry on) but it does offer very little protection for your cards.   Protection is important because you and perhaps everyone you read for will be coming into contact with your deck.

If you are not able to find a container made of natural materials that suits you, there are countless vendors online who sell all types of pouches and boxes to store your cards.  Last year I bought a wonderful leather pouch for a special set of cards my husband bought me from Kim a seller on Etsy.  An example of one of her pouches is at the top of this blog and below is the picture of the one I bought from her. I can't say enough good things about her wonderful bags--her pouches are beautiful and soft and her prices are very reasonable.

The pouch I bough from Kim's Etsy shop My Grandmother's Hands on Etsy

I also have used a solid wood trinket box I bought a while back to store my cards in.  This one is a bit on the fancy side because I picked it up while deployed, but any solid wooden box will work well to store a deck.

And finally, if money is tight and you're crafty (or even if you're not) hand made pouches work equally as well.  When I bought my first reading deck, I crocheted this pouch from cotton yarn to keep it in.  But if you're not fond of crafts, it doesn't have to be this elaborate.  A simple cloth wrapped neatly around your deck will work just as well.  The point being is do what works for you and your individual ritual.  There may be a million things that a person can do to give a horrible reading--misinterpretation of the cards, judging the client, letting our personal biases affect the reading--but storing cards the "wrong" way isn't one of them.  Keep them clean and dry and protected and they will serve you well for many years.

Disclaimer:  I did not receive compensation in any form for any endorsements made in this blog post, nor was I asked by Etsy or any of its sellers to make the preceding recommendations.

Sunday Night-bleh

I hate Sunday night.  There's nothing worse than those last few moments of freedom before going back to the drudgery that is the regular week.  I thought my opinion of Sunday would instantly change when I let my contract expire, but no...even if my Mondays no longer involve dragging myself out of bed at a ridiculously early hour to head to a job I abhor, those around me still do and my days revolve around them.  Spending all weekend with them just ten feet from me (even if they are glued to a screen the entire time) is immensely comforting.

During the week the hours seem to speed up as I rush around running errands, trying (unsuccessfully) to keep up with the house, & chauffeuring the Velociraptor around all the while trying to keep Little Bit safe and happy.  At this point if I was a "normal" blogger, I'd have a happy little list of things (which would have been included in my title because that's good SEO)  that I've done to help me (and by me I mean my readers) become better organized so my Mondays wouldn't be so hectic.  Or I'd have some uplifting story about an incident that changed my view on Sundays.  But I don't.  Sorry, no positive energy here. I hate Sunday night and always will.

Craft Fail: New Year's Resolution edition

When a crocheter tries to knit

One of my resolutions is to learn to knit, specifically to knit well enough to make us all (four of us) knitted stockings for Christmas 2013.  My goal for the month of January was to make 20 baby hats for the hospital Little Bit was born at.  Above is what happened when I attempted to combine the two.  EPIC. CRAFTING. FAIL.  Perfect hat for the temporary cone head, I suppose, post birth, but after that--awkward poof.  Oh well...practice makes perfect I suppose.  Time to start frogging...On the bright side, knitting this poor hat took me away from my computer nearly half the day, and cut into my obssessive Face Book checking, so I guess it wasn't a 100% total wash.

Making Better Resolutions?

I read this article today, How to Make Better New Year's Resolutions and it struck a major cord.  Resolutions aren't sacred to the end of December in my world.  I resolve and resolve often.  I'm always (even mid-year) resolving to do something that I know I'm probably not going to be able to maintain.  For example, I've tried countless times to force myself to write the stories in my head (any story) or even just write on a daily basis, to no avail.

Things will start off well enough. I'll get on the computer everyday for a week and write the required number of words.  But something happens over time--I get too busy to get on one day, random blogs on the Interwebs are way more interesting than the writing a description--and before you know it, my little resolution is over before it even started. 

The author of the article would not agree with my "resolve and resolve often" mantra--he makes the point that by committing ourselves to too much, we take away from everything, including the things we're already committed to.  I can completely see the truth in this and agree, except this does not apply to those of us who waste vast amounts of time on a daily basis. 

See, I have a major problem with time. 

I'll be the first to admit, I'm so easily distracted.  How easily distracted you ask?  Instead of getting on the a news website and just reading through the latest headlines, I'll find myself still on hours later reading a human interest piece about PTSD helper dogs that I found linked at the bottom of a page of a story about Kim Kardasian's pregnancy, which I found linked at the bottom of a page about the who is leaving the Obama cabinet, which I found linked at the bottom of the original page I started on.

So resolving to do less in my case (when I'm already doing less) doesn't seem to be very productive.  So maybe I should resolve to limit my time on my beloved Interwebs?  Get one of those programs that shuts off your access after a certain amount of time?  But then what to do about TV?  Books?  Crafts?  I'm in a pinball game of non-productivity, bouncing from one thing to another.  I'm probably not going to change.  I'm going to keep on making a million resolutions.  Only this year, I'm going to work on being kinder to myself about breaking them.