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A deck of tarot cards is a useful divination tool, but that doesn’t mean we have to be all stuff about it! Tools can have personality, and we can attach ourselves too them in meaningful ways. (Of course, you probably don’t have a special relationship with all of your tools magical or otherwise, but a tarot deck is a bit different from your microwave.) 

Once you’ve started to develop your tarot practice a bit, you will begin to find which routines work best for starting, building, and maintaining deck “relationships.” Until then, these methods can be a good jumping off point.

The Tried and True

These methods are ones you’ve probably seen floating around the internet or even heard mentioned by tarot-obsessed friends. That’s because they’re effective! But, don’t think that these are prescriptive. Since these are so basic, there is a lot of room to adapt them to what feels right for you. Use your intuition!

Sleeping with Your Deck Under Your Pillow

One of the reasons this is so popular is because it is a passive way to start working on that reader/deck relationship. Part of bonding with a tarot deck is getting your energy into the cards. Keeping them close to you for long periods of time, like when your asleep, is great for this.

Carrying Your Deck Around

Is there anything easier that putting something in your backpack or pocket? Like sleeping with your deck, keeping the cards on your person while you go about your day introduce the deck to your energy. The major difference here is that you are awake to take them out and interact with them.

Daily Readings

Your main goal is to get to a point where you and your deck have a nice back and forth and an easy reading relationship (unless your deck is a real spitfire, then things might be a bit more interesting), so doing light readings with a new deck is always useful. This gets your hands on the cards and, if you ask some simple questions, can give you a feel for how your deck likes to respond.

Deck Maintenance

I’ll talk more about deck maintenance in another post, but small tasks like cleansing and charging and otherwise maintaining your deck are a great way to strengthen your bond.

Shuffling

You might be thinking, “Hold on! I’m not ready to read yet!” Don’t worry. I’m not asking you to. One of my favorite methods of bonding with a deck (or even maintaining a bond with a deck I’ve had for a while) is shuffling. You don’t have to pull out and wild card tricks or high roller shuffling skills for this. Just passively shuffle the deck while you watch Netflix or read a book. This shuffling has no motive other than closeness. It’s like cuddling!

Deck “Interviews”

The name “Deck Interview” is a little misleading because by this point your deck already has the job, but that doesn’t mean you two don’t need to get to know each other. Using the questions below as a guide, shuffle and pull six cards from your deck. Read each card as the deck’s response to your question.

A general introduction

What are your strengths?

What are your limitations?

What can I learn from reading with you specifically?

What are some challenges of working with you?

Outcomes of this relationship

You can flip all of your cards, read, and be done with the interview if you’re trying to be quick, but I’ve had a lot of success flipping one card at a time and considering it as an expansive answer to the corresponding interview question. When I’m doing a deck interview, you’re likely to hear me say things like, “Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be?” or “Well, I look forward to seeing how that works out for us.” Have a conversation! You can even pull clarifying cards if you need to.

Fun Spreads

This was not something I did for bonding until I got my Mystic Monday deck. Not long after getting that deck, I sat down with a friend who had also recently gotten Mystic Monday, and we did “meme” spreads back and forth. My two favorites for this are “Expectation vs. Reality” (you provide the scenario and the deck responds) and “What ___ Thinks of You” (you know the old Facebook meme?) readings.

I’ve found that fun spreads and “meme” readings are similar to shuffling in that the typically don’t require a lot of energy while still getting you engaged with your deck. (They’re also good practice! See my “Practice Makes Perfect” post.) Plus, all of the joy and laughter that comes with these readings really sets a positive tone for your relationship.

Bonding with your deck is an ongoing process, and depending on how many of the above practices and exercises you do and how often, it can take time. You can sleep with your deck, but you really can’t bond with it over night. Don’t rush. You can still work with a deck as your bond strengthens (in fact, that will probably help). Just be patient and follow your intuition.

bonus: the kisses were insane, just peak rock’n’roll

Went to a bakery and they had a you donut

911 Lone Star: Trainwrecks (5x02)

…which means it’s time for an annual reminder not to kidnap baby birds. Fact: most species of birds have almost no sense of smell. Someone probably told you that if you touch a baby bird, the mother will smell you on it and reject her baby. THAT IS NOT THE CASE. If you’ve found a baby bird and you touched it, all is not lost, you can still return it to mom and dad!

Pictured: a young Mourning Dove, after being rescued from the tender mercies of my dog, circa spring 2005. It’s a fledgling! Note how it has most of its feathers, but still looks a bit awkward and scruffy, and, being unable to properly fly, can be caught by an elderly husky or a child. 

Help, I found a baby bird on the ground, what do I do???

Hatchlings/Nestlings: IF it is naked or covered in fluffy down and/or pinfeathers and cannot flutter successfully, it’s a hatchling or nestling, and has fallen from its nest prematurely. Look for the nest- if you find it and can reach it, return baby and then leave and let the parents return. If you can’t find the nest, or if you find it in pieces on the ground, use a small box/yogurt container lined with dried grass and attach as close as possible to where you found the bird or where you think the nest was. If it’s cold, warm it in your hands for a few minutes before putting it back. RETURN BABY!!!! 

Fledglings: If you spot a young bird covered with feathers (may have a few patches of fluff) on the ground, it’s a fledgling (bird tween) who is currently working on flying 101 homework, which is normal and fine. Hanging out on the ground is part of the learning to fly process! If it looks like it’s in immediate danger (i.e. of being run over, stepped on, or eaten by a cat or dog), the best thing you can do for it is to gently scoop it up and place it in the low branches of a nearby tree or shrub, and then LEAVE. The parents are likely nearby watching, and will return once the coast is clear. If it flutter-hops away from you and you can’t catch it, then don’t worry! It just successfully avoided a predator (you), and therefore can probably continue to do so. LEAVE BABY ALONE!!!

DO NOT: Try to feed it, bring it into your house or car, or take it to your local domestic animal vet or shelter.