#upkeepandcleansing

INTRODUCTION

These are my personal tarot-crystal associations. Starting in the top left corner with Starseed (The Fool) and ending with the extra 23rd Major Arcana card, Akashic Records. This is the Starchild Tarot by Danielle Noel. It’s one of my favorite decks and charging the Major Arcana cards with these high vibration crystals made for one crazy reading afterwards!

ASSOCIATIONS

CLEANSING

MY APPROACH I turn all of the cards upright and meditate with them. If I have time, I'll wave them over some pine or sandalwood incense and store a crystal (clear quartz, smoky quartz or black tourmaline) on them. 

I will also make a crystal grid that has stones meant for cleansing the aura and put the deck in the center of the grid. 

SORTING & SHUFFLING Order the deck starting with the Major Arcana and then moving the Minor Arcana. If you’re into astrology, you’ll want to order the different suits accordingly: fire, earth, air, water a.k.a. Wands, Pentacles, Swords, Cups. Then, shuffle the deck until only your energy is in it. 

If you don’t feel like ordering your cards so meticulously, you can also simply turn them right-side up and shuffle them again. In my experience, this secondary method works after a light reading, something not too intense or emotional. 

MEDITATION Hold the deck in both hands and clear your mind. Focus on your breathing first and then expand your awareness to the source energy all around you. Imagine a white light surrounding your deck, cleansing and infusing it with this energy. 

TAPPING Some practitioners of the Tarot simply tap the deck once or a few times, to shake off any excess or negative energy. It literally knocks the energy out of the deck. 

MOON BATH Leave your cards out in the full moon’s light overnight. The divine feminine energy of the Moon will cleanse and protect your deck. It will release all energy. You can even create and perform a ritual that is specifically meant for cleansing. This can incorporate aspects of other methods. 

SMUDGING & INCENSE Use sage or rosemary or a different cleansing incense and let the smoke envelope your deck and any crystals that you use in tarot. The smoke will cleanse your deck, along with a strong intention. 

SALT BURIAL Salt has traditionally been used to ward off negative energies and you can use it to cleanse your deck of any other person’s energy as well. Use this after an especially intense emotional reading. Wrap your deck in plastic or put it in a plastic bag and bury it in salt. It must be submerged in an airtight container as salt gathers moisture from the air and can damage your cards. To ensure it is completely cleansed, keep the cards buried for at least a few days if not a week.

FRESH AIR After a rain shower or in the sunlight, place your cards outside in a safe spot and allow the deck to refresh itself.

PENDULUMS Hold a pendulum over the deck and allow it to circle or swing over the deck. Once it stops moving, your deck is cleansed! Pendulums either send the negative energies away, absorbs it or transmutes it into light. This can be a more intense method of cleansing your cards, like a catharsis, and you should wait a few hours before using the cards in a reading again. 

REIKI I don’t know much about Reiki, but you can use your healing abilities to send light energy to the cards. Generally, the Reiki practitioner will leave their hands hovering above the deck, with the cards spread out underneath. It re-aligns the energy of the cards. 

CHARGING

MY APPROACH

To charge, I put some moldavite, herkimer diamond, Satyaloka clear azeztulite quartz, or a crystal that correlates with the type of reading I want to do. Sometimes, I'll make a crystal grid with my deck in the center. 

SUN BATH

Use clear quartz and the sun to charge your deck, by placing the crystal on the cards and leaving them in a nice sunny spot for the day. You should use this technique in the morning to maximize the effect of the Sun’s energy. Clear quartz increases the positive energy that the sun sends and allows your deck to absorb the energy more easily. It is a gentler way to charge the deck than my personal approach. Charging your deck in the sun allows room for more positive and encouraging readings!

ELEMENTAL CLEARING/CHARGING

One method that both clears and charges your deck at the same time is an elemental ritual made up of the other clearing/charging methods listed above. 

Fire - pass your deck over a candle’s flame Earth - salt burial Air - smudging or incense Water - moon bath or sprinkle a little full moon water on the deck