Recently someone asked how to self-protect when using the Tarot. I was somewhat taken aback by the question, as I have never felt it necessary to protect myself when reading the cards. For this reason, I don't usually make protection part of my repertoire when teaching others how to read the Tarot. It's not, after all, like experimenting with the Ouija™ board or astral traveling, in which case one might want to proceed cautiously or put up wards. The Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot in particular, I feel, was constructed with the highest of intentions and motivations. As I've said often, it is the inner self that speaks through the cards. Do not put more significance on them than that. It is simply a tool, a set of colorful images on paper that our deep mind uses to communicate with our ego-oriented conscious selves. For those who still feel some need to self-protect before using the Tarot, I offer these basic suggestions.
(There are more ways to psychically protect oneself than one can shake a stick at. For more ideas, see my list of recommended books at the end of my article.)
Preliminary cleansing and care of the cards First, you should purchase your deck new if you are going to make it your primary tool for readings. Next, you might want to consecrate your newly acquired deck before using it, if you haven't already. Magic makers for centuries have employed complicated rituals to psychically purify their tools. The modern ceremonialist might simply take a kitchen knife or consecrated dagger and, holding the knife in both hands, with the sharp end pointing at the cards, he or she imagines that white light is shooting down the blade, purifying and charging the deck.
Saying a simple prayer in one's own words is equally effective. Your intent is what really matters. Normally, I purify with salt and water, then charge with fire and air, but I don't like to get water on my cards. You can consecrate your cards in a number of alternate ways:
• Pass the cards through smoke from smoldering
rosemary (my
favorite), frankincense, sage, or bay laurel.
• Anoint the cards with essential oil of rose,
rosemary, or mugwort.
Massage a few drops of the oil in the palms of your
hands, and gently
rub them over each of the cards to get some of the
scent on them.
• Charge the deck with light. Hold your hands palms
down (or wand if
you own one) a few inches above the deck and imagine a
white (or
gold) light streaming from your hands, purifying the
cards.
• Pray over the deck in the name of whichever god or
goddess you
believe in or feel an affinity with.
• Use a Words of Power affirmation to bless the cards.
An example is:
I, (your name), child of the Goddess (or God) Hereby consecrate this tool, (my Tarot cards), to the Goddess and God And to all positive work of magic For the good of all, According to free will, 1 And so it must be. If you purchased your deck used, or never cleansed it after you bought it, you may still use any of the above listed methods. Then immediately make a token use of the cards. Pull one to three cards, for example, whatever feels natural to you. A time-honored Tarot tradition is to keep one's deck in a black silk or other natural cloth bag (white and blue are good also). Another tradition says to keep it on a shelf in your home, where the energies are "higher". My partner and I store our decks on an antique shelf on the bedroom wall and on the top shelf in the closet. Treat your deck with care, honor, and dignity to prevent it from accumulating any psychic dredge (negative associations or "vibrations").
Self protection before a reading Again, there are more ways to protect yourself than I can adequately describe in this short article. The most basic method is to simply visualize a spherical barrier of pure white (or bluish-white) light surrounding yourself. To that, you may add a prayer or affirmation of your own preference. If you practice Wicca, the pre-Christian shamanic folk religion of Europe, you may want to do a circle visualization and call the Guardians of the four directions and the gods to watch over you. During the reading, burn a little rosemary or frankincense on a charcoal block in a heat-resistant container. I like to do this if for no other reason but to create a pleasant atmosphere. Burning white (or blue) candles for protection also creates a relaxing and conducive atmosphere for readings. You may also anoint yourself with frankincense or olive oil, and there are 13 traditional anointing points on the body. You may simply dab your brow, the palms of your hands, and soles of your feet.
"Another principle could be phrased: start grounded; end grounded."2 Get into a comfortable position, either sitting or standing, with your feel planted firmly on the floor and your hands either at your sides or flat on the table top, and imagine that your spine is the trunk of a tree with roots that reach down into the earth, through rock and stream, and airy crevices, to the molten core. You can draw energy up from the earth to flow out the top of your crown and down again through your arms and fingertips. Drawing on the earth's vitality keeps one from burning out after readings, and if any negative or harmful energy should crop up during the reading, you can silently send it down through your "roots" into the earth to be recycled.
Cleansing and protection during a reading Before proceeding with any reading, say a brief prayer silently or out loud, in your own words, to whichever deity you believe in. This immediately shields you and the querent. A few examples are:
There is One Power Which is Perfect truth, clarity, and order; This is all hereby manifest in this reading, with these cards, Specifically for (name yourself and the querent), perfect microcosms of the Power, According to free will. So it must be.3
"A Prayer to Gain Wisdom" by Sybil Leek is good also:
"O boundless Goddess of infinite light: Unite the hearts and souls of Thy followers with Thy spirit. Grant them the strength to fulfill Thy will according to the sacred law of life. Make them as the petals of one flower within the garden of Thy universal knowledge. Assist them, O Triple Goddess, in the appointed endeavor and turn not away from those who seek wisdom. Thou seest when none else can. Thou art compassionate, just, merciful, and the source of all wisdom. In ages past, Thou didst bring man from darkness into the light. Thou shalt not allow Thy followers to remain in ignorance. Blessed be, O Supreme Goddess, in all Thy many names and manifold attributes!"4
My favorite prayer, though, is this simple one that poet and Feri priest Victor Anderson taught to me:
Who is this flower above me,
And what is the work of this God?
I would know myself in all my parts.
To this I would add, "May my greater self guide me through this reading, in finding the heart of the matter, and represent it truthfully, according to my best abilities. Shemhamphorash. So mote it be."
The reader will have to use her best judgment when deciding whether to consciously change a negative card layout. I do not agree with those who make a practice of always exorcising all negativity from the heavy cards. To do so ignores the dark side of human experience and sweeps under the rug any problem or challenge that may have implicit value or a hidden benefit for you or the querent. I tend to feel that the heavy cards (The Tower and Death, for example) have an important message to teach, and may actually be a form of inner therapy.
On the other hand, you do not want the querent freaking out over a perceived "negative" card, for it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. All responsible readers acknowledge the free will and power of the individual to shape events. If the querent is still agitated by a particular card, however, you can say Words of Power to nullify that card's negative effects:
There is One Power Which is positive Power, for the good of all; And this positive Power, working for and through (your name and querent's name), Hereby dissolves and releases all negative power out of this card and what it represents (name each card by its title), And replaces it with the positive Power Which belongs to (your and querent's name) by right of his/her/my consciousness, So that everything which this card has been referring to, Is hereby transformed to good. In the most perfect, positive ways, For the good of all, And according to the free will of all. So it must be.5 In the end, this may simply put the querent at ease and help them deal more effectively with the problem when/if it arises. You may use this affirmation for yourself if you feel especially troubled by a reading also. In extreme cases where the querent is so negative and brings something to the table that you are not equipped to deal with, then firmly end the reading at once and show them to the door.
Cleansing after a reading Try any of these methods: • Reorder the cards after every reading. • Carefully shuffle the deck to clear it of the previous querent's reading and energy. • Set a crystal on top of the deck between use. • Say a prayer or Words of Power over the cards. • If you feel spacey or anxious after a reading, do a formal grounding.
If the reading was particularly difficult and the querent vented a lot of negativity, smudge the deck--and yourself, if necessary--with rosemary (or any of the other plants mentioned earlier). Remember to ground any harmful energy to the earth to be purified and recycled. A ritual bath afterwards is extremely effective. Add 7-10 drops of organic hyssop oil (my favorite) or rosemary to the bath water to cleanse and reinforce your body's energy field.
Protection using the Tarot • Buy an extra Tarot deck for this ritual. I like to use the oversize Waite-Smith. Take the four knights and hang them on the walls of your dwelling at eye level, one at each of the cardinal directions in the farthest parts of your house or apartment: Knight of Wands at the farthest north, Knight of Swords at the south, Knight of Cups at the West, and Knight of Pentacles at the east. Correspondences for the directions vary. (I use the correspondences set forth by Themestream author, Mike Nichols, in his article "Rethinking the Watchtowers.") Adapt this ritual as it feels right to you. If anyone asks, simply tell them the cards are favorite or inspiring art. • Buy a pewter pendant reproduction of a select Major Arcana card, charge it, and wear it for protection. Some good choices might be Strength, The Chariot, The Sun, Justice, Temperance, The Emperor, The Empress, or even The Star.
Finally, it might be a worthwhile exercise to ask yourself why you feel you need protection in the first place when using the Tarot. Your beliefs about the oracle may not be in keeping with reality. Perhaps you have accepted without question the cultural fears, superstitions, and bugaboos about divination. If you believe that the Tarot is a tool of the Devil or "evil" spirits and demons, you might want to examine why you are consulting them in the first place and work to change those beliefs. Perhaps you are afraid of an encounter with your own subconscious. (For a broader view on human personality, read Seth Speaks.) If we start believing that demons are out to harm us at every turn or opportunity, we will never feel safe to grow and reach our full potential.
Those fears were instilled by the early Church to keep
people in tow
and discourage the individual from asking questions of
a deeper
nature about our relationship with God. If the seeker
can go to the
local shaman or village Witch or gypsy, or even heaven
forbid,
consult a deck of cards on their own, then the Church
might lose
power over its followers. But the Church is the
highest of
hypocrites, for it has throughout history claimed to
have the only
pipeline to God, and systematically eliminated any
opposing view or
competing faith. Remember, when you read the cards,
you are using
your own latent abilities, nothing more, nothing less.
Therefore, I
tend to feel that elaborate rituals are unnecessary,
especially when
using the Tarot. As Winston Churchill said, "We have
nothing to fear
but fear itself." Use these methods if you feel you
must, and in time
you may find that you have outgrown the need for them,
as you gain
confidence and a greater sense of self.
Credited Sources and Recommended Reading