Ways to cleanse and clear your tarot deck

Below is a list of several ways you can cleanse and clear the energies from your tarot decks and circumstances under which you may want to consider using them.

Table Tapping


The easiest and fastest way to clear or cleanse your Tarot deck is to just grasp the deck and tap it on the side three times against the table you’re working on. Now it’s ready for another reading. This is a rapid and fantastic way to clear the energy from a deck when you are doing readings one after another at events and do not have much time between sessions.

Washing Method


The washing method is my second most used technique and takes up a little more table space. You spread the deck around on a table surface in a circular motion mixing the cards every which way. This is a great way to reset the deck when you read reversals because, the cards will reposition themselves reversed and upright naturally. This is great to do at the beginning of your reading sessions at events, when you have a brand new deck, a deck that is in numerical order or when you are doing many readings back to back and suddenly readings are not making any sense.

Incense/Smoke Cleansing 


We can use the smoke from the incense to cleanse and clear the cards of any non-beneficial energies. Using incense from the tarot deck is another option when needing to work quickly between clients. The only drawback is having to take into consideration where you are located. If you’re in an indoor environment smoke detectors can be sensitive and you may set them off. Another factor to consider is clients being sensitive to the smoke created. Certain incense types like Mugwort and Rue are part of the ragweed family and can trigger allergies in some cases. Smoke cleansing can therefore be a more viable alternative when doing readings at outdoor events and venues. Just always be aware of your surroundings and always take necessary precautions because fire is fire!

Salt

Using salt to cleanse and clear your tarot deck is one of the more time consuming methods I use. This is a great way to really clean out all of the energies built up in the deck and wipe the slate clean. Simply place the deck in a ziplock bag and surround it in salt OR place the salt in a ziplock bag and lay the deck on top. Place somewhere it will not be disturbed and leave for 3 days. After the 3 days, the salt will have absorbed all of the energies from the deck and it can now be used or reprogrammed.

Numerical Ordering

Reordering your deck by placing your cards in numerical order by suit and the Trumps from The Fool to The World. For example, each suit will be in sequential order from Ace to King and the Trumps cards will be in numerical order from 0 to 21. They will then be stacked on top of one another and the Trumps can either be placed on top or the bottom of the suits—it’s whatever you prefer. 
Using Crystals 
Using crystals that cleanse and clear non-beneficial energies, such as Selenite, Black Tourmaline, Carnelian, Clear Quartz and Amethyst, is a great way to clear a deck between uses. Some readers carry multiple decks, between 3 to 5, and alternate between using them to allow for the crystals to cleanse the deck while keeping it in rotation. Simply place the crystal atop the deck and allow it to do its magic. This is also a great technique when storing your deck to leave crystals together with the deck so the cleansing and clearing process is always being done. Just remember to keep energetically cleaning the black tourmaline by storing one of the other self-cleaning crystals listed along with it.

About the author: Nicole Colella

Nicole is a Spiritual Advisor, Energy Practitioner, Tarot Medium, Quantum Tarot Healer, Author, Mentor and Speaker based in the NJ/NY metro area, who conducts readings internationally, in-person and virtually. Nicole uses the Tarot as a tool for guidance and healing through Spirit. She uses a variety of modalities including, Tarot, Crystal Energy and Energy Healing to assist in bringing clarity to the situation at hand so clients can progress. She also offers readings for pets to help them and their family navigate life together. Nicole is highly regarded by clients for her thoroughness and caring manner in which she approaches her work.