bunnypudding

Hello Coven,

So you have your first deck of Tarot cards, yassss! So, ermm, what next? Well, if you are anything like me you will have ripped the packaging off and started trawling through every single card whilst gulping down whatever drink you’d purchased in the pub in celebration. Now, after I have done that, I like to put them away for later so I can get all excited about my new present to myself and so I can get my ceremony on as it were.

Yip, you heard me correctly, I get all ceremonial on my deck’s ass, and to be honest, I get ceremonial about everything’s ass if I can. It doesn’t even need to have an ass. If I can add an outfit to the ceremony I’m having upon a metaphorical ass then you can bet, I am already wearing the outfit*.

Now, the below post is full of privilege. It reeks of someone being able to have time alone, in their own safe space. The money to get the extras I mention. It presumes you’re in a craft tolerant household. Many of you I know won’t have this, but this doesn’t mean that your cards are any less special – celebrating your cards any way you can is more than enough. The joy of practising any aspect of spiritual craft is that it is personal and unique to you. I certainly know what it is like to have to hide your celebration of the craft and what it brings to your life and I guess this is why I like to make a song and dance out of everything now I am older and living with a fellow witchy type. It does get better…Huzzah!

So here are some of the ways I get myself in the ceremonial mood…

Get yourself a snazzy lil’notebook

It doesn’t even need to be snazzy, a random wad of paper will do, but if you haven’t figured it already, I’m all for the drama! If there is one piece of advice I would say to any newbie Tarot reader or Witch is to start taking notes, immediately. Recording the random learnings you’ve made that day or things you have felt or dreamt of after a reading/spell casting will prove really useful. As you delve further into your practice you will begin to spot patterns in the card meanings and it will allow you to highlight key areas of your intuition. Plus it’s always nice to be able to look back on how far you’ve come!

A working note book of mine – I transfer all info over to the grimore (Book of Shadows) once full up and I’m ready to merge sections I’ve edited up.

If you’re just starting your Tarot journey and this is your first deck then it’s always good to write down how you feel about each card as you first see them. Noting down anything that calls out to you when you’ve first seen the card. The fish coming out of the cup? The bunny jumping out of the corner? Did a certain card make you immediately feel happy or sad?…

If you’re established but this you’ve decided to try a new Tarot deck, the same practice is always really useful as each deck has a different feeling and illustrations so again, responds to each reader differently. It’s like meeting a new friend, each deck has it’s quirks and I love them for that!

Shuffle, shuffle!

Once you have gone through each card and taken your notes the next step is to suffle them and I mean shuffle them. I really go to town with my shuffles. I recommend when starting a new deck to make sure to do get a flat surface and place them all on the table and basically mix them all together for a minute or two. Then I make sure to keep splitting them into groups and them remixing them into different groups again, and again. Once together in a neat pile they are ready to be cleansed.

Mix….

And split…

Then I bring them back together into one pile to then repeat this process several more times.

Candles and Incense

Like most Witchy types I am partial to a bit of incense and love me a fine candle. I use them a lot to cleanse my surroundings. They are also great tools to create ‘The Magic Mood’…you know what I am talking about. That cosy lighting and warm snuggly feeling. There is just something powerful about a candle isn’t there? If you’re able to, you can smoke cleanse your new Tarot deck over a burning candle. I like to do this regularly with all my decks as I find my cards tend to get a bit niggly after a few readings.

Some people even like to leave their cards in the moonlight overnight but I can never wait that long and want to play.

I have no idea why my hand looks so big here..also thats Catrick Swayze in the background 🙂

Music

Now, when it comes to any form of magic I am a huge fan of making it to music. This may be my Pisces placements screaming out as I have musical manifestation lists of all varieties on my Spotify. Eg. If I want to manifest money, I‘ve been known stick some Cardi B on. New Moon Ceremony? A bit of Bowie and Kate Bush if you please. There are no rules if something makes you feel empowered in a particular energy that you want to tap into, go for it, my friend. Remember, you are the magic, any tools we Witches use is just help us connect with that magic.

Tarot Card Storage:

This varies from person to person – for me, I like to keep mine in their original boxes and my main deck is a playing card sized deck in a tin, so easy to transport around. Some people really love to store there in special boxes and drawers and I am here for this, in fact, my first alter was hidden in a drawer. You can make your own tarot bags and there great tarot box and bag makers over on Etsy and ebay which you can check out as well.

Hopefully, I’ve inspired you have a little magic moment between and your Tarot deck. If so make sure to let me know below or on my social channels and I love to hear from you!

Love, Love

Ems x

*I sincerely didn’t expect to be saying the word ass so much in this post. Huh.

Follow me on social!

Instagram

Twitter

Tiktok

Well, hello Coven,

We all love Tarot (well, unless you think it’s the work of the devil, in which case, hell yeah!) but I am often asked by those curious to learn – where should I start? My answer is very simple my darlings, like with all magic, the true power is in the action. So shorthand, the best way to learn tarot is to simply DO Tarot. By that I mean, get yourself a sweet deck of cards and begin to play…that’s how you begin to bond with your cards (more on that later) and get to learn each individual cards meaning.

Below are my top tips for helping you dip your toe into the World of Divination.

Image Source here

What is the best Tarot Deck for beginners?

The Tarot deck most non-witchy types will recognise is the Raider Waite Tarot deck. Now, this isn’t the oldest deck or even the original card designs…in fact, the actual illustrator Pamela Colman Smith doesn’t even feature in the title…but that’s a whole other blog post, my friends and her input into Tarot needs to be amplified to the max! If I was to recommend a starter deck, this would be it as it’s got the most resources related to it…plus, I think it looks cool. It’s also considered the Tarot standard deck.

My honest answer though? Whichever one you are drawn too. If you like the designs and feel connected to the deck, trust that gut instinct. The cards are representative of energies and life situations so whilst Raider Waite may be the most famous and widely used, any tarot deck can do the trick. Plus, as I have already alluded to, you will realise that each deck of cards has a personality. My favourite deck likes to troll me for example, even when reading for friends.

Do Tarot Cards have to be gifted to you?

This is a myth.

Tarot started out as a game and then developed this air of mystery…as all witches do, it’s kinda our thing, you know? So whilst you may have heard this myth, most professional Tarot readers will agree with me that no, if you are drawn to the cards don’t wait around to be gifted. Heed that call and learn more about that calling!

My first deck was brought by myself at 11 years old from the Mall. Ah, Madam Legna. I am to this day trying to find that deck again so we can be reunited. I’ve found it a few times but it’s super expensive so alas, I’ll patiently wait until the universe decides its the right time. Also, these were ‘fortune reading’ cards rather than official Tarot but, they led me to Tarot. We find our paths in different ways and that’s part of the fun!

Image Source here

What is the quickest way to learn Tarot?

Simple, learn about the tarot cards first! The easiest way to do this is when you get your first deck, put some time aside…. I’m talking candles, incense, music whatever makes you feel all cosy and connected so you can go through and look at each card and really get a feel for them. I’d also recommend that you keep a notebook and take notes from this very first engagement. Then do your smoke cleanse and various shuffles before you begin the next step which is to ‘pull’ a card a day.

Basically, every morning ask the deck to provide you with a card with a message for that day. This is a great way to learn the card meanings and also build an understanding of what those cards mean to you personally – as well as learn your own style of shuffling. Once you have been doing this for a few weeks or even sooner depending on how you feel, the fun can really start and you can attempt your first readings.

What is the best Tarot spread for beginners?

I, personally always recommend a four-card spread. So simple, so to the point and great for helping you hone your skills in seeing the patterns and how the cards can feed into each other.

My personal fave spread is:

Our design Team is second to none

The reason I like it is that it can answer most questions, if you want to delve a little deeper you can add other cards to the mix etc which I very rarely have to do. It’s certainly a very nice foundation to start practising readings.

Hopefully, I’ve managed to give you the confidence to get started and inspired you to start reading. Make sure to get in touch and let me know as I love hearing from you and you’re learnings.

Until Next Time,

Ems