Meeting your deck for the first time.

Learning Tarot is the fun part.  Possibly because you are interested in Tarot you may already have your first deck.  If you have just come across this post as a beginner you may like to read my posts from the beginning of the blog to see my thoughts on beginning this fascinating journey.

As you can see I have a few Tarot and Oracle decks but i'll talk more about them another time.

So where to begin?

When I meet a deck for the first time, the scene usually goes with me ripping open the postage packaging to get my hands on what's inside, I try to be restrained but that never happens.  Whatever i'm doing at the moment grinds to a halt the minute the parcel arrives- ironing can wait, dusting can wait.  Once the crazy unpacking is done though things slow right down and the deck is set aside while whatever chore or crafting i'm doing is finished before the peaceful moment of meeting the new deck.

Meeting the new deck is usually done over a mug of tea, taking time to unwrap the plastic cover.  The incense is burning and my working candle is lit at this time because I like to use both to welcome the deck from it's journey and welcome it home before starting to go through the cards.  Some people like to knock on the deck anything from one to three times, I like to use incense and you may have your own preference that gives you a sense of occasion.  All is just fine, i'm a big believer in everyone having their own style of magical doings.  Even if you've had the deck for a while and haven't really handled it much and it's been living on a shelf, start the process as if you have just met

With the plastic removed I pass the deck in it's box through the incense saying a few words that are meaningful to me and my work with the deck.

Your deck will have come with a small white book or a novel sized book.  Whichever you have, put them aside for now because you will come back to them soon.   For now it's all about your personal link and intuition.

Once this is done the enjoyment comes of looking through each of the cards and gaining a feel for the mood and personality of the deck.  Take your time and savour each moment.

This would be the perfect time to write in your working file.  Head up a new clean sheet with the name of the Deck and date you purchased it (or whatever other notes about it's purchase you'd like to make).  Then write a few notes about how you felt on receiving the deck and about how you felt looking through the cards, any that stood out for you in particular and describe what you think the personality of the deck is.  You can continue to add to these notes over the next few times you visit your new deck.

Enjoy this phase of meeting your deck.  Spend a few days having one to one time with it just to look through the images, shuffling the cards, regrouping them into their suits, laying them out into patterns and so on.  All of these gentle activities get you acquainted before moving onto the next stages of meeting each card in depth and finding out their messages and meanings.

You may decide as this point to keep the deck in it's original packaging while you search for a bag or scarf to wrap it in.  My decks all live in their original packaging while the one I am working with is kept out wrapped in a silk scarf and covered by a clear quartz crystal.

What I also like to do when i've looked through the cards on the first meeting is to put the deck and book back in their box and to lay out a pattern of crystals, trinkets, stones or flowers on it for a few days.  For me this feels like a welcoming ritual.  I'm also always interested by the patterns and collections of these items that come together completely by intuition and which gives me a bit of a clue to the personality or energy of the deck.

Have fun!