Welcoming a New Deck - the evolution of a personal ceremony or ritual.

Recently there have been a few questions through my blog contact form asking about the best way to welcome a new deck,  either used or new and whether it is okay for this to change.  As far as i'm concerned there is no right or wrong way to do this, i'm a believer in doing what feels right and feels special at that time and for the deck concerned.  I wrote about this a few months back in the post titled Meeting your deck for the first time.  What I hadn't written about in that post was how the ceremony or ritual I use today evolved and which has since changed to how i'm doing things today.

Back when i'd bought my first deck, doing things the right way, the traditional way, the way it's been done for centuries and all the other writings on this really mattered to me.  As i've written before in discussing some of my little rituals or ceremonies, i'd noticed after some fastidiousness in this regard that the element of magic or connection was actually missing and that there was a stiffness and an element of fearing i'd done something incorrectly hanging about in the back of my mind.  

One afternoon I purchased a deck and being in a particularly eager mood to open the packaging and get at the cards I decided to throw caution to the wind and open the deck without waiting to get home.  Not wanting to do it standing up in the middle of the shopping centre, I walked outside to a small park area and sitting under a tree, opened up the packaging.  Sitting out there in the warm sunshine, under a tree, with the sounds of the birds around me felt special and the whole process of getting to meet the cards was a pleasure.  Arriving home there was the business of the evening chores to attend to so I placed the cards on a table to wait for quiet time later on, then lighting some incense and candles I busied myself cooking and sorting out homework.  It was later in that anticipated quiet time where I was about to welcome my deck in the usual way that I realised that the whole feeling towards bringing a new deck home had changed for me.  

Ever since that day my process of welcoming a new deck involves pretty much the same process or ritual with some additions or alterations here and there as I feel drawn to do.  Sometimes I still like to do this outdoors  (see my post about unboxing the Faerie's Oracle).

A change I have made since my last post on meeting a new deck is that if it's a deck published by Llewellyn then the cardboard inner is collapsed and slid back into the box while the deck is protected in a tarot pouch.  I do like to keep my books and decks in their original box but the cards now have a special pouch to hold them together inside.  The white cardboard box provided by Llewellyn is functional to a point but the cards tend to rattle about in it and isn't very inspirational in appearance.  If the deck and book comes with a nice sturdy box then I don't feel the need to put the cards into a pouch but that usually has the downside of there being a small book instead.  On that score Llewellyn publications are excellent.  I must say before moving on that this is my one and only gripe with Llewellyn decks, everything else about them makes me happy.

I still like to leave the deck to sit in pride of place for a few days, surrounded in crystals, shells, trinkets, stones, feathers or wrapped in a scarf of a chosen colour or texture as befits the deck if I feel the need on that occasion.

Someone else asked about bad vibes associated with used decks.   I've not ever received a used deck where i've felt bad vibes or anything like that so cleansing is not a concern for me. Usually used decks I own have been passed on to me from someone I know in some way and this makes the deck more special.  By my intention of welcoming the deck and treating it the way I do, should there be any vibes hanging about they would know I pay no attention to them and dissipate.  But yes, I understand some people worry about this, I know I used to back in the early days but again I will say, do what you feel is right for you.  There are many ways you could do this.  Some like to pass each card through incense smoke, others like to say a blessing, others like to knock on the deck.


No matter which way you choose to welcome a new deck to your home, it all comes down to the intention you welcome it with and the special welcoming ceremony of your own making you use, be it simple or elaborate, indoors or out.

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!