How to Cleanse Tarot Cards

Written by Leah Vanderveldt

 Tips for why and how to cleanse tarot cards.

While shuffling the tarot deck is a way to cleanse and

clear the energy of the cards, there are times when you
might want to do something more specific and ritualized.
Maybe you’re just starting to learn tarot and cleansing
your deck seems like a good place to begin.

There are many reasons why you may want to cleanse

your tarot deck, including:

Starting out with a new deck

Doing readings for others
You feel like you need a refresh
Your card readings feel “off” or a little disconnected
You haven’t used your deck for a while
Others have handled your deck
You feel like you’ve be using your deck A LOT –
especially for emotionally heavy readings

Why should you cleanse or clear your tarot deck?

Cleansing your tarot deck can keep the energy between

you and your deck flowing. Think of it like a little spiritual
hygiene to keep the connection clear and well tuned. It’s
not something you need to do, but if you’re feeling any of
the above, explore a few different ways of clearing your
deck energetically (see below) and note which ones feel
like they work the best for you.
How often should you cleanse your tarot deck?

There are no hard and fast rules here, which is another

way of saying USE YOUR INTUITION. If you don’t feel like
your deck needs it, don’t worry about it. Or if you want to
cleanse them once a week or once a month, great. You
can even put your favorite crystal on the deck each night,
if that feels right to you.

If you’re regularly placing crystals on your deck and

putting your deck on an altar when you’re not using it,
you may not feel the need to cleanse it often as this small
ritual can be enough to keep your deck feeling good to
you.

Just like there are many reasons you might want to

cleanse your cards, there are plenty of ways to do it.
 Different ways to cleanse your tarot deck

Use sacred smoke. Light a smoke cleansing wand made

of dried rosemary, lavender, cedar, sage, or palo santo
until it’s smoking. With the burning herbs in one hand
and deck in the other, hold the smoke a safe distance
below the deck, so the smoke wafts upward onto the
cards. Turn the deck so that all sides get engulfed by the
smoke. Then set your deck down and safely stop the
smoke.

Place a selenite stone (or black tourmaline or clear

quartz) on the deck. I like to let it sit like this overnight,
but an hour would work, too.

Put them out on under a New Moon. The New Moon is

blank slate energy, you can cleanse the deck under the
new moon by placing it on a window sill on a new moon
night. You can also set a fresh intention for your deck at
this time.

Stick the cards in a bowl of salt. Salt is a powerful and

grounding cleanser. This is my favorite option for a
serious cleanse. Let it sit 1-8 hours in dry place (watch
out for humidity with this one!)

Chaotic shuffle. Lay the cards out on the floor and mix
 them up like you’re a kid playing in mud. The
randomness and freedom of this method is a great reset.

The sort and shuffle. Lay out the deck starting with the
Major Arcana numbers 0-22 in lines of 7 cards across
(see photo above). Then lay out the cards Ace through
King for each suit in this order: Wands, Cups, Swords,
Pentacles. View the deck in this form, then mix it all up
(like the chaotic!) and shuffle well.

Read more: How to Shuffle Tarot Cards (plus Jumper

Cards).
How to cleanse tarot cards

There’s no right or wrong way to cleanse your deck.

Experiment and find what works for you. Some methods
of cleansing might work better for different situations.
How to shuffle tarot cards and connect with your deck.

Shuffling your tarot deck is part of the process of

cleansing and clearing the energy of the cards’ previous
formation while tuning you into the present moment and
reading at hand.

We shuffle the cards well to bring about new formations

and randomize the order, thereby bringing out the
wisdom of the deck that defies logic and yet, brings deep
wisdom. The random nature of pulling cards is precisely
what makes it a useful tool.

In Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom, Rachel Pollack says

about shuffling and the randomness of the cards:

Because they are random, because they do offend

rational common sense; they bypass the ordinary
moment-by-moment way in which people experience life.
Like dreams they step outside the normal logic-bound
language of conscious humanity. And by stepping outside
it, they transcend it.

The act of shuffling creates this random generation of

images, lessons, and wisdom that holds more significance
than what appears to be playing cards.

Pollack goes on, “Tarot works precisely because it makes

no sense. The information exists. Our unconscious selves
already know it. What we need is a device to act as a
bridge to conscious perception.”

The cards are our tool for accessing this unciousous

knowledge and seeing it in new ways. And shuffling is
how we surrender to it and allow this knowledge to come
through.
Ok, so that covers the WHY, now we talk about the how.
How to shuffle tarot cards

First of all, there’s really no wrong way to shuffle. You

might want it to look a certain way, but as long as the
cards are getting mixed together in completely new
patterns, you’re doing it right.

While there’s no wrong way to shuffle your tarot deck,

there are a few different techniques you can try:
The Chaotic shuffle.

Lay the cards out on the floor or flat surface and mix
them up like you’re a kid playing in mud.
The Overhand shuffle.

While holding the deck in one hand, you use your other
hand to bring cards from the back to the front in small
sections.
The Riffle shuffle.

This is probably what you picture when you envision

someone shuffling. Holding half the deck in one hand and
half in the other and using your thumb and forefinger to
alternate the ways the two halves come together. This
one takes practice but is easy once you get the hang of
 it.
The fan out.

While not technically a shuffling technique, after mixing

the cards up, you can fan out the entire deck on a flat
surface and use your intuition to select cards randomly
(or have the querent select their own cards).

You can use a combination of all of these (I do!) or stick

to one or two that you’re most comfortable with.

Shuffling is a great time to connect with your deck and

tune in to the energy at hand. Whichever methods you
choose, it’s important that you feel comfortable so that
you can focus on the question(s) at hand and opening
your channel to the wisdom the cards are bringing and
instead of worrying that you may drop your cards.
Practice if you need to to get to a place where your
shuffling technique feels natural and correct to you.
Tuning into the reading as you shuffle

Shuffling is a time to focus on opening yourself up to

messages and wisdom from the universe and guides via
the cards. Creating your own routine and ritual around
doing this is helpful. Here’s a basic formula:

Step 1: Pick up your deck, and begin to shuffle,

 taking a few deep breaths as you do so.
Step 2: Open your circle up to guides/the
universe/goddess/God and ask for help.
Step 3: Focus on the question you’re asking, one
question at a time. If you’re doing a spread with multiple
questions, you can either shuffle briefly in between each
card pull or pull them all in order, focusing on each
question before pulling the card. Whatever feels right to
you.
Step 4: Select a card when it feels right to you.

Read more: 8 Ways to Connect (or Re-connect) to Your

Tarot Deck
 How do you decide when it’s time to stop shuffling and
select your cards?

This is a frequently asked question that only you can

answer for yourself. Let your intuition guide you and
complete your shuffling when you feel like it’s right.
That’s it. Don’t second guess yourself too much. Practice
listening for or noticing this timing if you need to. It will
usually just feel like it’s time.
What’s the deal with jumper cards when you’re shuffling
your tarot deck?

Jumper cards, or cards that seemingly “jump” right out of

the deck while you’re shuffling, are little gems in a
reading. I like to think of these as urgent messages that
really want to make themselves known. I usually don’t
assign them a place in the spread but rather place them
above the rest of the cards as a guiding theme for the
reading.

If a chunk of cards come out of the deck at once, I will

take the top card as a jumper, replace the rest in the
deck, and take that as a signal that I can wrap up my
shuffling soon.

Ultimately, shuffling your deck and best practices will

come from lots of practice and experience. As always, let
your own instincts and intuition guide you and you can’t
go wrong. This isn’t about tarot rules and dogma, it’s
about you finding the right methods for you and your
unique tarot practice.
Learn more:

How to Read Tarot for Beginners

Tarot Books & Resources
Major Arcana Meanings
Book a tarot reading with me