So you’re brand new to Tarot. You’ve done your research, you’ve memorized this and that for all the rules.
You start practicing, and reading for yourself, maybe a friend or family member… until.
Oh no.
You broke one of the Rules.
What do you do now? Are the Tarot police going to come for you? Are your ancestors and spirit guides going to kick your ass from the spirit plane?
No, probably not, (depending on who your ancestors are).
So I’ll break down the ins and outs of the Rules.
Someone touched your deck.
If someone else touches your deck, it’s not something to get crazy about. Unless they touched it without permission, it’s a fixable issue. While everyone and their mother will preach about not letting someone touch your deck, it is up to you. I personally don’t mind, especially if it’s a reading for someone because you need their energy in the reading to get a good answer for the question. And shuffling will dispel all the energy from a reading.
If it is an issue where someone handled your deck, maybe unintentionally, such as, your mother-in-law moves your deck in the office to look for some documents, then a heavy shuffle and a moon bathe won’t hurt.
This is also why many preach about crystals in addition to your reading, to help balance energies, as well as storing decks with crystals to help recharge the deck and ward off unwanted energies.
You dropped your deck on the ground
It’s okay, take a second. Now pick up your cards one by one and brush each one off and give each dropped card a quick cleanse. Then shuffle the whole deck together again.
If you drop a couple cards on the ground during a shuffle, it’s no big deal. Some say that those cards that fly out of your hand even have a message for you. And when you’re still learning how to handle the size of a Tarot deck, both in card volume and size of the deck itself, you will inevitably drop a few here and there.
If some of the cards get damaged, then that’s okay too. Things happen, and decks will come and go in your life. If you’re not ready to give up the deck, or can’t afford a new deck yet, use this deck as your home-copy until you can get a new deck. Then you can re-purpose the damaged deck into art work, a show deck (you know, you leave it out on the coffee table for those more conservative relatives to bitch about), or as a reference deck if you get lost in your Tarot studies.
You have to get up in the middle a reading/meditation.
It’s okay. Tarot is a gentle tool; you won’t be penalized if something happens and you have to move away from the reading for a moment.
If you have to get up because the weather suddenly changes (during an outdoor read), an urgent call comes through on your or your client’s phone, an emergency like a fire or earthquake, or your pet/familiar/child is being naughty and you have to step in immediately to prevent loss or injury, then get up.
After the issue is dealt with, if an issue that can be rectified like moving inside from the rain or preventing your baby from eating your crystals, then just take a moment to meditate and reset the energy of the reading. Clear your mind and return to the reading.
If this is an issue where you cannot immediately return to the reading, such as a life emergency you or the client must attend to, a fire destroyed the cards, or another emergency where the reading must be abandoned, then don’t worry. If possible, shuffle the cards together and store properly. If the cards are gone, then meditate for a moment and let go of the energy from the reading.
If there is a client and an emergency occurs, make every effort to help the client let go of the reading energy, then attempt to either reschedule with the client, or send good energy to the client.
You asked a bad question and got a weird answer.
When you’re learning still, you’re going to make mistakes. It’s okay, as long as you’re willing to learn how to do it the right way. Think of all the things you couldn’t do as a child, but can now because you asked questions.
So maybe, you asked a bad question, but didn’t think it was a bad question. And I’m not talking about one of the questions like ‘will I win the lotto’ bs. I’m talking about the ‘what can you tell me about this too-specific topic’ questions.
When you get weird answers, sometimes you need to analyze the question. Think about how many times you asked Google what you thought was a good question, only for Google to give you all sorts of weird and unrelated topics in response.
So take a moment and analyze whether the question is too specific or if you have something else on your mind when you think about the question.
For first-timers, think about writing down your question first to help you focus on it.
Don’t stress so much about if you mix things up when you’re learning. Don’t worry about it too much. You’re learning, and honestly, if you get lost there are so many people out in the witchy community that are willing to help and guide.
Good luck!
