How to Cleanse Tarot Cards: Cleansing and Charging Methods, Plus a New Deck Ritual

There is no fixed schedule, but readers broadly agree on a few moments when cleansing makes a real difference. Many also tie it to the lunar cycle and cleanse every month at the full moon.

Smoke cleansing is the oldest method and the most popular. Light a herb bundle, blow out the flame so it smoulders, and pass the deck through the smoke. You can hold it and turn it in your hand, fan the cards out, or for a thorough cleanse pass each card through individually. Keep a window cracked so whatever you are sweeping out has somewhere to go.

White sage has become the symbol of smoke cleansing, but garden sage works just as well, and so do herbs that grow closer to home. Mugwort deserves a special mention: named for Artemis, goddess of the moon, it is traditionally the herb of divination and prophetic dreams, which makes it a natural match for a deck used for reading. Lavender cleanses gently and calms, good after tense readings. Rosemary and juniper give a stronger, protective smoke; juniper was used for the old Scottish practice of saining. For more protective herbs, see the guide to protection from negative energy.

On the night of the full moon, set your deck on a windowsill or on your altar where the moonlight reaches it, and leave it until morning. The full moon cleanses and charges at the same time, which is why it is the favourite moment for a monthly ritual. A waning moon suits cleansing alone, especially after heavy readings, because it is the phase of release. The new moon favours consecrating a new deck and setting intentions. The guide to moon phases and rituals covers each phase in detail.

A practical tip many readers learn the hard way: morning dew can warp card stock. If the deck will sit on a balcony or by an open window, wrap it in silk or leave it in an open box. Sunlight charges too, quickly and fierily, but it fades the printing, so a few minutes of morning light is plenty.

Salt draws out heavy energy, but it also draws out moisture, and its grains scratch the card finish. So it never goes directly on the cards. Put the deck in a pouch or box and bury it in a bowl of salt overnight, or set a small dish of salt on top of the closed box. Sea salt or rock salt works, and black salt for protection. Throw the salt away afterwards; it doesn't go back in the kitchen.

Crystals are the gentlest and easiest method, since they simply sit with the deck and do their work.

The quickest everyday method is knocking. Hold the deck in one hand and rap it with the knuckles of the other, usually three times, with the intention of knocking out the previous energy. Some readers also blow across the deck. It is a good habit between readings for different people, or between two unrelated questions.

Sound works the same way, only deeper. A singing bowl, a bell, tingsha cymbals or a small chime rung a few times over the deck breaks up stagnant energy. The vibration moves through the cards and the room at once, so it is a good choice when you are clearing your reading space too.

A less known but very effective method is putting the deck in order. The Major Arcana from the Fool to the World, then Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles, each suit from Ace to King. Going through all 78 cards in sequence is a reset to zero: every card back in its place. Leave it that way overnight and shuffle only before your next reading.

Cleansing empties; charging fills. A freshly cleansed deck is like a clean vessel, and it helps to give it direction straight away. Hold it in both hands, breathe slowly and state your intention in your own words, for example: “May this deck speak clearly and truly, for my highest good and the good of those I read for.” The Magician does exactly this: one hand raised to the sky, the other pointing to the earth, channelling energy between them.

You can strengthen a charge. The full moon, a candle beside the deck on your altar (white as the all-purpose choice, purple for intuition), a clear quartz point on top. But the simplest way is your own energy: shuffling, handling, carrying the deck with you. A deck that gets used charges itself.

A new deck is the start of a relationship, and relationships are built through attention. Begin with a cleanse by smoke or salt, then go through the cards one at a time, in order. Look at each one for a moment: which details are you noticing for the first time, which card draws you in, which one unsettles you? Write down your first impressions; a year into working with the deck, that record is worth a lot.

Then sleep with the deck under your pillow for a night or a week and keep a dream log. Some readers place one Major Arcana card under the pillow each night and track what it brings, and the guide to dream meanings can help with that. For the first few days, carry the deck with you and shuffle it often so it takes on your energy.

Finish with a getting-to-know-you spread, often called a deck interview. Six cards, six questions put to the deck itself:

Silk is the classic. Tradition holds that it insulates the deck from surrounding energy, so cards are wrapped in a scarf, most often black (absorbs and protects) or purple (the colour of intuition). The other favourite is a wooden box, ideally natural wood without a strong-smelling varnish. Many readers keep a piece of amethyst or selenite inside.

A deck that lives on an altar has a home, and you can feel it. It doesn't need to be elaborate: a cloth, a candle, a crystal. What to avoid? The drawer full of keys and receipts, a damp bathroom, and a windowsill in full sun. It also helps to clear the room where you shuffle every so often with the same smoke you use on the cards.

Here the traditions part ways. One school says never: a deck carries only its reader's energy and every outside touch dilutes it. The other says the opposite: in a face-to-face reading the querent shuffles or cuts the deck, because that is how their energy and their question enter the spread. Both schools go back a long way.

In practice many readers find a third path: one deck for themselves and another for other people, or letting others handle the cards and cleansing straight afterwards, even with a quick knock. There is also an old piece of card lore that your first deck should be a gift. If you bought your own, nothing is lost: the consecration described above makes it yours.