Whether it is when I am teaching a class, performing a reading, or just catching up with the happenings on Facebook, I often get asked if I have a ritual I perform, or any other things I might do before I read the cards.  Interesting question, it was just asked of me again yesterday and so…. here is this blog post about it.

First I had to do some thinking, and for good reason, I have been reading cards for people for 4 decades now (yes I started in my teens before you make me older then I already am) and things have changed.  My style of reading has pretty much stayed the same but the process of how I get into my reading mode has morphed.  I will say the biggest change, which isn’t a method change, but rather a venue change, is I no longer read at Psychic Fairs.  I now find all the energies bouncing around as distracted as ants at a picnic and equally annoying I might add, so I don’t read at those events any longer.  Okay maybe I am getting old, lol.

So what do I do, well I am going to give a rough sequence but on one condition, you realize it is what I do, not what I am saying you should do.  I do not preach you should or should not do anything before reading cards and I am surely not going to start now.  You find your what gets your psyche into the space to read cards, this is just what I do;

  1. First I make sure my table top is clean because I think my some of my spread cloths are as precious to me as my decks.  A quick wipe down makes sure I am good to go.
  2. I use Palo Santo and just give a quick smudge to the area – as I work in my shoppe most days and I do this before I open anyway, it is normally done ahead of time.
  3. Spread cloth of my choice goes down.
  4. Deck(s) and a pendulum are chosen.  I say Deck(s) because I often have more then one type of card system ready for a client and sometimes more then one of a certain kind as well.  So finding me with a Kipper, Gypsy and Lenormand deck ready to read isn’t uncommon at all.  I don’t perform strictly pendulum readings but I do keep one at hand for the quick Yes/No questions that come up in the process of a read as well as a sort of double check, if you will.
  5. You will normally find that I have an antique key on the cloth, its symbolic to me, think of the Lenormand key meaning as well about just being open to information.
  6. You will normally find a small piece of amethyst and/or moonstone on the cloth, I often it in one hand, sort of like a worry stone but not in that shape or for that reason – simply it gives my hand something to do as I read the cards because I am famous for talking with my hands which does distract a lot of people.  Okay, yes I still point at cards with my free hand!
  7. A moment, and little more then that, just before I start to shuffle the cards to quite my mind and focus.  I am blessed that after years of doing readings that I do not have to do opening meditations and such.  Nothing wrong with them of course, I am just glad that I don’t seem to need them, at least for now.
  8. Thats about it!! KISS – Keep It Simple Silly is a rule I like to try to follow

Now there is nothing wrong with grand and elaborate setups or processes, or doing less then what I do either.  What is important is that your process allows you to get into the right space to perform a reading AND that you remain open to changing your process as time goes by.  My guides led me down many a road of processes before I got to do things this simply and I am quite glad they did – I learned a lot along the way.

My best to you all and feel free to comment on this.