Cleansing a Tarot Deck

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Many traditional Asian societies follow the lunar calendar (I once litigated a case involving an elder Taiwanese woman and all the document evidence she had was dated per the lunar calendar, which completely tripped us lawyers up and a lot of conversion work had to be done, but that is neither here nor there; just mentioning it to affirm that it really is still used today) and the super-traditional even believe that certain energies are more dominant during certain phases of the moon. Not kidding: they’d schedule major surgeries around certain phases of the moon because they believe they’ll bleed less and chances of success will be higher. They consult the Chinese almanac, which is based around the lunar calendar, for everything, from when to launch a business or throw a wedding ceremony to the optimal time for a funeral.

I’ll say that I haven’t lived or observed the universe long enough to confirm whether there is any validity to following moon phases, but if it worked for my ancestors and there is no actual adverse effects from continuing the tradition and it makes me personally feel closer to my heritage, then why the heck not. My mom was adamant about calibrating Hubby’s and my engagement and marriage to moon phases. Did it work? So far so good I’d say.

Anyway, that was a long tangent of an introduction. Sorry. This post is about cleansing a tarot deck.

1 cleansing tarot deck

To demonstrate, I’m using the DruidCraft Tarot deck by Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm and Will Worthington (a highly recommended deck, by the way; though there is a great bit of nudity in the illustrations, which I understand why would be featured in a Wiccan-Druid-based deck, but just does not resonate well with me).

Continue reading “Cleansing a Tarot Deck”

Amethyst Crystal: The Healer’s Stone

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In ancient times, the amethyst was believed to ward off drunkenness and to help its wearer maintain a calm, sober mind. Soldiers often incorporated the amethyst into their armor, or at least that’s what I read. The amethyst was also a stone of the high priests and is referenced in several verses in the Bible, namely Exodus and Revelations. What I find most interesting of all is across many cultures and civilizations, the amethyst has consistently been considered a healer’s stone, one with potent healing properties, for both physical and mental ailments.

The hubby visited Peru recently and brought me back the above amethyst crystal. There were hundreds upon hundreds of crystals at the little shop in Cusco but that one resonated with him as the one I’d like most.

Amethyst is a crystalline quartz that can range from a light pastel purple like the one pictured to a deep, rich purple with blue undertones. Generally I see the light amethysts as conducive of channeling intuition and energies helpful to attaining secret knowledge or wisdom. Dark amethysts are perhaps more practical for the everyday objectives: channeling energies that will help attract power and affluence. The light amethyst crystal is perfect for me, as I’ve been seeking a more spiritual path these days.

When reading tarot for issues that involve healing of some kind, I’ll be keeping this amethyst crystal nearby.