There are some clients when, after having a session with me, want to purchase their very own tarot deck. More often than not, this may lead to buyer’s remorse and some clients keeping the deck in a bottom drawer, unloved and unused, just because they don’t quite know what to do with a new tarot deck once they take it home. An unused tarot deck is a lonely one, in my opinion.
I’d like to solve that problem and offer a few handy steps to properly introduce yourself to your new tarot deck.
Steps to Breaking in a New Tarot Deck
- Remove and unwrap the cards from the box.
- Select a tarot bag for storage if you don’t want to store the cards in their original cardboard box (I prefer this as the cardboard boxes tend to not last, and also don’t protect the edges of the deck as well as a cloth bag does).
- Study the little white book as to the theme of the deck (if you are unfamiliar).
- Study the Major Arcana first. Deal with the Minor Arcana after. Keep in mind that Major Arcana = major turning points/milestones in life, and Minor Arcana = day-to-day issues and scenarios.
- When shuffling a deck for the first time, keep in mind that the deck usually is in this order: Major Arcana, from 0 Fool to 21 World, then ordered by Suit, then within each Suit, Ace through 10. Court Cards come before the Ace or after the 10 of each Suit (usually after the 10). So, when shuffling a brand-new deck, you really want to go nuts to shuffle and shuffle well. There’s a lot of methods to this, and which method you choose will depend on whether you read with reversals or not. If you do, my recommendation is fanning the cards out facedown on a large table, and then shuffling like mad. Sweep your hands back and forth and take the cards with your hands. Pretty soon you will have a messy pile in front of you. You can keep going if you like, or even play “78 Card Pick-Up” to really make sure you shuffle them well (with reverence, of course!).
- Gather up the messy pile. At this time, you may choose to shuffle regularly (using the overhand method or if your hands are big enough, the method you use to shuffle a regular deck of playing cards, such as bridging) and ask your new deck the question: What can I expect from working with this deck? Pull one card. See what that card has to say to you on a personal level through its imagery. Then consult the LWB as necessary if the card’s message isn’t clear.
Continue to work with your new deck daily for awhile before attempting to read for others. I highly encourage a card of the day practice for at least a month’s time to get to know your new deck and how it works for you. Take notes and see how your interpretation of the card matches up with what you see and experience in the world that day.
Much love and blessings,
~*~Hilary~*~
www.tarotbyhilary.com
hilary@tarotbyhilary.com
Original image courtesy of artur84 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net / Image created with Canva.
Join in the discussion: How do you break in a new deck? Do you do it a little differently? Why? Leave your thoughts in the Comments section below.
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HILARY PARRY HAGGERTY is a tarot reader, witch, mentor, editor, and teacher. She has been reading tarot for over 21 years (13 years professionally). She was the winner of Theresa Reed’s (The Tarot Lady) Tarot Apprentice contest in 2011, and has taught classes on tarot and spell-work at The Tarot School’s annual tarot conference Readers Studio and at Brid’s Closet Beltane Festival. She writes a weekly blog on tarot at her website www.tarotbyhilary.com and has been featured in Maxim Magazine and BuzzFeed.
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© Hilary Parry Haggerty | Tarot by Hilary
Excellent advice.
I also carry the new deck around with me and sleep with it under my pillow so we get used to each other even when we’re not ‘talking’…
Clara x
Clara: Another great suggestion on getting to know your new deck! This is also a good idea if you are having problem understanding certain cards… slip those “problem” cards under your pillow… and you may come to a greater understanding of them through your dreams! Thanks for reading!
These are really great suggestions. I recently got a new deck and was surprised to learn many of the traditional cards were exchanged so I have a bit of a learning curve but can’t wait to try it out!
Krystal: Try checking out the little white book that came with the deck. Usually when the designer of the deck deviates from the traditional names of cards, they will say so in the companion book. If the deck didn’t come with anything, a quick Google search can help with determining what the card is. Thanks for reading; hope your new deck really “speaks” to you!
Thanks for the tips. I brought a the Gilded Tarot and have been shuffling like mad. I’m going to sleep with them under my pillow tonight.
Wonderful, Janey! The Gilded Tarot is absolutely gorgeous, and I hope it speaks to you. 🙂
Sleeping with your cards under your pillow is a great idea, as one of the other readers Clara noted in her comments. You can also leave your tarot deck on a windowsill to let it soak in the sunlight or moonlight, whichever you prefer (I like the moonlight so it can soak in the intuitive gifts of the moon).
Enjoy, and may your tarot journey be blessed!
I love this! I just asked my new The Wild Unknown deck this very question, and pulled the World! I feel like there’s so much positivity in that, and am really looking forward to working with the deck!
I love the Wild Unknown deck, Sophie! I hope it serves you well, and it sounds like pulling the World card is definitely a positive sign that this deck will resonate well with you. Enjoy and thanks for reading!
Hilary recently posted…From the double home office…
I recently bought a deck of wild unknown tarot cards. Upon opening the deck, i was surprised to see that although these are BRAND NEW cards, as in..I had to take the plastic packing off brand spankin new….they were out of order. Some cards were even upside down. Does this mean anything? I am afraid to use them if they arw…unsavored or tainted in any way without checking and/or doing a blessing first. Help!
Thanks for reading, Chloe!
I don’t think your deck of Wild Unknown cards are tainted in any way just because they are out of order. Not every tarot deck creator has their cards packaged and bound in the same order as what I listed.
I’d recommend going through your deck and ordering them though, so you make sure you have all 78 cards and that there are no duplicates or missing cards before you go ahead and shuffle and use them for the first time.
If you do have missing or duplicate cards, that’s when I would contact the publisher and tell them what happened – with proof of purchase you may be able to get them to send you the cards you need to complete the deck.
Thanks for commenting, and good luck!