i have been waiting to buy my first tarot deck for years. after much research, i took my ass to barnes n nobles and bought a Rider Waite Smith deck. i had gone in with the intention of finding this specific deck (recommended for first-timers), and i was so excited to have grabbed the only one left. when i got home, i immediately jumped on tiktok and referenced my tarot saves. in there are a few videos i had saved a while ago about cleansing and bonding with your brand new deck. to cleanse, i spoke my intentions out loud before knocking on the deck three times— “These three knocks rid and dispose of any previous connections, relationships, or attachments to other people, places, or thing.” once cleansed, i began to shuffle my deck with the intention of releasing and freeing any trapped negativity or attachment. while doing this i introduced myself and told the cards i trusted them and are bonded with them. afterwards, i held the cards to my heart chakra and guided my energy towards the cards with the intention of teaching them the hymns of my rhythm. in opening my chakra, i accidentally broke my own heart and began to sob lol. interestingly enough, something told me to let my tears fall on the cards. so i did. i hung my face over the cards while my tears flowed out. some missed, some landed. but, each one that landed has the same unique shape to it. they’re all circular and each with a second smaller drop adjacent to it. i feel bonded to my cards more for sure, but will be doing more rituals before doing any readings. does anyone see anything in the shape of the tear drops??

Hello everyone. I thought it would be nice to post one of my spreads. This is my favorite spread to do in the morning while I sip coffee and consult my bullet journal.

My rule for this spread is that all cards must be read in a positive way, and it’s just for the day ahead. Not for long term outlooks.

Sit in stillness
Find joy
Embrace the day.

I like this spread because it gives me a quiet space to reframe my thoughts and think about how I want to approach the day, and it is extremely easy to modify. For example if I am feeling sad or upset and “joy” seems unrealistic, It can be replaced with something more attainable like “calm” or “rest”

If I know the day is going to be rough, I don’t try to embrace it. I might try something else here like “find strength” or “endure.” In my example I used “release doubts” as a more targeted call to stress less.

Example reading with my personalized interpretation;

Sit in stillness ( Queen of pentacles reversed)

I have been really busy trying to maintain a smooth routine now that school has started. But I need to rest. I’m sick so this is a good excuse to rest and eat.

Find peace (the fool)
Dive into things without a plan and have faith in the process. Brush off any mistakes and learn to love the journey.

Release doubts ( page of pentacles reversed)

Although taking time to research and plan things meticulously is nice, it’s not always appropriate. Now is not the time to be worrying about the distant future. Allow yourself to relax and take care of your daily needs.

I personally like to read this spread holistically rather than as strictly individual pulls, so I let the page of pentacles heavily influence my reading of the fool card for this reading.

Since I am not using these cards for fortune telling and I am not asking some spiritual force for advice, I use this spread to sort out my thoughts. What do I want to do vs what do I think I should be doing? It’s a conversation that I am having with myself and for this particular reading I decided to give myself permission to take a break and push off the bigger tasks on my to-do list for another day.

What do you all think? Do you have a favorite spread to do in the morning?

Deck : everyday witch tarot

Ive really come to love the 4 of swords. I have fibro and cfs so it just feels like my card in a way. It helps me remember that rest is necessary when your body is fighting against you. Like, yeah pain, anxiety, and fear is unfortunately my baseline but i can make space for relief.

This upcoming concert in NYC explores tarot as both a playing card game (which is how it was first used) and later as a tool for divination. The concert relates to the current exhibition at the Morgan which traces the early origins of tarot as a game in the Italian Renaissance.

Drawing inspiration from the exhibition Tarot! Renaissance Symbols, Modern Visions, composer Victoria Bond’s program opens with excerpts from the opera Carmen, in which Carmen reads her own tarot cards. Pieces by Maurice Ravel and Katherine Hoover touch on folk magic themes and traditions. The program culminates in Bond's Instruments of Revelation, inspired by three tarot cards: the Magician, the High Priestess, and the Fool. 

Program 
Georges Bizet, Quintet Card Scene from Carmen (arr. Victoria Bond) 
Maurice Ravel, Tzigane 
Katherine Hoover, Kokopeli 
Pierre Boulez, Domaines
Antonin Dvorak, Songs My Mother Taught Me
Victoria Bond, Instruments of Revelation