Cleansing Your Tarot Cards — clearing stagnant energy

Supervised by Usatoko WHITE
Professional fortune teller & spiritual advisor

Nyanta

Is it actually a good idea to cleanse tarot cards?

Nekosuke

Definitely! Cards build up energy every time they're used, so cleansing them regularly is the trick to keeping your readings accurate.

✦Introduction

We'll talk about cleansing tarot cards. Cleansing means clearing away things that have become "dirty" — and tarot cards can pick up a kind of invisible residue over time. This is about removing that residue and refreshing the cards.

Picture it this way: fresh outdoor air, a forest park, a place where you can hear birdsong — these are spaces that make you want to breathe deeply. A dark room cluttered with things, or a space where someone is shouting — these make you want to hold your breath. Cleansing is about clearing away that uncomfortable, suffocating feeling from a place. It can also clear away a person's negative energy. In the same way, cleansing your tarot cards to keep them clear is likely to feel good both for the reader and for the person receiving the reading.

☾Tarot Card Cleansing and Care Methods

There's no fixed rule that says "you must cleanse this way." You don't need to be overly nervous about it. That said, a card that has absorbed all kinds of thoughts and energy from different people can end up carrying a sort of preconception within it. When you get a new deck, or when your readings feel unclear, the same card keeps coming up repeatedly, or you draw cards that feel completely disjointed from the situation, it's a good time to cleanse and refresh your cards.

Here are several methods for cleansing and caring for your tarot cards.

Smoke Cleansing

This is the most well-known cleansing method. You burn herbs (such as white sage, cedar, or sweetgrass) over a shell, and pass the smoke over each tarot card one at a time.

This method brings together four elements: the flame that burns the herb represents Fire, the herb itself represents Earth, the smoke represents Air, and the shell represents Water. That said, gathering a large shell and the right herbs can be difficult in practice. Incense containing these herbs works as a substitute. White sage, frankincense, sandalwood, osmanthus, and peach are all incense scents with cleansing properties. Incense is also easy to find through online shopping. Beyond cleansing tarot cards, it can also be used to purify a room and to relax. The image here is one of using fire and smoke to drive away negative energy and cleanse.

Crystals

Using a crystal is said to be an easy and highly effective method. Stack your tarot deck together and place a crystal on top. There's no fixed number of hours required, but leaving it overnight near a window where moonlight from a full moon can reach it tends to be especially effective.

Crystals have long been believed to house spirits, and have been used for warding off evil and clearing negative energy. Crystals are said to absorb unwanted energy and restore a normal energetic state. Cleansing with a crystal can remove the negative-energy-like residue that clings to tarot cards. Natural stones like crystals also have the power to affect a person's heart — cleansing your tarot deck with a crystal lets the reader approach their reading with a clear mind. Remember to cleanse the crystal itself from time to time, too. When negative energy builds up in a crystal, it loses its vitality and becomes less effective at cleansing your cards. Rinse the crystal well under tap water, dry it with a towel, and expose it to sunlight to refresh it. If a crystal's shine seems duller than before, that's a sign it needs attention.

Cleansing Spray

Cleansing sprays are made from herbs like white sage, or from sake and coarse salt. Spray it onto a cloth or tissue and gently wipe your tarot cards. However, paper tarot cards are vulnerable to moisture, so check whether they have a water-repellent coating first — otherwise you risk damaging the cards. Besides tarot cards, you can also spray it onto power stones or other tools you use. A single spritz into the space where you do your readings can also cleanse the room and help you read with a clear mind.

Salt Water

If scents like white sage don't agree with you, or if you have small children or pets at home, making your own cleansing spray with salt water is a good option. A salt water spray can be made simply by putting salt and water into a bottle. As with the herb spray, soak a cloth or tissue and wipe down the cards — but if your cards don't have a water-repellent coating, this can still cause damage.

Salt has long been believed to have cleansing properties. Even today, it's common practice to sprinkle purifying salt on yourself before entering the house after a funeral. Mounded salt (morishio) is placed at the entrances of shops and inns, and inside homes in directions people are concerned about. You've probably heard the line "throw some salt down" in a TV drama or film — this is one of the cleansing methods meant to keep bad energy from entering a home.

Crystal Tuning Fork

With a crystal tuning fork, you point the pointed end of the crystal toward the cards and strike the flat side of the fork. This makes the surrounding space vibrate, and that vibration cleanses the tarot cards. Once the sound rings out, move the tuning fork slowly in circles over the cards to cleanse them.

The tone from a crystal tuning fork is a high frequency of 4096Hz per second. This is said to be the Earth's fundamental frequency of 8Hz doubled and raised nine octaves. It's considered a healing sound for people, sometimes called "the sound that opens the door to the heavens." This sound cleanses all kinds of objects, and can also harmonize your mind and body — cleansing you personally — when you're feeling out of sorts. It's also well suited to cleansing power stones. Crystal tuning fork sets, bundled with items like quartz clusters, are readily available through online retailers. This is an especially easy cleansing method when you're short on time.

Moonlight Bathing

On the night of a full moon, simply placing your tarot cards where the moonlight reaches them is enough to cleanse them. The power of the full moon cleanses the cards and infuses them with fresh energy. It's also nice to place power stones alongside them to cleanse together. A full moon is the day when energy reaches its peak — it's a chance to draw in the energy you need and release what you don't.

A full moon occurs roughly every 29 to 30 days. You might decide that the day of the full moon each month is your designated tarot-cleansing day, and cleanse your cards regularly on that schedule.

Burying in Earth

From the new moon through to the end of the full moon, or over a period of seven days, you cleanse the cards by burying them in the earth. This is said to return the cards to the earth — the mother of all things — so they can pass through a cycle of death and rebirth. This method is used when the cards have been strongly exposed to energy that feels unwelcome.

If you bury your tarot cards in the ground, wrap them carefully in something waterproof, like plastic, so they don't get damaged. You'll also need to make sure they aren't washed away by heavy rain or dug up by animals.

Shuffling

This method involves repeatedly shuffling your tarot deck. Whether you spread the cards on a table and mix them, or shuffle them in your hands like a deck of playing cards, either works. Always shuffling before beginning a tarot reading is meant to cleanse the deck, refresh the space, and change the air. Some readers also use this moment to correct the orientation of upright and reversed cards.

Sorting

Sorting means rearranging the Major and Minor Arcana each into their proper order. The Major Arcana are lined up by number from the Fool through to the World, and the Minor Arcana are separated by suit and ordered from Ace to King. Don't forget to also align the cards so they're all facing the same way up. It can feel tedious at times, but sorting refreshes your tarot deck. What matters most with this method is always doing it in the same fixed order each time. For example, you might go Major Arcana → Wands → Cups → Swords → Pentacles — the order itself is entirely up to you.

That said, shuffling and sorting are relatively simple cleansing methods. At some point, it's a good idea to also try smoke cleansing, a crystal, a crystal tuning fork, cleansing spray, or moonlight bathing.

⧗When Should You Cleanse Your Tarot Cards?

Now let's talk about timing. Basically, there's no fixed schedule — everyone cleanses their cards according to their own sense of things. It's never a problem to cleanse too often or at any particular moment, but here are situations where it's especially worth doing.

When you buy tarot cards or receive a new deck

A brand-new deck in particular may have passed through many hands during distribution, and could have picked up all sorts of thoughts and negative energy along the way. Smoke cleansing, a crystal, or a crystal tuning fork are all good choices here.

When the answers to your questions feel off

If you keep up a regular tarot practice, watch for moments when the answers to your questions start to feel disjointed. This doesn't mean only "bad" cards are showing up — it's more about readings that are hard to interpret, or a run of cards that simply don't make sense together. When that happens, it's worth thinking about cleansing.

When you feel you've read for someone difficult

If you sense you've come into contact with a client's negative energy or heavy thoughts, cleanse your cards. A crystal tuning fork is quick, but a cleansing spray or sorting also work well.

When you feel you've picked up negative energy from a client

In this case too, a crystal tuning fork, cleansing spray, or sorting can all cleanse your deck without taking much time.

When you're focused on the accuracy of your readings

If you want to receive the cards' messages more precisely, cleanse frequently. Some readers cleanse after every single reading. Even briefly — placing a crystal on the deck, ringing a crystal tuning fork, or giving a quick spritz of cleansing spray — is enough to get the effect.

✧How to Store Your Tarot Cards After Cleansing

Once cleansed, store your tarot cards in a dedicated pouch or case. Keeping them in a special cloth or box is itself a way of treating your cards as something valuable. Wrapping them further in silk can help protect them from negative energy. Use something entirely new, reserved only for that deck. Purple, gold, yellow, and blue are considered favorable colors — avoid a vivid red. Keep the cards somewhere above eye level, and give them a proper place to rest.

Don't forget to also take care of the storage case itself. For cloth pouches, use adhesive tape to lift off dirt and dust, and wash and iron them occasionally. For materials that can't be washed, carefully wipe away any dirt by hand. Wooden or paper cases should be wiped with a cloth or tissue. For elaborately decorated wooden boxes, fine dust and grime tends to collect in the decorative details — use a cotton swab to clean those areas carefully.

Nyanta

There are so many different cleansing methods! Is there one that's easy to do?

Nekosuke

Moonlight bathing or using white sage smoke are both great for beginners. Try a few and see which method feels right for you.

☀Summary

We've covered how to cleanse your tarot cards, when to do it, and how to store them afterward. Cleansing, in the end, feels like a way of building trust between the reader and the cards. Your deck is a precious, trusted partner.

Reviewed by

Usatoko WHITE

Professional fortune teller specialising in tarot, oracle and Lenormand reading. Usatoko supervises every divination guide at Luna Factory to keep them accurate and beginner-friendly.

Written by the Luna Factory Editorial Team