Someone contacted me through my Facebook page about a tarot deck that was irreparably damaged due to a tragedy. More than asking just how to get rid of the deck, she wanted to know how to disconnect energetically, emotionally, and psychically from the cards. Here’s her question and my response.
Here’s the question:
Hello. I am hoping you can answer my question. My tarot deck survived a house fire, only to be drowned with water and engulfed with mold. They are not really salvageable. How do I respectfully unlink from them and dispose of them? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Here’s my answer:
Oh, that’s too bad! I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you’re doing ok. House fires are so horrible!
As to your deck and how to dispose of it, burning or burying are common disposal methods for magical tools, but unless the cards were very plastic-y, a more efficient technique might be to put them in the compost bin. As to a farewell ceremony, I haven’t heard of anything formal, so following your intuition towards the closure you need is probably best.
I would certainly say a little eulogy over them before disposing of them. Another way to disconnect energetically might be to do a meditation in which you envision the cards flooded with light, and envision yourself separating from them and returning from being connected to them to being centered completely in yourself. This is something I do at the end of a session with a Reiki client.
If you have trouble energetically letting go after that, you might consider looking into getting a soul retrieval done by a trained and experienced shamanic practitioner.
Also, don’t be hesitant to get a new deck soon to replace them. I have a ceremony you can use to charge the new deck so you can develop a positive connection with them. See the article on the Llewellyn Journal.
I hope these suggestions help! Let me know how it goes.
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Joy Vernon has been studying and teaching energetic and esoteric modalities for more than twenty years. She is the organizer of the Denver Tarot Geeks, Denver Tarot Meetup and Denver Traditional Reiki Meetup, and she served on the faculty of Avalon Center for Druidic Studies. She is a reader at Isis Books and is a Certified Professional Tarot Reader and a member of the American Tarot Association and Tarosophy Tarot Association. Joy also teaches Traditional Japanese Reiki. For information on upcoming classes or to schedule an appointment, please visit JoyVernon.com.
© 2016 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved.