[Opinion] Why is so important to initiate with the tarot deck you using?

[kide101]

I am just asking the results and importance of this practice.

 

[Ben Gruagach]

Could you explain a bit more about what you mean by "initiate with the tarot deck"? Do you mean cleanse a new deck before you use it the first time? Do you mean something like a special ritual that is performed before doing a tarot reading? Something else?

 

[BMicic]

There are no formal “initiations” in tarot. Tarot is not a closed system, secret order, or institution that requires permission or ritual entry.

 

[ArchonLynx]

Sleep with your cards to gain a bond longer they are touching you the better the synergy of energy exchange if you treat them special & expose them to moon light you'll connect better.

I use to do tarot but now a days I just use my intuition & dreams to know things

 

[Reynard]

There are no formal “initiations” in tarot. Tarot is not a closed system, secret order, or institution that requires permission or ritual entry.

I agree. I love Tarot, though I'm still fairly new to it. I'm not dismissing its magic - but I've found it an far more useful as a reflective tool. I have read up on the symbolism, meanings, interpretations, but mostly I look at the pictures and ask myself what they mean.

I haven't initiated my deck. I'm really anal about putting the cards back into order after using them, so they always require a damn good shuffle before a reading (maybe that's a form of initiation?). Otherwise they just sit in their battered box on the side in my toyroom (uh, I mean in my "study").

 

[L’chaimGoldberg]

I swear I don’t know what my issue is with tarot, I’ve tried for YEARS to learn how to divine with them, tried different methods, studied, tried to just get intuitive impressions with the imagery, NOTHING. NADA. ZILCH. The first time I picked up a lenormand deck or cast runes, by the 2-3rd time I was reading them really well. Tarot basically says bugger off. Ive tried different decks too, and it hasn’t made any difference whatsoever. I think I have like 7 different decks at this point.

on the other hand, there seems to be a lot of use in them for just understanding concepts in life, astrology, magic in general even if you don’t really subscribe to the whole Kabbalistic view of the world. There seems to be a sort of ceremony in opening the box and unwrapping the plastic, and going through the cards in sequential order for the first time, it’s like reading a book for the first time, even if you love the book and resd it over and over until it becomes dog eared, that first time you read it can never be replicated.

 

[Sunnylil]

The first time I picked up a lenormand deck or cast runes, by the 2-3rd time I was reading them really well.

Interesting.
Tarot came easily to me. But runes never did. I couldn’t read them at all, even though I studied their meanings and myths. I tried periodically over the course of a year, and then gave up. I guess just not for me

 

[L’chaimGoldberg]

Interesting.
Tarot came easily to me. But runes never did. I couldn’t read them at all, even though I studied their meanings and myths. I tried periodically over the course of a year, and then gave up. I guess just not for me

I’ve heard similar things from different people over the years. Ive speculated that it might have something to do with heritage/genetics and cultural heritage as well. I’m an ethnic German so it would seem to make sense that runes and Lenormand cards would resonate with me, but if that’s the case why don’t Kipper cards??? It’s strange for me but I just accept it and move on.

the odd thing to me about tarot is that there’s not much documentation of them being used as a divination tool before the 1800s, when everyone got on this bandwagon of attributing them to ancient Egypt, perennial wisdom, of course the Kabbalah had to go into the mix. I’m not saying that they definitely didn’t exist in ancient Egypt or mystery traditions because that’s impossible to say. And with Crowleys deck it’s definitely connected to Kabballism and astrology. But at the end of the day it seems like it doesn’t have a very long provable history of use. And yet in a very short period of time, say the past 50-60 years since tarot cards have become readily available, they’ve become a staple for divination by almost every tradition, gender, ethnic group, language etc. that’s really impressive when you think about it from the outside looking in.

now playing cards, that’s an entirely different story, they’ve been used for centuries, and now they’re almost completely forgotten. I remember both of my grandmother’s telling us about people using playing cards for divination and they hadn’t really heard about tarot cards, and this was in the 80s and 90s.

as a side note about your issues with runes, there’s zero historical evidence that they were used for divination. There’s ONE account by Roman historian (and political propagandist) Tacitus that mentions the germanic tribes doing divination by carving “signs” on pieces of wood, the word he used is “notae”, basically markings. Edred Thorrson, aka Stephen Flowers, mentions a basic binary system that you can use for yes or no that he said was used by Germanic peoples. Nearly everything in modern rune casting is derived from tarot, including reading reversed, or upside down runes as the negative of that particular rune. Zero historical evidence for this being done. However, I’ve used it and it gives really good results, and at the end of the day, that’s what counts.

there’s another variation on rune casting and that’s to use actual pieces of wood, like popsicle sticks. The way the sticks lay can form patterns and runes themselves, i know at least one person who does this and is good with it.

 

[Sunnylil]

And with Crowleys deck it’s definitely connected to Kabballism and astrology. But at the end of the day it seems like it doesn’t have a very long provable history of use.

My introduction to Qabalah came through the Crowley deck, and only later I learned that what he uses is not Jewish Kabbalah but Western Hermetic Qabalah. He builds on the Golden Dawn system: taking the Tree of Life, the 22 paths, and the letters from the “Sefer Yetzirah,” then blending it with his own philosophy into a magical framework.
So there is a real structural connection to Kabbalah, but in essence it’s no longer traditional Kabbalah — it’s a reworked version of it.

As for practical use, readings on the Crowley deck can be quite accurate. But personally, I have the impression that it is tuned more toward the Qliphoth and tends to reflect the more distorted or shadow aspects of a situation.

Post automatically merged: Apr 8, 2026

I know two professional Tarot readers who’ve been doing this for over 10 years, and their readings are really accurate. I asked them about rituals like initiating a deck or putting it under your pillow or cleansing occasionally — neither of them does that. They just have separate decks for themselves and for clients, usually buying new, unopened decks and starting to use them right away.

 

[L’chaimGoldberg]

My introduction to Qabalah came through the Crowley deck, and only later I learned that what he uses is not Jewish Kabbalah but Western Hermetic Qabalah. He builds on the Golden Dawn system: taking the Tree of Life, the 22 paths, and the letters from the “Sefer Yetzirah,” then blending it with his own philosophy into a magical framework.
So there is a real structural connection to Kabbalah, but in essence it’s no longer traditional Kabbalah — it’s a reworked version of it.

As for practical use, readings on the Crowley deck can be quite accurate. But personally, I have the impression that it is tuned more toward the Qliphoth and tends to reflect the more distorted or shadow aspects of a situation.

Post automatically merged: Apr 8, 2026

I know two professional Tarot readers who’ve been doing this for over 10 years, and their readings are really accurate. I asked them about rituals like initiating a deck or putting it under your pillow or cleansing occasionally — neither of them does that. They just have separate decks for themselves and for clients, usually buying new, unopened decks and starting to use them right away.

Super super interesting when you say how it seems to show the more shadow/qlipoth side in readings, that sounds like a really good rabbit hole to investigate. I had a friend who was an astrologer and he used the Thoth deck for very good readings, he would interpret the astrological symbols on the cards, unfortunately he got so far out there with “substance abuse” that we had to go our separate ways.

i’m going to investigate this a little further.

for the longest time I thought the reason tarot didn’t resonate with me was because I had cards that the symbolism wasnt connecting with me. I had a Thoth, rider-waite-smith, marseille, even a Viking and a Visconti-Sforza deck. I figured if i was having difficulty connecting with the earliest known decks and ones depicting European culture, as a historian and person who is really interested in my heritage , then it’s probably NOT the cards that is the issue here.

 

[BMicic]

As for initiation into Tarot, in relation to Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley, Tarot is not a system into which one is initiated. It is a tool within a system into which one is initiated or admitted, such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn or A∴A∴. When someone was a member of the Golden Dawn, certain insights related to Tarot would open up to them—not because of initiation into Tarot itself, but because of initiation into the Golden Dawn.

 

[Sunnylil]

Super super interesting when you say how it seems to show the more shadow/qlipoth side in readings, that sounds like a really good rabbit hole to investigate.

If you're specifically interested in exploring the more shadow / qliphothic side, The Bohemian Gotic Tarot could actually work really well for that.
It’s not always the most practical for large, complex spreads — the imagery can be a bit too dense or thematically narrow for that — but where it really shines is as a significator for the querent or the situation.

It tends to hit very precisely and highlight exactly where the shadow aspects are concentrated, almost like it isolates the pressure qliphothic points rather than giving a broad narrative.

 

[skatedom]

It greatly helps with self-knowledge and confirmations in magic.

 

[Ben Maller]

Many tarot readers believe that getting familiar with a deck helps build a stronger connection to it. Spending time with the cards can make readings feel more intuitive and personal.

 

[Sarah24]

I've never heard of an initiation with a tarot deck, as in a ceremony before you use it. You do build a relationship with each deck you use though. Each one has its own personality and you get to know it by "conversing" with it by doing readings. If you feel like doing something like that would benefit you though, these no harm in it.

Post automatically merged: Jun 9, 2026

My introduction to Qabalah came through the Crowley deck, and only later I learned that what he uses is not Jewish Kabbalah but Western Hermetic Qabalah. He builds on the Golden Dawn system: taking the Tree of Life, the 22 paths, and the letters from the “Sefer Yetzirah,” then blending it with his own philosophy into a magical framework.
So there is a real structural connection to Kabbalah, but in essence it’s no longer traditional Kabbalah — it’s a reworked version of it.

As for practical use, readings on the Crowley deck can be quite accurate. But personally, I have the impression that it is tuned more toward the Qliphoth and tends to reflect the more distorted or shadow aspects of a situation.

Post automatically merged: Apr 8, 2026

I know two professional Tarot readers who’ve been doing this for over 10 years, and their readings are really accurate. I asked them about rituals like initiating a deck or putting it under your pillow or cleansing occasionally — neither of them does that. They just have separate decks for themselves and for clients, usually buying new, unopened decks and starting to use them right away.

My introduction to Qabalah came through the Crowley deck, and only later I learned that what he uses is not Jewish Kabbalah but Western Hermetic Qabalah. He builds on the Golden Dawn system: taking the Tree of Life, the 22 paths, and the letters from the “Sefer Yetzirah,” then blending it with his own philosophy into a magical framework.
So there is a real structural connection to Kabbalah, but in essence it’s no longer traditional Kabbalah — it’s a reworked version of it.

As for practical use, readings on the Crowley deck can be quite accurate. But personally, I have the impression that it is tuned more toward the Qliphoth and tends to reflect the more distorted or shadow aspects of a situation.

Post automatically merged: Apr 8, 2026

I know two professional Tarot readers who’ve been doing this for over 10 years, and their readings are really accurate. I asked them about rituals like initiating a deck or putting it under your pillow or cleansing occasionally — neither of them does that. They just have separate decks for themselves and for clients, usually buying new, unopened decks and starting to use them right away.

I find it really interesting how different readers and have different relationships with the same decks. I started with the Rider-Waite and later learnt Thoth. Whilst I don't fund either deck to be related to the "dark side", I do find the Thoth deck to give the more cheerful messages . For me I would say the main difference is that the Rider-Waite deck is more useful for doing readings on real life, where as the Thoth is more strictly Qabbalistic and I prefer this deck for doing inner or ceremonial work, or for using it paired with the tree of life as a key code for other practices.

 

[kide101]

I wanna say, thanks to everybody, I didn't had the time and place to respond or even participate in this but I am reading all of you. Ty

 

[Shaman369]

I am just asking the results and importance of this practice.

I started my journey with Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot deck and it is with this deck that I feel the best.

 

[EsoToeIck]

I’ve heard similar things from different people over the years. Ive speculated that it might have something to do with heritage/genetics and cultural heritage as well. I’m an ethnic German so it would seem to make sense that runes and Lenormand cards would resonate with me, but if that’s the case why don’t Kipper cards??? It’s strange for me but I just accept it and move on.

the odd thing to me about tarot is that there’s not much documentation of them being used as a divination tool before the 1800s, when everyone got on this bandwagon of attributing them to ancient Egypt, perennial wisdom, of course the Kabbalah had to go into the mix. I’m not saying that they definitely didn’t exist in ancient Egypt or mystery traditions because that’s impossible to say. And with Crowleys deck it’s definitely connected to Kabballism and astrology. But at the end of the day it seems like it doesn’t have a very long provable history of use. And yet in a very short period of time, say the past 50-60 years since tarot cards have become readily available, they’ve become a staple for divination by almost every tradition, gender, ethnic group, language etc. that’s really impressive when you think about it from the outside looking in.

now playing cards, that’s an entirely different story, they’ve been used for centuries, and now they’re almost completely forgotten. I remember both of my grandmother’s telling us about people using playing cards for divination and they hadn’t really heard about tarot cards, and this was in the 80s and 90s.

as a side note about your issues with runes, there’s zero historical evidence that they were used for divination. There’s ONE account by Roman historian (and political propagandist) Tacitus that mentions the germanic tribes doing divination by carving “signs” on pieces of wood, the word he used is “notae”, basically markings. Edred Thorrson, aka Stephen Flowers, mentions a basic binary system that you can use for yes or no that he said was used by Germanic peoples. Nearly everything in modern rune casting is derived from tarot, including reading reversed, or upside down runes as the negative of that particular rune. Zero historical evidence for this being done. However, I’ve used it and it gives really good results, and at the end of the day, that’s what counts.

there’s another variation on rune casting and that’s to use actual pieces of wood, like popsicle sticks. The way the sticks lay can form patterns and runes themselves, i know at least one person who does this and is good with it.

I had totally forgot until I read your reply that when I was knee high to a grasshopper, I'd stay with my Great Grandma and her friends would come over after church for pie or cookies, coffee, and so she could give them their remedies and to use her playing cards for divination. Thank you for reminding me of that. Happy memories. Haha

 

[honeybee]

I’ve had my deck for a long time but I just can’t seem to feel anything when I’m trying to do readings. How can I get more familiar with them? I feel like maybe I just don’t have “the gift”.

Many tarot readers believe that getting familiar with a deck helps build a stronger connection to it. Spending time with the cards can make readings feel more intuitive and personal.