Before and after working with your Tarot cards or giving a reading, how important is it to cleanse the space you're working in? My readings are often spontaneous, and I never remember to cleanse the area around me before or after the readings. Is this harmful?
Deborah
Dreamchaser:
I personally believe there is no right way or wrong way to handle your own cards or space. What works for you is what you should do.
I personally don't have time to bless, protect, and cleanse my divination tools or myself throughout the day. I am a busy woman, so I ask for protection for the ENTIRE day when I first wake up. I ask that I am protected and given the wisdom I need to help my clients, family, friends and myself. I "know" that this one prayer for protection covers me for the whole day because I believe it does. I also have a pact going with "God." I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am being watched over. Since sometimes I get back-to-back clients, I have to trust that "someone" is taking care of my energy. I trust that I am being watched over at all times.
What I DO have near my cards is a tiger's eye stone. It boosts psychic ability and is a very good cleansing stone. Sometimes if I had to work especially hard for a client for some reason (fear, doubt, sadness, etc.), I will pick up that stone and just hold it in my hand to feel its energy filling me and washing me clean. It only takes a few seconds to work for me, but that is because I picked the stone that was "calling out to me" when I was in the store. I kept walking back over to it and picking it up. Those are the ones you know you must buy.
You also must remember to put yourself in a protected space. You need to remember that most clients are going to be sucking on your energy. It is not wrong of them. It is normal, as they come needing answers and help. It's much like a lifeguard going out to save someone. Most of the time, the person being saved tries to climb on top of the lifeguard, almost drowning the lifeguard as well. The guard has to tell the person to relax and that everything is okay. Clients really want help and are in a way climbing on our backs.
However, if you are sucked dry after one client, what will you do for the next one? I picture myself inside of a bubble where nothing can get in, but my energy can get out. It does work, because I don't tire even after hours of clients. Keep your own energy fields CLEAN by protecting them.
It's not dangerous or harmful to not cleanse your tools or space, but you may get tired more easily. Find what works for you.
I wish you empowered readings.
*****
Astrea:
Every individual reader has rituals they perform that "cleanse" their tools and reading spaces. Whether the reader uses cards, wands, crystal balls, rocks, paper or scissors, she will have her own way to make her space a welcoming place for herself and for others. Every reader I've ever met has had a unique, personal approach for preparing her reading space, and taking care of it afterward. Thus I feel that you will have to find what works best for you personally too.
For me, it depends on WHERE I am reading. Since I do most of my work at home, I use the same office every day. At the beginning of the day, I do my "absolutions" and make my offerings, ask for Guidance, and get to work. At the END of the day, I give thanks for being able to do the readings I've done that day and ask to be prepared for the next. I don't burn incense or candles because I don't care for the smell. This is a fairly straightforward routine that I've observed for many years, and it works fine for me.
Occasionally, I'll wash the walls down and clean up like anyone would do in a regular "Spring Cleaning." I will clear and dust the altar that I maintain all the time in my "reading room," but this is maintenance to me, not magic.
A friend of mine who reads at Ren Faires and other outdoor venues carries several totems with her that she places around her space before she sits down. She then clears and collects them before she returns home. She "CLEARS" her tools after every day of reading with salt or with Moonlight; whichever is the most available and plentiful. She says that unless she observes these rituals, she feels scattered and has trouble focusing in the new spaces, and can't read well for anyone.
If you've been reading for several years in the same space without any adverse effects, it might not be necessary for you to "cleanse" your space. As long as it is dirt and dust-free and open to Spirit Energy (and you'll feel it if it's not), you should be safe and happy doing your readings there.
The rituals we use are secret and special to each person using them, and would probably be meaningless to someone else. Some of the things we do are downright silly, but we do them anyway out of habit and superstition. Most of the time, asking for a little guidance and saying THANKS when you get it should be plenty!
Astrea:
Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.
Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!
While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!
I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!
As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.
I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.
You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!
Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.
A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.
You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.