Tarot cards are one of the most popular spiritual tools that are in use today.
They have become the go-to method for millions of people to get guidance and support in life.
As such, you can only imagine the type of significance they hold.
When you get into the habit of reading tarot cards, they sort of become a part of who you are. You start seeing them as an extension of yourself.
So, it is only natural that when you hear about burning a deck of tarot cards, it will seem like a dramatic thing and you will wonder why anybody would want to do that!
Well, it might surprise you but burning one’s tarot deck is not unheard of.
A lot of tarot readers do it for various reasons.
Also, for some people, it might happen accidentally, and so, they might want to know what happens when your tarot cards get burnt.
In this article, le’ts explore this subject and answer this question.
1) Negative Energy May Get Released
Tarot cards are powerful spiritual tools that can absorb the energies around them.
This is why you are advised to cleanse your tarot cards when you first get them and before doing any readings.
( check our article about how to cleanse your cards here)
After all, the energies absorbed by your cards can affect you or any other person you might be doing a reading for.
Now, sometimes, your tarot cards can absorb too much negative energy for whatever reason.
Maybe someone negative came in contact with them, maybe you’re going through a terrible phase of life that has affected their energy, or maybe you took your tarot cards to a really dark and heavy place.
Whatever the reason, your cards might be full of negative energy that might be too difficult to get rid of.
In cases like these, burning your cards might be the only option to release the negative energy.
As you may know, fire is considered the greatest purifier in the world of spirituality.
In fact, burning your cards can be a cleansing and purifying ritual in itself! so you can send back the negative energies to the universe so it can be recycled….
The only thing is that you won’t be able to use these cards afterwards but at lease you got rid of the toxic energy.
2) Your Connection With Your Cards Will Be Gone
As mentioned above, when you start reading tarot cards, they eventually start feeling like a part of yourself.
As a tarot reader, you essentially imprint a part of yourself in your tarot cards.
It is this that helps you build a strong connection with your deck, which in turn, helps you become a good tarot reader.
Now, when you burn your tarot cards, your connection with them will obviously be gone.
You will essentially burn the part of yourself that had been assimilated into the cards.
This doesn’t mean that you will suffer in any way. It just means that you will no longer feel that sense of connection with them.
In rare cases, it might leave you a little emotionally drained or unsettled. You might feel like you have lost your pet or something.
But eventually, things will settle down and you can get a new tarot deck for yourself if you want.
3) You May Experience A Symbolic Rebirth
Sometimes, you might need a restart in life.
Sometimes, you might need a change of direction.
To make that possible, the old needs to be cleared off before the new can take its place.
In cases, like these, a lot of people get rid of their old stuff like their clothes, books, music collection, or other material possessions. The same can be done with tarot cards.
If you want to change your tarot deck for whatever reason ( like it reminds you of someone or something negative that is attached to it), you might burn your existing tarot cards.
Or, if you want to quit tarot reading altogether ( for any reasons), again, you might burn your deck.
In many spiritual traditions, burning things often symbolizes an act of rebirth.
So, when you burn your cards, it is sort of a declaration that you are releasing your old self and embracing a new identity.
Sure, this can be emotionally challenging.
And it might take you some time to adjust.
But sometimes, you need this push to embark upon a new journey.
4) You could Manifest your Dream
Some readers use the cards as a way to manifest love, money, work….
They follow some rituals such as : keeping in their hands the card symbolizing the outcome they are looking for, ex : lovers for love, ace of pentacles for money etc….
While holding the card in their hands, they would then focus on their wish and they may repeat 9 times an affirmation such as: “I find real love” ” I meet a man etc…”.
And after repeating the affirmation, they would burn the card so that the energy of their wish is released into the universe to manifest their dream….
I personally haven’t tried it…. but you can give it a try if you feel like it 🙂
5) You Might Experience Grief
We, humans, experience grief when we lose something or someone that we loved and cared about.
The deeper the attachment, the deeper the pain of separation, anxiety, and depression.
After all, the void they leave depends on how much space they occupied in our lives.
The exact same thing is applicable to our tarot cards as well.
When we become familiar with them and use them regularly, we become attached to them.
That is my case. For me, each deck is like a dear friend to me….. I know it sounds a bit cheesy…haha
After a while, it starts to feel like they are a living entity and you establish a special bond with them.
After all, we use them for meaningful purposes like guidance, insights, and support in our lives.
So, it is normal to feel a sense of grief when you burn your tarot cards or when they get burned accidentally.
You feel as though your best friend has been ripped apart from you. And that can be painful, to say the least.
6) Nothing
You might not like this answer but it’s true.
Sometimes, nothing happens when you burn your tarot cards.
You don’t feel upset or exhilarated.
You don’t feel grief or liberated.
At the end of the day, it’s just an event like any other in your life.
When this happens, it doesn’t necessarily tell anything about your connection with them.
Maybe you are the type of person who is generally detached from things. Or maybe you are the type of person who just likes to do what needs to be done without reacting emotionally to it.
So, if you experience nothing when you burn your tarot cards, that’s okay!
It doesn’t necessarily have to be a dramatic event. You can always get back to it when you want in the future.
So as you can see, nothing terrible happens when burning tarot cards……I like to think that what matters is what intention or meaning you give to it….. 🙂
