Cleanse your cards – An amethyst cluster is ideal for this. Simply rest your working deck on the cluster overnight and it is refreshed, recharged and ready to go again in the morning. I also recommend resting any deck you’ve bought second-hand on an amethyst cluster, at least overnight before you use it. You can do this after wiping the cards gently with a soft cloth and/or passing them through sandalwood or white sage incense to cleanse them. Then they are ready to be blessed and dedicated.
Store your cards – If you store your cards in a pouch or wooden box, you can easily add a crystal or two to keep them charged up. One of my favorite ever Tarot bags is made of 100% silk and has a couple of crystals sewn into the lining – that way they can’t go missing, which typically tends to happen for me with loose crystals. Go with your intuition about which crystals to use for this and don’t forget that they need cleansing regularly unless they are self-cleaning like amethyst, citrine and kyanite.
Vibrational medicine – I use Tarot cards to create vibrational essences and I find that adding crystals to the charging process greatly enhances the product. You can also use the Tarot directly on your body for chakra healing, for instance, and this works even better if you add a corresponding crystal. For instance, for heart healing, you may wish to try placing Justice or The Empress (Archangel Anael) over the Anahata (heart) chakra, with a piece of rose quartz on top.
Help with readings – Crystals can greatly enhance our thinking and our intuition, as well as how we express our thoughts in both verbal and written communication. My favorite crystals to work with during readings for these purposes are amethyst, lapis lazuli and sodalite for intuition (all three enhance the third eye) turquoise for communication (throat chakra) and mixed fluorite for mental clarity (crown chakra).
Another way to have crystals help with your reading is to ask your client to randomly choose a crystal and then allow the message of that crystal to give the reading focus. There are two ways of doing this: you can let your client choose a stone randomly, from a bag, without looking… or… you can lay the crystals out on the table and ask the client to choose the one they feel most drawn to. If you work with smaller/less expensive crystals, it is a nice touch to let your client keep this crystal after the reading. You can also create an affirmation for your client to use with the crystal.
Spirit communication/meditation – For communicating with spirit guides during meditation and readings, selenite and clear quartz are both helpful. Simply hold a larger piece in your cupped hands or two smaller pieces (one in each hand) while you meditate. It will amplify communication from the spirit world and make the messages easier to understand.
Magick amplifiers – You can create a spell using a Tarot card (or combination of cards) that symbolizes your desired outcome. Let’s say, for instance, that you wish to manifest a love relationship with someone that you will marry and settle down with for life. On your altar, you might place the 2 of Cups (Venus in Cancer), The Sun and the 10 of Pentacles. The 10 of Pentacles (Mercury in Virgo) is for a commitment in love that lasts long enough to generate a legacy to future generations. The corresponding Archangel is Raphael (the Angel in The Lovers).