Imagine a winter evening in St. Petersburg. Snow swirls outside the window, a fire crackles in the fireplace, and in the half-darkness of a salon, lit only by candles, a lady in a black silk dress unwraps a small bundle. Her movements are unhurried, almost ritualistic. She knows: cards are not a toy, they are a gateway to another world, a conduit between the visible and invisible.
In the 1890s, the Russian Empire was experiencing a true mystical renaissance. Spiritualism penetrated imperial palaces, theosophy became a fashionable topic of society conversation, and divination — from peasant huts to aristocratic salons — was not merely entertainment, but a way to touch mystery.
But between a commoner's fortune-telling with playing cards and an aristocrat's work with the Lenormand oracle lay a chasm not only social, but magical. And Tarot... Tarot was the pinnacle of hermetic art, accessible only to the initiated.

This book is your guide into the world of forgotten rituals, ancient incantations, and sacred practices. Here are gathered authentic texts from private collections, monastery archives, and the notebooks of professional fortune-tellers. Each ritual has been carefully adapted for modern use while preserving its primordial power.

Welcome to a world where cards are alive and words are spells.

ARISTOCRATIC SALONS: THE ART OF REFINED MAGIC
In the gaslight of St. Petersburg salons, cards gleamed like jewels. Here they were treated with the same scrupulousness as family silver. French language, delicate scent of perfume, rustle of silk — all this was part of the ritual.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF PURITY
For a society lady or fashionable occultist, cards were not a tool for earning money, but an object of art and philosophy. There was no place for crudeness here. Every touch had to be conscious, every word — measured.
It was in these circles that the tradition of opening a new deck for each important question was born. Imagine: a sealed box with French Lenormand cards, brought from Paris, is unwrapped for the first time only to answer a single fateful question. This is not wastefulness — this is respect for the magic of the moment.

SILK AS KEEPER OF SECRETS
Silk in those times was not merely a luxurious fabric. It was attributed the ability to preserve and isolate energies. Black silk — for protection from the evil eye. Dark blue — for deepening intuition. Red — for strengthening the power of prediction.
Cards were never left in plain sight. After divination, they were carefully wrapped in a silk handkerchief and put away in a special casket made of precious wood — cedar, oak, sometimes even ebony brought from exotic lands.

FOLK MAGIC: WHEN CARDS ARE WILLFUL
Let us now descend from aristocratic salons to a village hut or the city shop of a professional fortune-teller. Everything is different here. Here cards are not philosophy, but a working tool that can be as unpredictable as a spirited horse.

CARDS KNOW HOW TO LIE
Simple fortune-tellers knew: cards are capricious creatures. They can take offense, get tired, become "heavy" from others' grief or evil thoughts. And when cards began to "confuse" or "fall silent," they needed to be subdued.
The most remarkable folk ritual was the ceremony of "settling" with a child. Imagine: a small boy about five years old, not yet knowing sin and not having experienced his first kiss, sits on the laid-out cards. His innocence, it was believed, could remove from the cards all accumulated heaviness — grief, illnesses, curses that people brought with them to the fortune-teller.
The child was given a silver coin in his left palm — so he wouldn't "take" others' troubles onto himself. And the fortune-teller whispered ancient words, passed from grandmother to granddaughter.

SHAKING OFF: MAGIC OF SOUND
Professional fortune-tellers after each client performed a simple but important ritual: three sharp strikes of the deck against the corner of the table. Not just a knock — but precisely a beating out, as one beats dust from a rug.
Some knowing women before this dipped their fingers in ash from the stove. Ash — an ancient protective symbol, what remains after fire, the purifier of all.

THE WORLD OF TAROT: HERMETIC SECRET
And now let us ascend to the very summit of the magical hierarchy. Tarot in 1890s Russia was an elite, almost secret phenomenon. If playing cards were used for fortune-telling in taverns, Tarot was touched only by those who studied Kabbalah, knew the works of Éliphas Lévi by heart, and could quote Papus in French.

TAROT IS NOT DIVINATION, IT IS PHILOSOPHY
In the circles of Martinists and Theosophists, Tarot was perceived as a book of wisdom encoded in images. Each card is an archetype, each spread is a meditation.
There was no place here for mundane questions like "will I marry?" or "where to find money?" Tarot was asked questions about the meaning of existence, about the path of the soul, about cosmic laws.

RITUAL OF CONSECRATION BY SWORD
Occultists of that time did not "cleanse" Tarot in the usual sense. They consecrated it, as one consecrates a temple. Over a new deck, movements were made with a ritual dagger or sword — symbolically severing it from the profane world and dedicating it to higher powers.
Cards were stored not simply in a casket, but together with magical seals, stones, sometimes — with handwritten incantations in Latin or Hebrew.

ASTROLOGICAL TIME
Even the time for working with cards was chosen by the stars. Cleansing was conducted in the hour of Saturn, questions of love were examined in the hour of Venus, and monetary questions — in the hour of Jupiter or Mercury.

The treasure of this chapter is that here are gathered authentic texts — not reconstructions, not modern interpretations, but genuine incantations and rituals that our ancestors whispered. They were kept in monastery archives, in fortune-tellers' notebooks, passed from teacher to student in whispers by candlelight.
We share this heritage with you with deep respect and reverence.

PLAYING CARDS: TAMING THE WILLFUL
Thirty-six cards — from six to ace. Simple, understandable, accessible to everyone. And precisely therefore — the most unpredictable.
People said: playing cards are willful, like a young horse. They can serve faithfully, or they can begin to "play" — confuse suits, fall the same way, remain silent when an answer is needed.

RITUAL WITH AN UNKISSED CHILD
The most famous folk cleansing method. It was known from Arkhangelsk to the Caucasus.
If cards stopped "speaking the truth," a small child was sat upon them — a boy or girl no older than seven years, "not knowing sin and never kissed." It was believed that childlike purity, innocence of soul could remove from the cards all accumulated negativity.
The child was given a silver coin in the left palm — so they wouldn't "learn troubles from the cards," so that others' misfortunes wouldn't stick to their bright soul.
While the child sat on the cards (literally — cards were laid out in a fan, and the child sat on them), the fortune-teller read an incantation.

SHAKING OFF WITH ASH
After each client, experienced fortune-tellers performed a simple but important ritual: they dipped their palms in ash from the stove and then tapped the deck against the corner of the table.
Ash is what remains after fire. Fire burned all that was impure, and ash preserves the memory of this purification.

CLEANSING WITH SALT AND GRAIN
If the deck became so "heavy" that simple shaking off didn't help, a more serious method was used.
Cards were placed in a sieve (symbol of sifting, separating pure from impure), covered with salt or grain and lightly shaken while pronouncing an incantation. Then the salt was thrown far from the house — usually at a crossroads or into a river. It couldn't be left nearby, or the evil would return.

LENORMAND ORACLE: FRENCH CHIC AND CAPRICES
The thirty-six Lenormand cards were expensive, beautiful, and considered a refined instrument. They were treated with special trepidation — like French perfumes or overseas fabrics.

RITUAL OF "FIRST BREATH"
Before beginning work with a new Lenormand deck, it needed to be "spiritualized." This was a long, meditative process.
Each card individually was brought to the lips and a prayer or incantation was whispered, and one blew on the card — transmitting one's energy to it through one's breath.

CLEANSING UNDER A MIRROR
It was believed that Lenormand cards are "capricious about foreign energy." After a visit from an unpleasant guest or after a difficult spread, the deck was wrapped three times in silk (black, purple, or red) and placed overnight under a mirror.
A mirror in those times was not simply a reflecting surface. This was a portal, a boundary between worlds, a "filter for spirits." It was believed that overnight the mirror would "see" all evil on the cards and drag it into the mirror realm.

PROHIBITION ON TOUCH
Unlike playing cards, which any client could cut, Lenormand was a personal oracle. It was forbidden to give them into anyone's hands, even best friends.
If someone accidentally touched the cards, they were "calcined" — quickly passed over the flame of a wax candle (definitely not a church one!). Fire burned away the foreign touch.

TAROT: ALCHEMY OF ELEMENTS
And now — the summit. Tarot in the 1890s was not a divination tool, but a philosophical treatise encrypted in images.

RITUAL OF CONSECRATION THROUGH FOUR ELEMENTS
This complex method was practiced in circles of Russian followers of Papus. A new deck had to be passed through all four elements, symbolically cleansing it from the material world and dedicating it to higher powers.
Earth: The deck was completely covered with dry earth in a flower pot for 24 hours. This was symbolic grounding — cleansing from dirt with dirt.
Air: Cards were smudged with a mixture of herbs. Smoke rose upward, summoning spirits into the room.
Fire: The deck was sorted in a special way and with words of incantation passed through candle flame. Not scorching, but feeling the warmth. This was dangerous — required concentration and a steady hand.
Water: Cards were not moistened (paper was delicate then), but "charged" water from a chalice was sprinkled around them. Water was previously infused under moonlight or prayers were read over it.
After passing through all four elements, the deck was considered consecrated and ready for work.

PHYSICAL CLEANLINESS OF CARDS
It's hard for a modern person to imagine, but in the 1890s, "cleansing cards" often meant literal, physical cleaning.
Cards then were cardboard, without plastic coating. They quickly became greasy from touches, absorbed moisture, became sticky.

HISTORICAL LIFE HACK:
For physical cleaning, talc or starch was used. Cards were placed in a canvas bag, powder was poured in, and it was vigorously shaken. This removed dirt and returned "glide" to the cards.
And here's what's amazing: fortune-tellers perceived this not only as hygiene, but as a magical act. It was believed that along with physical dirt, energetic heaviness also left. Cards became not only clean, but "light," ready to speak truth.

PROHIBITION ON TOUCH
The most important "cleansing ritual" was its prevention.
The client was allowed only to cut part of the deck with the left hand (closer to the heart), but never — to take cards in hands, sort through them, shuffle them.
If a client accidentally dropped cards or grabbed them with both hands, the deck was often considered "spoiled." In villages, such cards were simply burned in the stove. In the city, they could be "revived" with complex rituals, but many preferred simply to buy a new deck.

WHY RITUALS WORKED
A skeptic will say: these are all superstitions. But let's think deeper.
A ritual is a state of consciousness. When you pronounce an incantation, when you wrap cards in silk, when you blow on them or tap them on the table — you perform a conscious action. You don't simply mechanically "clean," you attune yourself.
Cards feel your intention. Or perhaps it's you yourself who through the ritual cleanse your perception, free yourself from the burden of previous readings, return clarity to yourself.
In any case — it works. For centuries people tested these methods. And they passed them on precisely because they saw results.

Dear Reader,

Now in your hands is not merely knowledge, but living tradition. These rituals survived centuries, wars, revolutions. They were kept secret, passed in whispers, written down with trembling hand by candlelight.
And now they are yours.

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR RITUAL?
Trust intuition. Read all the descriptions. Which ritual resonated in your heart? Which one did your hand reach for? This is your path.
Adapt to yourself. Don't have silk? Use cotton or linen. Can't find a silver coin? Take any coin that's dear to you. The main thing is not the form, but the intention.

PRESERVE THIS KNOWLEDGE
Write in your divination journal which rituals you use. Note how the behavior of cards changes after cleansing. Observe. Learn.
These notes may someday become your personal grimoire — a book of magic created by your experience.

LAST WORD
Cards are a bridge between worlds. And like any bridge, it requires maintenance. The rust of indifference, the dust of vanity, the cracks of negligence — all this destroys the connection.
But when you lovingly and respectfully cleanse your cards, when you whisper ancient words over them, when you wrap them in silk or blow on them with your breath — you don't simply perform a ritual.
You participate in the great chain of knowledge transmission. From 16th-century monastery novices to Perm wise women, from St. Petersburg aristocrats to you, holding this book in your hands right now.
You are a keeper of tradition. You are a link in a chain that must not break.
May your cards always speak truth. May rituals protect you from others' troubles. May ancient wisdom fill each of your readings.

With deep respect for the past and faith in your future,
The Keepers of Tradition The House of Edelstein