Which tarot deck to use when one has one to many tarot decks in its collection...

HELP!!! I have a dilema... I, like many others before and soon after me, have a total of 17 decks. How do you guys know which to use for readings? Do some of you have certain decks assigned for different types of reading? or do you use the deck that calls to you? When I use a deck, I feel as if i'm neglecting the other decks and it kills me. Any advice would be helpful.

well, I do have probably 22 decks which are good reading decks, of which there are 4 which are used regularly. How do I choose?

I dowse with a pendulum. It has always chosen the right deck for the right situation, with the right card and right imagery coming into play.

If I have decks which are being neglected, I offer to use them for 3 card readings here on AT. That way they also get an airing and it is like meeting up with old friends over a cuppa

Davina

Eenie meanie miney moe!

Take a wander with an inner sage...

Take a wander with your inner sage...

If you want to, organize your decks by theme, art or style or however you like...or write a list. If that does not enough inspiration, try picking up one deck each day for a week and see if reading with it that day and night works for you. If it occurs to you that day you wished you had chosen something else, you know you can choose another the next day.

If you bonded with that deck, don't switch. If you are tired of it, switch.

If you want more input, keep your list in hand, check a library, bookstore, DVD section, or even google a subject you like...I found a Yeats reference at a used bookstore and that led me back to Celtic themed decks....so am playing with that...

Or you can just grab a deck and do a quick reading...and if you like what you see, stay with that deck. Don't do more than one or two readings...

Hope the ideas help.

Cerulean

I use a different deck each week.

I have 73 decks, and it really isn't a problem. When I'm reading publicly, I have a (rotating) selection of decks I take along, and I allow querents to choose the deck out of that group based on their preference for the same card displayed from every deck. At home, well I have favourites, but I often revisit other decks, based on the artwork I wish to look at, usually. And occasionally, when rummaging around looking for a specific deck, I'll find quite another that I'll decide on the spur of the moment to use, that I hadn't originally been looking for.

a collection of thousands - but there are less than 10 that I actually read with. The deck I use will match how I am relating with the world on a particular day.

and then I tend to read with two or three at a time for months, I generally rotate seasonally.

I just reach for what my heart tells me. Often that is the same deck for a long time, but it does depend on mood and the question. I don't spend time thinking about it.

They tell me who wants to come out and play. Some times I will dream of a deck or I'll just get certain card images in my head. Thats a calling for me, saying "hey, remember me!"

And I do rotate who travels with me each day. In the mornings I grab my travel tarot bag and sit before my collection and see who wants to come along. SOme will stay in the bag for a week. Others just a day.

I try to have at least one oracle, TdM/Historical and RWS based deck.

There are a couple different approaches that haven't been mentioned yet that you could use.

Give your sitter a choice of say 5 decks and let them choose the one they want for their reading. (I do this with RExes.)

Figure out what a particular deck's strengths/weaknesses are (I like FireRaven's New Deck Interview spread for this purpose) so you know which deck(s) to use in which situations.

HTH,
Rodney