View Full Version : Seasoning a deck
Talisman
29-08-2001, 18:18
'Lo all,
To me, the more I've been through with a tarot deck, the more it means to me. The more times I've shuffled the cards, the better they feel. If I stuffed the deck in the bottom of a backpack, or a bicycle pannier, or a traveling bag to cross time zones, the deck has been some place with me. Might as well stamp them as my passport.
It takes me years to season a new deck. I don't want to bother unless I really like the deck. I wish, really, that I'd started with some version of the Smith-Rider-Waite deck and just stopped right there.
In my imagination, I collect lot'sa new decks. But, those of you who have a collection of 57 decks, or whatever, how many have you seen layed out on the floor of a one-man tent by candlelight when it is 40 below, or under the glare of a tropical sun? How many have you lived with?
Sorry, just trying to talk myself out of buying another deck.
But I think a really good deck should be seasoned, and living with it is the only way I know how. And I think it is important.
Talisman
Talisman,
What a wonderful post! I agree about the need to season your deck right.
A little salt, a little pepper, lots of garlic and healthy fistful of crushed red pepper. Then a dash of cumin for that exotic touch.
Oh wait, that's pork tenderloin.
I also take my cards everywhere with me. They have been on both sides of the equator and the international dateline. They have been read in the parlor of a 600 year old castle and around the campstove of an Argentinian gaucho camp. They have been scattered on the floor of a 747 after hitting an air pocket somewhere over the South Pacific and one or two of them still bear the tinyest remnants of a Sherry stain picked up in a delightful little tapas bar in Barcelona.
They are as familiar to me as my favorite pair of blue jeans and they fit just as well. They are my true companion and as much a part of me as any of the things my doctor probes and pricks during my annual physical.
tarotbear
30-08-2001, 12:10
Talsiman- it takes you YEARS to season a deck? Maybe you should buy some new spices..... just kidding.
Sorry - I have never taken my deck to anywhere exotic-although I did take one to Ireland and Scotland in 2005 - is that 'exotic' enough? I consider a deck 'seasoned' when I no longer have to think about seasoning it.
Hmmmmmmm... "Durkee's Tarot Seasoning," or 'Newman's Own Tarot Marinade'!
Hey, talisman...
While I've accumulated over 20 decks in just the last couple years, I don't consider most of them 'seasoned' enough to read for others with. (You know...could use a dash more pepper...another clove of garlic or two...)
When I read for friends I offer them a choice of only two or three decks that I've worked with the most. (Such as Osho Zen, Medieval Scapini, and Aquarian, maybe.) More than that gets them all freaked out about choosing a deck, so much so that they end up not concentrating enough on their question.
The rest I use when I'm just playing around with spreads. I'll lay out a spread with one deck, then place the same card values from another deck in the same layout. Then I just let the associations between the two flow...how are they different? the same? what new possibilities does each deck point to? This exercise seems to give my grey matter a good stirring up. And that's something my poor little brain needs regularly.
So, while I, myself haven't travelled to other countries with my tarot decks, I try to let my mind 'boldly go where no one has gone before...' <insert Star Trek theme here ;) >
Peace,
Melvis
Smalloli
01-09-2001, 04:10
How come i've never heard of seasoning a deck?
besides the fact that i AM pretty new.... maybe haven't read enough books?....
but could someone care to explain....
what's seasoning? (i know about the pepper joke =D)
Well, I have many, many decks, but I only ever use one: My Robin Wood.
I too, take the Robgin Wood everywhere with me. I cannot bear to leave it on it's own, stuffed away in some drawer in my room... That deck is my friend. I don't see it as a tool, but as a good friend who knows me, what's going on inside my head... It's seen the ups and downs of my life for about a year now, and it's stuck with me through and through.
It's been to Oxford Uni with me... I read with it under the stars on a gorgeous evening beneath a fir tree, with the crockets snging in the background...
It's spent rainy nights in a canvas tent with me, protected in bin liners from the damp, but still happily reading for me by the embers of a camp fire...
I took it to Galstonbury, where it no doubt gathered a pretty amazing expereince up on the Tor...
It;s felt the sand from the beach on a sunny day in Bournemouth, with the crowds and screaming children running past, spraying sea water over us...
It's survived the college Common Room (Nuff said)
I've read it in the garden, in a churchyard on a lovely warm day...
It's watched the sunrise with me, and watched that same sun set... It has inspired me, and tolerated me, and has even been known to give the odd reading or two outside a cinema when I should've been watching the film....
It's been aquianted with other decks from all paths of life, and so many different and unusual people...
I don't believe a deck is ever fully seasoned... After all, humans never stop learning, so why should a deck never have room for a little improvement or expereince from time to time?
Kiama
Little Baron
15-02-2006, 16:04
Bumping up this thread because I found it by accident and the posts are a beautiful read.
LB
tarotbear
15-02-2006, 17:01
Wow! 2001! This thread is ancient! LB, you are a sick puppy! LOL!
Mix salt, pepper, and flour; dredge the deck with scrambled egg, then dredge in flour mixture. Fry each side for one minute or deep fry to a crackly crunch!
There are quite some decks i carried around a lot. The RW, the Morgan Geer, the Haindl (the original box fell victim to rain eventually, but the cards were undamaged), Daughters of the Moon etc. I know those best, of course.
Little Baron
15-02-2006, 17:09
LB, you are a sick puppy! LOL!
I know TB, I can't help it, lol. But enjoyed the recepies all the same.
LB
levannah60
15-02-2006, 23:14
the sad reality of seasoning a deck, is that by the time you do get it seasoned, it's worn out and time to buy a new one.
Kilted Kat
16-02-2006, 05:27
Try rubbing some oil along the sides lightly with a rag --like lavendar or peppermint. These aromas clear the mind, and they get rid of that gross "new card" smell.
I never ever leave the house without at least my pocket RW, the Legend and my Wiccan cards. RW and Legend are pretty worn now (hey, they travel with me for around 10 years - still the same decks with just 2 of cups replaced in the RW), Wiccan cards in use since 27 December 2005, so they are still crisp.
They are my friends in joy and sorrow, they never let me down. They have seen the amazing Gold hats in Speyer, the Heidelberg Castle, they have been to Fairs, outdoor readings, parks, cafes, cemetries...
Never without at least one pack of cards.
Obsidian_Arrow
16-02-2006, 22:51
I've never heard of "seasoning" a deck, but I do know that I get really anxious if I don't have my two favorite decks in my backpack with me at all times.
tarotbear
16-02-2006, 23:54
The other day I was in need of some spellwork and took out the approrpriate stuff, which includes a copy of the Robin Wood that she signed for me. I only use that deck for spellwork and use my 'seasoned' Robin Wood for everything else.
I was shocked at how stiff it is! Of course, since it is signed I'll never use it for readings ... so if my seasoned deck needs 'retirement' I'll have to break in a new copy.
zachlost
17-02-2006, 00:57
Seasoning A Deck is like breaking it in with your own "flavour".
Take the concept of a bottomless soup - a soup which never ends. Generally this is a vegetable based soup (as it doesn't go off as fast as meat based ones). Most of them start with vegetable stock or tomato based, but the basic principle is that they all start the same. This could said about new decks.
You buy a new deck and you begin to layer it with readings, experiences and familiarity. Occasional the surprises of life bring kinks, dents, scratches and bends to their fragile stock. If they survive the constant readings they stand to be used for another day. Some decks, or soups, are not as robust as some, and occasionally cannot be salvaged or saved.
The only difference between an unsalvagable bottomless soup and a worn out tarot deck is that keeping the deck in the freezer bares better results in the long term =D
(PS. I season my decks by lining my wooden cases/box with fragrant oils, and wrapping them in silk. I try to keep them in prestine state, but I accept that in time the edges will become softer and the cards not as slipperly smooth when the shuffle. those, to me, are often the most enjoyable decks to hold.)
Talisman
14-03-2006, 19:15
Once I started a thread about "ordering" a deck. You know, putting the deck back in numerical order and suit groupings like it was when you first took it out of the wrapping it came in. So, folks responded by saying, "I usually order from Amazon . . ."
I've never ordered a Tarot deck, so the first deck I ever had still has the first shuffle, and everything that followed, in it somewhere.
I still love a Tarot deck that is well broken in by use and experience and memories. I just read through this thread, and I also love the stories people told about their seasoned decks and all the places they'd been.
I've read about spreads people use with brand new decks, asking "What do you have to tell me ?" or somesuch. I'm afraid the answer would be cold and stiff and plastic and impersonal.
But not about wet rings beer mugs leave on tavern tables, and cold mountain air at dawn, and ocean foam marks on remote beaches, and the joy of watching pretty women walk by a sidewalk table outside a coffee shop, and how really good a warm bottle of water can taste on a hot desert day, and the bitter sweet memories of unrequited loves, and all that kind of stuff.
I'm still "seasoning" the same World Spirit deck I was using when this thread was started. It's getting there.
Talisman
I've read about spreads people use with brand new decks, asking "What do you have to tell me ?" or somesuch. I'm afraid the answer would be cold and stiff and plastic and impersonal.
Not at all, dear Talisman! Remember my ages-ago post about my first experience with the Cannon Reed Witches and my ranting about the guy in green panties?
The CR Witches was a real blubbermouth although it still smelled new. It did all to persuade me to become a reading deck for me (which it still is).
Currently I am breaking in my recently traded New Orleans Voodoo Tarot. I have already taken it with me to see the Sky Disc of Nebra and to have a formidable dinner at a Spanish restaurant. I guess it liked both.
Midnightgirl
15-06-2006, 18:21
Hey - I thought I was the only one who felt odd if I didn't have my deck with me. Glad to know that others feel as attached as I do! I've only had my deck for three weeks, but I've had it with me almost the whole time. I just like to look over it, go through it and look at the pictures, try to think over the meanings, think of stories, etc.
:mg
I have only two decks right now, and I don't plan on getting but one more (a Tarot de Marseilles, most likely). I think that decks are a very personal thing, and I can't imagine not feeling close to my deck and still reading well.
And I too tried to bring my RWS deck with me everywhere, but I have recently stopped doing this out of fear for its well-being. I want it to be safe and look good when it gets to old age. :D
morticia monroe
17-06-2006, 20:25
I've just been doing what instinct tells me to do with my cards. I have heard that they should be kept in either wooden boxes or silk bags. I sew, and have decided to make a bag for each deck as I purchase it. I got into my giant scrap box and found some black and some red velvet. I embroidered the black with silver and gold thread and lined it with white satin. The drawstring is black and I tassled the ends. I embroidered the red with gold only in a geometrical design and left it unlined, the drawstring is gold cord and the ends are tassled as well. All in all, they turned out very nicely, each bag seems to fit the "personality" of the deck it holds.
I also feel compelled to rub my hands with a few drops of perfumed oil whenever I handle my Golden Tarot. The smell fits with the Renaissance theme of the deck.
I should probably add to this, since I am still using my Robin Wood, and I posted about seasoning it five years ago...
So, to add to it's experiences:
It's survived 4 years of university with me.
It's been dried out rapidly on radiators after having white wine spilled all over it.
It's been read on beer-sticky tables in pubs and nightclubs, has been read with by the side of Sulis' waters in the Roman Baths, read with many more times in Glastonbury (in the Chalice Well, the Tor, the Goddess Temple...); it's been in my hands on frozen January mornings at Stonehenge, and was almost lost to the sea at the cliffs in Boscastle... It's been on my altars to Brighid, Baron Samedi, Odin, Maman Brigitte, Mithras, and Isis...
It's known many hands and many readers: friends who want a reading will often ask to borrow the deck for five minutes to ask a question. The deck goes to them and they read fine, then give it back to me. This deck will read for anybody - it's obviously not fussy!
It's been used for Tarot games, and has taken part in a Tarot story game at the Framlingham Tarot Conference 2004, with myself, Umbrae, Simone, and Major Tom. (It also has a few ink stains on it from where a pen burst in the bag I was carrying it in on that trip!)
6 years of readings and use, and although my deck's edges are getting worn and it's colour and thickness tell it's 'seasoning', it looks better to me now than a brand new Robin Wood deck does. This is MY Robin Wood; it has lived the last 6 years of my life with me; it has got a bit battered and dirtier around the edges like I have as time has gone on; and it's shared some pretty amazing places, experiences, and faces with me.
Kiama
petegrey
20-06-2006, 10:57
Handling extensively, shuffling, talking to the deck. Journeying into it.
I also sage the daylights out of a deck if I get a used one or it has been used with someone or sometime that has a funny energy about it/them.
Wow - Thanks for the update on your deck, Kiama. It sounds like you and your Robin Wood have been on an amazing journey. :)
This is a fun thread. I'm glad it keeps getting bounced up. I love hearing stories about how people have seasoned their decks...either with pepper or with use. ;)
Crowqueen
20-06-2006, 15:39
I normally have at least one on me, even if I have to buy it "out there" (incorrigible, but I got a tarot deck (Universal Waite), I Ching coins and a pendulum all in the same box with a book as well for £6, so what more can you ask for?).
My Morgan Greer (main "handbag deck") though will soon need a new box. Took it away with me at the weekend and used it to teach my boyfriend the inner workings of the tarot (and myself). Turned out he was way ahead of what I thought he was, every time I tried to explain about a weird event I'd had he came in and topped it.
Was browing thruogh the threads listlessly, looking for something with an interesting title and found this thread.
Your cards have been to beautiful places and done beautiful things with you.
No doubt this thread was started in 2001, what is even more beautiful is that the ppl who posted in 2001 are still posting in 2006 to relate how beautifully their cards have aged....
I can only hope that one day, my cards will become as beautiful as your cards.. :)
SarahRose
16-07-2006, 03:55
What a lovely thread - especially post 1!
I just got my decks, and I hope they will someday be as seasoned as some of yours are!
The Hanson Roberts is my seasoned deck, It's not older than 3 years but is aging beautifully, I like the fact that after all this time it keeps the Nag Champa inciense smell I gave to the deck.
It has travelled with me all around the country, the cards had received sunshine in Southafrica and raindrops in Paris. I have read with this deck for family, friends, completly strangers, puppets and of course for myself.
Best of all, it has given me constant evidence of reliability and readability, couldn't be happier, look forward to spend more years with my Hanson Roberts.
I
My Morgan Greer (main "handbag deck") though will soon need a new box. Took it away with me at the weekend and used it to teach my boyfriend the inner workings of the tarot (and myself). Turned out he was way ahead of what I thought he was, every time I tried to explain about a weird event I'd had he came in and topped it.
Oh WOW, marry him ! ;)
M-G is my hadbag deck,too!
About seasoning decks.. The way I see it..I rather season myself untill I become one very peppery and salty crone.. I soak myself in wine and sleep out in the Arctic-untill hopefully one distant day ANY deck will start to tell me things..;)
this has been a wonderfull thread to read.... I'm not sure if I'm seasoning my TdM, but I know I love it and every day it teaches me more and more things.... it's like a family member to me.
WalesWoman
22-07-2006, 02:06
Hmmm... does jelly, ketchup or macaroni & cheese count as seasonings, condiments or dietary staples? I'm not sure if Druidcraft is seasoned or stapled.
I haven't stuck to one particular deck in the past little while, I've got a couple salty ones and the others are simply house broken and content to have their own individual flavor without extra seasoning.
6 Haunted Days
22-11-2007, 23:13
I've very much enjoyed reading everyone's stories about their beloved decks!
I have recently become very fascinated, attatched and in love with the Pearls of Wisdom deck....while I love quite a few decks and have an amazing connection with them, there is something different about this one and my feelings/reaction for it. It's a combination of many things, that obviously speak to me on a very deep level. And I am thinking (and hoping) it will become my companion through my days, and with me through the many ups and downs of life.
I'd love to hear more stories from others about their well-loved and used decks!
firefrost
23-11-2007, 06:31
I have my RWS that is very seasoned, so I bought another a couple of years ago, just in case.
My VRG is well now well used and well on the way to being seasoned. I'm just giving it a well-earned rest.
FlyingWitch
23-11-2007, 10:07
I agree, the more you live with a deck, the more it becomes part of you. But I like collecting new decks even if it's only because I'm bored or because I like the artwork or because my fantasy needs some practising with new brand cards. Bad for me, I spend A LOT of money this way. But the decks I really use are 4 or 5 max. These are "mine"
Master_Margarita
24-11-2007, 21:42
What a lovely thread. I usually have a "briefcase deck" rather than a "handback deck" but the concept is the same.
M_M~
bryghtrose
24-11-2007, 23:10
I loved reading this thread.
I haven't seasoned my deck with lots of spices. I'm more of a home-style cooker. While I can make curries and fancy wine bases sauces,I prefer to cook hearty meals of roast chicken and potatoes, or filling soups. The analogy has carried over to my tarot deck.
I've taken my Robin Wood with me from college to graduate school, and it went through Canadian customs with me, while I got my student visa. I've slept with it under my pillow, and placed it on my altar. It comforted me during times of stress and sorrow and celebrated with me at times of hope and joy.
I've been a one-deck girl up until last month, so this particular deck has over 8 years of my life wrapped up with it in blue silk.
There are three little friends currently i need to feel well: my RWS (or my Mythic...the two are friends and accept to exchange places sometimes), my Playing Card Oracles and my Tarot of the Witches (Fergus Hall). one of the tarot decks plus the PCO is enough to make me feel home.
My TotW is kinda new yet...but my RWS and my Mythic are used. They feel good. They shuffle good. They SMELL good. They are so mine! When i'm with them, it's like i have friends between my hands...and they aren't quiet, although only i can listen to them (unless, of course, when i'm reading for others).
My Playing Card Oracles, which is not tarot, is also another great companion.
I don't know, a think a deck is 'seasoned' when...you don't think you need any other deck when you have it. You don't think about 'oh, how i wish i had my Whatever Deck here'...because this one deck is enough. It's not a deck, it's a partner you know well and trusts.
That's how i feel, anyway.
~Marina
afrosaxon
11-02-2008, 13:34
My New Orleans Voodoo Tarot is seasoned...but not Cajun style! :laugh:
It started in the Washington, DC metropolitan area...home to that local phenomenon known as mambo sauce (an eclectic mixture of ketchup, hot sauce, sugar, and soy sauce...a cousin of sweet-and-sour sauce). Mambo sauce is usually eaten with fried chicken wings.
It traveled with me cross-country, from Maryland to San Diego, CA...where it accompanied me to fresh seafood by the San Diego Bay and Hash A Go-Go.
It accompanied me to San Francisco, where I read by bowls of cioppino and fresh vegetables and herbs from the farmers markets (I still have fond remembrances of that wild mint plant that grew in my kitchen window, in my Victorian flat in Union Square). And during my jaunts to my favorite Chinese restaurant, located on a little side street (with no tourist traffic) in Chinatown.
It rode in a suitcase as I went back across the country to New York...as I roamed the streets and ate beef sausage breakfasts in my favorite diners.
It nestled in my tote bag as I moved back to Washington, DC, and then on a long train ride from DC to Georgia.
Now, my dear New Orleans Voodoo Tarot will have some friends along for the ride (namely the Women's Tarot, Motherpeace Tarot, Crystal Oracle, Everyday Oracle, and Witches Runes) as we head overseas to Trinidad, West Indies...home of some of the best rum on the planet and Trinidadian curry. This amalgamation of spices will be honed by the sea breezes as we check out south Trinidad (namely Point Fortin).
A seasoned deck? Most definitely! :D
T.
Well, I've seasoned my voyager tarot, I took it to my school for the blind in California. I'ts rode in my suit case as I took a grayhound bus from Ca to NC with my aunt, uncle and grandpa. It's been to tenessee, texas, Ca, NC etc.
The deck I have now is my RW deck which I loved. It's traveled in the mail from California to North Carolina for it was a christmas present from a friend.
All the best,
Veronica