Let's take a trip down memory lane...

I'm sure most of you will remember the first time you received and/or bought your first deck. So I ask: "What are the most profound memories you hold for some of your decks?" I don't necessarily mean the first time you got a deck, but anything is game. It may help to get your deck out and look at the wear or just the images. Let's try not to list too many at once, lol.

For simplicity's sake, I'm going to list for now rather than narrate. Maybe later, I will expound on a few .

Lunatic Tarot
first reading for a friend
dropping my cards, giving the deck a dent
sitting in the car on a rainy day with my deck
High school classrooms
Tower moment in a relationship
Car accident
Driver's Ed.
Virginia Tech
Fortune-telling game (based on the playing card fortune-telling game)
Anime convention

Diamond Tarot
trip to Europe
attempts to read live
airport
Chemistry class

Bohemian Gothic Silver
first reading by candlelight...very creepy

What's your story?

I don't have too many profound memories with my decks just yet, but I'll name the few that I do have.

Tarot: The Complete Kit

My mom gave me this deck as a gift. She stopped in at my job to drop it off. That day I was working with a very religious lady, so I tried to stuff it under my desk and shoo my poor mom out as quickly as possible! LOL

Hanson Roberts

This was my first experience getting a deck in the mail. A fellow ATer was kind enough to give it to me as a gift. I've been eagerly watching the mail box for a few days now, and today it arrived! It was sitting on the porch as opposed to coming in the mailbox, so it was a pleasant surprise when hubby went to leave, found the box there, and brought it in. Just looking at the box knowing there's something special inside makes my day

..........

The Goddess Tarot:

My first reading ever
Secretly stashing my cards cause Mom would freak
the weird tarot dream
First reading for another
First reading for a stranger
the exact same cards in the same positions after shuffling, CREEPY
8 years of wonderful experience

Druidcraft Tarot:

Beautiful Pictures
Getting stumped...a first
Not being able to shuffle sideways (they are so big!)
My first paid reading for a client! YEAH!
Memories to come!

First deck, major experince there!

Storm cloiuds brewing.

"You're not gonna sacrifice her, are you?"

Yearly spread for a dear friend ((()))

REEEAAALLLYY intuitive reading (read for a stranger, first time for us both)

Deuce o' Cups

The Tower, Justice, Death, The Devil (repeated X 3 within 3 moons)

The Star

Joined AT *blushes*

Became too neurotic to read Tarot for myself

Sticks with 'fluffy' decks for self...

Sacred Rose Tarot:

1st Metaphysical store
Incense
Chanting monks
College
Reading professionally
Camping
Best friends
In love with tarot
The collecting begins
Aspirant to religious order


Medieval Enchantment:

Early summer
Nag Champa
1st runes
Flourite wand
Crystals from Brazil
Faeries
Cool mornings
Mockingbird singing
Healing

My first deck

I love this thread. It is great to hear how other people responded to their first decks and life experiences they shared with the deck. I thought it was only fair to do the same thing.

The Tarot to Go, small Hanson Roberts

I was attending a private, very conservative, religious school and I had heard that Tarot could help me with my writing. Then one day at Border,s I was looking over Nanette Stone's Little Black book of Tarot. It had the Hanson-Roberts deck illustrated. I had to search for a copy of the deck and found the little tiny deck.

I remember the first time Tarot told me a story.

I will always grieve the first time Tarot told me one of the characters I created in my story was going to die.

I remember and miss the Barnes and Noble University online class.

Also dealing with the sense of confusion about why I would need a second deck and the feeling of infidelity to my Hanson Roberts for buying another. I got over it and now have over 30 decks. But I take it personally when that little deck ran away, I lost it in a move. : - (

Peter

Druid Animal Oracle, off ebay, summer time

Oracle because I didn't know the difference between Oracles and Tarot decks.

Was a Tower time for me
Sitting on the porch in the swing in the sun and reading the book, looking at the cards...

Drawing a card a day and meditating on it and then journaling the card.

It was true peace in the midst of a personal maelstrom and I'll never get rid of that deck for that reason.

My first deck was a Rider-Waite that my mother bought me at the bookstore when I was about 16/17. I read with it off and on and in college, I would read for my friends and people who were in my dorm. I don't have the deck anymore, but I came across this photo among my college pictures.


In this, I'm doing a reading for a friend, "S" in college. This is the reading that he asked about a relationship he was having and while he asked "she" it was really a "he"(as the cards showed a dark-haired male) and when I asked him about it, I was the first person he came out to and admitted he was gay. I hugged him and told him I was happy for him.

I have a lot of fond memories of reading for people in college. I miss that deck and regret parting with it. At least I have one surviving photo of it!

This was in 1988, when I was in college for Commercial Design. I drew the skulls in the background. Man, I miss those days!!!! "S" looked a lot like James Spader....man, I miss him. Lost contact with him and don't know where he is.

Well I have so many decks I could make this a really long post! But I will try to narrow it down.

Lovers' Path
-the deck that taught me that angels are real, which changed my life in such amazingly beautiful ways once I embraced that understanding.
-the deck that saved me from ruining a relationship I was in at the time, and set it back on track. and I am still very very grateful for that to this day.

Voyager
-I met a man I love deeply because of this deck! I was about to quit my job and it told me that I should not and that something wonderful and romantic would happen. I took the advice and did not quit. And then he started working with me 10 days later. Neither of us still works at that job, but if it had not be for the Voyager I would never have met him. And that would have been a deep loss in my life. He is still a big part of my life today.

Manara Tarot
-so many warm happy memories from readings with this deck about what is to come in my relationship, including a wonderful fantasies reading.

Celtic Wisdom
-the deck I have done the most meditations with, and they have all been amazing to me. The book comes with a year long meditation series, that ultimately uses all the cards in the deck. I am almost finished all the meditations. And I'm very greatful for the wisdom they showed me.

Thoth
-the first deck to tell me about a past life, although it was in a reading someone else here at AT did for me. I did not believe in reincarnation then, but I have come to since then.


Quest Tarot
-did a reading that blew me away where a card came up representing the querent (whom I had never seen and had no idea what she looked like). The card told me her hair, eye and skin colour and all three were correct. That blew me away!

Haindl
-my first love. It was my first deck and I instantly loved it and still do. It was the first to introduce me to the magic that is Tarot. I still see it in all my decks, but there is something about the first deck you get that teaches you that life and the universe is so much more than you ever knew or suspected. The Haindl will always be special to me as the deck that introduced me to all that magic, broadened my world and inspired me with a deep spiritual curiousity that is still very active in me today.

...

I guess those are the Major ones for now.

Babs