You Know You're a Collctor When....

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 25 Mar 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Kiama	25 Mar 2002
I have recently become aware of strange things that I do when I see a Tarot deck. This morning, I was walking home frm town, when I noticed two cards lying on the floor... As I passed them, I caught a glimpse of colour, and instantly thought: Ah, Shakespearian Tarot... I looked back, and it was! Apparantly, somebody is now the proud owner of a 76 card Shakespearian Tarot deck! And my friend phoned me up after going to a Mind, Body, Spirit fair, with a list of decks that were for sale. He read them out to me, and it was just like children and Pokémon cards in the playground: "Got... Got.... Got... Need... Got... Got... Got... Got... Need... Need... Got...." When I see ads in magazines for Tarot readings, I can now instantly spot what deck is shown in the ad, even if I just see the back of the cards. Instead of spending money on 'nomal' things, such as a nice new shirt, or a pair of shoes, or alcohol, I will buy a Tarot deck. My list of Wanted Decks is 5 A4 pages long, and my list of Got Decks is 2 A4 pages long... I know the Top 10 decks of 2001 an 2000 off by heart, and when a friend asks me if I want the Golden Dawn Tarot deck, my response will be: "Which one?" Ugh.... Kiama

fairyhedgehog	26 Mar 2002
Oh kiama, you've got it bad :D I've only got 7 decks and I feel guilty about owning that many :) I only ever meant to get one. If I hang around you folks much longer, I'll need extra storage space just to keep all my decks. It's a lovely hobby to have, though, isn't it? All the best, FH

kayne	26 Mar 2002
Oh - Kiama - I love it! Just keep on getting those decks - you know you want to! Ok - Maths question: If Kiama continues to get as many decks per year as she did in 2001, how many decks will she have by the time she is 67? (Kiama, it would help us if you say how many decks you got in 2001... :p )

Kiama	26 Mar 2002
Right, let's see.... In a year and a half, I collected 44 decks. Can we work it out from there? I'm 17 now, so I've still got 50 years until I'm 67. Let's say that every 3 years I collected 88 decks. That would mean that..... *Kiama reaches for calculator* *Kiama cannot find calaculator and panics* *Kiama finds calculator* Hmm.... What I did is divided 50 by 3. Then I multiplied the number I got from that by 88. I got 129088. I don't think I've done he calculation right actually... Nope, I think I did do it right... Can someone verify this? I'm useless at Maths! Kiama

Diana	26 Mar 2002
edited

Jewel	26 Mar 2002
~checks to make sure her pocket protector is still properly placed~ I think I have your mathematical answer: I divided your 44 decks by 18 months (year and half), then multiplied 50 times 12 (12 months X 50 years) ... then took the average number of decks per month (2.44) and multiplied it by 600 (total number of months in 50 years) ... if my calculation is correct Kiama you will purchase 1,464 over the next 50 years, then we add the 44 you already have and that makes it 1,508 decks by time you are 67. As a compulsive deck buyer, I mean collector *LOL*, myself I must say that I hope my collection could some day grow that big ... so artistes, please get to work, you have a market *ROFLMAO*

dolphingirl	26 Mar 2002
Hi I cam out with 1,450 decks in 50 years (MUCH BETTER :) ) 88 divide by 3 is 29.33333 decks a year round to 29 times 50 years is 1,450 :) No problem I just hope you have a strong back and a BIG box!!!! :) Samantha

Kiama	26 Mar 2002
Okay, more maths: If 44 decks take up 1 large drawer, when they're really cramped, then by the time I am 67, I will have filled 33 drawers with decks! Well, estimated. It all depends on if I keep to the same average of size in decks as I have this last year and a half. Kiama *Who one day will have to have a whole room just dedicated to Tarot decks!*

Jewel	26 Mar 2002
I would like to suggest book shelves over drawers *LOL* ... I have close to 70 decks now and the decks look quite beautiful in the book case and I can view and pull them off the shelf at will.

Kiama	26 Mar 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Jewel I would like to suggest book shelves over drawers *LOL* ... I have close to 70 decks now and the decks look quite beautiful in the book case and I can view and pull them off the shelf at will. He he... Wish I could do this! Unfortunately though, all my spare space is taken up by bookselves holding books. (Nearly 300 books at last count....) Maybe I could get those shelves that hang from the ceiling? Or glue them to the wall in obscure places and try to pass them off as art? (Maybe I could win the Turner Prize?!) Alternatively, I could move into a bigger room. One thing's for sure though : I've just ordered Wild Spirit book and deck set with the knowledge that I've got nowhere to store it! :eek: Kiama

amyel	26 Mar 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Kiama He he... Wish I could do this! Unfortunately though, all my spare space is taken up by bookselves holding books. (Nearly 300 books at last count....) Maybe I could get those shelves that hang from the ceiling? Or glue them to the wall in obscure places and try to pass them off as art? (Maybe I could win the Turner Prize?!) Kiama Now this is exactly what I plan to do with some decks that I love the art work for but doubt they will make good reading material. And it will give you great, original wall hagings/art in your new place in Cardiff to boot! I already have the idea: Go to Ikea. Buy a couple of those big poster size picture frames. Take a deck, or the same card/s (i.e. the Sun or 10 cups - something that give you good vibes is important, I think) from multiple decks. Carefully arrange on the cheap matting that comes with frame. Cover with the plexi glass cover and frame. Hang! Alternatively, if you don't want to risk damaging your decks, and you can get access to a scanner, scan some of the cards on to paper and hang them this way (or even color photo copy some!). You could even forgo the Ikea poster frame if you scanned the images. I saw an episode of Trading Spaces once (like BBC's Changing Rooms) where the designer took plywood or scrap wood and used white glue to glue the scanned/photocopied images onto wood cut to fit and hung on the walls. She used photo copied photos, as I recall. It just seems a shame to collect and not be able to view them! This what I plan to do with some images I found in my newly renovated basement (assuming hubs ever finshes what he started so I can start on the finishing!!!)

truthsayer	27 Mar 2002
before i started collecting decks i was collecting cat collectables, then it was Ty beanie babies and i've never ceased to collect books since i was a teenager. in fact still have most of them! LOL now it's tarot decks. well, where to put them so i can see them. the house is littered w/ places i sit or lie down with decks. i play with a deck while on the computer, before sleeping, while watching tv, while cooking supper...i have found that tarot is much more fun than my other collections. i don't want to give up my other collections tho!! i've just got to talk hubby into letting me buy another storage unit or build another room onto the house to store my books, tarot decks and other collections. he collects coins so his metal detector and other equipment takes up much less space than my collections. (of course, there is his vintage playboy magazines in the attic that he thinks i don't know about! :) )

truthsayer	27 Mar 2002
i still say we need a tarot-holics anonymous group. don't forget that the first step is to recognize that we are powerless to control our desire to buy tarot decks. i think i may do this just for the halibut. ;)

Razz	27 Mar 2002
Wow! I love just looking in the different shops I go to looking for different decks to add. And it's interesting. Sometimes it's like the artwork is just drawing (: me to it! Or I'll have read about a deck and want to touch and then be slightly disappointed because it wasn't as cool as I thought it was going to be when I saw the pic. Decks don'tca' just love 'em! Razz

Kissa	27 Mar 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Diana Kiama, well you can always put up a sign at your new place of residence in Cardiff "Kiama's Tarot Museum Kiama ? Are you in Cardiff ??? I spent a summer there in 1992 working as a barmaid in a hotel on Clare St. Not such a nice neighbourhood, though. I have good memories about this city : charming cricket players staying at the hotel, my first hangover, good clothes shopping, big seagulls, and ah ! yes ! nice castle ! I remember climbing in the oldest tower still remaining form the Middle ages and, as I watched at the green fields under me, I felt incredibly celtic :D Karen

Jewel	27 Mar 2002
Quote: Originally posted by truthsayer i still say we need a tarot-holics anonymous group. don't forget that the first step is to recognize that we are powerless to control our desire to buy tarot decks. i think i may do this just for the halibut. ;) ~giggles~ Truthsayer, the scary thing about forming a tarot-holics anonymous group is that those of us who are tarot-holics are proud of it and do not want to "cured" *LOL* ... so bottom line is that all this group would do is perpetuate the habit (which I think is an excellent idea by the way) and contribute to each adding even more decks to their respective collections ... or is this exactly the point of the group? ;) ... either way you can count me in, but if it is recovery this group will try to achieve then I will be quite a dissapointment to the group, and I will play the role of the Devil by creating temptation *ROFLMAO*.

Kiama	27 Mar 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Kissa Kiama ? Are you in Cardiff ??? I spent a summer there in 1992 working as a barmaid in a hotel on Clare St. Not such a nice neighbourhood, though. I have good memories about this city : charming cricket players staying at the hotel, my first hangover, good clothes shopping, big seagulls, and ah ! yes ! nice castle ! I remember climbing in the oldest tower still remaining form the Middle ages and, as I watched at the green fields under me, I felt incredibly celtic :D Karen I'm not there yet! Still got til September, than I'm off up there for 4 years to do a Master of Arts degree in Philosophy, and if it all goes well, a total of 8 years to do a Mlitt aswell, then a PhD! *Whoah* My name will be Dr Kim Huggens, Ba Ma Mlitt PhD. I think. Or maybe it'll just be PhD? I'll just have to find out! I must say I'm looking forward to Wales. I'm a Celtic girl at heart, and having a Welsh valley's boy as a boyfriend just perpetuates this, so I guess I'll feel right at home there! Jewel and Truthsayer: Let's get the 'Tarot-holics' group started then! My habit needs perpetuating some more! Kiama

Malachite	27 Mar 2002
>Ah, Shakespearian Tarot... I looked back, and it was! Apparantly, somebody is now the proud owner of a 76 card Shakespearian Tarot deck! ummm...do you have that deck?.... At least its an addiction that has no hazardous effects on your health....

Kiama	27 Mar 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Malachite At least its an addiction that has no hazardous effects on your health.... My bank account's not looking too healthy though! ;) Kiama

truthsayer	27 Mar 2002
of course, TA would be about perpetuating our collecting habits!! who are we hurting but our bank accounts? LOL i'm going to consider writing the TA "12 step program" another project--other than the one i'm doing w/ isthmus nekoi. ;) the there's finishing up the aeclectic deck project... i may have an addiction worse than the rest of you but overextending myself here! maybe i need some tarot antabuse that way i'll have some kind of reaction everytime i want to buy a new deck or take on a new tarot project. LOL

Liliana	27 Mar 2002
Maybe you need to wear a rubber band around your arm, then you can snap it every time your tempted to buy a new deck lol

Jewel	28 Mar 2002
Quote: Originally posted by truthsayer of course, TA would be about perpetuating our collecting habits!! who are we hurting but our bank accounts? LOL i'm going to consider writing the TA "12 step program" another project--other than the one i'm doing w/ isthmus nekoi. ;) the there's finishing up the aeclectic deck project... i may have an addiction worse than the rest of you but overextending myself here! maybe i need some tarot antabuse that way i'll have some kind of reaction everytime i want to buy a new deck or take on a new tarot project. LOL Please let Kiama and I know if we can help *LOL*. Like you Truthsayer I also have 747 Tarot projects going on, mainly with the study groups and trying to find time to also write reviews (I figure will all the decks I have (and will aquire) this is a good use of them *LOL*). Now I am starting to take on the Thoth and Cosmic Tribe together in a comparative study using all sorts of books in addition to Tarot for Yourself and 78 Degrees of Wisdom *LOL* ... ohhhh and lets not forget the Faery Oracle work I am doing ... if I could only find a way to get paid for all this I would be set and a total work-a-holic *ROFLMAO* ~looks around for her soul sister~ Faunabay where are you? this group is for you too hon! *LOL*.

Pollux	28 Mar 2002
I enjoy my freedom so much!!! I am not a collector, I dream of owning other decks, but for the time being I do enjoy those I have, and resist the others... After all I can study them on the Internet (i.e. Cosmic Tribe Study Group - even though I don't post ;)) But this Forum surely as a detrimental effect on bank accounts and wallets... Kiama, I hope that my visiting you and coming to Uk won't make my situation degenerate... I can't bear being a Deck Collector, after being an Aeclectic Addict. As a medician-to-be I have the moral duty to warn you: THIS FORUM IS HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH! (it should be written as a header, like on cigarettes boxes)

Jewel	28 Mar 2002
*ROFLMAO* Pollux. I think your header should say "WARNING THIS FORUM CAN BE DETREMENTAL TO YOUR WALLET ... BUT YOU WILL LOVE IT! ;)" And by the way, I feel very free *LOL* ... free to buy all the decks I want. And let me tell you, the Cosmic Tribe is awsome, the computer just do not do it justice ...

truthsayer	28 Mar 2002
i agree, jewel--if only there was some way to make money off our addiction. i mean we don't want decks so badly that we'll commit crimes to obtain new ones like drug addicts. the only crime is that i must spend money for little things like clothing, shelter, food, and bills instead of buying new decks, books or house large enough to store all my books and decks in. when ppl ask me what style i have my house decorated in, i ask in horror,"you mean a house is supposed to be decorated in a style other than piles of decks and boxes of books?" i do like the idea of making scans of readings to hang on the wall. any opportunity to gain new revelations is a good one. i may take you up on help w/ writing the TA 12 steps. 3 heads are better than one. i've got to look up the original steps and i'll email them to you in the next few days. we now have study groups. can we also have TA support group meetings? i mean we all need support to get thru each day w/o buying a new deck or book or new tarot project! ;) maybe pollux is right that this forum is hazardous to our health--what about all the sleepless nights you spend thinking about readings, different decks, and resisting the urge to get out of bed to see if there are any new posts at aeclectic? lack of sleep is not good for you!!

Logiatrix	28 Mar 2002
i am a collector of collections: --tarot decks --books --bibles --pez dispenser --rosaries --teddy bears --g.i. joes --key chains yes, it is a very cluttered situation. i have scaled all of the larger items down to my absolute favorites. now i have only 80 tarot decks. i feel so naked! :)

Lion-O	28 Mar 2002
...when it turns out you got MUCH more of the stuff you tell yourself not to be collecting ;-) Quote: Originally posted by Kiama Instead of spending money on 'nomal' things, such as a nice new shirt, or a pair of shoes, or alcohol, I will buy a Tarot deck. Thats nature; enjoy it as long as you can. Things would be different if you'd cut back on regular expenses simply to get yet another deck, but collecting things simply runs in our blood I guess. Allthough my motivation to collect decks isn't that high I do have some decks on my "wanted" list as well. But my real collecting is done with Anime DVD's; when that appears on the horizon I can reflect all your comments on myself. I'd simply say; keep yourself in check (so you're not overdoing it) and everything should be fine. Oh; and for the record; after collecting DVD's for a few years my gf once told me I was a little bit hooked. When I did a quick count and got to 60+ I stopped arguing :-)

kayne	28 Mar 2002
I wouldn't say I was a collector, as such. I enjoy my decks and am really on the search for that ever ellusive perfect deck!!! Unfortunately my search is starting to produce quite a collection... and then there are the decks that are just so pretty!!! but I may never use... Oh, this could be all your influences but I feel... the need... to buy decks coming on!!! aaaaAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!

Pedeka	29 Mar 2002
Heck, I had a job interview this morning and it was a few blocks from a metephysical shop and I rescheduled taking some enterance tests until tomorrow. Just so that I would have an excuse to drive all the way to the other side of town and go back to the shop and go through their tarot cards again. They said they could tell me tomorrow if I had the job or not. I couldnt justify buying a new deck today with what might have to be rent money, but if I get the job, I can justify buying one tomorrow...LOL Some priority system I have. Pedeka PS. I have a dream.. and it is of tarot wallpaper or even a wall border.

kayne	29 Mar 2002
Pedeka: Well constructed plans! Sounds like the perfect way to celebrate a new job :D Good luck with it too!!!

Talisman	29 Mar 2002
'Lo all, Ah, Pollux . . . These forums ARE my collection! I love it when a new deck thread is posted, and read all the comments eagerly. And, the more opinionated people are in voicing their love/hates, pro/cons, the more fun they are to read. And, if you have a favorite deck to read about, it is like watching a merry-go-'round, 'cause sooner or later the dashing steed will come back around, with all new opinions. What a ho-hum week it would be on Aeclectic is no one fell in love/hate with a new deck and posted their feelings. I've found the decks I use, and, in combination, they come close to Kayne's idea of a perfect deck (for me). But, I want you guys to keep buying and collecting -- and Posting -- so MY collection keeps growing. My collection costs nothing and takes up no bookshelf space, and only needs your enthusiasms to continue. Thank you all, from a sincere and grateful collector. Talisman

Pollux	29 Mar 2002
Talisman, you are insuperable as ever! :) I hope Lili, Kayne and Kiama aren't looking... You really deserve a KISS!!! :* Actually, I have to admit it... I am suffering the Collector's sympthoms myself, but I keep pictures, reviews and descriptions on my computer! ;) If it wasn't for both the Internet and my 30Gb HD, I would have gone crazy! :) P.S. I am glad to continue your kind of collection! :p

Kiama	29 Mar 2002
Pollux: When you come to England, I guaratee you I will turn you into a collector! And, just to tease you into buying more than you should, we are going to visit a shop which is FULL of decks in Glastonbury... Its absolute heaven! You won't be able to stop yourself! And there I will be guiding your hand to you wallet and then to theTarot decks you so want to buy.... He hee... Kiama *Grinning evily* Join us, Pollux, turn to the Dark Side, it is the only way....

Zhritza	02 Apr 2002
Well, thanks all, I no longer feel bizarre about owning my mere 20 decks. Not that it'll remain at 20... I work at a bookstore, and to top it off, this town is the location of Llewellyn Publishing. When they release a new deck, we get it in within days. I'm so glad I've found you all in this little corner of the web; I'm thrilled that someone actually *wants* to hear about my hard-earned new acquisitions. I'll try not to be too gushy, but I might fail at that... :)

The You Know You're a Collctor When.... thread was originally posted on 25 Mar 2002 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.