how many decks...?????

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 10 Aug 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

faunabay	10 Aug 2003
OK, I thought about this while I was re-posting my collection list on Kiama's "what decks do you own" thread. How many decks have I owned in my tarot life? Not how many decks I own NOW, but how many have I gone through since I bought my first deck? Right now I have about 45, but my collection in the past has hit close to 90. And that's not counting the ones I've traded away!!! I don't think I can come up with a exact number. :) But I know it has to be VERY large :D ROFL :D -- you know with our trade section here it's very easy to get a deck "just because" and then trade it again if it doesn't appeal to you. So anyway I started thinking (uh oh LOL) how many decks have I owned in my life???? hmmmmmm........????? I really can't answer that question yet. But it'll be fun to estimate. I'll let you all know what number I come up with. ROFL

Little Baron	10 Aug 2003
I havn't traded any away yet and still have them all. I don't know how many I have - not as many as you, I know that. Heres a recap - I started with a nameless deck with illustrations by Shirley Barker, Rohrig Prediction Tarot Tarot Nova Adrian Phantasmagoric Theater Fantastical Russian Tarot of StPetersburg Winged Spirit Art Noaveau Morgan Greer Tarot of the Ages Pagan 2000 Universal Waite Thoth Rider Waite Light and Shadow Buckland Romani Cosmic Tribe Well, thats 19, all still present and correct - just not all used LOL Best wishes Yaboot

faunabay	10 Aug 2003
OK, this is bad!! LOL Can you say tarot trade-a-holic ???? I just went through the wicce, tarot passages, and aeclectic deck lists and came up with 74 !!! decks I've had at one time and no longer own!!!! oops!! ROFL And I know that doesn't account for every single deck, so I'd add 5 or 6 to that list for odds and ends. hehe So if you count the 45 I do still own :) and not take into account the ones I've missed -- I've owned 119 in my tarot lifetime!!!

punkangelgcm437	10 Aug 2003
I am such an outcast!! In my whole life I've owned 3. Moon Garden & Faery Wicca which I still have, and I just gave away my Goddess cuz I didnt connect with it. I think I get too emotionally attached to get anymore. LOL.

jog1118	10 Aug 2003
punkangelgcm437 leads by 1 point... i only have 2 decks: tarot nova mini and tarot of the hidden folk...plainly because the market for tarot cards here in the philippines is close to nil. i might try trading in the future...who knows... :smoker:

Logiatrix	10 Aug 2003
This is a fun question, but I have a slightly different perspective on the gathering of decks, especially as a newbie. Keep in mind that I'm only in my fourth year of tarot study... About 200 or so decks have passed through my life, at least briefly. That is primarily because I went through a manic deck-gluttony stage that first year of my tarot journey--until I finally stopped to blink and breathe, realizing that I had amassed 120 decks in 14 months! It's all a blur now; I only recall that it wasn't very fun, when it shoulda been... :( I don't mean to get all somber on the subject, but my personal lesson with this experience is that "less is more." All that quantity meant that I was sorely lacking in quality--that is, knowledge and experience with All That Is Tarot. I definitely put the (deck laden) cart before the horse. Honestly, all those tarots passed through my hands because I was looking for The One that would make me some sort of amazing reader. It was only when the decks numbered at 40+, that I started calling them a "collection." Finally, when I crossed into the triple digits, I realized there is no tarot deck that will give me magical reading abilities, no matter what rituals I throw in the mix. However, I must clarify... There are plenty of tarotphiles who have some VERY healthy collections, well beyond what I had, and most importantly, they are not me (Thank the God/dess!). My point is that these same collectors ALSO have very healthy reasons for collecting, such as a love for the art or history, or a solid grasp of tarot to bring to all the interpretations now available. Unfortunately, I had none of those reasons for having so many decks...the up-side to the whole fiasco is that many of my AT brothers and sisters have since prospered fro my excess! :D I now have about fifteen tarot decks that I keep for "collecting" purposes (I just like them), in addition to the twelve decks I use regularly for reading, meditation, and study. These are twelve decks I really KNOW how to read, FINALLY! :D Thanks for listening... Tauni :)

Minderwiz	11 Aug 2003
When I decided to take a serious look at Tarot, a year or so ago, I had one deck, one which I borrowed from my wife and added to that RWS with a cleaar decision not to get any more and never to become a collector. Not sure whether I kept to this, I have: Mandala Astrological Tarot Mythic Tarot RWS Robin Wood Thoth The Witches Tarot Ancestral Path Tarot Arcus Arcanum Tarot Osho Zen Tarot The Lovers Tarot Russell Grant Astro-Tarot Medicine Cards Moon Oracle Just shows how I can keep to a decision when I put my mind to it :)

WolfSpirit	11 Aug 2003
At the moment I have 31 tarot decks (I leave the oracles out of this count). Of those decks 9 will come out regularly for reading or study. 10 more come out every now and then to give another perspective or because I just feel like using them; the remaining 12 decks are either there as collector's items, for studying "some time", because they have a few special cards that I love, or just because I haven't gotten around to trading yet. I have traded 6 decks away; so the total of decks I have once owned is 37. Tauni: I know very well what you mean. Although my numbers are modest compared to yours, I got to the point where I thought: now I really have to start working with the decks I have instead of just collecting new ones all the time. I still have a wish list }) but I really want to slow down now and work more with what I have (and give my finances some rest as well)

faunabay	11 Aug 2003
Tauni, That's exactly why the number of decks I own right now has gone down instead of up. :) And part of the reason I still have 45 is because I haven't traded/sold all that I want to ROFL -- So everyone watch the trading section. hehe Although unlike you I was having a blast getting and trading all those decks!! LOL It was sooo much fun!! But at one point it did stop being fun and that's when I began to pare down my collection. I've separated the decks I do want to keep into 3 categories. 1) The decks I would never get rid of because I connect with them completely and read with them regularly 2) Decks I read with every once in a while - use for certain kinds of spreads or subjects (these are decks that may get traded sometime in the future if I find I'm not using them at all) 3) Sentimental decks - decks I've been given as birthday or yule/christmas presents by certain people here on aeclectic :* and want to keep completely for sentimental reasons.

oceanpoetry	11 Aug 2003
I used to have... Medieval Scapini and Thoth (large green version) but gave them away years ago. Now I have: Voyager Nigel Jackson URW Hanson-Roberts Old English Diamond Tarot ...and I just ordered the Crystal Tarot. Tauni, I think "all things in moderation" is good advice. I have to remind myself of this, everytime I see a new deck that I put on my mental wish-list. Personally, I know I don't want to get up to 100-decks, because just keeping track of that many would be a lot of work. But I can understand why ppl do! :D The enjoy using tarot decks for meditation and awareness and gravitate toward those decks with appealing artwork. And I know that some decks may go out of print, which gives me the incentive to purchase now, because of their uniqueness (such as the Diamond Darot or Old English).

fairyhedgehog	11 Aug 2003
Ooh this is fun trying to work out how many decks have passed through my hands :) I think I have 12 or 13 at present. And ones I did have but don't now include: Celtic Tarot (de Burgh) Art Nouveau (Myers) Visconti Pagan 2000 Shakespearian Cosmic a duplicate Hanson-Roberts (does that count?) Classical Tarots Goddess Tarot That's not as many as I thought. I obviously need to get trading again soon :)

Hedera	11 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by fairyhedgehog Ooh this is fun trying to work out how many decks have passed through my hands :) I think I have 12 or 13 at present. And ones I did have but don't now include: Celtic Tarot (de Burgh) Art Nouveau (Myers) Visconti Pagan 2000 Shakespearian Cosmic a duplicate Hanson-Roberts (does that count?) Classical Tarots Goddess Tarot That's not as many as I thought. I obviously need to get trading again soon :) LOL Fairyhedgehog, you forgot at least one: I know for a fact that you used to have the Inner Child cards...;)

fairyhedgehog	11 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Hedera LOL Fairyhedgehog, you forgot at least one: I know for a fact that you used to have the Inner Child cards...;) ROFL I'd forgotten about those! I wonder how many others I've forgotten...

Macavity	11 Aug 2003
I think I can... control it... at around twenty decks - Anyway (denial apart) I have for some time now! :) There aren't many other decks I'd like to have, but I do develop attachments, so still none I want to get rid of... except perhaps that Sola Busca? }) For those with these mid-30's age-hangups, there's a lot to be said for age. Forgetting you ever HAD things is quite a blessing - not to mention the joy of random rediscoveries! :laugh: Macavity

oceanpoetry	11 Aug 2003
LOL! Macavity, I personally I don't view senility as a benefit of growing older. I have a hard enough time as it is remember where I put my keys! :D

Marion	11 Aug 2003
This is a very good topic and reflects my thoughts. I also hit an embarrassing high on deck count and after a while I also realized that I was really not much enjoying acquiring new decks, but was still doing it. Okay, I still do it, I just ordered one. But.... yes, I am starting to get rid of decks and classify them ruthlessly. It does sort to have been a bit of a brain fever.

Shadow Wolf	11 Aug 2003
I now have 8 tarot decks and one Oracle deck 1. Celtic Tarot 2. Celtic Dragon Tarot 3. Mythic Tarot ( I find this deck a little two masculine for me) 4. Ibis Tarot 5. Witches Tarot 6. Triple Goddess Tarot 7. Motherpeace Tarot 8. Vision Quest 9. Healing with the Fairies I use Celtic, Celtic Dragon, Vision Quest, Motherpeace ,and healing with the Fairies the most. I save the Triple Goddess for a good overall reading. It tends to give a clearer "Big Picture" reading, at least that's how it work for me. The Witches Tarot I go back to if I want a confirmation of readings from other decks. I use the Ibis when I want a "brutally honest" deck. (which isn't very often) I use this deck ocassionally, when I want to make sure I'm seeing the truth of a situation, it will show me what I don't necessarily want to face but need to. I don't really use the mythic deck that much, I'll use it once it a while to get a different slant on things, but generally speaking, I'm living with way too much male energy as it is.

VGimlet	14 Aug 2003
I don't mind having so many decks. Some are decks to read with, some to meditate with, and some are collection decks. I haven't gotten rid of any of the 85 decks I've amassed in the last year and a half (only had one before that!) but there are a few I'm thinking about trading.

Marion	14 Aug 2003
VGimlet, yes, despite my earlier post, I also like having the decks. I forget how many I have, around 50 I think with 5 or 8 having come and gone, but right now I can't think I want to get to rid of any. More I just don't buy them very often. I like picking them for certain 'conversations' and read with a lot of them. eh, a balance I guess.

Summerdream	14 Aug 2003
Quote: Originally posted by faunabay Tauni, That's exactly why the number of decks I own right now has gone down instead of up. :) And part of the reason I still have 45 is because I haven't traded/sold all that I want to ROFL -- So everyone watch the trading section. hehe I will definately be on the lookout for your list on the trading section. Actually, I now own about 40 decks and haven't gotten to the point of thinking about thinning them out any. I still have a wishlist with about 4-5 more I want; the never ending wishlist! Blessings, Momof3girls

The how many decks...????? thread was originally posted on 10 Aug 2003 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.