No touching ?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 13 Aug 2001, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Jai	13 Aug 2001
A friend of mine told me that you shouldn't let anyone touch the cards. The first day I got mine, my friend did a spread just seeing what it was like. Other than that, I have been the only one handling them. Is there anything that I can do now that she has touched them ? Does it really affect them that much ?

StarShine	13 Aug 2001
IMHO, I think that the touching issue is a personal one. I know people who let others handle the cards, some that only allow others to handle them to cut/shuffle for a reading, and others who do not let anyone touch them under any circumstances. As for me, I prefer that no one touch them exept to do their reading. The idea is that when someone handles your cards, they leave a bit of their aura and energy on them. It helps with the accuracy of the reading. This includes any negativity or malice that the person may be feeling at that time. To remove any bad vibes, I always reshuffle the cards after I read, before I put them away. As I do this, I visualize the cards being cleansed of all energy except my own. The more you handle your cards, the more "yours" they become. There are a very select few people that I will allow to borrow my cards for a reading on either me or them, but these are people I know and trust not to leave anything "icky" on my cards. The only other time I have ever let anyone hold a card is when I had the Ace of Cups tattooed on my ankle. He had to hold it to reproduce it. Because I did not know him that well, I did a cleansing ritual on my deck when I got home. I know this is pretty long, but I hope it helped.

RiotFemme	13 Aug 2001
I don't loan my decks out, but I don't mind if certain people hold them, look at them, shuffle them, and so forth. I agree with StarShine that everyone who handles the cards leaves a bit of their energy, so I do cleanse my decks. I keep my decks in individual pouches and I'll put in a crystal or certain leaves (herbals) known for their purification properties. I may also place the deck under my pillow so that it absorbs some of my energy. But like StarShine said, this is a personal issue. There really aren't any rules. Base your decisions on the results that you get from your readings and what feels best.

tarotbear	14 Aug 2001
My personal feelings are that you never touch someone else's cards without their permission. This means that we do not leave our cards where someone may inadvertently touch them, such as on the coffee table where our 6 year-old niece or meddling religiously-challenged Aunt will find them. It also means that you do not have an Oscar-winning hissy fit when someone does. Merely tell them that your cards are a personal thing and if they'd like to see them you will show them, but you would appreciate them not touching your deck without permission. I doubt that someone you know would try to deliberately wreck the vibes on your cards; however, crystals are highly suseptible to vibrations and can be reprogrammed easily. This is because Crystals have an internal structure, whereas paper pulp does not. If someone has handled your cards, you can 'remove' their vibrations without destoying yours since your vibes are far stronger.

Knight of Swords	20 Aug 2001
I don't mind others touching my deck, as long as they do so respectfully. Personally, I haven't found the touching thing to affect the quality of my readings (um, I'm sort of a beginner in the first place!). In fact, I will usually ask the querent to handle the cards to help put them in the right frame of mind and make them feel more involved in the reading. It's a matter of personal taste, I think, and I agree with the previous comments that people shouldn't be touching others' decks without permission.

The No touching ? thread was originally posted on 13 Aug 2001 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.