Spending time with your deck

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 16 Apr 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Jenny-Li	16 Apr 2002
Hi all! Here's another strange question from me: Do you ever find yourself in a situation when you long to spend time with your cards, simply because they make you feel good, but you don't really want to do a reading about anything, all you want is to DO something with them...! Anyone know what I mean? To me this is the sort of thing that happens when I'm feeling low, sad maybe, dried out for energy and fed up with everything... So my question today is: Does anyone have good ideas on what you can do when you want to spend some "quality time" with your deck, when you want to work with it without really having questions to read it for... Since I'm the beginning of my Journey here my focus or main interest is of course on bonding with the deck itself and learning, getting to know it! Ideas, anyone? Love and light! Jenny :)

catlin	16 Apr 2002
I sometimes catch myself only pushing around the cards on the table and then there is a turning point when the only shuffled cards inspire me to a new spread. Sometimes it is only a modification of a traditional spread but very often it turns out into a new one or I choose some cards and start creating a tarot spell out of them. I have also started to use the tarot deck as a tool of meditation.

Kiama	16 Apr 2002
I get this all the time, and I'm so pleased I'm not alone! I always get this urge to open my Tarot drawer and go pick out a deck and do something with it. I used to end up just shuffling it, and looking at the pictures, but now that I have nearly 50 decks, I usually get the ALL out :eek: and compare the cards. Eg- I'll take all teh Fool cards out of every single deck, compare them to each other, and write about them, picking out similarities etc... Or, sometimes I'll just sit in front of the TV, shuffling them! Kiama

Umbrae	16 Apr 2002
I like to read a lot. It is difficult to read and shuffle at the same time. I find that if I shuffle the deck that wants me, then just set it in my lap and read, we are both fine. Sometimes I don’t even shuffle the deck. I just put the bag (w/deck) on my lap or jacket pocket and read. Perhaps it is like reading to children?

truthsayer	16 Apr 2002
i find sitting around watching tv or whatever and looking thru the cards as a very relaxing thing to do. everytime i do this i see new shades of meaning that i missed before. i absorb the info and go on to the next card. i also simply love looking at beautiful art work.

Jewel	16 Apr 2002
I most definetly relate to this! There are all sorts of things to do with the deck :) You can just pull a card (or more if you like) and make up a story about it, you can meditate with them (wonderful exercise by the way), you can pull a card and try to write a poem about it. Like Kiama I also love comparing cards from different decks. I am also very into studying Tarot so I have work books that I work in. If you have time and the inclination you could also write a review of your deck(s) and send them to Aeclectic :) .... ohhhhh and you can build stuff with the cards, just ask Kiama ~giggles~.

Jenny-Li	16 Apr 2002
Hi everybody, and thanks for your input! It's nice to know we're all kind of the same in wanting to have our decks THERE, whether we're reading or watching TV or whatever! Anyway, I have started to try to learn to meditate, but I don't think I'm doing so well, and most of all, I have never learned any of all the techniques there are to "get there" or whatever I should call it. So... how do you meditate on cards, really...? I'm thinking maybe bringing a familliar element (such as the Tarot) into my attempts at meditating will make it easier for me to relax and turn of the usual stuff that noises around in my head...! So how do you do it? (OK, I know, I know, I must find my own way - and I promise, I will, but some ideas to get started with, perhaps...? ;) Thanks!) Writing cards and let them inspire writing exercises is one I have tried, I always wanted to be a writer, but ended up with a total writer's block before I even got started, so now I try to use my cards as a way of loosing those knots tying up my writing. That is definitely something I'd recommend to anyone who is interested in Tarot and creativity! :) Light, love! Jenny :)

cricket	16 Apr 2002
Shuffle shuffle shuffle! *LOL* I can't really do much else with them most of the time, because my kids like them too much. If they get really interested I'll show them the pictures on the cardsd and tell them which ones they are. If the card ends up being one of the darker ones (I just cut the deck to show them) sometimes I'll toss a meaning in. They're really too young to understand them at this point, but they try. :)

Phoenix	16 Apr 2002
I get that all the time!!! I will sometimes get the sudden urge to shuffle one of my decks. Thats all I do. Shuffle, or I will throw somw down in a spread. No question, just look at them. It really helps me to get to know the deck.

Kiama	16 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Jewel .... ohhhhh and you can build stuff with the cards, just ask Kiama ~giggles~. Oh yeah! I haven't done this in a long time, but I used to help my little sisters build houses out of a Tarot deck, and use the Court cards as the people going around the house, doing stuff. It really was fun. Also useful for getting to understand the Court Cards. Kiama

Temperance413	17 Apr 2002
Hi all! I know this may sound strange, but I play solitare with my cards. That way I get to order all the cards, shuffle and study thier meanings all at the same time.

Jenny-Li	17 Apr 2002
Cricket: Must be exciting having a Tarot-mom...! I can only imagine that I would have loved that, and not wasted 28 years before I found it myself! I hope I'll have kids of my own some day so that I can pass on the Tarot to them! Love and light! Jenny :)

Jenny-Li	17 Apr 2002
Temperance413: Now this sounds really interesting - how do you do that? I don't find it strange at all, this is the sort of thing I was betting you guys out there would do when I posted the question to begin with - and the sort of answer I was hoping for. So now for some details - how, how, how?? :D Light and love, Jenny :)

truthsayer	17 Apr 2002
i never thought of playing tarot solitaire but it would be a great way to work w/ a new deck and get familiarized w/ it. thanks for the idea. i think i will try it w/ my faery wicca first b/c i'm having difficulty putting symbols together. this should help enormously.

emily2otters	18 Apr 2002
my sweetheart and i occasionally play gin rummy with my spare rider waite. :)

Logiatrix	18 Apr 2002
i find that when i handle my cards and look through them, it calms me. i try to remember to do this before sleep, so that i will dream about the images and see what comes up.

Temperance413	18 Apr 2002
Thanks for the interest , mind you I just made this up so you can change it anyway you seem fit. Shuffle the full deck of Tarot as you would a normal deck of cards. Deal three cards off the top of the deck and if it is an ace put it at the left of your playing field in a pile by itself. Keep dealing three cards and placing the third card in the playing field until all the cards have been used. Put the remaining cards face down in front of you, keep going throught he deck until they are all sorted, or you can't place the cards in sequential order anymore. You will end up with five piles. Four for each of the aces thru kings, and one for the Fool to the World. This is a great way to get to know the cards and thier order. they also tell you alittle about themselves because I think you are more relaxed and are more open to some subtler meaning. Good luck!

The Spending time with your deck thread was originally posted on 16 Apr 2002 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.