bonding with your deck

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 24 Jun 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

chunli	24 Jun 2003
hi, i'm new here, and also new to tarot. i'm still learning all the meanings of the cards, but i have a question. i was wondering if anyone could give me any tips on what to do to bond better with my deck? is there any kinda special rituals that can be done? thanx, chunli ^_^

jog1118	24 Jun 2003
no special rituals required...just spend time with your deck meaning: spend time studying them (look for personal interpretations beside basic card meanings), spend time using them (either for personal reading or for others) :smoker:

Trogon	24 Jun 2003
Hi Chunli! :D Welcome to Aeclectic Tarot and Welcome to Tarot in general... This is always an interesting discussion, and it is one that just recently cropped up in the forum. Take a look at the thread; How do you bond with your deck?. For me... I like to go through the entire deck one card at a time... glancing and getting quick impressions of each card. I study each card more in depth later on. But this is just learning the deck. Love the smell of a new deck too... ;)

Umbrae	24 Jun 2003
I shuffle, and watch baseball.

Diana	24 Jun 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Umbrae I shuffle, and watch baseball. Lucky you don't live in Europe. There's no baseball to watch so you'd never be able to bond with your decks. And your decks would end up on the psychiatrist's couch trying to heal that childhood trauma. And if they all had separate weekly sessions, wow, that would cost you down to your last shirt and you wouldn't have money to even buy decks to not bond with.

Mimers	24 Jun 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Diana Lucky you don't live in Europe. There's no baseball to watch so you'd never be able to bond with your decks NO BASEBALL!!!!! I'm sorry. ;) I am a huge Yankee fan and I have been very depressed as I don't have access to the YES channel and can't see all the games :( I bond with my deck by doing a 3 card spread that Lawguy told me of. 1. What will my deck teach me 2. What will my deck require of me 3. What will our relationship be Mimers

SingingTarot	24 Jun 2003
Talking about baseball, after 3 years here in the USA, I still haven't figure out the rules of this game... must be because I'm a soprano... I personally like to go through the deck looking at each card deeply (I mean as deeply as a frenchie can) and figure out what the artist was trying to convey, and how he/she did it. It is surprising to see that a deck your first loved ends up being just a bunch of pretty pictures, when another that attracted you a little less ends up showing layers and layers of interpretation and give you tons of those "AHA!" moments. Ah, the magic! Alice

Teranar	24 Jun 2003
Wow, I disappear for 3... 4... however many months and all of a sudden everyone turns into sports nuts. :joke: When I get a new deck (Which has been once) I take it, look at every card to get a feel to it, find a nice quiet corner and do a few dozen readings about everything and anything that comes to mind, keeping them as varied as the real readings they'll do, and I also keep them near me at all times. It and I 'bonded' fully in 3 days. If it still doesn't feel right, like something's wrong or it just doesn't feel good with you, you can always trade it (There's a whole section devoded to trades on the forum) Hi everyone! After however long I've been gone due to extenuating circumstances I'm back!

Minos	27 Jun 2003
Quote: Originally posted by chunli i'm still learning all the meanings of the cards, but i have a question. i was wondering if anyone could give me any tips on what to do to bond better with my deck? is there any kinda special rituals that can be done? Play with it. Shuffle it around. Pick out cards that attract you and figure out why. Pick out cards that cards that leave you cold and figure out why. Put them into groups of three or four that seem to fit together. Find cards that seem to mean similar things and figure out how they're different. Pick out cards that seem to mean opposite things and figure out how they're similar. Don't be afraid to use the floor! Sometimes you'll need the space. Oh yeah, and keep a journal.

Cerulean	27 Jun 2003
where you love the soundtrack but don't have to watch every scene. There's only so much laundry to fold and mending to do...so sometimes I draw/collage or play with decks or browse my art history books. The TV is sometimes my radio when I don't like what's on national public radio and I'm tired of my CD collection. Mari H.

Alex	29 Jun 2003
over and over again. Alex.

Chronata	29 Jun 2003
Go through each and every card. tell yourself a little story about what you see. (I guess this only works if you actually have a picture on every card!...otherwise I can imagine a few boring stories about picking up a lot of sticks...or washing a lot of cups!)

full deck	01 Jul 2003
Odd things happen that pull me into a deck. like was mentioned earlier, I meditate upon certain cards that seem to pull at me. Before I got this minchiate deck, I was hanging out and suddenly got this image of a flame in my right hand. Later, to my suprise, I found the "charity" card in the minchiate deck had a seated woman with a flame in her hand. It was like a message to me. The question is "from who" and "what" is the message. I've begun to study these minchiate decks more carefully as a result, though that may not be the "point" of it all. Sometimes I visualize cards, in color when I am thinking of other things. For me, visualization is a very important tool that helps me with Tarot and many other things in life. I guess there is more to it all than just bonding with a particular deck.

Ravenswing	04 Jul 2003
I'm with Umbrae. I shuffle. But no baseball. I find it very necessary to touch the deck. The bonding comes from intermingling fields. Yes, I believe everything is alive. And each deck has its own personality-- I'm sure we've all felt that to some degree or another. In fact, I've had two copies of the same deck-- each had its own little quirks. Just like twins are not quite identical, I've found that each and every deck is truly individual and unique... Just as we are. fly well Ravenswing

skysilver	04 Jul 2003
When I bond with my cards I am usually shuffling them. Another thing that also helps me is when I lay the cards (around 6 at a time) face up in front of me and gaze into them. I keep doing this until I have looked at each card. And then I shuffle. I hold them in my hands. I caress them. I hope no one thinks I am crazy but I also talk with them. :) Finally, I find a nice cloth and wrap them in it for safe-keeping. :CL :CL :CL

Ravenswing	04 Jul 2003
Skysilver-- I don't find it crazy to talk to the cards. Some of my better conversations have been with them... fly well Ravenswing

Minderwiz	04 Jul 2003
I go along with Alex - read with it repeatedly. I've tried baseball - New York Mets, unfortunately, but that didn't work - I'd left the deck at home (friend's house) and knowing the Thoth it would probably have wanted lots of hot dogs and soda anyway. It's never really spoken to me since then so it's back to the RWS

skysilver	04 Jul 2003
Thanks Ravenswing, I am glad I am not the only one who talks to my cards. It is interesting to see how we all bond with our cards. It seems to be common sense to treat them as if they were 'alive'. The more I bond with my cards, the better the readings. :) ;) Skysilver

Jaykob	05 Jul 2003
I have this weird fear that there's always a card missing from my deck, so I usually count the cards in my deck at least once a day...I actually feel that this helps me bond with them, since I'm touching each card individually. Also, I read with them at least once a day and keep a journal...that seems to be beginning to help me understand the cards better.

DarkElectric	05 Jul 2003
Hi Jaykob :) And Welcome, Chunli! I like the journal idea myself. I write my readings down, and this helps me understand them better as time goes by. I also carry the deck I'm trying to bond with in my bag, and take it everywhere. I also worry about losing a card here and there, so I count mine too. Just going through the deck and looking closely at the images on each one really did the trick for me. As I viewed the card in depth, I tried to see what personal impressions I got from it. Any psychic cues, or insights were noted, and if it might be something I knew I'd forget later, I wrote that down too. Over time, it got to sort of be second nature, to look at the card, and hear what it was trying to say to me. The real fun comes in when you get different impressions for the same cards, as they apply to particular situations. I find that the cards definitely do not mean the same thing all the time. At least, that's how it works for me.

Teranar	05 Jul 2003
Quote: Originally posted by skysilver I am glad I am not the only one who talks to my cards. Yay! I'm not the only one who talks to them (And has arguments with them!)

Rhiannon	05 Jul 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Chronata ..... I can imagine a few boring stories about picking up a lot of sticks... Hey! We've had a discussion or two about toothpick readings (just ask Umbrae) so why not??? LOL I take my cards out for drinks and then sing drunkenly to each card... before being thrown out of the bar! ;) Lots of great suggestions here that aren't as extreme as mine. Just enjoy the cards! R :)

Tallarico	09 Jul 2003
I sleep with my deck next to me in my bed! :T3S

Umbrae	09 Jul 2003
About midway through another thread, is Ravenwing's Story, appearing halfway down the page. It's wonderful. If you haven't read it, you owe it to yourself - if you have, reading it again is enlightening. No bonding, no ritual, just sheer magic - the kind that runs through each of us - waiting to be tapped. That magic, the real magic is wild, and does not like to be boxed or packaged, marketed, or priced...Like toothpicks...it runs wild, waiting for our acknowledgment and recognition. Most rituals (IMO) are an artificial way of focus. But ultimately I see the ritual aspect as self defeating…what we are telling ourselves, is that, “In order for this to work, I must do this…” neither recognizing or acknowledging that we have it (The magic and the power) in us already.

The bonding with your deck thread was originally posted on 24 Jun 2003 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.