is your deck a gift?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 03 Jun 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

jog1118	03 Jun 2003
i've heard from someone before that if your tarot deck is a gift, then it will surely work for you (meaning you'll have meaningful, significant readings). and they say if you bought your deck...sorry...it wo'nt work as you expect anyone who knows if there's any truth to this saying?

HudsonGray	04 Jun 2003
Absolutely total myth. Who better than you would know what decks have the right artwork to 'click'? That would also mean that every deck you bought for yourself wouldn't work too well. While it's NICE to have someone else give us a deck so we can save some cash, it's always good to at least have some input on which deck you would like. Go ahead and buy any one you want, no need to fall for the old superstition about being gifted with your working deck.

jema	04 Jun 2003
I agree with HudsonGray and wanted to add that all my decks are gifts, if not from friends (although a lot of them are) then they are gifts from myself to myself. Oh and this little tidbit also: The act of giving a gift is made to pass on. The best way to get plenty of gifts in life is to give them.

Umbrae	04 Jun 2003
No truth...

silverting	04 Jun 2003
lolx...speaking of this....when me and my cousin when to buy our first deck...i chose a thoth and she chose a (forgot name) and since its the same price we sort of take each other deck pay for it and gave it back to each other.....so its sort of a gift riight???lolxxxxxxx

coldsuns	04 Jun 2003
Hie silverting..a Singaporean here too. Back to topic..my deck is not a gift. But it will be a better of own feelings when you bought the deck urself rather den someone gif u. You wont feel that close. I mean..me ^_^

Khatruman	04 Jun 2003
And I have heard giant alligators inhabit the sewers of New York City... and I have heard that if you say Bloody Mary's name three times in a mirror, you will see her... and I heard you can see the ghost of a boy who died in the house where Three Men and a Baby was filmed, even though the scene in question was filmed on a soundstage.... and I have heard you can see a Munchkin committing suicide in The Wizard of Oz...and I have heard.... Tarot will "work" for you as much as you let it work for you. Believe what you will, you will certainly be right. Bought most every one of my own decks. They work fine.

SingingTarot	04 Jun 2003
Isn't it nice to not have to hint everybody around everytime you want a new deck! For people like me who have no friends, it make things much easier to get it myself rather than wait around to make friends so that they can buy me presents! :)) I own 4 decks, and I bought them all by myself, I know what I like and why I picked them, that makes it all the more precious! Wouldn't it be nice to have presents though?! Alice

Emily	04 Jun 2003
I'm like SingingTarot, if I was to wait for somebody to buy me a deck I'd wait forever lol - well apart from my Diamond tarot that was a gift from a friend. I like to treat myself to new decks occasionally, although at the moment there are no new decks on the horizon and I have all the ones on my wishlist. But saying that I wouldn't object if a deck was suddenly bought as a gift for me lol - Maybe giant hints to my hubby (oh yea are those flying pigs I see or little pink elephants :) )

sagitarian	04 Jun 2003
This is an old myth, and forgive me if I am repeating something that someone else has already said. The reason for this myth stems way back into the times of when they burned witches at the stake. If you were caught with a tarot deck then you were a witch. Therefore, decks of fortune telling were banned, and if you did by chance have a deck, most likely it was given to you by either a trust friend, or handed down by family. It was "bad luck" to seek out your own deck, as you were then stretching your neck out and putting all those you love at risk for being burned as well (including any children). Therefore, it was said to not "buy" your own deck (or seek out a fortune telling deck) for it will cause you your death and all those around you to die as well. Now it's been transmuted to just being, if you buy your own deck then it won't work. This is all hogwash now, as we live in different times. It's no big thing to walk down to the local book store and see a few tarot decks sitting on the shelf waiting for someone to buy them. If you do have someone else buy you your deck, make sure that they know what deck(s) you are wanting. If you're not sure, then there are hundreds of sites (including Aeclectic) where you can go browsing around for hours to find out. In any case, happy shopping, and good luck with your deck.

Keslynn	04 Jun 2003
That version of history is not too accurate. Possession of a tarot deck was never grounds for burning a suspected witch at the stake. Especially when you consider that tarot decks were primarily a card game until the later... hmmm, I'm forgetting my dates here 1700s? By this time, the "witch craze" had long since passed. Tarot is still played as a game in some areas. :) Kes, picky historian

HudsonGray	04 Jun 2003
I think that's true--during the middle ages the church-backed inquisitors didn't go against the upper class, and tarot was something the upper class was using (for games or whatever), it wasn't on the proscribed list of items. The list of things a person could have that 'proved' you were a witch included feathers & sheepskins, a black dog as a pet, any unusual pets, etc. they really made it easy to accuse people. But they didn't want to tick off the upper classes. Tarot always got a 'free ride' because of it back then. Inquisitions went from 1300-1600 a.d. approx. Then when the tarot/esoteric revival happened in the 1800's tarot really got catapulted into the mainstream.

Keslynn	04 Jun 2003
Clearing up some common misconceptions: More executions for witchcraft were carried out by the secular authorities in Germany and secondly France than were killed by the Inquisition. The Inquisition ended up with the rep for some reason (potential dissertation topic of mine - heehee). As Reformation craziness settled down, the role of the Inquisition turned more regulatory. You could get called in for questioning for a variety of things, as Hudson Gray said, but most often you wouldn't get killed for them. Basically, they were concerned with stamping out minor divergences from doctrine rather than the big ones (Protestantism for one) at this point. Also, the witch trials occured during the Early Modern period, most of them in the 15 and 1600s, and not the Middle Ages. If anyone wants to know some good resources regarding the witch trials, PM me. This is a particular area of interest for me, and I don't want to be too much of a pedantic bore on the boards. ;) Kes

HudsonGray	04 Jun 2003
From what I remember most of the really nasty inquisition people were from Spain. And I heard Germany had at least two towns where they killed all the women but one, claiming witchcraft as a reason for murdering them all. Nasty time to be living in. Nasty business all the way around. Keslynn, was it 1 million or as high as 9 million European women died during the inquisition's 300 years? Estimates are all over the board, and the church only kept track of the ones they accused, not tortured to death during questioning or had die before they could put them to the fire.

The is your deck a gift? thread was originally posted on 03 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.