How do you use your tarot?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 09 Sep 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Ho Kok Hong	09 Sep 2004
I believed that fate is in our hands.So,I asked the questioner to take the card himself/herself. I also believed that the tarot cards will treat you the way you treat it.So,I always care for my own tarot card and try not to scratch it(sometimes I also clean it with water) How do you treat or use your tarot?

Bean Feasa	09 Sep 2004
Hi Ho Kok Hong Welcome to Aeclectic! That's an interesting idea about the questioner holding fate in their hands by holding the cards. I treat my cards pretty carefully too - I have bags for most of 'em and a special bookcase, and a cloth to spread out under them when I'm reading or even just playing with them. I love them, you see ;) blessings, Kate

Leleii	09 Sep 2004
I keep my tarot cards in tarot bags wrapped around a spread cloth. In the bag I keep a couple of small crystals or stones. I usually bless my cards with holy water when I first receive them. I always do a daily card of the day, so I know what my day will be like and to handle the cards on a daily basis. Welcome and Blessings.

Anna	09 Sep 2004
My new decks are spotless :) They have a special shelf just above my computer and they seem to be happy to live there and I can just reach up and grab the one that I need. All very tidy, dust free and neat. And at some point there will be in bags too. But sadly, the same cannot be said for my older decks :( My Rider Waite, in particular, is battered and bruised through spending many years with me. It wears the stains of many spillages, from tea and coffee to nail varnish and red wine. It has been camping in a thunderstorm with me and survived, barely, a leak in the tent. When I was a student, it came to pubs and music festivals with me. It has been thrown up in the air to make a waterfall by my nephew. The cat has sat on it. The dog has slobbered on it. The box fell apart long ago. *CP hangs her head in shame*

Shade	09 Sep 2004
Hey now Charming Pixie, my Secret tarot is has also gone all over creation with me (inlcuding lot sof bars) and while it's not terribly desheveled it has acquired a permanent bend from shuffling and many cards show wear. I bought a second copy a while back but have yet to retire the original. People have generally reacted well to see a well-loved (battered) deck. It's a sign of experience. Red wine eh? Part of my Book of Shadows got doused in rum when I was making an offering once. It actaully gave the pages a nice crinkle and stiffness taht I like.

Little Baron	09 Sep 2004
Firstly, just to note a strange experience. When in another thread just now, I looked at your avatar, Charming Pixie - the one with the butterfly. That's not right, I thought. I don't remember you having that one or felt that it was odd in someway. Then, as if by magic, I come here and it has changed. It looks great by the way. On to the question (apologies Ho Kok Hong) ... I love the sound of your deck Charming Pixie. I think that when reading for people, they like to see a well used deck. Myself, I love the idea that the deck has been through so much with you. It must be very strong - in vibes I mean. I don't really do anything special with my cards these days - apart from what someone said here, which is handle them daily. I do carry them with me when I go places, just incase they are needed. The relationship I have with my Enoil Gavat at the moment seems to be getting stronger but I have never done any rituals with it. I find it really conforting to shuffle and rifle it. Infact, mixing up the cards after using them and before a reading is pretty much the only kind of treatment it gets. No more, no less. You can imagine how I treat my lovers, can't you, lol. Yaboot

Anna	09 Sep 2004
Thanks Yaboot! I never really felt that the butterfly was me, I like my new pixie :) Quote: I find it really conforting to shuffle Yes!! There is nothing like a good shuffle for comforting purposes!

Little Baron	09 Sep 2004
I find the EG easier to rifle since it is larger which is very comforting. I do most of my tarot work on the bed with the laptop and the cards laid out. I am getting my dads people at work to knock me up a few things tomorrow. I want something made to cut the cards on. Also, as the cards move about on the bed, I am getting him to make a stand that would hold about seven at a time. The only way I can describe the design is like the little wooden holders that they have to hold the letters in scrabble. That way, I can stand them up in that and have a good view of them while I type. Yaboot

NeXoRiouS	10 Sep 2004
I guess it's about time to treat my cards well. Somehow I really treat them like dirt. When the deck feels heavy and tainted with too much energy, i just put it aside and move on to new decks. Am i offending them?

ladymermaid	10 Sep 2004
i treat my tarot decks really really well i keep all my decks in nice wooden boxes that have new age or wiccan symbols on the boxes i get all my boxs from psychic shops. i have many tarot bags i only use those if i am going on a trip and i bring my tarot cards with me on my trip. i even wash my cards with incense with ocean incense i wave the cards over the smoke and close my eyes when i do this. it's my way of talking to my cards i put my power in to the cards and i feel the power of the cards.

Gyda	10 Sep 2004
I keep my cards in a black velvet bag, they're usually on the bed or bed side table, living room table or on the computer deck it depends on where I was sitting when I was handling them, and where I put them down. They have wear on them, still in good shape, but you can tell they're well used. NeXoRiouS: if you want to get ride of the heavey feeling sprinkle sea salt over them, then leave them in the sun for a day, or in moonlight for the night, and they'lll be fine.

WolfSpirit	11 Sep 2004
I don't think my cards work better if I treat them better. It must all come from my mind, and my cards are just a tool in that. I do take care of them though, as I do with all things I love. I have them all in a bag, and when I take them with me outside I even have an extra bag of water-proof fabric to put them in. I don't mind if they don't stay looking like brand-new though. I try not to get spots on them but it's normal that they start to show some wear after a while. I also buy second-hand decks (mostly from trades at this board) and I don't mind if they look used, as long as they are still in good condition. I am not too picky about the state of my decks :)

moonlight	11 Sep 2004
Although I haven't had my deck for that long, I keep it very safe and comfy :). The deck lives in this beautiful, velvit tarot bag which has silver stars, moons and cats on it :). I just love it. And it has this lovely scent to it... i'm not sure what it is, but its fab!. My deck lives in its bag under my pillow most of the time. But I do take it with me when I go out.

Sulis	11 Sep 2004
Quote: I am not too picky about the state of my decks I'm with you WolfSpirit on this one, in fact I prefer my favorite decks to look used. I don't really read for others in person but I know that if I went to a tarot reader myself I'd prefer them to have a deck which was a bit battered and looked as though it had been used a lot to a brand shiny new deck. I keep the decks I read with in spread cloths which have a pocket in them for the deck. The ones I don't read with are in a drawer in their original boxes. Love Sulis xx

Cerulean	12 Sep 2004
Yaboot says.... "I am getting my dads people at work to knock me up a few things tomorrow. I want something made to cut the cards on. Also, as the cards move about on the bed, I am getting him to make a stand that would hold about seven at a time. " Sometimes the slang differences between British and American (I'm in Northern California) make for unusual pictures in my silly mind. I realized after a minute or two, Yaboot might be saying that people from his father's work were setting up or making a small standing "desk-tray with a flat surface and wooden slots for the cards" that you can put on the bed? The very special desk-tray-idea sounds wonderful for the bed! Or are these two different items for the bed? My suggestions follow: I sometimes use the rug on the floor as a big, flat surface and so I lay a piece of cotton cloth or a scarf down before I lay out the cards. Sometimes a beautiful t-shirt, scarf, or anything with a lovely, dark pattern with flowers or marbled patterns can make colors pop out. In the instance of the Enoil Gavat, I noticed that the delicate accent colors and white become more beautiful in contrast to the orange when I use a contrasting cloth as a background--deep blue with delicate olive and azure or turquoise accents as one example. Maybe a neutral dark olive or just navy cloth would be just as effective. If your cards are slippery, a towel in a contrasting color and folded flat in half or quarters can help 'grab' the cards to lay on a flatter surface and they don't 'slip and slide' so much. My sister gave me a 'book-making' kit that came with a lovely gauzy cloth that has a feel similar to organdy, but thicker--like the lining material of curtains. The light blue-gray serge color with white imprints of moon and stars is my favorite reading cloth--never got used to make a handmade journal! I have bought separately inexpensive cloth zipper bags (they can be at the drugstore/pharmacy cosmetic aisle) or at an import store in similar blues. I rotate with other bags and cotton cloths I had dyed with a marbelized pattern--but the mix-and-match of lighter blue reading cloth and cosmetic bag in blue is my favorite...very transportable and easy to fold up and hide in backpack or purse. Many times a cafe or casual rug surface has crumbs, bits and pieces of something dusty...so this helps me treat my cards a little special, kind of dressed up to lay out and stay clean. Regards, Cerulean

diane drizzy	12 Sep 2004
Charming Pixie, your cards share your history and experiences in life. We really hear this in your reply. I don't do anything special with my cards, but I too wash my hands before use. It sort of centers me and I guess you could call it a ritual. :( On the other hand I do treat my Faeries Oracle a little differently. They are very personal to me. Like a bunch of kids! :D

Ho Kok Hong	15 Sep 2004
It's hard to buy the things you all mentioned in my place(jewel,herbs,holy water etc.It is also expensive even you find them)But it's better to treat it like your wife/husband. I don't agree that a tarot is really called a "tool"(Although it's REALLY a tool).You all know there are spirit in tarot cards,so,it is alive. My tarot card is really in bad in condition now(the box only,the cards are still fine)It helps me making friend and gives me a lot of fun.It is my best friend.

WolfSpirit	15 Sep 2004
Ho Kok Hong - this is something we will never agree on, but that is ok, we can have different opinions :) But my cards are really not alive and there is no spirit in them, but I use them to understand the messages from the Universe that I do not understand by myself, so I need cards to make it understandable for me.

Little Baron	15 Sep 2004
Cerulean Just to try and explain a bit better, here is a little drawing I just did. It holds about seven large cards and they slot in the little ledge at the bottom. It just means I can see them standing when I type and they don't move about all over the place. Hope this helps. Apologies for the naff drawing. Yaboot

Hawks_girl_dove	16 Sep 2004
I am careful with mine. All have thier own pouches. (And if i get a new deck...i dont take them out until i have a pouch made for them. I make my own) there are 2 decks on my desk, waiting for me to stitch thier bags up. Many have a lovely scarf i put under them, so i dont pick up dirt of the table, floor, or where ever i do a spread. I whipe the cards with an eye glass cloth, to remove dust. After doinga reading, in which someone else may have handled my cards, i do a riual cleansing on them. Tarot are a spiritual tool for divination... as such i treat them with love and respect.

Stardust2004	17 Sep 2004
Hi I am new to the board but thought I'd respond to some of the posts. I use a nice little roll of sage and pass it through the smoke. Pretty much can purify anything with sage or I pass it through some myrth. Gets rid of any negative energy. Stardust

Ho Kok Hong	18 Sep 2004
It's ok Yaboot,at lease you had tell us your way. I was astonished that most of you treat your card with herb and such.I wonder if you all do it secretly or being knowed by parents. Oh,where did you all learn such things?:confused:

The How do you use your tarot? thread was originally posted on 09 Sep 2004 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.