Thoughts on "previously owned" decks

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 20 Jan 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

sharpchick	20 Jan 2005
Since I have begun studying tarot, I've run across two lines of thought on this. . .the first being that although it is acceptable for someone to purchase and give you a new deck, you should not accept a previously used deck from someone, as it has the psychic vibes of the previous owner attached to it, s/he may have used the deck for black magic, etc. The other philosophy I've heard is that if you cleanse the deck, there should be no problems with accepting a deck which has been used and loved by someone else and is now being passed on to you, particularly if the gift giver is a person known to you. Any opinions one way or the other on this?

Fulgour	20 Jan 2005
Even if you had no idea beforehand, if there was a problem you would know soon after coming into direct contact that something was causing a disturbance just through intuition. Trusting your gift of awareness brings with it responsibilities, and there's no single answer for every situation encountered. Just remember to work smart and do what you know is right. There's nothing bigger than you that you can't get help for.

Chara	20 Jan 2005
Well, I am completely in love with my Tarot of the Old Path that I just got from Shade (I mean, it even smells nice, like sage or something. That's a good deck!). I didn't do any type of cleansing, but it's working wonderfully for me. I think that if something was just so riddled with bad vibes it was unusable, you'd probably be able to tell beforehand (people can usually sense a bad deal, right?), or at least after you got it, like Fulgour said, and it IS possible to cleanse a deck, if one feels that's necessary. I think previously owned decks have their own kind of charm, and this paranoia about them just means more for me! :D Seriously though, I personally wouldn't let the risk of a "black magic" deck scare me away from what appears to be a normal transaction, but that's just me.

Rosanne	20 Jan 2005
One of the first decks I was given for my collection (I usually buy for myself) was lovely, but everytime I took it out I felt very sad. I could not work out why and my awareness finally prompted me to speak to the giver. Apparently the giver and wife where arguing furiously about giving me a Tarot set, and love won over so called christian views. Although I know cards are only images on cardboard, I had definitly got the vibes surrounding the purchase. I agree with Fulgour on this about intuition. There is nothing bigger than you that you can't get help for. I did nothing special with the deck except tell the giver how pleased I was and how sorry that there had been a disagreement. The Deck always felt fine after that and so did I. So do what is right for you, everything else is just a matter of opinion. Regards Rosanne

tarotbear	21 Jan 2005
I hate to say this, but when you buy a deck off the shelf at Barnes & Noble, that deck has been handled by dozens of people and each and every one of them has left a psychic imprint on that deck. The last person who picked it up and said 'OH NO! I touched a tarot deck and am going to burn in hell for it!' - well, that psychic impression is still lingering there, too. Any deck you get should probably be ritually cleansed in whatever way is comfortable for you. Anyway - I have two decks that belonged to a friend (now deceased) who lent them to me on permanent loan before she died. She was not a reader, but a white witch, so I have no overwhelming desire to espunge the decks of anything they might contain. I bought a used tarot deck for $1 at a tag sale. I have never had any overwhelming desire to purge it.

bleuivy	21 Jan 2005
Well, I have used decks in my collection, and ones I bought new. I have to admit, I get along better with the new decks than the used ones, but I rather think this is due to the decks themselves, rather than whether I got them new or second hand. And I think it depends alot on who had the deck before. One of my used decks, the Gendron, has always seemed fine to me. On the other hand, the Goddess Tarot and I have never really gotten along. Although this could be because the decks smells like some form on incense that I am slightly allergic to. But also the deck just doesn't feel right. I've cleansed it repeatedly, but still, no dice. Then again, I cleanse all my decks befor trying readings with them, not just the used ones in large part because of the reasons tarotbear mentioned. By the time a deck gets to me, it's been handled by a ton of people, and I want to make the deck just mine. So I guess I'm on the fence on this issue. Usually, I'd say that used decks are fine, and a great way to increase your collection on the cheap. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. Will I buy a used deck in the future, or trade one of my decks for one? Sure. But I'll be slightly wary of what I'll recieve.

KathleenC	21 Jan 2005
I know that smell has a lot to do with what we are drawn to and repulsed by. I find my intuition is a good guide. I got a deck once, it was a great deal, but I had a feeling I should not get it. I did get it, and it had an odour I didn't like. I tired to ignore it but I never got to like them, so in then end I gave them away.

Emily	21 Jan 2005
I had big problems with a used Green Thoth I bought from a second hand bookshop in my town. I was ok when I looked through it at the shop but once I had it home I realised that I felt sick and very uneasy when handling them. I had the urge to wash my hands whenever I touched the deck. It was such an unexpected feeling - I'm usually very level headed and didn't want to believe that I was reacting to pieces of cardboard in such a way. I put them away. The next day I got them out again, very same feeling, hairs standing up on the back of my neck, I was nearly gagging. By this time I'm thinking that its all in my head - I put them away again. But the thing was after I put them away I felt fine. I cleansed the deck, quite a few times, it didn't work. I still didn't want to believe that it was the deck, but I couldn't use a deck that I couldn't handle properly so a while later I got myself another Thoth deck, a new one, and there was no reaction. I love using the Thoth even if I can't understand sometimes what it tried to tell me, its an amazing deck. Back to my used Thoth - still the same feelings but in time they did get less, first I found that I could handle it without feeling strange, then I started to pull a few cards and the readings were fine. It still has a funny feel to it but not repulsive now just different. I don't use it for readings but its a valued part of my collection. I've had other used decks from members here and they all feel fine, just like new decks but I wouldn't buy from a used bookshop like that again. It was an learning curve with my green Thoth but not one I would want to go through again. :) Edited to add:- I've posted on this deck before - so its the same deck not another one I've been blessed! with lol

Keslynn	21 Jan 2005
I buy and trade for used decks all the time. It's so much cheaper than getting brand new and allows me to get more decks. Tarotholic, me? Nah! Anyway, I don't normally cleanse decks at all, and I've never felt the urge to - new or used. The only times I've ever incensed/saged a deck or laid it out in the sunlight/moonlight is because it smelled like cigarette smoke and I wanted to lose the bad odor. I often will put a used deck back in order, but that's as much to study the cards as it is anything else. The fact that I don't cleanse used decks really never had an effect on my reading or my feelings when touching the deck. However, it's one of those things that's up to you. If you don't want to accept used decks, then that's your thing. If you do accept them but cleanse them, that's also up to you. Do whatever makes you feel happiest about the deck and reading with it. :) Kes

Diana	21 Jan 2005
sharpchick wrote: Since I have begun studying tarot, I've run across two lines of thought on this. . .the first being that although it is acceptable for someone to purchase and give you a new deck, you should not accept a previously used deck from someone, as it has the psychic vibes of the previous owner attached to it, s/he may have used the deck for black magic, etc. The other philosophy I've heard is that if you cleanse the deck, there should be no problems with accepting a deck which has been used and loved by someone else and is now being passed on to you, particularly if the gift giver is a person known to you. Any opinions one way or the other on this? There is a third philosophy. Which is mine. And that is that one doesn't even have to bother the "cleanse" the deck. "Cleansing" the deck is more for new-agey kind of people. Once when I joined Aeclectic and people told me they cleansed their decks, I thought that maybe this was important. (I had never heard of such practices here in staid old Switzerland. We don't have Wiccans and so many new-agey stuff here.) So I tried putting my deck in the moonlight and the sunlight and such like but I just felt absolutely silly doing this. Now if I get a used deck, I just USE it. If someone used the deck for black magic, that's their business, not mine. To me Tarot does not belong in the realm of hocus-pocus. It's rational. And rationality tells me that I don't need to "cleanse" my Tarot decks for they are just pieces of cardboard with ink on them. The power is not in the cards. It is in me and in my relationship to the universe.

Fulgour	21 Jan 2005
Diana wrote: There is a third philosophy. Which is mine... The power is not in the cards. It is in me and in my relationship to the universe. I also like to cleanse the old box when they are tattered and bent all out of shape with crumpled and sad corners. It's easy too, just remove the deck, undo the flaps, and lay that sorry old carton flat on the table and smooth it.

Diana	21 Jan 2005
Fulgour wrote: I also like to cleanse the old box when they are tattered and bent all out of shape with crumpled and sad corners. It's easy too, just remove the deck, undo the flaps, and lay that sorry old carton flat on the table and smooth it. That's not cleansing. That's making things tidy. If my cards are sticky or getting too dirty, I will also wipe a damp cloth on them. But not to CLEANSE them. Just to CLEAN them.

Kiama	21 Jan 2005
I'm with Diana on this one... I just use the decks. I never really cleansed any decks... And my Robin Wood was consecrated/cleansed through good hard use and plenty of readings! I don't think I'd want to cleanse a used deck... It takes away some of its uniqueness... I have one deck, a 20+ year old Thoth that is seriously battered, that I bought off Ebay. I love feeling it... Smelling that dusty musty smell and thinking about what the person who used it was like; what questions they asked; what they wanted from life. If nothing else, a used deck is my link to another person... But usually I don't feel anything from it at all. It's just a pack of cards after all. If I thought we needed to cleanse things to get rid of peoples' 'vibes' before using them, all I'd ever do in life is cleanse things! (Just imagine the horrible vibes you'd get off doors in shops, for instance... })) My thruppence... Kiama

Dark Inquisitor	21 Jan 2005
Diana wrote: To me Tarot does not belong in the realm of hocus-pocus. It's rational. Well, you know what they say - one person's hocus pocus is another's quantum physics. Some people are not able to pick up vibrations from inanimate objects at all. However, psychometry shows us that those vibrations are stored and accessable if we know how to connect. Some people are not able to feel anything from crystals at all , and think of them as dead rocks. Most of the time, used decks will not be a problem unless you become acutely sensitive or something traumatic has impacted them.

Fulgour	21 Jan 2005
Dark Inquisitor wrote: Some people are not able to pick up vibrations from inanimate objects at all. This is a very good point, and works on many levels too. Let's consider other possibilities, like Crystals and Runes. Can a set of Runes carry negative (or positive) vibrations, which then we could ask, if this is possible with Crystals? All things we know are physical, and all things are living, and we only experience this life through our awareness. Can the cosmic energy of a person or place long remain, if throughout the Universe "change" is the one constant?

HOLMES	21 Jan 2005
Diana wrote: To me Tarot does not belong in the realm of hocus-pocus. It's rational. And rationality tells me that I don't need to "cleanse" my Tarot decks for they are just pieces of cardboard with ink on them. The power is not in the cards. It is in me and in my relationship to the universe. the power is not in the cards,, but the cards are like any thing,, it holds the energy of it previous user. how many times has a person entered a room and got bad vibes ? or a house , or a car, or gotten a book and for no reason just felt they had to get rid of it. no hocus pocus involved at least for me. i dont leave my cards out in the sun or moonlight, i just use my hands light to clear the deck and then i really shuffle up the deck as to make sure it doesn't have any energy from the previous reading in it. speaking of clearing, if a person is keeping thinking of a card reading, and through that reading is wondering how that person is doing, it could be a belief,, "new age"fact, but the person hasnt shut himself down and cleared the energy of the reading from them. this isn't just for cards,, one person can ruin our day for he or she threw their negativty on us if we dont' know how to ground, clear, and say that is your stuff. on the other note, a person can make our day just by saying a simple hi, are you doing ok , ? of course we are going into the realm of "cursed items " if we take it to that extreme but in such case the negative energy of the item hasnt' been cleared and is easily done so . if i spent years doing negative readings , negative in the sense i am focusing on seeing how i can hurt someone with the tarot ,, when to make my move and so forth. and spent that time imprinting to the cardboard that no one but me shall use this cardboard and if they dont' heed the warnings bad things will fall upon them.. then a person picks up the cards,, and says i dont' know,, all i seem to get is negative readings , and i dont' know why. well did you clear the deck in any way ? noo,, i dont' know how,, or i dont' believe it. well give it a try ,, and they do and even if it doesnt work ,, the mind will be certain that the deck is cleared and can now belong to them.

HOLMES	21 Jan 2005
how do you do that with the tarot ? i find a new used deck (in other words i just got it used and it isnt' new and used lol )it takes a while to attune to my energies, even after a good shuffling,

jumptothemoonyea	21 Jan 2005
Emily wrote: ...but once I had it home I realised that I felt sick and very uneasy when handling them... one explanation could be that the deck was kept on the poison Earth energy line or intersection of the 2 lines. Thoth deck saturated with sick earth energies could be quite dangerous ;)

sharpchick	22 Jan 2005
jumptothemoonyea wrote: one explanation could be that the deck was kept on the poison Earth energy line or intersection of the 2 lines. Thoth deck saturated with sick earth energies could be quite dangerous ;) So then, there is a feng shui of tarot, too?

jumptothemoonyea	22 Jan 2005
sharpchick wrote: So then, there is a feng shui of tarot, too? hi sharpchick, I am not an expert. Feng shui as balancing, harmonizing energy flow could relate to tarot form some point of view. Though their language is different. Visible, invisible, physical, non-physical bad or good energies; rational, irrational approach (2-300 years ago someone could be seriously hurt irrationally speaking about electricity or auras and now they are part of rational science) as it was already suggested - Trust your intuition ...and clean em if you feel like, or not... :)

Stacie Doll	25 Jan 2005
i use to say that I would never want a previously owned deck. that was until i gave my neice one of my decks and she had no problems with it. she said her readings are very clear.

Stacie Doll	25 Jan 2005
tarotbear wrote: I hate to say this, but when you buy a deck off the shelf at Barnes & Noble, that deck has been handled by dozens of people and each and every one of them has left a psychic imprint on that deck. exactly. when i bought the vision quest tarot i couldn't keep them in my hands. i didn't understand why because i liked them very much. i didn't do a specific ritual but after interacting with them for a couples of days, we bonded.

Stacie Doll	25 Jan 2005
Kiama wrote: I have one deck, a 20+ year old Thoth that is seriously battered, that I bought off Ebay. I love feeling it... Smelling that dusty musty smell and thinking about what the person who used it was like; what questions they asked; what they wanted from life. Kiama i use to be so uptight about my decks showing wear. now it just feels good to me. LOL :)

RedMaple	25 Jan 2005
Some people pick up memories, vibes, traces from things and places more readily than others. I think you should do what feels right to you. I have several used decks, and they are all fine. I've never done any "cleansing" - except to shuffle, reorder, shuffle again, and use them a lot. I did have one deck of my own that seemed to get "sick" for awhile, so I smudged it, and myself - that is part of our tradition here, so I extended it to the cards. I think it felt that way because I'd used it a lot when I was depressed.

MeeWah	26 Jan 2005
Dark Inquisitor wrote: Well, you know what they say - one person's hocus pocus is another's quantum physics... As I posted elsewhere, some folks are able to pick up energy patterns from personal articles. The same can occur with used decks or any used item. It depends on the individual; the perception or belief. We find it credible that animals can sense things; we already know humans can, too. A dog can identify or track a person through the sense of smell with a personal item. Not so much a stretch of the imagination that a human can obtain impressions in some similar fashion through contact with an apparently inanimate object. Many & possibly most of my decks are previously owned. For personal reasons, subjected some to a cleansing process prior to use that is more for "bonding" purposes than for any actual "cleansing". Putting the cards in order &/or shuffling usually serves. Also just using them. I have exposed cards to sunlight or moonlight for specific purposes; ditto crystals & stones. Those, however, are personal practices & part of how I connect with them.

Umbrae	26 Jan 2005
I don’t mind used decks at all. I have a few of them. I don’t cleanse them. What I do do to them may sound odd, and I don’t know how to describe it. I take them over. I absorb whatever is there and re-imprint the deck – bond with it. Sound like hocus pocus? If we meet, let me shuffle one of your decks (on a dare…hee hee hee)…and we’ll see if it feels the same when I hand it back… That’s shuffled, not shuffled. Casual shuffling for readings is no problem. But if I Shuffle…

tmgrl2	27 Jan 2005
Umbrae wrote: I don’t mind used decks at all. I have a few of them. I don’t cleanse them. What I do do to them may sound odd, and I don’t know how to describe it. I take them over. I absorb whatever is there and re-imprint the deck – bond with it. Sound like hocus pocus? If we meet, let me shuffle one of your decks (on a dare…hee hee hee)…and we’ll see if it feels the same when I hand it back… That’s shuffled, not shuffled. Casual shuffling for readings is no problem. But if I Shuffle … LOL...I love it! I have a used Place/Guile Alchemical Tarot Deck and Book set coming...I am hoping it's not too "used" but whatever the case, that's what I planned to do when I am finished... t2

sharpchick	27 Jan 2005
That is such a trip. . . I have done that with each of the used decks I've gotten. . . didn't know why, I just felt a need to shuffle, and shuffle, and shuffle. . . .

Cerulean	28 Jan 2005
...it's an older deck and older paper can pick up smoke, incense, grime and soil that might be a deterrent if you do have sensitivities and allergies. Even clothing of people with pets pick up fur that can affect others who have allergies to such things. Oddly, the soy or new production inks of some Lo Scarabeo decks have a smell that really make some people feel queasy. My only new deck that has that affect on me is the lovely Forest Folklore, which I am airing out still after two weeks. Some chemicals, smoke and old incense can make me rather ill especially during sensitive sinus times and I'm having less sleep. I just remembered that I did 'clean' and air some used decks with talcum powder, dried rosemary sprigs and a week or two of airing in a neutral cardboard box, right near a flowering wisteria bush. After two weeks, free of tobacco smoke, so the use of rosemary and talcum powder and airing was healthy for me. In most cases, used decks do not give me a problem. But there are sometimes physical reasons to want to air things after someone's use and shuffle..in terms of others impressing themselves on my deck, yes, I know of someone, a fellow card-collector actually has gone through all my majors and shuffled through, etc.,..and my airing afterwards and re-shuffling is partly a physical, partly psychological. If it's my odd quirk and taste, perhaps it's just a comfort silliness... Regards, Cerulean

The Thoughts on "previously owned" decks thread was originally posted on 20 Jan 2005 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.