Tarot aromas

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 22 Mar 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

earth en lady	22 Mar 2005
Hi I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed any smells coming from there decks ?I recently brought out a deck I have not used for a while and it smells gorgeous like a flowery incense,not sure if it has a physical source like my perfume or incense,but they do smell so comforting.

rosyelf	22 Mar 2005
My Universal Waite smells of liquorice. just as well I like liquorice ! A couple of my other decks-can't recall which ones, offhand-came out of their shrinkwrap with a rather potent chemical smell which I can only presume is something to do with the printing process. But , being an aromatherapist, I do like adding a couple of drops of an essential oil to my Tarot bags, so over time the chemical smell does decrease. :) love rosyelf

Milfoil	22 Mar 2005
Never thought about it before but yes - my Golden Tarot smells very slightly of a sweet/honey aroma.

stella01904	22 Mar 2005
MM ~ I keep incense in my boxes! My decks smell like sandalwood, nag champa, dragon's blood. But there is no smell like a book from a store that keeps incense in bulk! BB, Stella

Solty Dog	22 Mar 2005
My Universal Waite smells like fresh sunshine. I rubbed it with a dryer sheet in an experiment to get the cards to stop sticking together. However, I like the incense idea and I may have to store a stick or two in the tarot drawer. B.S. Dog

Emeraldgirl	22 Mar 2005
rosyelf wrote: A couple of my other decks-can't recall which ones, offhand-came out of their shrinkwrap with a rather potent chemical smell which I can only presume is something to do with the printing process. I have really noticed this smell with US Games decks. I find it really offputting so I always put a couple of sticks of incense in my box and I have a little ritual which I do when I first get the deck that involves incense also.

rainwolf	22 Mar 2005
I have a lot of candles and incense lying around, and i keep all the metaphysical stuff together so my cards always have a mix of mystic smell. When i send bags and decks to people in trades, they give me comments like "oh they smelled so good when they arrived!" Its just one more free service i offer :)

HudsonGray	22 Mar 2005
Some of the LoScarabeo decks smell like nail polish (acetone) from the varnish on the cards, it takes about 2 weeks to go away and can be quite strong when you take the plastic off that first time!

psychic sue	23 Mar 2005
I never thought of this before, but now you come to mention it, my Morgan Greer smells kind of "green" like ferns smell. How interesting this is. Sue

Elven	23 Mar 2005
The box in which I palce my 'working cards' have a distinct old world type smell, very earthy with a bit of lavender and sage added to the mix. It might actually be time to air it out a bit and add some new fresh drops of essential oil. I dont want them to get to 'essence of old socks' fragrance! Thanks for giving me an idea. Elven x

Sulis	23 Mar 2005
Whenever I get a new deck if I think it's going to be a deck I'll use then I always smudge it with frankincense and sandalwood - not for any magical purpose really , just because I can't stand that plasticy 'new-deck' smell. I often put a couple of crystals of frankincense in the bag with the deck too. Love sulis xx

Ahria	23 Mar 2005
I am going to have to home and smell my decks now *grin*

stella01904	23 Mar 2005
MM ~ To all concerned: Earth, sun and moon help a lot. If you get an new deck and it's really stinky, lay it out in the grass for awhile. Of course you want to do this when it is not windy! Then, when the chemical smell has somewhat lessened, put it in the box with the incense. I've had new decks that actually gave me a headache. I don't know why they bother with plastic coating, anyway, people were fine for hundreds of years without it. Most of us are very careful with our decks and don't need it, anyway. BB, Stella

Fudugazi	23 Mar 2005
I get smells that come with different cards and that can help me interpret them (not always the same smell for the same card).

Emily	23 Mar 2005
I was quite took with the smell from the Radiant Rider - its a very heavily laminated deck - took ages for it to go but once it had I missed it. All my other decks just smell like new, except the ones I've bought from a little New Age shop I go into - they all smell like incense. :)

The Tarot aromas thread was originally posted on 22 Mar 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.