Balance between your decks

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 14 May 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

jayde	14 May 2005
Hello, I've wondered this the more time I've spent reading through the forum posts. Some members say they have many decks, but how do you balance use between the decks? I've always hesitated with buying more than one deck in the past because I wondered if I would favor one deck and just put the other one aside. How do you decide which deck to use when you have more than one deck?

Citrin	15 May 2005
There are people here who have 100, and more, decks. I really doubt that they use all of them, it's just impossible. ;) Some of the collector decks are probably put away on a shelf or something similar. I have three decks, and I don't use them equally often. My Goddess one is quite rarely use, I go with RWS or Moon Garden most of the time. They just feel better for me right now. And I don't believe that my decks get angry at me for not using them. But if you feel that way you should perhaps stick to one or two decks? :)

Fudugazi	15 May 2005
My decks have fierce battles as to which will be the preferred one I shall choose - they behave like a veritable harem! They jostle and don't hesitate to resort to dirty tricks against each other. My DruidCraft told me the biggest fib the other day about my Tarot of Prague, accusing it of telling me only things I wanted to hear. Well! Of course there are always the lazy decks that just can't be bothered to do a reading and if I venture to ask them say - "oh, OK, but make it quick, I was in the middle of a game". The Tarot de Marseille decks, generally good French decks, try and smooch me, except for the Rodes-Sanchez which, being a Spaniard, just flings me across its saddle and rides off with me in the sunset to glorious reading experiences. Or sulks, depending on its mood, especially if I have chosen the Québécois deck - "that New World upstart", it calls the Hadar, "thinks Tarot didn't exist before it came along to call itself Veritable". Sometimes I am kind and go for a deck I haven't favoured in a while, and the gratitude is immense - such good readings I get out of those. I tell you, balance bedamned, I think the best way to treat a deck and draw the cards is with a firm hand.

Fulgour	15 May 2005
"It's not one thing after another ~ it's the same thing over and over." If you have a favourite deck, and bought it new, try to get as many used copies as you can, and that's not always easy. Four to six members of a family makes for a happy home. Think of a drummer, and how a complete set has at least three 'different' drums (snare, bass, tom tom) and imagine how nice a floor bass would go with double tom toms... add a high hat and a cymbal (or two) and you're complete. Tarot decks are like books, and just because you've read it, every book is still special, and will come in many editions. Let your world and life be filled with an array of elements.

Kiama	15 May 2005
I am a collector, and have 200+ decks in my collection, so you can imagine how difficult it would be for me to try to read with all of them! Plus, I actually read with only a few, my main deck being the Robin Wood. But, how to I balance decks? I think that there are many other ways to use decks other than just reading with them. You can study decks, use them as flash cards, appreciate the art, use them for inspiration, use them as altar pieces, use them in magic, and so much more! Mostly, I use my deck collection for study, and each time I get a new deck I'll spend a couple of hours poring through the cards, and gaining new insights into Tarot and the different cards by simply seeing how this artist has rendered the concepts. For me, the aim of Tarot is not just to read Tarot - it is also to gain knowledge, insight, and understanding about the Universe and common human experience through identifying with the concepts in the cards, and seeing how different people render these concepts, approach them, and explain them; in the hope that I'll find something new that I hadn't seen before. So, I don't feel the need to try to *read* with all my decks (I don't do enough readings for that!), but I do *use* all of them in other ways. Well, with the exception of some of the rubbish decks... }) ;) (Rubbish in my opinion that is.) I also use my deck collection as a means to help others choose a deck suitable for them - I have many friends who are interested in Tarot, and are looking for the right deck for them, so I just let them go through the collection to see what decks they might like to buy. So, that's how i balance the use of my decks. Blessings, Kiama

Emily	15 May 2005
I too have a large collection and must admit many of them don't see the light of day apart from being moved about and looked at but not often read with. I have read with them all at one time or another though. I tend to use a handful of decks and two more than others. The Morgan Greer is my favourite used for all spreads and questions but the Spiral is a close second, if a rather moody deck to use. Sometimes a deck will just spring to mind and I'll go and get it out and it'll be used for a while, maybe a couple of weeks or I'll just look through it and put it back. Decks like the RWS and its clones, Universal Waite, Radiant Rider, I take out of the shelf and read with all the time too because they share the same imagery and I like the artwork. :)

mike gorth	15 May 2005
Most people have one main deck and maybe a couple others for like business or peronal growth or family or money.... but most people use one. Otherwise it would take a really long time for that special bond and some decks just don't fit right with the owner like my universal waite, I don't like to read with it so I don't. Mike Gorth

bladeraven	15 May 2005
Kiama wrote: I am a collector, and have 200+ decks in my collection, *bowing down before you*

FantasyWorld	15 May 2005
When I worked in the evening and had a life...ahem...I would get in the swing of doing a daily (usually 3-card) reading and would use 1 deck for several days or weeks and then switch. I have used them in spells and altar pieces as well. I have tried doing a 3 card reading with 3 different decks (9 cards total) but it didn't work too well for me. My Druidcraft is used for readings and often just as cards that call to me at bedtime for dreamtime. I study them for awhile and then put them next to me while I sleep. I have about 80+ decks and most just sit and don't get used sadly. Carrying a card(s) with you while yur out is a good way to use them too. You can pick a card that suits you and use a deck that has been sitting for awhile. Sometimes it's fun too to pick a a few decks and lay them out side by side, the whole deck or just a few cards. My decks are not balanced but I do try to switch often and find creative ways to get them out and use them;) Blessed Be ALanna

Alta	15 May 2005
I have a fair number of decks, I think 150+, so clearly I don't read with them all. I take more or less Kiama's approach to decks that I do not read with. I do read with quite a few of them, and have no trouble switching from deck to deck. At any given time I have 6 to 8 main decks and even they change. Truly, I do not have just one standby that I go back to. I would not say that any of my decks qualifies as a 'main' deck.

WolfyJames	15 May 2005
Well, I have almost 30 decks and I use them all. My tip is to do a daily spread everyday and to use a different deck each day. Of course, I have my favorites that I use on other readings and when I get new decks, I do devote more time on them than on other decks, but at least like that, my other decks get to get used and I get to know them a little more each time. I doubt I will ever reach 200 decks, that makes too many decks to satisfy and please. What a harem!

Nydia	15 May 2005
jayde wrote: Hello, how do you balance use between the decks? There is no balance in my deck use. I have 15. I rarely use any. When I go on a car trip, I'll bring 2 or 3 in my backpack, my favorite for reading and 1 or 2 I'm interested in at the time. Sometimes I've felt guilty for not using my decks much, so I've decided I'm a collector! I tell myself it's not so bad, if I don't like reading with a deck--I still like it for the artwork! I like the ideas in this thread for different tarot uses, too.

MeeWah	15 May 2005
The RWS is my old faithful & introduction to Tarot; however, it has not qualified as my main deck since I acquired others that serve almost equally well or better, as the moment might call for &/or for the particular client. Do not always use the same deck for the same client, either--again, it comes down to the moment. I do not know how many decks I have, but there is enough diversity in tradition & style that a choice is never lacking. I think there over a dozen I tend to refer to at any one time with varying frequency. Edited to add: For the personal daily card(s), I switch decks as the whim strikes.

The Balance between your decks thread was originally posted on 14 May 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.