Essential Oils Directly Put Onto Tarot Cards????

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 17 May 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

mike gorth	17 May 2005
Because of the thread right under this (it's about tarot and oil correspondence) I decided to ask if people actally put essential oil on the card. Does it leave some mark? I'd like to know before I try if you know what I'm saying. Mike Gorth

FaeryGodmother	17 May 2005
I've never put oil or scent directly on my cards but I do keep a perfume sampler card with some of my decks. My RWS has a sample of Drakkar Noir with it, which I refresh from time to time once the scent has completely gone. I do this for two reasons. One is because I like my cards to smell nice and two is because it enhances the different "personalities" of each of my decks. And by "personalities" I don't mean that I think my decks are alive or sentinent, just that each conveys messages in a different tone and their scent helps with this IMO. FGM

Asael	17 May 2005
FaeryGodmother wrote: I've never put oil or scent directly on my cards but I do keep a perfume sampler card with some of my decks. My RWS has a sample of Drakkar Noir with it, which I refresh from time to time once the scent has completely gone. I do this for two reasons. One is because I like my cards to smell nice and two is because it enhances the different "personalities" of each of my decks. And by "personalities" I don't mean that I think my decks are alive or sentinent, just that each conveys messages in a different tone and their scent helps with this IMO. FGM What a wonderful idea! I am so happy to have stumbled upon this tread. I never thought of it that way, but if you found a scent which matched the character of the deck you could enhance the reading. Thank you FGM for such a wonderful idea!

Mesara	17 May 2005
I dab rose oil on mine and rub some into the bag too- they smell heavenly.

mike gorth	17 May 2005
hmmm. okay sounds good. I might dab mine then too but with peppermint. I love the smell of it. I like these replies. Keep 'em going! Mike Gorth

mythos	17 May 2005
I absolutely love Nag Champa incense, so I crumble some into any boxes or bags that I use to store my books. Super yummy! I think that, if you plan to use essential oils directly on the cards, you would have to choose the deck carefully. Those that aren't plasticised would soak up the oil and leave a stain methinks! I could be wrong here ... wouldn't be the first time ... nor will it be the last. mythos

similia	17 May 2005
mike gorth wrote: hmmm. okay sounds good. I might dab mine then too but with peppermint. I love the smell of it. Be careful Mike. Different oils will affect the paper and ink in different ways. Rose is fairly gentle, so is alot safer than e.g. citrus, that would likely damage your cards. I don't know about how peppermint would go. I suspect it may be problematic. If you have a surplus card from the deck, it would be worth testing, and waiting a good few days at least before doing anything rash.

Lasiren	17 May 2005
Hmmm...though I like the idea of the BPAL oils and other essential oils in conjunction with the cards, I actually do not know if I would put the oils on them. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to my beloved cards, after all. I keep mine in a lovely-smelling wood box with a couple cones of sandalwood incense, and that works like a charm for clarity in a reading...plus they smell really nice :-D

rainwolf	18 May 2005
If you put some oil on a cotton swab or tissue, you can wipe the cards with it so that there isnt any excess on the card and it will leave some light oil on the card--i dont think that would make a stain, but you would have to apply sparingly.

Fudugazi	18 May 2005
similia wrote: I don't know about how peppermint would go. I suspect it may be problematic. Make your cards smell like toothpaste? For super-clean tartar-free Tarot? I like the idea of putting scented sachets inside tarot bags. I like nice smells. I don't think it will make a mite of difference to the reading apart from putting me in a good and harmonious mood when I open the bag! Drakkar Noir with RWS! Yes, I can see it needs a bit of jazzing up, that sometimes over-sweet deck!

sunflowr	18 May 2005
what I do is rub a bit of oil (patchouli usually) on my hands 1st, rub it in real good, and then handle my cards. That way it's only getting the essense of the scent. I wouldnt put oil directly on the cards.

Umbrae	18 May 2005
Some oils, may mark some card stock finishes. However, this works well, and will never ever mark your cards. Take your deck, and holding it like a block, tap the sides so it becomes very solid, jigging the cards into a nice solid block. Apply oil to your finger tips, apply from fingers to the sides of the deck/block sparingly. A little goes a long way. Do not over scent your deck. It should not SMELL like you’ve applied oil to it. It should smell like it’s been in the same room as the oil…

Sulis	18 May 2005
Umbrae wrote: Take your deck, and holding it like a block, tap the sides so it becomes very solid, jigging the cards into a nice solid block. Apply oil to your finger tips, apply from fingers to the sides of the deck/block sparingly. A little goes a long way. This is exactly what I do with my cards. I'd be a bit wary of putting oil actually onto the pictures though. Love Sulis xx

mingbop	18 May 2005
I'm a soap maker and I use essential oils. most of them will stain and go "off"--dont do it. rub some on YOU before you read instead ! mary

Babylon_Jasmine	18 May 2005
I keep my decks in a box with my wand and some other things, including an awful lot of cedar which I burn when I give readings. This scents my decks I think. I wouldn't want to put oil directly on the cards, but maybe on the tarot bag.

Mesara	18 May 2005
I just dab the bottom right corner of the card, and like someone said above use tissues to thin it out so it isn't globby.. just the faintest smear remains on the cards so the smell isn't overwhelming. I would never suggest applying the oil directly to the pictures... Im sure that could be disastrous.

laura_borealis	18 May 2005
I had a roommate who decided to "annoint" my Thoth deck without asking me. I don't know exactly how she applied the oil, but she did put it on the card faces and they were forever sticky after that, no matter how often I wiped at them with a dry cloth. They also reeked! I think she used amber -- and I have always disliked amber since then. What I do with my decks is a combination of sunflowr's and Umbrae's methods. I rub the oil into my hands and then handle the cards as a block, so it gets on the edges only. Last time, I did get a bit of a blot on the edges (oops!) but when it dried it was invisible. I have also thought about using a body mist, but haven't tried this yet. It might be a good way to use the patchouli mist that my husband hates on me... but for which decks? Maybe the Cosmic Tribe... I think patchouli would work well with them. I used BPAL's Velvet on my RWS; Velvet is a lovely soft sandalwood with myrrh and cocoa vanilla, and it seems to be a good match for that deck.

sunflowr	18 May 2005
laura_borealis wrote: I had a roommate who decided to "annoint" my Thoth deck without asking me. I don't know exactly how she applied the oil, but she did put it on the card faces and they were forever sticky after that, no matter how often I wiped at them with a dry cloth. They also reeked! I think she used amber -- and I have always disliked amber since then. What I do with my decks is a combination of sunflowr's and Umbrae's methods. I rub the oil into my hands and then handle the cards as a block, so it gets on the edges only. . Yea, that's what I do. I just scent my hands and then handle the cards like when I shuffle and do a reading. The scent will come off on the cards but only the essense of it, not the oil itself.

rosesred	07 Jun 2005
late reaction: I keep my tarot decks in a small box of orange-wood. This makes them smell wonderfull, without it being artificial or overpowering. I think in general it is a good idea to scent the place you keep your cards, rather than the cards themselves. For example: drop some oil on a cloth you keep in the same box as the cards, without the oil actually touching the cards. This prevents staining and overpowering smell.

Eco74	07 Jun 2005
Another late reaction.. I have a blackberry scented sachet in the drawer where most of my decks are kept and it makes them smell pretty good. If in future I would want a particular scent to set with one or more of my decks, I'd keep going for the "transfer by air" method, leaving a stick of incense, a sandstone with a few drops of essencial oil or other "medium" with it/them that would then be free to rub off on the decks. Posssibly, I could also leave a strip of scented (dry) fabric in the bag with the deck, but that would only work for the ones I have bags for.

earth en lady	07 Jun 2005
Hiya I keep all my cards wrapped in their own cloth/silk and spray the cloth with one of my perfumes ,and once dry wrap the cards again ,works for me :)

tarotbear	07 Jun 2005
Considering there is another thread about making cards 'un-sticky' from all the hand oils that accumulate, it seems odd to me that you would put any kind of commercial oil directly onto your cards - particularly the faces! The concept of putting a sachet bag or a piece of cone incense or stick incense into your storage bag, but not directly onto the cards seems to make more sense to me. Putting a dab of your favorite scent onto the cloth that you wrap your cards in seems a lot safer than taking a chance that you accidentally use a volatile oil that stains your cards, or worse, removes the inks.

Umbrae	07 Jun 2005
I’m a advocate of ‘fanning powder’. Talc or talcum can become sticky, and create worse problems. But I did get a deck once (brand spanking new) and it reeked of printing process. I aired it. It reeked. I powdered it and aired it and shuffled it and it reeked of this nasty unnatural smell of print shop and ink and coatings and a year later it still reeked. So I figured, “what the hell, it ain’t like I can’t replace it…” I wasn’t going to use it if it continued to stink anyway. So I took a dab of Peace and Calming (young living?), spread it between forefinger and thumb and stroked the long edges of deck (while held as a block). It did not mar the face of the cards. It vanished off the sides. I reapplied on the short ends. I shuffled. I let sit out (beyond the reach of felines). Behold a usable deck! Stink be gone! My collection sits in a chest of drawers. My active decks I keep in a basket (Longaberger w/lid and liner). In the spring/early summer I cut Spanish Lavender and toss it in the basket. In the winter I toss in a stick of incense (do not apply flame). Today would be good day for me to cut some fresh lavender…

tmgrl2	07 Jun 2005
I'm waiting for some fanning powder to arrive in the mail... I assume one wouldn't use both oil and fanning powder?? Peace and calming oil, umbrae?? Is it scented? I'm going with the powder first, since some of my cards in some decks just don't "slide." terri

stella01904	07 Jun 2005
MM ~ You can anoint the edges of a deck (not the faces!) with a very small amount of oil. I've done this in a ritual setting, but to scent cards I usually just put incense in the box. If you want to use essential oil or perfume, put a bit on a cotton ball and put that and the deck in a closed tarot box. BB, Stella

rosyelf	10 Jun 2005
As a qualified aromatherapist who is also a Tarot aficionado (aficionada ?) I am very pleased and interested to have found this thread. First : LauraBorealis, someone "anointed" your deck without asking? ? ? That is outrageous-I know I'd feel upset and very intruded-upon if it happened to me. Second : (this is me wearing my therapist hat) If you do readings for other people, please be aware that some oils can trigger off seizures in people who have epilepsy. Yes, I know you're not going to massage the person at the same time as doing a reading (presumably not, anyway) but even the scent off the cards could be a trigger. The oils concerned are rosemary and hyssop. They will not have this effect on people who are not epileptic. rose oil is DIVINE, end of story. :)

Emeraldgirl	14 Jun 2005
I have never put oils directly on a deck. I'm too scraed of what could happen !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D That being said though to make my cards smell nice I often put them in perfumed bags and the big chest where I store them all also has a few stick of incense in it to give ogg a nice smell also.

The Essential Oils Directly Put Onto Tarot Cards???? thread was originally posted on 17 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.