People's deck collections

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 25 May 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

katie_here	25 May 2005
I was looking at some peoples profiles and seeing what decks they have. Some lists are quite comprehensive and it made me wonder.... ............... is this a book shop stock list you own???? its amazing how many decks there are and how many in some peoples collections. It puts my little collection to shame!!! although I don't think I could study any more at the moment.

Little Baron	25 May 2005
Yes, katie, I know what you mean. My collection of around fifty-something is pretty small in comparisson to others on here, but still far more than carried by any of the shops in my local town or surrounding areas. The same could be said for my bookshelf of books. I hardly pull out a lot of my decks, but now that I am studying the Druidcraft, I think that on occasion, I may pull a few of the RW and clone decks for reference. LB

dadsnook2000	25 May 2005
I have only a few decks, each is unique from the others and serves me in terms of having a deck for either different clients/querents or for concept and study purposes. I use my 30 year old RWS deck when reading for those not familiar with Tarot. I use my Fey deck when dealing with deeply personal issues that any mature person wants a reading for. I tend to use my Tarot of Prague for older querents as they relate to the artwork so well. For younger women I will use either the Fey or my Robin Wood Tarot -- its striking symbolism and similarity in some areas to the RWS make it easier to dialog and share with. When I have ecentric querents or those who don't want to state a question or concern I use my Witches Tarot (Reed) -- it seems to be a bit more mysterious to them and it reads really well for me (I switch the swords and wands around as the deck's creator intended). I don't use my Troth at all. I tend not to buy decks just to collect them (not yet anyways), but I buy them because they seem special and unique as well as to fit my reading activities. Dave

Little Baron	25 May 2005
I like the way you use your decks DadsNook. I called my decks a collection, but they are not really. I never set out to collect and don't really view them as a collection. In the same way, I have many books on many different subjects but I am not a book collector. Each was bought with the view of being used, like my decks were - unfortunately, some of them were a lousy read and a new one was bought, in the hope it held a story I could really get into - my new Druidcraft and the variations of Marseille are books/decks that I have read over and over again. I think that the Marseille and now, the Druidcraft are the books I will take with me to most places - stories that I can share with all. Other decks, like the Visconti Cary Yale are like reference encyclopedias that I draw on occasionally and my Thoth and RWS are like dictionaries - of different languages to translate and interpret. The people I have read for so far have not been that diverse so whichever deck I have been working with at the time, is the one I have used for them - mainly because the meanings and understanding is in my mind at the time of reading. But I do like the fact that you rotate them in the way that you do. LB

WolfSpirit	25 May 2005
LittleBuddha wrote: I called my decks a collection, but they are not really. I never set out to collect and don't really view them as a collection. In the same way, I have many books on many different subjects but I am not a book collector. Each was bought with the view of being used, like my decks were My deck collection is also different from, say, a stamp collection - I have never bought decks because they were rare or I wanted to complete my collection, all decks were meant to be used in some way, but not necessarily for reading. I bought the Thoth and the Marseilles for example for study as I did not know if I could ever read with them. And I bought the Celtic and Arthurian decks because the theme fascinates me, and it gave me an opportunity to look at both the theme and tarot from a different angle. Decks I never use in any sense I will eventually trade - but it still takes me some time before I can really part with a deck.

Rhiamon	25 May 2005
my collection seems small too, but I didn't actually want to collect decks, I started buying them in the beginning, hoping for that one deck that I would click with..lol...took me awhile but I do have a couple now that I love! I am also impressed with others on this board that have massive collections :)

Emeraldgirl	25 May 2005
I don't have nearly as many as some here but I have a collection that is about 40+ decks. I rotate my decks depending on mood and I do use them all. I have a better selection than the chain bookstore in my area :D but it was never intentional. I just buy decks that appeal to me if I have the cash at the time and I try to use them all :D I do have a wish list that would rival a bookshop stocklist though Katie })

The People's deck collections thread was originally posted on 25 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.