true or false??

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 22 Sep 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Angeline	22 Sep 2002
Hi all, I have some one i know who is aware of me learning the tarot and has a deck themselves. They keep offering little bits of advise and at times it seems to conflict with information I have gained here. I just wondered if some of you could help. I am going to put some of the things they have said..ok "you can't read for yourself properly...as you are biased in the interpretation of the cards for yourself" "don't let others look through your deck or you won't be able to read from it" " you can't buy your own decks" Now I have responded by saying that many people learn the tarot by reading for themselves....and surly if permission is given for someone to look through a deck and its not all and sundry that would be ok.....and surly if someone wants a new deck they can't expect someone else to buy it for them everytime??? Just wondered what you all thought on this.....this person seemed a bit disgruntled that I was learning anyway...a point for thought! mmmmm..... Angeline x

fairyhedgehog	22 Sep 2002
Hi Angeline, You seem to have found some pretty conclusive arguments against your friends instructions without our help :) I think that the basic issue is that people use tarot cards in different ways and if there is one thing we agree on here at aeclectic it is that there is no one right way of using tarot. Some people can't read for themselves for the reason your friend gave. Some of us (like me) only read for ourselves. Some people are very disturbed by other people handling their decks. I must admit I don't like it much, although I let my son handle my deck if he has washed his hands. I think I just don't want my cards spoiled by dirt or rough handling. Other people feel that it alters the vibrations of the cards, and some are perfectly relaxed about others touching their cards. We're all different. There is an old superstition that you should not buy your first deck. It has been suggested that this stems from the days when tarot was much more secretive and hidden. It may have been part of keeping tarot away from people, and from the sound of it your friend likes the idea of being special by reading the tarot when others don't. If we didn't buy our own first decks, very many of us on aeclectic would never have got started :) Anyway, that's what I think about it :) I'm glad you're able to stand up for yourself when your friend's advice conflicts with your own ideas.

Diana	22 Sep 2002
edited

emily2otters	22 Sep 2002
i'm with diana in that these rules are more for comfort's sake than for getting the most out of tarot. listen to your own drummer, angeline. :)

HudsonGray	22 Sep 2002
Right, do what makes the most sense to you. I have had other people handle my decks with no problems, even let them try reading with them & had no 'backlash' of any type. Just make sure that their hands are clean, that they're not putting the cards out on a table that hasn't been wiped down, and that they don't damage the cards while shuffling. If you wait for someone else to buy you your deck, you'll never get started. Go out & buy what you want, your first deck does NOT have to be 'given' to you. Big myth there. With over 300 different ones on the market, you're the best one to make the choice of which will work for you. Feel free to do what you want, the rules are not written in stone.

Laurel	22 Sep 2002
The advice your friend is giving you is probably what works for them and hopefully offered in a congenial way. Trust your own instincts and most of all, experiment. It will all become clear as you develop your own style and techniques. Otherwise, you're just stuck in someone else's beliefs and supersticions. Laurel

The true or false?? thread was originally posted on 22 Sep 2002 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.