Worn Out Cards

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 26 Jun 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Shade	26 Jun 2003
I make an effort to take care of my cards but time and use does tend to take its toll on them (and who doesn't love new deck smell?). My main reading deck has been shuffled many times by many querents for several years now in coffee houses, bars, parks, etc and the deck is looking a little distressed. The cards are still beautiful they just have a permanent bend now and theer are a few small marks on some of them. The strange thing is that I think in a way it adds slightly to the deck. Querents I've read for get the idea that this is a tool I've been using for a long time. A friend of mine uses the Native American Medicine cards as her main deck and a year ago they got some water damage and she actually likes the way they look now. Does anyone else like using worn cards or cards that at least have a little mileage on them?

Little Baron	26 Jun 2003
I try not to damage my cards if I can and i do like that new deck smell as well. However, I remember seeing a guy at a psychic fair with a deck that looked as if it had been used to death. In my opinion, there was something so much more 'magical' to them. They had been used and loved and I bet they had many a strory to tell. I think there is something nice about a deck that shows its history. Yaboot

Diana	26 Jun 2003
A woman I know has been using the same deck for about 35 years. The cards are nearly falling to pieces. And they are beautiful!

Umbrae	26 Jun 2003
a well worn deck 'reads' so well...it's like an old friend...

sagitarian	26 Jun 2003
Oh Johnny, you hit it right on the head! Of course I keep my cards in good shape, but I just LOVE them even more after they've been through a little wear and tear. It all adds to them, which is also partly why I never used a reading cloth. A few coffee stains, dirt stains, and a little bend or two just adds something to them.

Shade	27 Jun 2003
I'm not sure if photo-shopped computer art decks wpuld looks so great after 3,000 readings but the more antique decks (one of the marseille for example) just don't seem right unless they've been uglied up a bit.

Logiatrix	27 Jun 2003
...is the Visconti Gold that I've had since it came on the market in 1999. It's the second deck I ever purchased, just when I began studying tarot. Okay, so that's only four years ago, rather than thirty-five years ago, but when I see how used and "uglied up" my deck is, I am reminded of every step I've taken on my personal tarot journey. My old pal has been there with me all the way. Besides, just as JohnnyVoodoo stated, my antiquish Visconti Gold just wouldn't be RIGHT with that just-out-of-the-box look. Ahhh, I remember that new-card smell...however, that newbie-tarotphile smell on ME is still wearing off! :D Yes, a tarot deck is like wine or cheese--better with age. :)

NeXoRiouS	28 Jun 2003
worn out doesn't have to mean good. It all depends on the reader. Try laminating?

VGimlet	28 Jun 2003
My Aquarian tarot deck is so well-used and old the cards are soft and worn, kind of like a favorite pair of slippers. They don't even have a bend left, LOL. But I think it's given the deck a lot of character, and although I don't use them as my primary deck anymore, I still get them out from time to time.

The Worn Out Cards thread was originally posted on 26 Jun 2003 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.