Making your deck look well-worn...

Hi!

I was wondering if anyone has a technique to make a deck look well-worn. I mean, besides just using it. I have a main deck i use when i'm reading for others but no matter how much i use it, it doesn't get that 'good ol' deck' look. And i've noticed it sometimes make the sitter look at me as if i had started learning tarot last week - which in my case, even if i'm not a professional, isn't true.

Is it possible? To make your deck look worn without destroying it or having to replace it two months later?

Thanks in advance!

~YUKO~

There was a thread about it, not so long ago
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=51761&highlight=worn

edit:
hmmm... it is not the one I meant. Still looking for it, it had tips like use of coffee etc.

Rather than doing something artificial to a deck that's just not showing itself as having been used a lot, just make a conversational comment to the sitter, such as "I've been using this deck forever for readings and it doesn't show signs of the wear. It must have been very well made." or something like that, said with a smile and then go on with the reading.

Here's a thread from a couple weeks ago, about aging a deck. I think that's the one Dwaas was recalling...

To second what Lyric suggested, it might be best to just say something about it. I've explained that my first deck finally had to be retired, and the client was fine with that.

It was the truth, and it does make sense. Any reader who has been reading for a long time will, at some point, have to replace a worn a deck or two. I had to do so, after some pitying looks from a couple of querents toward my beloved old deck. It had finally gone from impressively used to "maybe it's time for a new deck..." and I hadn't realized it yet.

Unless you're reading in an atmosphere of silly beliefs and mojo (like the tarot deck must look old to be powerful), then your deck, like any other tool, can be just as powerful brand new as well as when it has been well-loved with time.

Has anyone else tried this?

A couple of months ago, my partner and I were having breakfast at a local IHOP and for some reason, they had a magician there to entertain (it was Sunday, huge crowds, and I think some sort of conference going on). When he stopped by our table I asked him if he had any methods of breaking new cards in. He was really generous and took the time to show me something called "smoking the deck."

The idea is to remove some of the slippery-ness by increasing the moisture content of the cards. With the edge of the deck near your mouth, hold the cards loosely so the air can go through the deck, and breathe warm air--open-mouthed from your lungs--through them (not cold air as though blowing through your lips.) He said doing this repeatedly, as well as lots of shuffling, was how he did it.

While I don't know yet how quickly this would work, it makes sense to me that warm air might help break down the outer glossy coating and perhaps expand the cards slightly within the paper layers making them "softer."

After that, he made me a balloon unicorn!
He was great, I'd love to post his name and site, but don't know if it's allowed.

sascha said:

After that, he made me a balloon unicorn!

Click to expand...

lol! Awesome!

Logiatrix said:

Here's a thread from a couple weeks ago, about aging a deck. I think that's the one Dwaas was recalling...

Click to expand...

Yes, that's the one! Thanks.

miss_yuko said:

And i've noticed it sometimes make the sitter look at me as if i had started learning tarot last week - which in my case, even if i'm not a professional, isn't true.

Click to expand...

Honey, I have been an ear to your words for a long time now. You are far nearer to a professional than an amateur .. so how the deck looks really doesn't mater. But like all aging, one day you will feel like a teen and the next day, you have more lines than you can imagine. Keep doing your stuff and your tool will reflect the damage.

All the best to you. And as Contascarpe said to my one billion times, querants listen to you more than they ever look at the cards. How often do you look at the telephone when you are speaking on it???

LB

Lyric said:

Rather than doing something artificial to a deck that's just not showing itself as having been used a lot, just make a conversational comment to the sitter, such as "I've been using this deck forever for readings and it doesn't show signs of the wear. It must have been very well made." or something like that, said with a smile and then go on with the reading.

Click to expand...

Yes, i could try that. I believe that what makes people don't really trust me is because i'm too young - i look too young. I'm 19. I've started learning tarot when i was 13, but somewhat people seem to expect and old gypsy-looking woman instead or you everyday university student. Oh well.
I'm going to tell them that. It's true that my first deck is well-used, but my mother loved that deck so much (The Enchanted Tarot) i gave it to her.

Logiatrix said:

Unless you're reading in an atmosphere of silly beliefs and mojo (like the tarot deck must look old to be powerful), then your deck, like any other tool, can be just as powerful brand new as well as when it has been well-loved with time.

Click to expand...

Sometimes we do get the kind of people who think old looking means powerful. People get impressed by decks with a big story like 'oh, it's very very very old, belonged to my grand-grandmother who came from Spain in a ship with nothing but the clothes she was wearing, a golden cross around her neck and this deck'.
I mean, it's impressive, but not true. My deck came from a member here from AT, still new

LittleBuddha said:

Honey, I have been an ear to your words for a long time now. You are far nearer to a professional than an amateur .. so how the deck looks really doesn't mater. But like all aging, one day you will feel like a teen and the next day, you have more lines than you can imagine. Keep doing your stuff and your tool will reflect the damage.

Click to expand...

Thanks you, i'm happy to hear that. And a bit embarrassed
Maybe i'll shuffle the deck while i'm not using it, to remove the stiffness and glossy feel a bit (because it makes it difficult for sitter to handle it, thus making them feel ever more suspicious of my actual...skill with tarot).


Thanks everyone for your helpful comments
I guess using the deck and maybe shuffling it while watching a movie and things like that will make it 'feel' worn without destroying it...

~YUKO~