Trying to use my FAVORITE DECKS!!

Hallo!!

Perhaps you kind folks could help me. Some of my favorite decks are the ones I use the least, mainly due to me not wanting to mess them up! (For example, the ISIS TdM is dear to my heart, but I've rarely read with it for fear that it'll get beat up!! It is all the way from Japan, after all...)

Has anyone faced this before? It's a particularly bad case with me! How can I get over it??

Thank you!

LOL... I'm interested to hear the responses. I bought a deck from overseas that I wanted to use so badly, but I have yet to take it out of the shrink wrap because it's limited edition and I'm worried I'll mess it up. I could by a second deck I suppose...but I'd rather not.

Lycanthropos said:

LOL... I'm interested to hear the responses. I bought a deck from overseas that I wanted to use so badly, but I have yet to take it out of the shrink wrap because it's limited edition and I'm worried I'll mess it up. I could by a second deck I suppose...but I'd rather not.

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See?! You get me!

I even have a back-up (of sorts) for my ISIS--I have a Majors Only copy as well. Nope. Doesn't help one bit.

Yes, my Hoi Polloi. It's old and has sentimental value. I worry it's fragile, so I feel guilty using it. It's not worth that much money at all, so I really should just buy another to ease my mind. They really are meant to be used after all.

Oh yup... this is the first time its happened with me but my new wild unknown has been stroked, examined card by card and reverently placed back in the box. Every time I pick it up I keep thinking it could go out of print at any time.

Have never even considered buying a backup deck before but I'm really gonna have to soon on this one. Just had to be my most expensive didn't it (cause and effect mutters Mr Brain).

I am not a tarot collector in the sense that I want them all in glass cases! I want to use my decks and I do and some of them are OOP and limited editions and sometimes I think "should I use this actually for tarot?". It would be different in my case if other people were touching them but I believe in using the decks, that is my connection with them and they get sad just sitting there looking pretty

Although I have my first tarot deck, a RWS which has been part of my whole life since I first bought it myself at 13. It's starting to look a little old and I might have to buy a newer RWS (with plastic finish ugh) for more common use!

Buy in pairs the decks you think you might like to use. That's what I do. I bought two ISIS TdMs decks as soon as they were released and I'm glad I did because I use one of them quite a lot and can do so without worrying too much. I have three Greenwoods so that's OK to use.

But to be honest, if I have one copy of a deck - Nusantra, Ironwing, Magna Veritas - I simply don't use them. I don't think there's any solution or way to overcome that. I can use them if they're easy to get mainstream US Games type decks or LoS decks. I want to buy that Duck Soup Punch deck but two copies works out very expensive so I just never get round to buying it. If I bought one I know I'd never use it so I don't bother. I have and love his Zirkus Magi deck but as I only have the one, it never gets used.

I think if you really feel anxious about using them, it's hard to overcome that. What made a slight difference to me was when my puppy savaged two rare 1920s Lenormand decks a few weeks ago. And I have stooped caring so much about decks over the last year or so - other things seem more important to me now (like my doggy) -and I find I can be rougher with deck, more careless, shuffle without worrying; in general, care less. I've a long way to go but I think the only solution is to remember that there are things in life way more important than tarot cards.

I think I buy double decks more for good card stock than because I'm afraid to use it.
What I'm really afraid of is when they do a second printing and the card stock goes bad because they used a different printer.
I think you are missing out on a lot of pleasure by worrying about using your deck.
Now that I'm older I see how fast life goes and I'm determined to use up every ounce of the things I love.

And in time Le Fanu will treasure those little puppy teeth marks on his lenormand decks...he probably already does...

Le Fanu said:

I find I can be rougher with deck, more careless, shuffle without worrying; in general, care less. I've a long way to go but I think the only solution is to remember that there are things in life way more important than tarot cards.

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I agree with every word you have to say....but you see the ironic thing is, the enlightenment would usually come ONLY AFTER one has owned and outgrown a fantastic collection. Just as happened to the duo of engagement and disengagement in Buddha's life story, the first part of the purgatory is not to be spared and skipped. And I could only happily/bitterly commiserate those who are still stuck in the first phase as much as I am.

About the rare decks----I almost always wear gloves and use the 7 (or 9) packs shuffling method to avoid any possible risk. It solves the problem to a degree, though a little bit time-consuming.

My own motivation is that I don't want to end up on a episode of hoarders when I'm 70. I worked in mental health for a while and hoarder situations are awful, awful, awful and sad for everyone involved. I'm not saying buying a back up of a back up and being afraid to use it is automatically crazycakes, because plenty of healthy people have pristine collections of stuff, and that's awesome. But for ME, being too precious about stuff gives me the heebie jeebies.

That said, a lot of it is just personality. Some people keep their denim pristine. Some people wear the hell out of it to make it fit better. Some people take razor blades to their jeans to hurry the fraying along. It's all valid, you know?

For me, cards exist to be used. Like, what would I be saving an unused deck for? Resale value? I never get around to selling things. So that my collection outlives me? Why? I can't take 'em with me when I'm dead, and an unused thing is of little used to a grieving loved one as a keepsake. But again: personality, and this is a very personal thing.

I recall at some point I read a post by someone on here who had an actual TdM deck that was, I believe, 18th or 19th century...and they actually read with it! I'm sure they were careful, but it still blew my mind. I thought it was very cool--I'm not sure I'm that cool, myself, but still. I admired it.