What is happening to me?

[Sinduction]

For the last month I've had this urge to let go of a lot of my collection. I started by trading off the ones I was sure I didn't want.

But now, I'm wanting to get rid of almost all of them. I have my own personal deck that I don't want to part with. The few that I read with most of the time are safe. But all those that I have because they are pretty or because they are worth something, I'm feeling the need to part with. Even ones I searched of for years. Even ones that are by the same artist, I go nuts for anything that matches. Even my back up decks.

I also have no desire to buy any new decks, not for the last year.

My interest in tarot has not waned. I still read for myself and others. I have a tarot party to do this weekend. I just feel this compelling urge to lighten the load. It isn't like they take up much room. I am not inconvenienced by keeping them.

Is this part of the process? Have I gone completely insane?

[Wendywu]

I have spent the last few weeks considering which decks aren't used and aren't likely to be, despite having been much wanted when I got them. I am in no mad rush but am gradually seeking to let go of at least half of my decks and after that I'll see how I feel.

I haven't bought an RWS deck in a long time now and there are none that I think I want at the moment. I still look at the new deck threads though . I have bought more TdM decks in recent times and can see my interest in that area expanding.

I think it's more of a consolidation thing; I know what suits me and what I like to read with and am not wanting a collection for its own sake, so it feels like the time has come to sort the whole lot out and deal with it. However, I'm aware that I've "pared down" before and sometimes made mistakes, so I'm going slowly and carefully here.

[jema]

I don't think you are insane, but people are just different. Like my mom, she hardly ever keeps stuff in the house. If she won't use it - she throws it away.

Do you feel the same about books as with tarot decks? Could just be how you function.
I regard decks as I do books myself - would never get rid of them :-p
When I don't use them they just sit in their shelf, my friends can take out and look at them etc.

Why not loan them out at the tarot party? That way you will still get them back if you change your mind. I am just thinking how many people here who have gotten rid of almost all their collection and then always regretted it.

[Disa]

I've been going through everything you've described for the past couple of years. My interest isn't waning, but I think its more to do with knowing what I like. I go back to using the same 5-7 decks every time. I think the last deck I bought was the Wildwood (not completely sure but it seems like it), which I barely looked through. Before that I hadn't bought any in a while.

I'm still hanging on to them because it seems like I got them all for a reason, for something to happen later that I'm just not aware of right now? Maybe someone I know or meet will have a use for them....I'll keep thinking before I act- I really don't want to be one of those who regrets the decision later.

[Sulis]

No, you're not insane and like Wendywu and Disa, I've been feeling just as you have.
I have 2 boxes of tarot cards (mostly based on the RWS deck), under my bed which I don't use and will probably never use. I love tarot and still read regularly but I have absolutely no desire to keep buying decks and the few decks that I have bought in the last year or so have been historical decks.

I think I know what I like now, I have a handful of decks that have been my main reading decks for years and I know that those will stay with me even if I don't ever pick them up again (and I may not because I'm reading more and more with TdMs and can't see me ever going back to those pretty pictures of my RWS based decks). The decks that I've been closest to have sentimental value but the collection under the bed are just decks.

I'm not a collector, have already got rid of a few and in the next year will probably get rid of most of the rest.

[Rev_Vesta]

You are decluttering the old.....it is a good thing..... maybe you are making way for something new and exciting to come into your life... As we grow we change, we let go of what we no longer need then grab something new into our life.....

Do not worry... as it just means you are growing.... developing......

I have been through that and found it really helped......

Take care... enjoy the journey...

[Glass Owl]

Originally Posted by Rev_Vesta

You are decluttering the old.....it is a good thing..... maybe you are making way for something new and exciting to come into your life... As we grow we change, we let go of what we no longer need then grab something new into our life.....

Do not worry... as it just means you are growing.... developing......

I have been through that and found it really helped......

Take care... enjoy the journey...

Yeah, I think that is what I've been dealing with lately. I just went through a major book de-cluttering phase. Books that I either thought I was going to read but haven't (and they have been sitting there for years) or ones that I've already read and realize I probably won't read again. Same with DVDs.

While I have always routinely donated books and other things here and there, this was different. I realized that I had been holding on to way too many books that I had either outgrown or wasn't interested in anymore. The amount of dust on those books was really telling for me.

When I put my decks (and Tarot books) out on those now-bare shelves, I realized that there were only two decks that I really didn't care about and I gave them to my daughter. It was then that I realized that my approach to deck collecting is different than how I've been collecting other things. I've been routinely trading decks which has weeded out the decks that I no longer wanted and I've gotten new (at least new to me) decks in process. And I'm also far more picky about the decks I'm buying and doing a lot more research on them before buying.

So now I'm trying to view my book collection more like I view my deck collection and I think that is a good thing.

[a_shikhs]

I've been going through the same since the past year. When I went back home last year for the holidays, I had a massive tarot sale where I sold more than half my collection. It was great for people who bought the decks as tarot not being widely available in India, my friends had a blast acquiring decks off their wish list. I've narrowed my collection down to 20 or so decks (including backups) and these are the decks that mean a lot to me, maybe it is the connection or the sentimental value. I feel it's good to go through such a phase as you are somehow cleansing your space and getting rid of baggage or stuff that you no longer would need or use.

I've been doing the same for books, mainly because it is a space issue and nowadays I prefer buying a book on the kindle rather than buying a paperback or a hard copy due to space issue and since I travel a lot and love reading on my travels, I prefer being light by carrying only the kindle instead of stuffing my bag with 2-3 paperbacks. So enjoy this process of de-cluttering and welcome the new that is coming your way.

[tarotbear]

Sometimes you just get to a point and something goes off in your head and says 'What am I doing with all of these (fill in the blank)?'

It could be stuff you've owned for 30 years or more. It could be a collection you started as a child. It could be last month's fad purchase. Suddenly you just say to yourself "I don't WANT to get rid of these things, but I just don't need them or feel the same way about them anymore."

I am still stuck trying to get my divorce, and the process of packing, moving in, moving out, de-packing, etc., had made me do many things I would never have considered a year ago. I emptied out a closet and found bolts of fabrics I bought and never used. I had my theatre memoribilia hanging on racks, untouched, for at least 15 years. I had craft stuff all over.

98% of that stuff was donated to charity. I won't say it didn't hurt to pack it up and give it away, but it had to de-clutter my life. I have even considered selling my beloved mustache cup collection.

As you started this thread I am seriously considering my Tarot stuff, too! Decks and decks and books and ... stuff I collected. However, since money is tight, I will considering selling them - even gifted decks I received - to pay the rent, the car, gas money, etc.

You gotta do what you've gotta do ... bury the past and move forward to a better tomorrow.

[Alissa]

I went through something similar, a few years ago!

Used to collect decks, used to use many of them... have 30-40 (I lost count).

And then, I started only reading with my primary deck (which was my first), and maybe my Faeries. The rest have been languishing in their tarot bags for almost 6 years now.

I still read regularly, I just only want to use my primary deck. I don't want to trade some of the special decks that I really bonded to (about 8-10 years ago, like the Shapeshifters) so I want them in my collection but I have no urge to actually USE them.

Edited to add... I haven't bought a new deck (except to replace my primary deck when lemonade got spilled all over it) in about 6-7 years. No urge, no need, no desire, no covetousness. That may change, but for now....