i think i finally got over the "gotta have it!" syndrome

[WonderGuy]

but does it ever really go away? that twitchy feeling? lol!
wanting every deck and book i see or is this a newbie thing?

started a year ago collecting decks and books, now i have settled on one deck and one book to actually "study". i am not promising i won't relapse, but it feels right (for now....)

 

[gregory]

It certainly isn't a newbie thing

 

[Alta]

It isn't a newbie thing. For me, I am slightly less inclined to go for every new deck, but......

 

[Silverlyn]

Yeah, it's not a newbie thing! Though I'm kinda proud of myself that I haven't gone crazy in collecting too many decks (especially when I rarely use any of them!).

But like you, I've settled on one deck for now..I've seemed to fall head over heels in love with my Pocket Universal Waite and use mainly that one and intend to 'study' Tarot seriously using it.
I've also stayed on one favorite Tarot book to help me learn as well, EveryDay Tarot (aka: Choice-Centered Tarot) by Gail Fairfield. Loooove that book!


But, I'm also kind picky on what kind of decks/art I like, too. So guess that helps me not get too many decks. *shrug*

Edited to add: 'Course right now, I'm pining away to figure out a way to get the Maroon Tarot....but then I hope to stop for a while, dang it!

 

[Umbrae]

...now i have settled on one deck and one book to actually "study". i am not promising i won't relapse, but it feels right (for now....)

But what if it's not the 'right' deck? Have you looked at the Rabbit Tarot? It's more Continental (Etteilla/Lévi) based than English/American (Waite et al) based. Think of it as TdM with pretty pictures.

When you're buying all them new decks, try sorting them according to which 'school' they belong to.

Is it a Continental or English American deck?

Esoteric?

Hermetic?

Occult?

Historical (or hysterical)?

Blurred origins (just pretty pictures with no thought behind it)?

Seriously – do a serious sorting of your decks. Analyze your own buying habits. Offset your lopsidedness...

Not buying is not the answer.

Buying wisely is.

 

[Morwenna]

There's a difference between "Gotta have it!" and actually spending for it. Many of us have some of the same things on our wish lists for years. And one glance at the enabling and de-enabling threads will assure you that the syndrome is not at all exclusive to newcomers.

My collection is extremely modest compared to some here, yet when I think of how many I have I'm boggled. But that's at the rate of about one deck per year, occasionally two.

 

[nisaba]

<cackle> I still get "the twitchy thing" happening, and I bought my first deck in the 1970s!

I'm not buying at the moment - because I'm broke. But ironically, when I am at my financial nadir, the odd deck is still arriving - more than one person has recently offered me a deck they knew I *really* wanted and would learn from, because they knew that for the foreseeable future there's no way in Hades I'd get to buy it. These are good people and I'll always be grateful.

After a few months of not buying (argh!) the twitchiness lessened a little, but it was still there in the background somewhere. Now that I'm currently waiting on a parcel, that feeling is back full-bore and yes, I feel like a collecting addict who's "back on" again.

Time for me to book in for a lock-up detox, I think. <laughter>

 

[Morgane_49]

I'm over my buying frenzy for awhile, too.

It's partly financially induced, but not completely.

I went through a bit of a buying spree a little over a month ago, and the last deck that I HAD TO HAVE was a huge disappointment to me. At that point, I realized that I had lots of decks that I dearly loved, and it was time to back off the buying and work with them!

Oh, sure, I got all twitchy waiting for that last deck to arrive, but the dismay I felt when I opened it was enough to make me clear my head and shake it off for the time being.

I do have a couple on my wish list - one is available now, but the other won't be available until next year.

Meanwhile, I'm doing my own brand of intensive study with the disappointing deck, and getting to know the ones I have better.

I feel very much in control of this situation - and that's great, because much of the rest of my life is out of control right now!

 

[BelovedK]

mm, I am waiting for the Alice in Wonderland deck!!!

 

[Le Fanu]

I kind of dread the day when I am filled with ennui at the thought of another deck, the day I can't be bothered checking out new decks. I just hope it never comes. It would break my heart not to have that rush, that thrill, that excitement of what new things are being done with tarot.

I always think I have got beyond that obsessive needing. Then the next day, I'm ordering half a dozen decks. It just always seems to happen like that. Whenever I post here saying "really, I want for nothing", I can gurantee that the next day I shall be frothing at the mouth while scanning alida store for new deliveries!

But I'm with Umbrae; my choices are informed. I know exactly why I'm buying a deck. They are all inter-related in my collection. I don't just buy for "prettiness." There is an overall concept, and they all relate to each other via systems or artist. I have - over the last year or so - seriously begun analysing my buying habits. Contrary to popular belief, I don't just buy everything I can get my hands on! I have walked away and left many a deck on the shelf in a shop. There is no need for everything, but I do have a need, a compulsion, to understand tarot better...