I think I have Tarot Bulimia

[Wendywu]

Yes, I guess the reading slump is part of it. I've been feeling lately that I have so many decks. I have a hard time choosing a deck - on those slumpy days.....

Tabi showed me a picture of those gaming dice - the D&D ones - and I bought a set. Now I have one deck that is with me constantly, and I roll the dice to choose a second deck. I made a list and put a number against each deck, and I roll the dice to get the number for the second deck that I will carry and use for that fortnight.

I did it because I was butterfly-ing from deck to deck and not spending enough time to get to know one before pouncing on the next. Now I know they'll all get their turn and I am much calmer and also, it means I use decks that I might keep pushing to the back if the choice were just up to me.

 

[missy]

It sorts itself out after a while. First you learn not to purge. Then the collection swells (kind of like retaining water ). Then you panic about the space issue.

Then you start to be more discriminating in your acquisitions.

It's a cycle, trust it and go with it. You learn *stuff* along the way.

\m/ Kat

Be careful what you wish for!

If you read around here, nothing is much worse than re-purchasing decks at a premium...

I agree with both of these posts. I, too, go through periods of acquiring a lot of decks. Now, I say "a lot" but I only have a very small collection, so "a lot" is relative. I do have some I wish now I wouldn't have bought. I am only ready to part with one. I feel the whole thing is a learning process.

I refuse to feel guilty over this pleasure of mine, the tarot. It gives me great joy! So what if I go on a crystal-buying binge or buy too many decks? In the long run, I do believe it will sort itself out. And getting rid of a deck too quickly, especially one that goes OOP and then you realize what a huge mistake it was to part with it, well, I'm just not going to do that.

I'm happy with my collection, and I will continue to get decks if I get a strong urge to acquire a deck. I will have impulse purchases and those that are more thought-out. I will buy matching bags. At some point I will probably part with some of them, but not today.

Oh, and if I had to choose between a pizza order for $27 and a tarot deck, guess which one I would pick? How many of us will go out to eat dinner without a second thought, and yet look at what that money could have purchased with a lovely new tarot deck.

I also think that with the purchases I make that turn out to be those I don't want, I learn from those purchases. I learn what I like and what I don't.

Also, I have learned I can't tell what will be a good reading deck for me until I get it in hand and actually read with it.

I do wish the drawer where I keep my tarot collection was larger.

 

[nicole_]

I noted that I have been purchasing tarot lately but when they arrive, I can't bear to open them but leave them in cellophane and all on the shelves instead to admire (the sealed box!!!). The sealed decks are starting to grow in numbers...Could this be a symptom of Tarot Bulimia stage one?

 

[hunter]

Stage one means USING your deck. I think you are in more trouble than I am.

Sealed decks is at least stage 3, maybe 5.

I bought the Rabbit tarot instead of new socks. I am ill. Officially ill. Walking around in socks with holes, but a tarot deck in the mail :-0 And I just got the Herbal in the mail on Monday.

I guess I can make the bunnies some herbal tea though :-0

What remains to be seen is if I purge after this binge though. Tarot Bulimia requires purges after the bingeing.

 

[Nevada]

Maybe I feel guilty having fun while learning and only think I have the right to spend money on learning/recovery that isn't pleasurable.

<snip>

How do we know when we are on track with our purchases? A long distance runner needs more food than a sedentary one. When we are running marathons, how do we not feel guilty feeding our ravenous appetite.

This kind of guilt seems as if it goes further than just a tarot thing. Does it? I have the same problem, but I have had money issues all my life, from the cradle so to speak, so I feel guilty anytime I spend on something that's not food, shelter, or something else necessary to life.

But I think that if you have the means and you have an activity that you love, you must find a way to indulge that love and be kind to yourself.

Finding the right deck is like finding the right romantic partner. Some people have to date around for years, try out a lot of potential right ones. Sometimes you only know it's right when you suddenly realize you've been with the same person for three years and can no longer imagine life without them.

But you might try writing down what you did and didn't like about those you've discarded -- to help you focus in on what exactly you're looking for.

Also, is there a particular card that you always wind up not liking -- such as not being able to live with the Empress in any deck, or something like that? Maybe that would be a clue to needing to get comfortable with that archetype rather than a problem with the decks.

 

[Morgane_49]

I think I'm turning the 'binging' part into an art form, but the 'purging' part could be an issue for me!

Something attracts me to every deck I buy. I would have to be pretty turned off by them to pass them on...Trading for another deck would be one thing, but then I'm still 'even'!

 

[BeyondtheVeil]

I haven't read any other responses, but I was just thinking the same thing! I have bought almost 6 decks in less than 3 weeks. {That was with control too}. It could have bought more, but lets just say that number. I was starting to freak out because I seemed to be obsessed with it. Then I just recently bought the Tarot of the Master and I swear.. it seems like 'the one". I also bought Tarocchi di Giulietta e Romeo {Romeo & Juliet Tarot}. I feel like these two decks are all that I need now! So maybe I just had to buy and figure out what I wanted. I have sold 2 that I didn't think clicked with me. I am kind of surprised because I didn't even want to read with them. I have tried to make a deal that I will only buy and/or keep decks that I intend to read with. That is sort of helping me not keep some decks, but until Tarot of the Master.. it sure didn't slow my buying down.


BeyondtheVeil

 

[nicole_]

Stage one means USING your deck. I think you are in more trouble than I am.

Sealed decks is at least stage 3, maybe 5.

I bought the Rabbit tarot instead of new socks. I am ill. Officially ill. Walking around in socks with holes, but a tarot deck in the mail :-0 And I just got the Herbal in the mail on Monday.

Gasp! Stage 5?

I have the same problem. I splurged hundreds on tarot without much restrain but when I went shopping for 4 hours at the mall yesterday, I only bought paperclips! I haven't really purged though...

 

[Debra]

Today I took out every one of my decks and picked a card from each. Even the $4.00 decks I messed up trimming and only have because I didn't think they were good enough to give away.

It took 4 hours and every deck to get to where I felt better and knew how to move forward. Today I feel the right to have all my decks...

What a creative way to help yourself with your mixed feelings.

I think my "tarot guilt" is because I have been led to the decks, and to want them, by spending too much time on forums like this one. For me, clicking "new posts" to see what's new feels compulsive, and clicking "buy now" is a relief--like a action to relieve me from waiting to see if someone has posted something interesting in the last 20 seconds.

 

[nisaba]

I splurged hundreds on tarot without much restrain but when I went shopping for 4 hours at the mall yesterday, I only bought paperclips! I haven't really purged though...

Well, paperclips can be Tarot-related - it wasn't a *total* waste of money.

Though, no sane human being ever goes *near* a shopping centre. Torture is something that's supposed to be inflicted on you by someone with armaments to make you comply, not by yourself.