removing cards

[punchinella]

Hi all,

Although I'm sure there are threads on this already, I wasn't quite sure how to find them . . . and also, I thought it might be fun to compare notes with folks right now

For the first time in my life, I'm planning to deliberately remove a card from a deck. I would have done it already, only I haven't received the deck yet.

I'm planning to pull the Hanged Man out of Crow's Magick, because my boyfriend is Catholic and this particular image will probably bother him. I like to leave new decks right out on the shelf in the hallway while I get to know them, and were he to walk by, pull a card, and discover this image on it--well, I'm pretty sure he would feel uncomfortable.

I'm curious to know which cards you have removed from which decks and why? (Hearing your stories might help me come to grips with my own upcoming sacrifice )

 

[Pam O]

I had to remove a card from "Trust Your VIBES". I know it's not tarot, but I could not deal with the "Fake it Till You Make It" card. It's too dishonest for me and I had a VERY bad experience with an MLM who used that philosophy, and I went so severely into debt I should have claimed bankruptcy, but I was too proud. The people in the Multi Level Marketing company were all full of it when they used that line. The rest of the cards in that oracle deck are great, and I happily use it without that card.

Same deal for you, the card just doesn't work. It's not worth the stress to you.
So, pull the card. Do save it in case you ever want to sell your deck, but no worries. Heck, you won't use the deck the way you want to with that card in there, right? So, you might as well enjoy your purchase with one less card! There's still 77 other cards to get messages from!

 

[Astraea]

There was an interesting thread along this line a few years ago. Your post reminded me of it - I remembered it because I resonated with it at the time, and it was fun to review it just now. If you're interested, here's a link to the thread: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=99537&highlight=removing+court

 

[punchinella]

Heck, you won't use the deck the way you want to with that card in there, right? So, you might as well enjoy your purchase with one less card! There's still 77 other cards to get messages from!

Exactly!

I have actually put off buying the deck for a long time because of this card, despite feeling its pull . . . then, finally, the solution occurred to me--duh!

My only worry is that if the one card is tucked away in the box for a prolonged period of time, and the rest of the deck is out, one or the other of them might warp so the card might not fit properly once they are reunited. But this is probably paranoia.

Thanks for the link Astraea--it's past bedtime now (Sunday night--grrrrrr) but I will definitely read through that tomorrow

 

[WalesWoman]

Ok, given it might upset your Catholic boyfriend, maybe you should remove the Empress because that might be too much like Holy Mary, Mother of God and while you are at it, you probably should remove the Devil, because well, that is too much like the Devil and Judgement is probably too much like an Archangel as well as Temperance and Justice. The Lovers has to go too because that could be too uncomfortably close to Adam and Eve.

If you keep removing cards because someone might find them uncomfortable or offensive, maybe you should just get a regular deck of playing cards, because you aren't going to have a tarot deck or be reading with one.

 

[Torkie]

Ok, given it might upset your Catholic boyfriend, maybe you should remove the Empress because that might be too much like Holy Mary, Mother of God and while you are at it, you probably should remove the Devil, because well, that is too much like the Devil and Judgement is probably too much like an Archangel as well as Temperance and Justice. The Lovers has to go too because that could be too uncomfortably close to Adam and Eve.

If you keep removing cards because someone might find them uncomfortable or offensive, maybe you should just get a regular deck of playing cards, because you aren't going to have a tarot deck or be reading with one.

My boss told me today that I could no longer read tarot cards in the lobby of our business (a restaurant) because some customers found it offensive. Are you suggesting my proper response would have been to give up reading tarot entirely, instead of moving to the back room?

If I collect art, and my boyfriend is offended by a piece I hang in the living room, should I give up my hobby altogether? Or would it make more sense to respect the wishes of my partner, and take down one piece of artwork?

Your logic seems to be that it's worth sacrificing your relationship to have 78 cards, and having 77 is worthless.

 

[Carla]

Why does he even have to look at it? I would keep the deck whole and tell him if it bothers him, there are plenty of other directions where he can focus his eyes. Why would he be idly walking past your deck and pulling a card? I don't get it. I mean it's none of my business, but you did ask. I suppose if I were trying to be nice, I'd say to him, I know you like to play around with my cards sometimes, but there are some in this deck you might not like, so best not bother that one. (Although my actual natural reaction would be, 'If you don't like it, don't look at! What are you doing messing with my deck anyway?' )

 

[mingbop]

You can't read properly without a full deck, it unbalances the cards
You cant start picking out cards because people don't like them. Its a Tarot deck not a buffet!
And maybe the hall isnt a good place to keep them - its not a place you sit quietly in is it? Its a place other people pass through. Why not keep them on the bedroom windowsill and they will be happier.
And tarot isn't a sideshow for people to gawp at, Torkie. There is no need to do it in public - apart from anything it doesnt give the sitter any feeling of intimacy or mystery or privacy. Would be a deeper experience for everybody if done in the privacy of yer own home. LOL!
...Trying to remember that old saying about "not reading off a full deck" but can't..

 

[Emily]

I don't remove cards from my decks either, the Hanged Man needs to be there to balance the deck - without it the deck isn't complete.

I have the Crows Magick deck, ahh yes, just looking at the image now - I can see why your Catholic boyfriend might be unsettled by this one - but then again, its just an image on a tarot card. Why not just ask him?

 

[graspee]

I agree- I would not recommend taking this card out to appease your boyfriend. The other people above me are right: without The Hanged Man the deck is unbalanced, in fact without that card, it is no longer a tarot deck.

According to some website I just googled, the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" says:

". All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to 'unveil' the future.[Cf. Deut 18:10 ; Jer 29:8 .] Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone."

So according to that, if your boyfriend is a good Catholic he should hate every single card of every single tarot pack, even one where the images are a cute family of mice looking at rainbows, so there's little point censoring the pack by removing one card.

If the website I found is right and the catechism says that, then there is no danger of your boyfriend idly walking by and deciding to pick a card from the pack because to do so would be divination and therefore offensive to God.