Too many decks?

[moderndayruth]

Greg, i totally see you as a Patron of Tarot, seriously. (And Adam as well.)

Btw, just to clarify - no guilt or whatsoever here either - and, honestly, i think it (guilt i mean) is a useless feeling anyway.

 

[canid]

I feel guilty but only because I can't spend equal amounts of time on them all! I try & try but there's simply not enough time in the day. So my solution is to sleep with the neglected decks under my pillow. Now, I don't have nearly as many decks as some here; it would get mighty lumpy under there if I did. 'The Princess & the Tarot'?

 

[2_Journey]

I don't feel guilty owning too many decks. I just don't like owning anything that I don't use. If I buy a book and I know I won't read it again, I give it away. Clothing I'm done with? Given away. I'm even contemplating giving away a piece of furniture that I don't use as much as I should. (A bookcase, but it doesn't match the rest of my decor.)

So, I don't like owning decks I don't use/don't like. It isn't because I don't like them because I don't use them, etc. It's just a personality quirk of mine.

I've just realized: I'm a student now, and live in one room of a shared house. This could be why I don't like owning extraneous things. I have no room for them!!!

 

[emmsma]

I don't feel guilt really. Its just with some decks I REALLY didn't get on with. Perhaps I felt angry or annoyed at not feeling the same about them in hand, as I thought I would from looking at the scans.

Those decks I had to purge quickly. I have several others that I don't use, or think of often, but am content to keep. I'm happy with my LS collection, and while I don't plan to have them all, the ones that are here I want.

Guilt, eh? Maybe I feel guilty that my house is too small. I don't have the proper space for my decks that I would like.

 

[minrice]

I don't feel uncomfortable with what I have because I love them all! I do have a small collection compared to most people as I am choosy. "Exclusive" haha. And there is something special about each one that I connect with. What I do have I truly enjoy, I'll keep a deck even if I just love one card! Some of my decks were generous gifts and so of course I can't get rid of them.

I have a deck from Tahiti, it's in Tahitan? (pardon my ignorance) and in a playing card form and I can't make heads or tails of the "majors" and I never use it. But, it is special because my best friend in this entire world gave it to me knowing what Tarot means to me. Do I feel uncomfortable because I don't use it? Nope

Maybe I would feel more uncomfortable if I held on to the decks that I didn't connect with, but I don't and so all that I have I truly love and feel is special!
I have so many clothes, it's absurd. But I don't get rid of them because I remember where I was and who I was with when I wore a particular piece. I think decks, and books! are like that. There's an emotional connection there, something in all of the content that was touching on a spiritual level.

 

[tarotmama]

Every once in awhile I accumulate more decks than I like having in the house. I think the most I've ever had was about two dozen? For some reason, if it starts to feel like too much, I just let them go. I give a bunch away, I sell some.

I think I am slowly starting to step into the "collector" game though. There are more and more beautiful decks out there than I know what to do with! I too like the idea of supporting tarot artists.

I actually only read with three or four of them though.

 

[jcwirish]

I also don't like having too many decks. I have two right now that I know I'll never use and really want to pass them on to someone who will appreciate them. I don't mind having several decks if i really love them all and will use them at some point, but If I know I won't, I feel compelled to get rid of them.

I don't know why this is. I have three decks coming to me that I'm sure I'll love and use. I have another three that I love already, but those two sitting in my box that I feel nothing for, must go. I don't consider myself a collector, so it's not enough for me to just have them. I want them to be used by someone who will connect with them and appreciate them. I had a large Thoth and several Italian reproductions, and I was so happy to trade them with people who really wanted them.

On the other hand, if I had fifty decks that I loved, I'd keep them. I guess I just don't want those decks that don't resonate with me.

 

[Nevada]

Well sometimes I feel a little guilty that I don't use all of them more, and that some pretty much sit in a box unused most of the time. But it only makes me feel a little guilty. I'd love to just be in Tarot 24/7, but then I'm sure I'd feel guilty about other parts of my life that are neglected (and too many parts are as it is).

So I accept the little niggles of guilt and go on with life. There's so much to explore it sometimes feels as if I need to be triplets. But I'm only one person, and I do what I can. And I do get something out of those decks when I bring them out and use them, so I haven't yet decided to pass them on. But I might some day.

Also, how many is too many? I know I have a lot less than many people here. (My Tarot hoard is only in the 20-something range. Okay, 38 total, if you count duplicates and oracle decks.) But when I tell a non-Tarot person how many I have, they're shocked. So it's all about perspective to some degree.

If you want them and can afford them, and use them now and then, why not have them? I only use my turkey roasting rack about twice a year at most, but I see no reason (yet) to feel guilty about it and get rid of it. Same with the angel food cake pan. Why should I feel more guilt about Tarot cards than non-essential cooking utensils?

 

[Grizabella]

You know, it's been an interesting journey for me. There are decks I've let go on because I know I'm just not going to use them---ever. Some of those I've replaced (which isn't always easy) or have on a list to replace if I ever can. And some of them I keep because I know their time with me is going to be a long-term relationship.

But here's what I find so interesting. There are decks I've had that I thought I'd never understand. Then, as I've gone along, suddenly my understanding of Tarot will just expand. Like when you blow up a balloon, you find it so difficult and then suddenly, unexpectedly, the balloon just gives and blows up big? And then I'll suddenly "get" a ton of things I didn't get before, so decks I thought I'd never understand are just sweet and easy. That means I've now reconsidered how quickly I'll pass decks on. Now the ones I pass on are the ones I distinctly dislike or the ones I've got more than one of that time has shown I'll never wear out so I might as well let them go.

 

[Le Fanu]

I don't feel guily. Ive never really had this contemporary urge either to "declutter". My house is full of things I like, things which have special memories for me. tarot is just one category of things which I have a lot of, and it is the one we discuss here. But when people come into my house, they don't notice the tarot decks (which are stuffed on shelves or in boxes). I have lots of other objects. Lots of porcelain things, lots of antique paperweights etc. I have a couple of cabinets full of curiosities, fragments of statues, religious artefacts, things Ive bought from flea markets all over the place since I was young. People come into my house and notice all this first, but people here think I have a lot of decks because it is what we talk about here

And I don't get out and "use" all the other stuff either. However, if I have a night in and I sit cross legged on the floor and go through decks just looking at them, this to me is "using" them.

Reading is one use. Looking at them is another. Thinking about them later in the day when Im out and about is another use... These decks - whether with me or not - enrich my days.

I am sometimes struck by how many decks I have which I really love, and wouldn't it be nice to have more hours at home to be able to enjoy them, but I don't feel guilty, no.

Do other people feel guilty about spending too much on their mobile phone? I guess not...

Feeling guilty is a product of the whole feng shui culture, that somehow your energies are going to be blocked if you don't get rid of stuff and you will be unhappy. Silly. I mean, honestly...