Why do you buy Tarot's?

[Lion-O]

So what kind of collector are you? Do you collect hundreds of Tarot's to keep pristine, do you only buy Tarot's to use, or are you a bit of both.

Funny you should ask, I just joined the "league of many deck owners"

I had several motivations. At first I started out with a 'Mage' deck which is described as a game deck. After getting more experienced with it I now don't believe this description at all, for me the Mage deck simply offers a very direct and modern translation of the Tarot, but I still kept playing with the "not a real deck". And so I got a Rider-Waite deck, now things were "official".

The deck works quite well for me, so far the only spreads I've done with it are the Celtic Cross (my all time favorite) and sporadicly a daily spread. Since I don't believe in too much "rules" I sometimes even did a reading in my own fashion. For example; a question like "What will be the day influence, how will this affect my surroundings and what could be the overal outcome?" after which I drew 3 cards, one for each "impression of the day".

Now, buying a few books introduced more spreads to me. I am willing to try them but don't feel that I should use the Rider deck. And there you have it... I skimmed the "most popular" list of decks and carefully looked at the pictures. And then I went "Whoah" when carefully looking at the Druidcraft & Gilded decks. And so I bought these, with the sole purpose to use the Gilded for several other spreads and well... The Druidcraft is leaving such an impression on me right now that I'll probably take a lot of time on it before using it. The book described some very interesting (and time consuming) spreads so that will probably go into wild and different directions.

Unfortunatly this isn't over ;-) While the main motivation now is "to use new spreads" my quest introduced me to some other decks which immediatly left an impression. Being new to using cards with much more detail I can now relate more to the importance and how a certain theme can also affect this procedure. And so, having played many D&D roleplaying games, I am now seriously looking at the 'Celtic Dragon' tarot. Not liking the regular 'Dragon' Tarot this one calls out to me... And finally, for now anyway, being a fan of Japanese animation (Anime) (in all honosty; I'm a fan of animation in an overall sense) the 'Manga' Tarot (the deck of the week on Aecletic not too long ago) also looks appealing to me.

While this does give a sense of "collecting" I also believe that different decks can give you different impressions and ideas about Tarot as a whole. So while collecting has a little bit to do with it, my main motivation would still be "To learn more about Tarot". I don't see myself owning 20+ decks, but if this keeps up I wouldn't be surprised if I eventually owned 20+ books regarding Tarot.

 

[sharpchick]

I buy decks because I have looked at card scans online or been able to see a deck in real life and the art speaks to me. When I find myself lingering over each card, or experiencing the "aha" quick intake of breath. . . I add it to my collection. I buy them to read with.

 

[caridwen]

I think I'm buying decks because each one I buy hopefully adds to my readings and gives deeper insight into the cards through comparison. I also get bored of my decks (hard to believe since I only used the RWS for five years) and want to see new imagery. I then get bored again and usually go back to my RWS.

 

[firewoman]

I'm drawn to them..

For years I have had this pull towards tarot decks. I have about 10 decks (which I thought was lots but after finding this site I have taken great pleasure in telling my husband that I can go tarot deck shopping again because my deck is little in comparision to some mentioned at this site - to which he just chuckled and said any excuse!) I find that I buy them and then play with them for a day or three , then I put them down until I get the urge to pick them up which can be from 3 weeks to 3 years.. except for my Morgan Greer deck which is the 'main' deck I use for readings. I always wonder why I'm so drawn to them and want to buy them but yet I don't always have the need to use them... my husband says he thinks I'm just building a good collection for when I become a full time reader as that will be inevitable in his view ;-)

Smiles
Fire

 

[greycats]

The first tarot deck I ever saw was the Hoi Polloi and it was love at first sight. 35+ years later, there are still decks that affect me that way. Naturally, I'll get them if I can. But in this long marriage to tarot, I' ve discovered that looks aren't everything. There's history, art, depth, a unique point of view, information about forgotten arts, new ways to study the cards---all these and many other reasons to want a deck and acquire it. I've never searched for the "perfect" deck. (I lack faith in perfection, I suppose.)

Perhaps for those reasons I don't really see an "either/or " dichotomy in my tarot deck collection. I won't buy decks I dislike, but those are few. I confess to buying a few others that I wasn't too enthused about because they were "collectable" and were going at a good price. But the majority of my decks offer me something I am glad to have.

As to use: there are as many uses for a tarot deck as there are reasons to acquire one. I use all of mine one way or another. I always do a reading with a new deck as soon as I count the cards, so none are pristine except for some duplicate decks which will replace favorites that I use heavily.

 

[Disa]

The first deck I bought was at a regular bookstore on the sale table. I looked at it and said, "cool", I always was interested in tarot cards but I had never seen any before. I looked at them and put them down. Walked around the book store for a few hours as usual and kept coming back to that sale table. Finally I just bought it, sight unseen. It ended up not being a very visually appealing deck and I didn't think about it again for a couple of years. Went back to the same bookstore and noticed two small sets there as well-the only two they had. I bought those, site unseen.

Somehow in my search for information related to defining my psychic abilities, I stumbled across tons of sites with tons of cards and then the buying began . So I guess initially, I was drawn to the tarot and took whatever I could get my hands on. Now, though. I have to go by instincts. There are so many places to get them now that there is no reason for anyone to have to buy them site unseen ever again. By the way, my "regular" neighborhood bookstore now has so much metaphysical stuff in it you just wouldn't believe the selection. It seems the more I buy, the more they get Isn't life grand?

 

[SunChariot]

I use all my decks, and I love them all, but I like a large variety. That is because I read intuitively and I like to keep it fresh. If I had just a few decks the same card in the same deck might come up to often and I could remember what it meant in the last reading, and I don't want to be influenced in that way. To me it has a new meaning each time.

I have 30 decks now: 18 Tarots and 12 Oracles and I adore them all. I hope I will stop there.

I also like a variety of decks because each deck has a somewhat different philosophy behind it and teaches you about life in a different way. I am always fascinated to see life in as many ways as I can and to come to understand what I can as deeply as I can. Have all kinds of decks helps with that.

But I am not a collector, at least not in the sense of collecting deck just to own them that I will never use. To me decks are to be used and loved.

Babs

 

[Eco74]

I'm very much a bit of both.

I wouldn't get a deck just to keep on the shelf, unless I found one I'd use a lot and wanted a backup for later use. Has yet to happen though.

When I buy decks it's decks that catch my interest, that I want to explore, use for readings or study or have as reference-decks. Since my collection has kept growing (on 60+ now and waiting for a few by mail) most of the decks do sit unused most of the time, but I do mean to use them at some point or other and have never gotten a deck (yet) just to have it and put it away.
Can't speak for the future ofcourse, but I don't see mysefl getting any "just to have them" in the forseeable future either..

 

[gregory]

WELL !

I started to collect years and years ago and after one disastrous experience, did not use the decks at all - but I love to look at them and compare them and see what differs and what doesn't.... so I ended up with - er - quite a lot....

Then I came here.

Now I do use some of them; some I really jibe with, others less so, and I quite often use a new one as an experiment. (I am only reading within this forum.)

But I still collect, because I love to and because I love to look at all the new decks - even if I don't use them they can bring a new thought to one I DO use.... And yes, I DO often look at them all. They do NOT sit upstairs being ignored. Honestly, they don't !

 

[Fulgour]

downstairs, upstairs

And yes, I DO often look at them all. They do NOT sit upstairs being ignored.

I never thought of that! Adding a second story to the house
so there would be enough room to store all my Tarot decks!