[LisaStarlight]

I think tarot decks are just paper and ink, so I don't believe they have any inherent energy of their own. I do think each can have their own unique personality though, something that was imparted by the artist and interpreted by the reader. I make a distinction between energy and personality.

ETA: Ah, I've just read your post, Trogon, and it looks like we see this topic in a similar light.

[Eadwine]

I am a number two person

Though they ARE paper and ink when I buy it (or print it on paper, which is how I started), when I start using a new deck I will cleanse it first and then charge it. I also have a selenite stone with my deck in the pouch at all times.

They have their own energy, imo nothing that the artist put in, or that I put in. It's the charging element that does that.

So yeah, maybe that is weird, but that is how I work

So .. mainly two for me, because that lasts the longest

[EmpyreanKnight]

I believe it's somewhere between 2 and 3. I believe that we imbue them with our energies and that we also imprint ourselves on them. After a while, they may retain these with all the positive vibes or negative baggages that these entail.

I perform regular cleansing procedures on my cards and crystals. I conduct a simple one after every reading, and a more extensive and formal ritual every month.

[MysticMoonlight]

I went with #3. I do believe they are just paper and ink though because, well, they are. Something happens though when the artists put their meticulously and diligently selected symbolism, imagery, and expressive artwork into it and then we work with that, come to understand that and why it was used there in the first place, we "read" that. For me, this feels like a type of exchange. We then or eventually may feel a connection with that symbolism, mentally. A relationship, so to speak. Something there clicks. To me, this feels like a type of "energy". My opinion, of course.

Over time, our many, many emotions (happiness, sadness, joy, nervousness, fear, anger, indifference and so on) over and throughout time, shall I say, impresses onto/into things. To me, this feels "energetic". Again, my opinion, of course.

[lantana]

I went with #2 because it was closest to my animist beliefs, but my choice would be more along the lines of "Everything has a spirit so tarot cards are still no more magical than anything else, but I do think they have a personality and that I'm working with something aside from just me and [insert higher/different power of choice]". Also I don't really cleanse, I just let decks "rest" instead.

This is also why I kind of get huffy (behind this screen, never verbally to anyone on here) whenever people assert that it's unwise/bad/whatever to believe tarot decks aren't just paper. Yes, there are a lot of weird superstitions about how a tarot deck needs to be treated like a baby made out of glass or that a tarot deck can control you. But when people say my actual religious and spiritual beliefs mean I'm "giving the power to something other than me" or what have you, I don't appreciate that.

Yes, I know that's not most people's intent. No, I'm not saying that seeing a deck as just paper is bad. I just wish people were more aware of how they come across, and were more tolerant toward people having different belief systems than them without belittling (accidentally or otherwise).

(This isn't directed toward anyone in the thread fyi, just talking about things I've seen in other threads.)

ETA: I guess my actual answer should have been the last choice, oops.

[page of ghosts]

I went with the last option since my beliefs are a messy mix of a little from each of the first 3 options.

I agree with the 1st one because I think there are so many weird superstitions about tarot that don't make any sense to me, so I think they're mostly paper and ink. But I also feel like they have some sort of energy to them, hence my agreement with the 2nd option. I don't feel like I need to cleanse mine often - I've yet to experience anything that calls for cleansing a deck out of control wreaking havoc And lastly I do think that the artist/creator imparts something of theirs to the deck that obviously shows up as the images, their artstyle, choices in colouring and what symbology they present. There's also me kind of doing... something when I use it a lot I don't know, it's kind of a mess and not a fully formed idea. Basically I think they're mostly ink and paper with some energy to them that's mostly its own, some of the artist and maybe a little of me as I attune to it.

[DDwarks]

#3 but paper and ink too.

To me, tarot is art. Its a printed piece of the artist's soul therefore it carries their energy.
I like to read the cards from the artist's point of view, hence why I read the LWB/ book.
Its not just getting a new deck to me. Its meeting someone and getting to know them. I look for what we have in common and what's new/ different to me.
From this I learn and (hopefully) grow

I have one trimmed deck. Trimmed by me (Thoth). I struggled with it to start with. Like I commited a sacrilege lol but I got over it...eventually!

[Redfaery]

Number 3 is my beliefs pretty much in a nutshell.

[Scarlet Woodland]

Originally Posted by page of ghosts

I went with the last option since my beliefs are a messy mix of a little from each of the first 3 options.

I agree with the 1st one because I think there are so many weird superstitions about tarot that don't make any sense to me, so I think they're mostly paper and ink. But I also feel like they have some sort of energy to them, hence my agreement with the 2nd option. I don't feel like I need to cleanse mine often - I've yet to experience anything that calls for cleansing a deck out of control wreaking havoc And lastly I do think that the artist/creator imparts something of theirs to the deck that obviously shows up as the images, their artstyle, choices in colouring and what symbology they present. There's also me kind of doing... something when I use it a lot I don't know, it's kind of a mess and not a fully formed idea. Basically I think they're mostly ink and paper with some energy to them that's mostly its own, some of the artist and maybe a little of me as I attune to it.

This is pretty much where I'm at, so I went with the last option too. Really, I see them as a conduit so 1, 2 and 3 all feel correct (and if you're up to something dastardly there's even potential for 4 )

[SaturnCeleste]

I was unable to vote because you didn't really have a choice for me. I view my cards as a tool to help others and I am simply the messenger. I don't use cards on myself.