Decks and Cleansing

[WalesWoman]

A dear freind gave me a OOP deck, in great shape but has signs of previous user on the card edges.
So realizing it might or could be of $ as well as the sentimental value, I am afraid to use it without a cloth or scrubbing the table and washing my hands first.

Suddenly I had a revelation about WHY and HOW some "rules" or practices came into being!!!

Perhaps the Tarot reader taught someone to read and advised them to use a cloth, cleanse (their hands) in order to preserve the quality of the deck. It wasn't as if you could simply run down to the New Age store and get another copy... and the lesson stuck, only became a must do and some other things got changed as it was passed down through the ages until it became one of those superstitions.
Cleansing wasn't invented to rid the deck of bad vibes and unwanted energy, or to appease the tarot gods or get better readings, other than to keep the cards in good shape, so they wouldn't get gooey and stick together, so the colors and images wouldn't be clouded under a layer of grime, so the deck would last a lifetime.

I don't know if this is true or not, but it made sense to me.

 

[tarotbear]

Well, Wales Woman, on another thread someone said that all these 'things' were superstition, and implied we run our lives by superstitious acts that have no scientific basis.

Perhaps in the 1600s, certain 'old wives tales' came into being because of health practices (or the lack thereof) - you know those 'You can't go swimming for THREE HOURS after you eat lunch' type of admonisions.

I agree that if some newbie asks (AGAIN) if they should sleep with the cards under their pillow or if someone has to give you your first Tarot deck as a gift ONE MORE TIME - I think I'll scream , but I agree - wrapping your cards and keeping them in their own bag keeps them clean, provides a surface to lay the cards on, etc.

I remember reading as a child about how 'taboos' were created: example - in the middle of the rainforest was a pond, and one day a child drowned in it. It became 'taboo' for children to go to the pond. 50 years later the pond has dried up, no one remembers there ever was a pond, or that someone drowned in a pond, but the taboo still says that children are not allowed to go into that part of the forest.

There have been many attempts on this forum to discuss and 'debunk' these 'Tarot Absolutes.' Except for that not buying your own deck thing - which I wish would meet with a quick end - I don't think any of these Tarot Taboos has yet to hurt anyone. It's not like we tell newbies they have to slash their forearm with a razor and annoint every card in a new deck with their blood to 'make it their own.'

 

[tarobones]

ziplocks

I know it might sound crude, but I don't have the $$ to spend for fine velvet tarotbags for all my decks, so i use ziplock bags and it keeps the decks in excellent condition. Nontraditional, but practical. BB, Michael

 

[Umbrae]

A while back, I explored some of the more popular myths about tarot. Third post on Page 6 I explored this very same myth!

Great minds and all that…

 

[WalesWoman]

Thanks for the link Umbrae, I was fishing at the time this thread came out and haven't completed updating myself, since it hadn't jumped out at me yet. Oops!

This imaginative theory occured to me whileI was looking at the deck and then glanced at the vinyl table cloth, with gobs of ketchup, bits of macaroni and other undefinable substances... a light bulb went off, since my first reaction was to find something to throw over the top of it and save my Precious. "Oh, that's why tarot cloths got invented!!!" There weren't zip locks and maybe silk is more resiliant than wool or cotton or linen to pests... also at the time, it was also pretty Precious.

Guess I'll start a new superstition...use only cedar boxes to store decks in... ... Let's see. I guess that would make the cards in a better frame of mind, since they wouldn't be bugged.

 

[rainwolf]

That is a good possibility waleswoman--it reminds me of a story that i read by Dreamer:

A little modern fable about traditional practices, that often gets repeated with different variations:

Cutting the Ends off the Ham

Every Christmas the Smith family got together to celebrate with a big feast. While Julie Smith watched her mother put the ham in the oven she asked, "Mom, why do you cut both ends off the ham?" Her mom shook her head, "Why, I don't know. My mother always did it that way. She's in the living room, let's ask her." The two women asked the grandmother, "Why did you cut the ends of the ham?" The older woman said, "I don't know, my mother always did it that way. Let's ask my mother." The great-grandmother smiled when her descendents asked her about the tradition of cutting off the ends of the ham. "Why, it's because I never had a pan big enough to fit the ham!"

And, someone has to give you the ham. Also, if you don't cut the ends off, your ham will not cook properly and you will be cursed.

I agree that if some newbie asks (AGAIN) if they should sleep with the cards under their pillow or if someone has to give you your first Tarot deck as a gift ONE MORE TIME - I think I'll scream , but I agree - wrapping your cards and keeping them in their own bag keeps them clean, provides a surface to lay the cards on, etc.

That leads to a good point actually--should a sticky be made telling new members to check for previous posts before asking a question that has probably been asked and answered? Sorry don't mean to get off track, just thought of that.

 

[Sophie]

Not to mention that in the past, cards were unlaminated. Just bare cardboard, and easy to get dirty.

 

[Umbrae]

That leads to a good point actually--should a sticky be made telling new members to check for previous posts before asking a question that has probably been asked and answered?

Nope - a newbie should be allowed to ask the question, and be and feel safe to do so. Who cares if we we've been asked before? Of course it's been asked before. But in a world with billions of people, if it's our job to answer the same question with the same answer a million times - so be it.

So we scream in private...not an issue in the bigger picture.

Thanks for the link Umbrae, I was fishing at the time this thread came out and...

Oooooo iky poo! Fishy scales and guts and diesel fumes…

Nothing quite as erotic as Eau de Diesel. That bar in Ballard where I used to read was often frequented by folks who wore fish scales as an accessory…

And they did not touch my cards until they washed their hands. Especially the long-liners…

Mate! Chart a course back on topic!

 

[Genna]

Cleansing with sage.

I really like using sage for cleansing the deck.The sage isn´t burning of course,only giving off smoke.I don´t use matches,because of sulfur,that angels are said to dislike,so I use a lighter.I open the window,pass the deck through the smoke some times(upside,downside,edges),sometimes fanned out,but then it´s easy to drop the cards.The smoking sage-bundle lies on my censer when I do this.I don´t cleanse all the cards;the smell and the smoke would scare neighbours,thinking a fire is going on.

I also turn the poach inside-out and cleanse it and/or the box(just get smoke inside the box),as well as the cloth I keep the deck in,careful not to cause fire of course.Only pass it through the smoke.I like to burn a white candle for purification while I do this,and say some words of prayer,that the deck may be cleansed from negative influences in all directions of time.

It may sound superstitious,but it works for me.

In the book A Magical Course in Tarot Michele Morgan writes about smudging;"...hold the deck and move it in all four directions,first face up,then face down..."She also warns of fire hazard;let the flame go out first.She has many other ideas for cleansing too,but doesn´t write you have to cleance.

I also like to order the cards from The Fool to The World,then Wands/Rods,Cups,Swords,and Pentacles,from Ace to King.

 

[WalesWoman]

Oooooo iky poo! Fishy scales and guts and diesel fumes…

Nothing quite as erotic as Eau de Diesel. That bar in Ballard where I used to read was often frequented by folks who wore fish scales as an accessory…

And they did not touch my cards until they washed their hands. Especially the long-liners…

Mate! Chart a course back on topic!

But it IS on topic... I was afraid to take my decks out of their bags while I was on the boat and did try to find the cleanest spot on the galley table when I did readings, my tarot cloth was a bandana. (Remember the capt'n had been baching it for the month or so before I came aboard and the table literally needed a scraping.) AARGH! I swear the only times the boat gets clean is when I go fishing with him. These are true life present day examples of how Tarot Tabu's came to into being and why tho' the great Tarot spirits may not strike you down for being lax... your decks will get gross and disgusting.
(Now I'm getting threads confused... thinking of Helvetica's comments on hygiene and plague)

P.S. X-Tra Tuffs are quite lovely with salmon sequins, but I too, can live well without the splattering of red accents, Eau de Pueh.