Smell the cards

[morticia monroe]

Here's a trick that works well for me...

With any new deck I get I always annoint them with my favorite oil (Sun's Eye Nag Champa)... I put a couple drops on my hands and rub them together a lot to spread out the oil and let it soak into my skin... once my hands smell all Champaish... I annoint my deck... I shuffle them again and again... touching each card... praying over them... playing with them... I keep shuffling and shuffling and such... it's the way I sorta break them in.... I find any aroma the cards may have had is replaced with a nice new smell... and the oil I use doesn't stick to the cards or leave a residue or make them stick together or anything... be careful not to use too much oil... I overdid it once and had to let the deck air for a bit, but still, it was a nicer smell than the chemically one some decks seem to have... hope this helps...

Joey

I do the same with some of my decks. My Victorian Romantic now has a lovely lavender scent, The Archeon smells of musk, the Dragon of sandalwood, the Secret Forest of sage, and a few others with scents that I thought to be appropriate. The scent fades to a very light smell, and it's so nice.

 

[raeanne]

Hi all,
The first thing I do when I open a new deck is stick my nose right in the middle of them and take a deep breath. I love the smell of paper and ink! I think it goes back to my childhood. Back in the olden days when I was in school, the teachers used mimeograph machines to make copies. It used a duplicating fluid that was probably toxic. Anyway, nothing was quite so rewarding, as a student, then to go to class and have the teacher pass out papers that were fresh off the duplicating machine. The ink was that purplely color but the smell was wonderful. Personally, I think it was making all of us kids high - maybe that explains the sixties. Anyway, yes, there are some decks that have a very strong smell to them but I still like to smell them. The smell I don't care for is the stale dirt and sweat smell of really old decks. It smells the same as someone's armpit after working in the yard all day...yuk.

 

[karenquilter]

When I got a copy of the Light and Shadow Tarot, I thought the printer's
ink smell was *very* objectionable (the only deck I have gotten so far that
I have had that problem with).

Oh yeah. I bought this one at a used book store a couple of weeks ago & man! What a reek! I put it away pronto.

 

[mysticmonkey]

in the olden days when I was in school, the teachers used mimeograph machines to make copies. It used a duplicating fluid that was probably toxic. Anyway, nothing was quite so rewarding, as a student, then to go to class and have the teacher pass out papers that were fresh off the duplicating machine. The ink was that purplely color but the smell was wonderful.

I think I know the smell you mean or something like it at least. I remember the printed worksheets from junior school, the ink was purple in colour and it had a certain smell.
That was the eighties though, I wonder if they still used the same stuff then.
Funny the stuff you remember.

Most decks I don't mind the new deck smell. Fresh from the oven as someone said.
I've mentioned it before but a couple of Asian decks I bought smelt absolutely foul. I couldn't stomach being near them but after an airing on the dining table for a day or so they lost their bite, thankfully.

Slightly off topic but does anyone smell books? I have a habit of taking a quick sniff of a book when I first open it. Used books mainly. Not sure what I'm looking for exactly but I do it all the same.

 

[AJ]

I love the smell of book stores, libraries, used paperback stores...

I've worked for a number of newspapers over the years and have spent an inordinate amount of time at printers and most of what folks find objectionable is the ink. If these decks were left out to air spread out on a table or something they'd be fine in a few days to a week depending on the humidity where you live.

 

[Cactus]

Hi all,
The first thing I do when I open a new deck is stick my nose right in the middle of them and take a deep breath. I love the smell of paper and ink! I think it goes back to my childhood. Back in the olden days when I was in school, the teachers used mimeograph machines to make copies. It used a duplicating fluid that was probably toxic. Anyway, nothing was quite so rewarding, as a student, then to go to class and have the teacher pass out papers that were fresh off the duplicating machine. The ink was that purplely color but the smell was wonderful. Personally, I think it was making all of us kids high - maybe that explains the sixties. Anyway, yes, there are some decks that have a very strong smell to them but I still like to smell them. The smell I don't care for is the stale dirt and sweat smell of really old decks. It smells the same as someone's armpit after working in the yard all day...yuk.

I feel the same way. I was in grade school in the 70s and early 80s and the smell of the paper w/the purple print on it (we called them "dittos") I just drank in. Fresh off the press, I'd smell and smell until there was nothing left. I can smell it now. And the smell of my cards is very important! I LOVE the smell of my Radiant RWS. It's a mix of the print and of some smudged incense smoke and it's a dream to smell. I was also obsessed with the "new book" smell in school. My hobby is reading (books and Tarot) and I am infatuated with book smells. Even my young kids look at me funny when they see my face buried in a book with the pages fanning.

I love new decks because they're so fresh. To smell a new deck is one of life's little pleasures for me. Of course if it doesn't smell good, then something must be done. I dislike working with old decks just because there's no "new" smell to them. Is that crazy?

 

[Grizabella]

I love the smell of new magazines. That's the ink smell that's wonderful to me. I also looooooove the new leather smell! It's addicting. When I was a kid, I loved to stick my whole face into any new shoes I could find and just smell, smell, smell. But nowadays, some of the chemicals they use on leather are pretty bad.

Anyway, some new decks have that scent of new magazines.

 

[Alamaris]

I usually love the smell of new or used books; ditto with decks. But some are just noxious. The Lunatic comes to mind (back in my "sage" days I took a smudge stick to each and every card), and a few of the USG ones. I've never had a problem with LS.

My solutions varied. In decent weather I'll spray my hands with a little perfume and shuffle them in the breeze. Once I laid all the cards out and sprayed a tiny bit of scented mist over the whole lot, from about 7 feet up, then shuffled for a while. And of course, if you like the smell of sage, there's always copious smudging. I've found the smell doesn't go away unless you do something about it, but for most decks I don't mind that. My Alchemical Renewed smells sweet as honey!

 

[Alamaris]

I love the smell of new magazines. That's the ink smell that's wonderful to me. I also looooooove the new leather smell! It's addicting. When I was a kid, I loved to stick my whole face into any new shoes I could find and just smell, smell, smell. But nowadays, some of the chemicals they use on leather are pretty bad.

This is off topic, I'm sorry, but here's a suggestion -- try a tack shop! Most saddles and bridles these days have that gorgeous sweet leather smell. I bought a miniature pony bridle when I was a kid and smelled it until there was no smell left... then bought saddle wax and started over.

 

[Grizabella]

This is off topic, I'm sorry, but here's a suggestion -- try a tack shop! Most saddles and bridles these days have that gorgeous sweet leather smell. I bought a miniature pony bridle when I was a kid and smelled it until there was no smell left... then bought saddle wax and started over.

Oh my god, when I buy my buckskin I sometimes go to a tack shop and I just about swoon in there! I spent LOTS of time just browsing in the "cow" leather section even though that's not what I buy. And I usually order from somewhere in Idaho for buckskin because it's cheaper, but there are some things I go to an actual store for.

To bring it back on topic, I make tarot card cases out of beaded buckskin, although I haven't been able to do that much for the past year. Not that I don't want to. It's other things stopping me, sadly. I'm determined to restart in May, though.