Juniper
I have heard that you should not get used cards and not to let others use/touch your deck to not get their influences on your deck. What do you think?
Juniper
Juniper
question on using new vs. used cards
Ace
I think it is a myth. I believe (and you will find a LOT of discussion on the forum about this. Try doing a search.) that cards are just little bits of printed cardboard and that the magic is in you not them. Some disagree. Here are some recent discussions of this, check them out.
Also, try doing a search by touching cards and shuffling (these came from searching by "Others Touching cards" and there are a LOT more where these came from.
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=40848
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=43511
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=45059
Ace
Also, try doing a search by touching cards and shuffling (these came from searching by "Others Touching cards" and there are a LOT more where these came from.
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=40848
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=43511
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=45059
Ace
Flavio
Hi Juniper! Welcome to Aeclectic Tarot!
Added to the clues pointed out by Ace, I believe that all those "Tarot legends" do only affect you if you believe in them, someone told my 1st deck should be a present, but I bought it myself and that fact didn't affect my capacity to read, and like that you can find a lot of examples.
Added to the clues pointed out by Ace, I believe that all those "Tarot legends" do only affect you if you believe in them, someone told my 1st deck should be a present, but I bought it myself and that fact didn't affect my capacity to read, and like that you can find a lot of examples.
Ilithiya
I can definitely see the points from both sides of the fence...
Think about used decks for a minute... not just energy gets left on the cards, but fingerprints, biomaterial, and DNA too. Woo! Nah, don't let it gross you out. Your floor is worse than your cards, and any germs on cards will be dead after 48hrs or less anyway.
I'm one of those people who firmly believe in psychometry. Used decks seem to feel better to me *because* they've been used; someone else has owned them before I have, and have used them, and in a lot of cases, have appreciated them and liked them as well. It doesn't mean that the cards can't be cleared, or that you can't imprint on them.
A new deck is a lot like freshly fallen snow. Nobody's gone there before with that deck, and it's yours to attune with in whatever way suits you, without any preconcieved notions.
I'd rather take a used deck over a new one, for a variety of reasons -broken in, easier to shuffle, and of course, the residuals.
But that's just whether the deck is new or used. They're still bits of printed cardboard and don't hold any power in themselves; I agree with Ace on this point. Creepy-feeling decks were probably used by creepy people, and that's the previous owner's energy, not the deck itself.
Illy
Think about used decks for a minute... not just energy gets left on the cards, but fingerprints, biomaterial, and DNA too. Woo! Nah, don't let it gross you out. Your floor is worse than your cards, and any germs on cards will be dead after 48hrs or less anyway.
I'm one of those people who firmly believe in psychometry. Used decks seem to feel better to me *because* they've been used; someone else has owned them before I have, and have used them, and in a lot of cases, have appreciated them and liked them as well. It doesn't mean that the cards can't be cleared, or that you can't imprint on them.
A new deck is a lot like freshly fallen snow. Nobody's gone there before with that deck, and it's yours to attune with in whatever way suits you, without any preconcieved notions.
I'd rather take a used deck over a new one, for a variety of reasons -broken in, easier to shuffle, and of course, the residuals.
But that's just whether the deck is new or used. They're still bits of printed cardboard and don't hold any power in themselves; I agree with Ace on this point. Creepy-feeling decks were probably used by creepy people, and that's the previous owner's energy, not the deck itself.
Illy
mythos
My first deck was given to me as a birthday present in 1976. I loathed it.... mind you, the giver (my ex-husband) tore it to sheds before my very eyes two days later in a fit of temper. For me the gift was a disaster. Moreover, when others have given me decks, without specifically asking what I would like, they usually give me decks that they want, or think I 'should' want ... but I don't. I sound like an ungrateful sod, but the reality is that tastes differ. Consequently, I prefer to buy my own.
Many (most) of my decks are second-hand. Given my deck-buying obsession, this is a good thing. Moreover, if a deck feels a bit 'yucky' I give it a bit of a cleanse. If it still feels yucky ... it is usually because the deck doesn't really attract me.... and we are back to taste.
For me, whether a deck 'reads well' or not, is about me, not the deck. If I really don't connect with a deck, or I am too scattered energy-wise, or sick or too emotionally-invested in the outcome, or just not on the ball, any deck can give me a 'bad' reading. That is ... I give me a 'bad' reading ... the deck, per se, has nothing to do with it.
There is an old saying 'The Tarot never lies' ... true ... but we, as readers can do a truly mammoth job of getting what is in front of us completely wrong.
Happy Taroting,
mythos
Many (most) of my decks are second-hand. Given my deck-buying obsession, this is a good thing. Moreover, if a deck feels a bit 'yucky' I give it a bit of a cleanse. If it still feels yucky ... it is usually because the deck doesn't really attract me.... and we are back to taste.
For me, whether a deck 'reads well' or not, is about me, not the deck. If I really don't connect with a deck, or I am too scattered energy-wise, or sick or too emotionally-invested in the outcome, or just not on the ball, any deck can give me a 'bad' reading. That is ... I give me a 'bad' reading ... the deck, per se, has nothing to do with it.
There is an old saying 'The Tarot never lies' ... true ... but we, as readers can do a truly mammoth job of getting what is in front of us completely wrong.
Happy Taroting,
mythos
Fulgour
through a glass darkly
The Pamela Colman Smith Tarot, and they are delightful.
Modern printings are glossy laminates with typeset titles
and by comparison ~ how can I say this politely? ~ not
the same... from the tips of my fingers to the depths of
my imagination, the older cards are so warm and friendly.
My collection includes "Rider" editions of the cards I callJuniper said:
The Pamela Colman Smith Tarot, and they are delightful.
Modern printings are glossy laminates with typeset titles
and by comparison ~ how can I say this politely? ~ not
the same... from the tips of my fingers to the depths of
my imagination, the older cards are so warm and friendly.
MareSaturni
Dear, i agree with Ace: those are myths. Not everybody has money to get a brand new deck - does that mean that Tarot is unreachble for them? I think not. If you are worried about the energy the card may carry, clean them...wip a soft fabric, then use some incense...the way you believe they can be 'purified'.
I believe in energy, but i let people touch my cards. Of course, some people do carry some strong negative energy sometimes...but what if they are needing some help? They want you to read tarot...are you going to tell them "i'm sorry, don't touch my cards because you'll stain them with your negative energy". Big no-no!
If you think someone might have transferred bad vibrations to your deck, just clean it the way i said above. Fill them with YOUR energy because they are YOUR cards.
And relax. The magic is in you, not in them. No tarot will become non-functional because there are other's fingerpints on them.
My opinion, obviously.
Yuko
I believe in energy, but i let people touch my cards. Of course, some people do carry some strong negative energy sometimes...but what if they are needing some help? They want you to read tarot...are you going to tell them "i'm sorry, don't touch my cards because you'll stain them with your negative energy". Big no-no!
If you think someone might have transferred bad vibrations to your deck, just clean it the way i said above. Fill them with YOUR energy because they are YOUR cards.
And relax. The magic is in you, not in them. No tarot will become non-functional because there are other's fingerpints on them.
My opinion, obviously.
YukoPlatinumDove
I've gotten a set of used cards, and they work just fine for me. The magick's in you, not the images on the cards, they just trigger the subconscious. Letting other people touch the cards...I let them AS LONG as they have my permission. I got kinda creeped out when I found out my roommate used my cards without asking me.
Umbrae
Although the magic MAY be in us and not the cards, what matters is what is in YOUR reality, YOUR world…
I have and use, previously owned decks.
You may find that if you are unable to connect with the deck, purify them! (Tarot for Yourself, a workbook for personal transformation By Mary K. Greer, 2nd edition).
Go for it.
And while we’re on the subject of myths, In an interview, Mary Greer was asked, “What is the biggest tarot myth, wives tale or fable that you'd like to dispel for all time?” To which she answered, “None. I don't want to see the myths scattered or driven out. I cherish them and feel they are keys to the soul's meaning that we search for in the cards. They should be appreciated in their own right for there is a power and inner truth in them. However, we should know where the myths and historical fact differ and which is which…”
So before we begin saying, “It’s a MYTH!” One should examine WHY it’s a myth.
Kneejerk discounting myths may be a mythtake…
I have and use, previously owned decks.
You may find that if you are unable to connect with the deck, purify them! (Tarot for Yourself, a workbook for personal transformation By Mary K. Greer, 2nd edition).
Go for it.
And while we’re on the subject of myths, In an interview, Mary Greer was asked, “What is the biggest tarot myth, wives tale or fable that you'd like to dispel for all time?” To which she answered, “None. I don't want to see the myths scattered or driven out. I cherish them and feel they are keys to the soul's meaning that we search for in the cards. They should be appreciated in their own right for there is a power and inner truth in them. However, we should know where the myths and historical fact differ and which is which…”
So before we begin saying, “It’s a MYTH!” One should examine WHY it’s a myth.
Kneejerk discounting myths may be a mythtake…
Asher
Umbrae said:
And Mary's view is her reality, her world...it's not mine, and that's alright.
I need not take it as gospel, just because Mary Greer (whom I have studied with and respect greatly) said it. As with anything, I take what I find useful and leave the rest. Some Tarot myths I can live with and some are ludicrous, and out they go.
In my Tarot classes, I am careful to try and separate fact from fiction, and let students decide for themselves what is true/useful, and leave the rest. I cannot expect them to blindly accept my worldview/reality without critical examination of it. To expect that would be a breach of their trust in me as a teacher.
Asher
