Packing all (almost) my decks away

velvetina

Over the last few months, I've become really unsettled by the amount of 'stuff' I own, so I began to get rid of much of it. Clothes first, then all kinds of miscellanea ..today was the turn of the tarot decks!

I set aside the entire day for this. I went through every single deck in my possession - easily over a hundred - and a good 85% went immediately into a storage box.
Then came an afternoon of deliberation - I knew that I wanted to keep my 'working' decks - the Thoth, the Waite-Smith, Le Tarot Noir, a Grimaud Marseilles and the Vertigo. There was about a dozen remaining, laid on the table for a few hours whilst I considered their short-term future.

I have decided that those I stored away will be stored until the end of 2017. If I hanker after any, I'll simply make a note of it, but it won't be retrieved. if I find that I haven't missed them, I'm selling them...I simply don't need dozens upon dozens of tarot decks!

It was a surprisingly intense (it felt a little scary!) yet liberating experience. For example, realising that I can't remember the last time I used the Aquarian, yet I'd always thought it was a favourite. The Sacred Rose remains in my drawer - I rarely use it, yet it seemed full of untapped, fresh potential! I'm always looking at the Tarot of the Vampyres, but it went in the storage box because I felt that I needed a change! There didn't really seem to be any rhyme or reason to my final couple of decks - Navigators of the Mystic SEA went in and out several times, as did Liber T of the Stars Eternal. Guess which stays?

The Greenwood and the Mary-El remain, because they serve as my personal oracles. The Decadent Dream, which was a Christmas present, can stay too - I've not had a chance to look at it properly yet.

My better half will take the storage box away tomorrow and has promised not to listen to any of my whining! He won't bring it back until next January. I've made a personal vow not to buy any decks this year, unless I find a bargain in a charity shop! No eBay, no Amazon - let alone the fact that I work in a shop that specialises in tarot! (they're all new, sealed decks so I can't cheat!)

Has any one else done anything similar? How did it work out for you? From having over 100 decks to hand to less than 10. I really do feel something akin to relief! (but maybe that won't last!)
 

Barleywine

A have a number of decks that have stayed in the drawer almost since the day I bought them. But my solution is a little different and less prone to backsliding. I have a daughter, a daughter-in-law and a nephew whom I'm encouraging in their exploration of tarot. When they're ready (and have the space), I'll just gift them a bunch of decks each; that way they're never coming back. But I did read something on a "booze review" site today (well, it was a little more genteel than that) that makes me hesitate: "Don't cook with something you wouldn't drink."
 

Awkward.turtle91

Sometimes I'll have a look round in my room and wonder if I really need a bunch of stuff then I'll have a massive clear out. Anything I get fed up off it goes, there's no looking back.

I've done it with tarot decks as well I've put three of them on eBay, one may go in the charity shop. And saved on for a friend for when I see her in August.

I keep mine in an ottoman. If I don't like them then they go, and I've if not been inclined to use them or I've not been worried about them they go.

Some have simply ended up in the bin/used as part of my kit when I go dancing �� :)

I'm starting to feel old because I don't like clutter!!

(The giant dream catchers next!!!! On my list, my ex gave me so it's going going gone!!)

X
 

Padma

I sold off three decks out of about 45 last year, and that felt scary! :laugh:

I need to go through my decks and books again this year. I have already got a bag going for give away clothes and boots, so I think the tarot decks are on the list for a slim-down.

I really wish I could give away a lot of our stuff, but my husband is pack-ratty and it is hard to make him let go. I have less issues that way, but the decks...will be hard to part with.

Good luck in your releasing plan for 2017!
 

SunChariot

I have 118 decks and one on the way (and one more I want to order soon after). I use and love them all. I need a huge variety the way I read. Mainly intuitively from the image, so I don't like to see the same card image often so I don't remember each time what i saw in it last time. That's what works for me.

I can't imagine wanting to have less decks. It is the perfect system for me. I guess I don't get the minimalist thing. It goes over my head. For me it would unsettle me to have less. I love having the amount I have. I can't imagine why people want to have less of something they love....But that's just me. LOL

Babs
 

RiverRunsDeep

I admire your bravery, velvetina!

I have somehow ended up with over two hundred decks, which I feel is too many! Too cluttered! At one point, I decided to keep only my favorite reading decks, but then I realized there were too many decks I loved because of their artwork and the simple enjoyment of looking at them and meditating upon them. Then, I realized I had too many decks that had lovely memories attached to them (like that silly Dragon Tarot I will never use, but it was my son's favorite deck when he was a child). And then, there are decks that I spent a certain amount of money on, and I know I won't break even if I try to sell them, so I'd feel guilty about the money issue. Sigh.....

Your post has inspired me to take another look at the decks I truly don't want, and begin organizing them to sell or trade to someone who will love them more than I do.

I wish you luck with sticking to your plan! Please update us with how it is working out for you...
 

euripides

I think we all have tremendously acquisitive urges, and our culture encourages us to indulge this. I'm in a few planner groups, and even though you can only carry one planner at a time, many people have dozens of the things, and they're always trading and buying. I can see coveting them - lovely colours and styles, like shoes - but why are we always looking for something new?

Tarot is a bit of a different case, of course - they're more like books, with rich stories to share with us, so I think there's no harm in collecting them. But if something is sitting untouched in a drawer for years, it's not being used or appreciated. Things sat in a storage box under the bed are not being valued.

I started a thread a little while ago - I must check in on it - asking whether people had parted with decks and later regretted it. Most people said no regrets, with just a few exceptions.

I call myself a minimalist, but I think I'm more moderate - I like to do things, and doing stuff usually involves... stuff.

I think your plan is good, and allows you time to test your commitment to the idea.
 

Beanfeasa

I sold and traded about 20 decks in the last year, I got rid of any decks I didn't connect with and traded them for very well researched decks, some were traded off again
I recently sold 3 decks and then bought pagan otherworlds with the proceeds, shipping to Ireland from the states can be costly.
I'm currently thinking of selling more to get Pientures du monde
I feel it's a shame having decks that are not used. They are works of art and should be seen not locked away. Each to their own, I used to collect indiscriminately and got great joy from it, but now I have no storage and 2 toddlers, so I didn't want a large collection anymore.
Maybe in the future I'll collect for the sake of collecting again, but for now, I want a working collection
 

Awkward.turtle91

Another three are up on eBay for me, 3/4 thrown away.
(Not worth selling).

I'd sooner have a deck I'll love rather then lots of decks I don't like.

I'm saving up for some more.

It's good to have a clear out now and then! X
 

Emily

I have had most of my decks in storage for a couple of years now. I also have to go through and finally decide which ones will go - I think it will end up being the majority of my decks. I seem to only work with the few decks that I have around me - the Liber T, Thoth, Robin Wood, TdM's that I bought last year and the new Rider Waites that I have, including the Centennial and a newer copy of the so-called Original Rider Waite that I picked up used - which seems to be a newer printing than the one I already owned and it seems very attractive for some reason.

My other decks have been basically untouched and I have no desire to really get any of them back out of storage but I do worry what will happen to them after I am gone, I am getting older now and some of the decks in storage were much loved.

I think, maybe like you, I will set the date for the end of this year and then see about moving them on. :)