Aging a Deck

[thorhammer]

You know it is strange this was posted. I wanted to buy a new rider waite to read with mine got a muddy feel maybe from a few negative clients. I cleaned it, but want a new deck. I hate this new shiny lamination they do. I had to buy a 1970 rider waite last week so it wasn't shiny. This takes away from the energy to me. I wish they would find a better way to laminate or not at all. I was going to use sandpaper to try to get it off but I wasn't sure if I should. I am glad other people don't like it either.

I say go for it! If there's any way to make a deck "yours" it's this and after all, they're only 78 bits of cardboard (excessively coated with plastic), aren't they? The only magic or spirit in them is that which we invest in them, and I believe that I've given this deck a great deal of magic.

\m/ Kat

 

[Feretian]

There are various steps to 'aging' a deck...............ood fire ashes (or ashes from your recent burning of any vegetable derivative). Get a sponge and get it damp (not drippy wet), get a corner...................sponge has a scratchy side, get it damp, and scratch up the blackened.....................excess moisture, shuffling every 30 minutes or so to help keep the cards from ‘cupping’ if too much moisture is.....................

.......yada yada yada

Sheesh, what a lot of work!

Umbrae, you read so much that I assumed your decks need about half a day's work to get that "aged look"!

I suppose all this work would be needed to put the first customer of the day at ease

 

[HellzBelle]

Total VANDALISM.

Technically, if it's your own property it can't be classified as vandalism IMO anyway.
All in the eye of the beholder.

 

[Sulis]

I really like my decks to look aged but I find the best way to get them like that is to use them a lot.
Having said that, I do really like the look of your finished deck Thorhammer.

I think that this all seems like an awful lot of hassle though and to tell you the truth, I can't really see the point, especially considering that (in Umbrae's imortal words) 'It's really all about the sitter' .

 

[Bronwyn1]

Kat!! You don't look old enough to have owned a deck for 20 years!! ???

 

[Feretian]

She was reading before she could stand

 

[Aladdin]

Reba,
i take the point about the property, just cannot understand why anyone would even bother to consider this when cards become 'aged' in regular use.
For me the Hanson - Roberts has always been by far the best and most frictionless slider of any deck so far laid hands on. Have no idea why this is so.
All these mass produced decks i feel have a some of the soul of the original author (s) in them and quite possibly a bit of the printers, publishers, distributors and retailers in them besides !
Am wondering if this sort of reworking of cards weakens their ability to impart energy like trimming edges could be thought of as creating an open sore taking ages to heal. Surely best to buy a set which looks and 'feels right' through all the packaging and leave the abrasive carborundum pads to autobody workers ?

 

[GeorgiePorgie]

It's a personal preference and probably a fun experiment for Kat to try. It's no different to say a borderectomy - whereby some of us have removed borders on tarot cards.

It makes it more personal and preferable for the user to USE them, or for whatever reason they decide on. Even though lots of people mightn't agree with any of these methods, its up to the owner and user of the cards...

As Kat said in her first post, "its a bit of fun" - but I am sure she will be along shortly anyway to tell you this.

 

[WalesWoman]

This is funny. I thought people used spread cloths and washed their hands before handling their decks gently so they won't be messed up or dirty and freaked out when things get spilled on them.

Gee if you dunk your tarot in a cup of tea, you could probably read the tea leaves afterwards... tea for two.

Why not just shuffle the cards a lot after you've been changing the oil in your car or something and still have greasy hands , that would make nice black edges and take away that credit card feel. That same method would work for gardenders too... the dirt would work like that dusting powder, to get rid of that slickness.

Now if you really want that tea time look, just leave those decks with someone like me who smokes like a chimney and I guarantee those decks will have a lovely yellow patina in no time.

 

[Grizabella]

With all due respect to everyone including Umbrae, I don't like the dishonesty of it all. Why not be honest with a sitter and say, "My old deck wore out. I've been reading for 30 years and they finally just came apart so it was time for a new deck."? Or "I lost my deck in a major accident so I had to get a new one." ? Or,---whatever is true? I think a sitter respects that more than artifice and---let's face it---artificially aged decks look artificially aged. If your sitter looks at this artificially aged deck and recognizes it for what it is, are they going to believe anything else about you is really sincere? Since it's all about the sitter, why not have enough respect for them not to play games?

Whatever happened to "The magic is in you, it's not in the deck?" As for putting a sitter at ease because the deck looks like it's been well used, it wouldn't put me at ease seeing an artificially aged deck. But what would put me at ease is a reader who was sincere and honest from the start.

I have a lot of decks. Some are used a lot----because I have used them a lot. Some are like new because I haven't used them a lot. I'll read for anyone with any of them without apology and without artifice. If a deck is new---like my BBCats, for instance---I'll just say, "I was given this deck as a gift by a dear friend recently and I find I get excellent results with it so I thought I'd share the gift by using it to read for you this time."

This isn't directed so much at thorhammer, who said she did it just for fun, as it is about the aging bit in trying to put a sitter at ease.

I've said in the past that I'd feel more comfortable seeing a deck that's obviously been used and that's the truth. But in that case I was referring to people who think they have to keep their decks absolutely pristine and will buy a new one if they get a little bit of grey on the edges.

Aging a deck to make it easier to shuffle and easier to use is one thing, but to make it look older to fool a sitter when it isn't is another.