Can a deck take offense?

[Emaleth]

All right, this may sound silly, but I'm wondering if I wanted to buy another Tarot deck, would the first one take offense?

I've got a Tarot of the Marseilles deck, generally I like it, but I'm having problems with the Minor Arcana. They don't show any scenes, only the appropriate number of objects. It's very difficult for me to remember the meanings and I'm not able to interpret the cards.

I want to buy another deck, like the Raider Waite deck, where the MA show some scenes. But I'm afraid my old deck would feel jelous or something and my readings wouldn't make sense. Am I mad?

Blessed Be

[Azure]

I have four I use - they all have different voices, but I've not seen jealousy. they will give very different perspectives on the same issue, though, so depending on what I need, I choose my deck.

There are a lot of decks with nice minor arcana. I like my Aquarian deck's minors. And my Robin Wood. My Celtic tarot doesn't have any distinct MA, but it serves it's purpose quite well.

[Phoenix Blue]

Tarot is a tool. :) Would a hammer or a screwdriver be jealous if you're using a tool? No--the only concern should be whether or not you have the right tool for your job.

If you have a deck of Tarot cards that would get jealous over another deck. . . that's a really, really good reason to consider getting another deck and not keeping the first.

[Haedis]

:lol: (Phoenix_Blue)


While I've noticed that decks seem to have their own personalities and moods I've never heard of one becoming jealous. If the purpose of the deck is to help you get answers and insight then I dont see why the deck would object to you getting those answers elsewhere as long as you still get them.

[Myst]

I have to disagree with everyone here. I have 4 decks at the moment, and had a 5th I gave away. The first one (that I gave away) was jealous when I'd use the other decks more (tho I gave it away for different reasons). The fairy oracle cards also seem to get miffed when I don't use them much (fairies don't like to be ignored/not played with you know). The unicorn deck seems to have resigned itself to not being used for readings and is fine with that, the goddess tarot seems to recognize it's only used in special occasions and considers itself "sacred" rather then unused, and the moon garden deck is the one I use most often.

As far as the analogy to a screwdriver - that may be true, but a screwdriver isn't used for magic or communicating with fae folk or spirits, and doesn't really collect energy of it's own (as it's not normally used in magically charged situations or in conjunction with other entities).

If you get another deck because the first didn't work, Emaleth, it is probably just as well if the first deck gets jealous - if you can't use it anyway for now it won't matter. You may find it useful later when you get proficient with this other deck you want, or you may never find it useful and end up giving it away. The most a jealous deck can do is harbour negative energy and/or not work properly, at which point you could cleanse it, apologize, and use it more often, or at least treat it well when you don't use it (giving it a "sacred" place, wrapping it in a silk scarf, giving it a gemstone, whatever). I wouldn't worry about it too much though, you'd be better off getting a new deck if you feel you want to.

While a deck may not have emotions as we know them it can carry energy that can be conducive or not, and is wise to at least keep this in mind when doing readings and handling them. I think you are wise to consider this, Emaleth, and I'd recommend you cleanse your deck and do as I mentioned, or if you like get a new deck - even if the first deck is jealous and doesn't work anymore you can always give it away, and if you do you'll know that's the best thing and you weren't meant to use it anyway.

[tarotbear]

I don't know if a deck can 'take' offense or not, but a deck can act contrary- and I can usually sense it, that is, I know the cards are giving me the easy-out answer that I want to hear and not the important lesson that I have to hear. When this happens, I take the deck and rap the long edge of it against the table two or three times and say ' Knock it Off! Give me the answer I need, not what I want to hear!" It usually works fine after that.

Not so sure the analogy of the screwdriver is too far off...after all, a screwdriver may be a tool, but how about an electric screwdriver? That collects energy for use. If you don't keep it's little whatzis charged it won't work. If the whatzis dies, you can go out like I did and buy a 3/8 inch reversible drill and get screwdriver bits for it-- works well! If the rechargable drill won't work...get something that does!

[Lavender]

I've never had a deck that was jealous...but I only have 3 (so far). There has been times when the deck I wanted to do the reading, refused to let me read them for certain people.

[rootwork13]

At last count my husband and I had over 45 divination decks between us. I've given away at least 15 in the past 8 years; it's sort of that experience of being the conduit....the deck never was 'mine' and had to go through me (probably for giggles, no doubt) to get to the person it was seeking.
Can a deck or other tool be jealous? You betcha. And if a thorough cleansing and clearing isn't helping, then the decision has to be made about keeping the deck.
Some of us believe that, on a spiritual level, anything created has an imprint of the creator attached...it's literally part of their personality. Couple that etheric being with your own and you can come up with interesting conversations. I have no doubt that for most of us, decks are just friendly instruments of divination. There are some of us, however, for whom reality may play out a bit differently. I have 2 decks that don't want to get trotted out for a reading for anyone else.....I've got another 2 who seem to enjoy helping me do readings via the phone and net, but they clam up in my head like Michigan J. Frog when someone is seated at a table with them. There are decks which prefer me to consult them about money, careers, and other physical plane stuff and decks which seem to sway even the skeptic when being consulted about matters of the heart. And, of course, the kitten like to chew on the rune bag, but that's another story for another day!

[Theres]

i had to read this entire thread to be sure it was serious!
a deck of cards getting jealous?!
does your livingroom get jealous if you do ritual somewhere else? and maybe we should give a little more thought to exactly when we recycle those candles stubs.
we're talking about a pack of plasticized cardboard here, not a sentient being! and yes, i understand about putting energy into a tool and the whole concept of magickal working 'coming to life'. but let's not forget, the cards are the tool, NOT us!
does your 'Witches Bible' get jealous when you look to Vivien Crowley for answers?
let's get real here!
i have 18 different tarot decks (and a few oracles), although i only really use 3 or 4 on a regular basis. and i choose the deck to use based on my mood and my need. it does not choose me. in this way i make the connection I need to make. and when they're not in use, they sit on my shelf quietly and behave themselves.
but if i found one getting 'jealous', i'd give it away. no cardboard soap operas on MY bookcase!

[Silver Venus]

lol you guys :)

Emaleth, If you want to buy another deck, Id say go for it and see what happens. Your deck you have now may be there to only take so far.. and also you may even learn more from it with working with another deck..

[rootwork13]

"we're talking about a pack of plasticized cardboard here, not a sentient being!"

Greenman, all I can say is I'm sorry you don't have such a close, 'codependent' relationship with your cards...:lol::bubbles:

But try to remember that what is real for you may not be real for another. For some of us, life has gone a bit beyond 'energy' and mundane determination. In some paths, all is filled with spirit...whether it's a 'natural' object or a manmade thing. Please be gentle in your criticism. Paths are different. Your view is not insignificant to me even though it's not my view.

Of course, even a skeptic might get a spiritual whack on the head if a deck whispered, "hey, sugarcakes!" as said skeptic walked by. Of course, I've not had the pleasure of such an experience and am merely throwing this in for comic relief! When one lives in a house with more spirits than people, cats, and dogs, one learns to laugh a bit!:p

Myst wrote:"The fairy oracle cards also seem to get miffed when I don't use them much (fairies don't like to be ignored/not played with you know). ". Ohhh, is that ever the truth. Now, the fae do have a nice spot in our room (they have their own fountain, geeze!) and I try to keep their libations dishes fresh. Once you take those elementals into the fold regarding divination, they really don't like to be ignored....:woah:

[tarotbear]

Yes, greenman, a tool is a tool is a tool...BUT!

When you handle a deck you infuse it with energy. You intently study your deck, do readings and divinations with your deck...you merely drive screws with a screw driver. A deck is only cardboard, some ink, and a thin plastic coating and has no magick powers unto itself, but it can store energy.

As you study your deck, you hold a card and say " This is a card about 'X' " Somewhere in the future, a client asks you a question about 'X', and - sonofagoddess - those cards pop up! Coinicidence? Hardly. When you use a screw driver , all you ask is 'What kind?'

Perhaps all we read is our own energy when you do a reading- someone earlier stated they can ony use a certain deck for only certain kinds of readings. Perhaps they own intuition is telling them to do so. Perhaps when I slap the cards against the table, I am merely focusing the ambivilence in my question. Regardless- once I slap that deck I get results- even results I not may want to hear but turns out to be the correct answer in the end.

Sentient beings? No. Having a personality? Yes.

[Silver Venus]

Originally posted by rootwork13
Please be gentle in your criticism. Paths are different. Your view is not insignificant to me even though it's not my view.

Now, the fae do have a nice spot in our room (they have their own fountain, geeze!) and I try to keep their libations dishes fresh. Once you take those elementals into the fold regarding divination, they really don't like to be ignored....:woah:

I agree Rootwork, well said!
Its a very interesting question and great that you have brought it up Emaleth :)

Your fae fountain is such a neat idea! I am planning to turn on a feng shui fountain I never use when I move into my new house this weekend ~ it will look great in the longue next to my fae display and I will devote it to them now :)

Root ~ Your words also made me think of giving respect to your cards. So Emaleth, as Myst said cleanse your cards.. and also try to keep them in a nice silk scraf or/and wooden box so they feel special (maybe with your favourite crystal too) :) I also like to think that when they are in there box they cant see me using other decks ;)

[Silver Venus]

Originally posted by tarotbear
Perhaps all we read is our own energy when you do a reading- someone earlier stated they can ony use a certain deck for only certain kinds of readings. Perhaps they own intuition is telling them to do so. Perhaps when I slap the cards against the table, I am merely focusing the ambivilence in my question. Regardless- once I slap that deck I get results- even results I not may want to hear but turns out to be the correct answer in the end.

Sentient beings? No. Having a personality? Yes.

Yes, but its to do with what you belive in isnt it, and if you believe your deck is a energy force in its own right, or a tool of your guide/god/goddess then its not your energy its a different energy.. that could have emotions.
I believe my deck is a tool of my goddess and guides, they talk to me through the cards, and prefer my Secret tarot deck the best as it is very like me, and therefore they can show me things through the cards which I identity most with.. My Mythic deck they also like but not as much for personal, true readings. & my Sacred Circle deck they didnt connect with at all, Im not sure why, I think it was because the words/titles at the top put them off getting there true mesaage to me..

:)

[Armitage]

Signing up with the 'yes' crew...
My original deck (Vertigo) decided to go completely unintelligible for about a week after I got the Thoth deck. Now I try to use both equally or at least throw one in my backpack even if I'm not going to use it. I've also had experiences where the Thoth deck did NOT like someone and refused to give me any coherent answers about them.
To me, at least, decks have personalities like those we assign to cars or computers. I believe there is some sort of spirit or simple consciousness applied by our minds to the symbolism behind using cards to divine things, and depending on the deck you get a different personality.

[Flaire-FireStar]

I"m with Armitage... Like her deck, my Rider-Waite started to confuse me after I got my Dragon tarot; though I don't use that deck much for readings. I try to balance readings between Spiral & Rider-Waite though

[Emaleth]

I didn't realize that I'd start such a discussion;) . But it is a good thing, I have a lot to think about. I think I'll buy another deck and try how it works.

The reason why the thought of a deck being jealous ever came to my mind was because many times I've heard people had to apologize to their decks.

And even in my short career as a Tarot reader I've had a chance to see that the cards really store energy. My readings didn't make any sense until I cleansed my deck several times. Now it's ok, but somehow I don't connect with the cards as much as I'd like to. I'll try another deck and see if I'll feel any difference.

Blessed Be

[Silver Venus]

Yep it has been a great discussion! (and Im sure its not over yet) ;)

..if its one thing we all agree on is Tarot cards have tonns of energy in them :)

Great we could be of help :boing:
Let us know about your new deck! :)

[Melysande]

The way I use my cards is more like a telephone to talk to Someone, rather than talking to the cards themselves. Since I already know whose number I'm dialing, it doesn't matter whose "phone" I use. Some "phones" are better than others, though. I find that my Faery-Wicca deck is a very good connection, but that sometimes I still get a bit of confusing feedback. I find that my Egyptian Tarot deck is a perfect connection. I also notice that there's something wrong with my Unicorn deck, in that there just doesn't seem to be a dialtone. Oddly enough, I've been known to do readings just on the cards I see in my online soltaire game.


**edits after reading Silver Venus's reply**

Guess we can't agree on even that. I don't see them as magickal in their own right. I see them as merely a conduit.

[Silver Venus]

I love your annology of a telephone, thats a great way to explain tarot.

..a conduit of energy? ;)
I wasnt saying they were magickal.

[Phoenix Blue]

Anything that you move large amounts of energy through, anything that you handle regularly, will keep a store of that energy. This is as true with a turquoise or an article of clothing as it is with a deck of Tarot cards; an object doesn't have to be animate to store energy.

[Silver Venus]

Yes thats so true! and what I find so amazing about this is there is a practice of divination where sensers can pick up on the actual energy of a personal object and read a person from that :) Now what do they call that practise again?

[Melysande]

**nods and grins** With physical cards, I agree about the energy. (And the "magickal" thing was actually a reference to an old discussion I had with PB once a long, long time ago.) the only reason I said differently was because, as I said, I've been known to use the cards in MS Office's Solitaire game. I wasn't sure how that would work to hold energy.

I guess the same would be true for true online tarot card readings (like the free ones I get from here: http://www.llewellyn.com/tarot/ ).... where is the energy stored? In the computer? On the screen? In the visual displays of the cards?

[Myst]

Originally posted by Melysande
I guess the same would be true for true online tarot card readings (like the free ones I get from here: http://www.llewellyn.com/tarot/ ).... where is the energy stored? In the computer? On the screen? In the visual displays of the cards?

Lost in the void of the internet? In your head? On another plane? In the server? A bazillion light years away? Who knows :)

[Phoenix Blue]

Quoth Silver Venus:
Yes thats so true! and what I find so amazing about this is there is a practice of divination where sensers can pick up on the actual energy of a personal object and read a person from that :) Now what do they call that practise again?

That would be psychometry. :)

[Silver Venus]

Originally posted by Melysande
**nods and grins** With physical cards, I agree about the energy. (And the "magickal" thing was actually a reference to an old discussion I had with PB once a long, long time ago.) the only reason I said differently was because, as I said, I've been known to use the cards in MS Office's Solitaire game. I wasn't sure how that would work to hold energy.

I guess the same would be true for true online tarot card readings (like the free ones I get from here: http://www.llewellyn.com/tarot/ ).... where is the energy stored? In the computer? On the screen? In the visual displays of the cards?

:) I see what your saying about energy on computers.. but have no idea either! :eek: Focus and the energy you need to click the mouse ;)

On second thoughts, what do we all think of tarot using them with magick? They can be a magickal tool for spells cant they, but I think they still conduct and focus on the energy of the spell..

Thanks for the 'name' Phoenix ~ psychometry ~ ill have to make sure its stored in the back room of my brain there :)

[Myst]

Originally posted by Silver Venus
On second thoughts, what do we all think of tarot using them with magick? They can be a magickal tool for spells cant they, but I think they still conduct and focus on the energy of the spell..

They can also store energy for spells. But then anything can really :)

[Silver_Alhena]

Would this "jealousy" thing maybe explain why certain decks 'bond' with you, and not others?

Myself and the Rider-waite have never gelled, I suppose it's because of my initial reaction to them, I find the imagery dark, and the readings cruel in their honesty.
The decks I have bonded with are my first deck, because they are bright, and give mainly positive readings, although sometimes they refuse to read for certain people..and my Swiss Deck (which are tactless) because it belonged to my Dad, although it was never used. (I've always wanted to be able to use that deck, but sadly the accompying book has been lost)

I do believe that the cards are infused with our personalities, or at least aspects of them, but I reckon it's less to do with jealousy, and more to do with what each deck picks up from you.

[Lavender]

Talking about a deck taking offense! I usually carry my Goddess tarot cards with me in my backpack. It rained so hard today that my bag was wet right through. Luckily, I keep my cards in their original box, inside a silk bag. The bag & box got wet but the cards were ok. When I took them out tonight, I could feel they were not happy being kept in a wet box! It surprised me the feeling of displeasure that came off those cards! I had to do a cleansing on them & they feel much better. I think I'm going to leave them fanned out & let their box dry up overnight. :p

[Sequoia]

Oh yes cards can get jealous!

I always made a point to ask mine if it was allright if I used my boyfriend's. . . . you wouldn't belive how miffed they got the first time I forgot to ask! Refused to give me any kind of answer whatsoever. . .

sometimes they have a dry sense of sarcasm or humor. . . it's kind of funny. Or I'll ask a question, they'll give me the "answer". . . and then I'll get the urge to draw just a few more, and it's almost like someone's commentary or oppinion on the situation :D but they've been MIA for a while, and I just found them. . . so they're getting a good cuddle under my pillow tonight! *chuckles*

oh. . . many things are tempermental. My dagger and my deck both like to steal my favourite scarves and hair ties. . . -_- don't ask. Won't make sense. *chuckles* dagger's MUCH more tempermental than the deck, though. . . and she sure is loud when she's unhappy. . . hehehe

[Emaleth]

I wasn't sure for a while if my cards work properly or maybe it's just that I'm a lousy Tarot reader;) . And just as I decided to buy another deck, something interesting happened.

10 days ago there was a plane crash in Ukraine, a couple of hundred people died when a military plane crashed. It was during a show and the victims were the people who watched the show on the airport. I did a reading then, I wanted to find out what the cause of the accident was. Although it seemed that the brakes were damaged, my reading said that the crash was caused by the recklessness of the pilot. And today they said in the news that it was in fact the pilot's fault. He did something he wasn't allowed to do and this led to the crash.

It was my first reading that turned out so true. Coincidence? Maybe, but I've decided to give my deck a second chance:) .

Blessed Be

[Silver Venus]

Sad news about the terrible accident. Im glad though that your starting to gain faith in yourself and your cards.