A number of superstitions abound regarding the cards. Here I will deal with each of them as and when they occur.
OK. Now let’s deal with some superstitions about buying the deck.
Some say that you should not buy your own deck – that your teacher should give it to you, or that it should be gifted to you by someone else.
Well, if you are getting someone ready to gift one to you, nothing bad about it. But then are you going to sit around waiting for someone to gift you a deck so that you can learn Tarot?
Be realistic.
You can buy your own deck. Nothing bad happens if you do.
Hi Madhavi,
while searching for Tarot shops in India.
I’m Prashant. I recently came across The Druidcraft Deck on Amazon and i totally fell in love with it. I also came across your review, and now your website…
Could you please tell me where i could get the Druidcraft deck in India, or is the only option Amazon.com?
Thanks,
Prashant
Love your site. It’s rich in info:)
There’s a lot of superstititous nonsense about the tarot, I agree; and much of it comes from the gullible New Age community, where keeping an open mind unfortunately has the drawback of creating suckers for every bit of parody or flim-flam known to humanity.
I remember the horror that greeted me when I spoke about the tarot to a Wiccan group, and answered a question concerning “How do you keep your tarot pure?” with “I keep ‘em in a drawer, and take ‘em out when I need ‘em.” I was told that each tarot should be separated, placed in a special kind of cloth, and then in a special kind of wooden box, that is blessed. I was apparently supposed to take sides on what kinds of cloth and wood were required.
What utter blatherskite. I’ve been a tarot reader and traveler for more than 30 years. I’ve had plenty of success in my readings, and I’ve never once used special cloth or wood to keep any of my 60+ decks “pure.” This doesn’t interfere with my readings, and I’m glad to hear you aren’t buying the equally pernicious nonsense about working only with a deck given you by a teacher.
If a person finds a teacher who insists on this, the best thing to do is laugh in that teacher’s face, and see how he or she responds. If they laugh back and agree it’s a good joke, you were just being tested to not take things with perfect seriousness. If they get angry, their role as a teacher is limited to showing you the problems associated with self-inflating personalities.
My take on it, anyway.
Hello there!
I absolutely agree with you about this. There are so many superstitions out there, it simply boggles the mind!
I keep my decks in simple jute drawstring bags, piled on top of the other in my books cupboard. Some of my students keep their decks in cute little boxes – some keep them in their altar / sacred spaces – I guess, it all depends on what you feel comfortable with.
But yes, on the whole, there is no ‘hard and fast rule’ about what goes and what doesn’t!
I go primarily on what I feel and I think all of us ought to do the same….if it feels right to you, then wrap the deck in a cloth or keep it in a box or whatever….just go with what you feel is right…your inner-self won’t guide you incorrectly!
Madhavi