Deck Collecting versus Tarot Reading

The Tarot Shelf years ago when 1 shelf would do...

I am the proud curator of about eleventy billion decks.  Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration.  In truth, I have somewhere around 650 tarot decks, and 150-ish oracle, Lenormand, and playing card for divination decks.  I am cuckoo for cartomancy, that much should be obvious, and I know how you tarot freaks are, so no, you can't have my home address.  We won't even talk about my hundreds of books.

I don't have a lot of of discrimination in buying new decks.  Hell, I don't have much discrimination in buying old decks, either.  I will absolutely try anything.  I don't keep every deck that comes my way, but I give all of them a chance.  To stay in my collection, it has to meet at least one of the following criteria: be a deck I am going to use professionally, be beautiful, add something unique to tarot, or have sentimental value (i.e.; have been a gift).  I have most decks that are in print, and a good many that are no longer.  I love self published decks, small print and independent works.  I am by no means the most rabid collector I know, but I made due with just the one deck for most of my life, so I had lots of time to make up for.

Has having all these decks made me a better tarot reader?  The answer is somewhat mixed, but leaning heavily towards no.  I definitely have gained different perspective from all my (much loved) decks, but few of them were actually necessary for my growth or learning as a reader.  They have enhanced my experience, but not defined it.  I imagine this is kind of like how I learned to read with a battered old copy Harry The Dirty Dog and my kids had both Harry and interactive computer games, Leap Pad, and Hooked on Phonics.  Different and varied paths to the same destination.

Pamela Colman Smith Commemorative Set- The Fool

One of the questions I am asked frequently by people who want to learn tarot but are unsure where to start is what deck to use.  My suggestion is two pick up two decks- a bog standard printing of the Pamela Colman Smith/Arthur Waite collaboration commonly known as the Rider Waite Smith deck, because most tarot books today and classes teach based on this system.  My favorite printing of this deck is the Pamela Colman Smith Commemorative Set published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. in 2009.  The colors are subtle and the cardstock lovely to hold and shuffle.  Not everyone connects to the art in this deck, so I also suggest each student get another deck which they just love for the way it looks.  If it follows Smith Waite tradition, great, but a new student is unlikely to be able to tell.  Just get something with 78 cards that insists it come home with you.  Tarot is a language of pictures, so it matters that the reader likes what they are seeing.  I also suggest that they NOT buy any books about learning tarot until they have a firm grasp on what they feel each card means, but most people ignore that one.

Anna K Tarot- 8 of Swords

After all these years of amassing decks, I have come to decide that for me, there is no "The One", and the although the search has been fun, I am always let down as deck after deck does not quite fulfill me the way I was hoping.   Then it dawned on me- when I let go of my expectation that a man would make me happy, and just went about making myself happy, I found the perfect guy for me.  Now I don't expect him to make me complete, but he just kinda does.  It probably works the same for tarot decks.  I carry the key to my own satisfaction inside me, and when I am happy with myself as a reader I am not expecting a deck to transform me.  Now I can enjoy each individual deck for what it has to offer, and unlike husbands, I can pick up another whenever I like.  (My husband is endlessly fascinating to me.  Just to be clear.)

So, collect decks as time, space, and money allow, but follow your own bliss in that area.  You only need one.  After that you are just making piles.  I know fabulous readers that only use one deck, and not having a collection that even equals 1% of mine does not hinder any person as a reader.  If anything, the opposite is true.  Bringing decks into your home does not make a tarot reader.  Having books on your shelf doesn't, either.  Throwing down cards and coming to grips with them, even it feels like you are Jacob wrestling the angel (and sometimes, you probably are), that is what makes a tarot reader.