Thursday, April 30, 2015

Buried Treasure


We’ve all been there, tarot lovers, that is.  A new deck comes out and we just have to have it so we click that buy button. Shortly thereafter, another one comes out and we buy that one too.  There appears to be a cycle of new decks being released all at once and then there is nothing for a long time. During those down times, we discover decks that were previously released, and darn it!  We have it to have those too!  I, personally, wouldn’t know about that. Uuuuhhhhh.  Yes I would. HA  There are so many beautiful decks (tarot and oracle) that once we get started, it can be hard to stop and before we know it, we’ve spent all of our self imposed deck allowance (or more) on new (or new to us) decks. Can you say “buying spree”?   

There comes a point when you know you absolutely, positively have to stop or you will be reading your cards in the dark because you didn’t have enough to pay the electric bill.  Now, I haven’t actually experienced that but it has definitely been tempting at times. LOL  If you are anything like me, and I know I am (yes, I did that on purpose), you usually don’t have money to spend on decks and you just have to wait until you have the extra cash.  But what if you are craving new deck?  You know what I’m talking about.  The need to experience the excitement of getting a delivery, opening it with the wonder and excitement of “what will I think of this deck?”, “how will we work together?”, or “I wonder what the so and so card will look like”.  What if…you didn’t have the money to purchase a new deck and you really want to fulfill that need of a new one? 

I have 2 answers for you.  The first one is this…trading for one.  I’m sure there is a deck or two that you really don’t connect with that someone else would absolutely love to have.  There are Facebook groups that are specifically for trading decks and it can really be a fun and inexpensive way of getting a new to you deck with spending only the price of postage.  You do have to be careful here because you have to be sure that you can trust the people that you will be dealing with.  I recommend being in a group for awhile and watch the participants.  You will be able to tell who you can trust and who you cant and while I’ve only traded once, there are some really fabulous people in the tarot community and you more than likely wont have a problem, but there is always that chance that it wont go well.  I do have to say, I have not heard of any problems where I hang out.  You will also need to decide if you want to partner up with people who live in another country than you do because postage can be quite high.  Sometimes shipping from one country to another can be just as high as a $25 dollar deck.  This is not a problem if you’ve been looking for your Holy Grail for a long time, however, that is not generally the case.  Trading is how I got my Tarot of Trees deck by Dana Driscoll that I had been eyeing for a few years but never pushed that buy button.  No regrets.

The Tarot of Trees by Dana Driscoll

 If you don’t really care about the delivery part of the process (Not sure who this applies to though. Who doesn’t like receiving deliveries??? It’s like Christmas!), then you really don’t have to look any further than your own collection.  Raid your own collection!  There’s buried treasure there!  Remember when I was talking about buying sprees?  Well, when you have purchased 4 or 5 decks in a short amount of time, when they arrive, inevitably 1 or 2 of the new decks gets pushed aside, just for now,  so you can check out a couple of the other new ones and before you know it, you have forgotten about them.  It’s kind of like choosing kids.  Ok, not really, but sorta.  Tarot peeps understand.  Anyway, there they sit, on your tarot shelf, collecting dust.  It’s not just the newbies that get that treatment.  It happens with decks that you get but you don’t have an immediate connection with so on the shelf it goes.  You know the one.  The one that you drooled over for, in some instances, months, and you finally got it.  You open it up and you love the art.  I mean LOVE it but then you start reading with it and….nadda. zilch. zip.  It’s like the first kiss on a fabulous date gone wrong.  You are really attracted to them and you are having a great time.  You get to the end of the night and you kiss and there’s nothing.  No chemistry. Great big dud (insert fizzle noise here). It’s pretty similar.  Anyway, no connection, so on the shelf it goes to be forgotten about.  There have been decks that I have completely forgotten that I even had! No joke!  Recently, because funds were low and I had that craving, I dusted off my shelf and dug out a couple of my decks that I had completely forgotten about, the Transparent Tarot and Oracle of Proverbs.  

Transparent Tarot by Emily Carding

 The Transparent Tarot was a gift from my kids for Mothers Day when it first came out.  It fell into the category of “no connection” so I put it away. I pulled it out after being reminded about it on Facebook (Total enablers. Not complaining, I’ve found some freaking awesome decks this way). Holy cow!  I wish that I had pulled it out sooner!  Its freaking awesome!  I’ve been working with it for several weeks now and it’s my main deck for reading for myself right now.  I get some amazing depth by layering it 3 cards at a time.  WOWZA is all I can say.  Transparent Tarot by Emily Carding.  Check it out. 

Oracle of Proverbs by Delphine Sutherland

The Oracle of Proverbs by Delphine Sutherland falls into the category of “received a lot of decks at the same time so it got pushed aside”.  Obviously, this is a deck of proverbs, some I know and others that I’ve never heard of before.  There’s a reason those proverbs have been around forever. I’m telling ya. There is sage advice in them.  I’m more of a tarot gal, more than oracles but there are some that I just love.  This one is at the top of the list now.  Again, WOWZA!  I have been using it as an additional info card in my tarot readings and it provides so much more depth.  I use it as a “what else does the client need to know about this situation” and it has either shed just a bit more light on the subject or it has been a source of comfort for the client.  Right now, they are out of print, but if she gets enough people interested in the deck, she may put an order in.

I went on a lot longer than I had planned to but it has been so much fun revisiting old decks that I had to share. 

So there you go….a couple of different ways of getting that new deck feeling when you are on a tight tarot budget.  Don’t be afraid to raid your own stash.  Give an old deck a try that that you didn’t connect with at first or trade with a trusted new friend on Facebook. Please remember that I’m not recommending that you never buy another deck (I’m not crazy), but digging in your own tarot stash can be just as exciting as hitting that buy button.

Tarot on!

If you are interested in any of these decks, the links are below

Tarot of Trees
Transparent Tarot -this is the link to Amazon but you may be able to find it locally
Oracle of Proverbs