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Personally, I treat them as a friend and don't really interact with them in a traditional ritualistic way. I give my cards names and use them very casually, usually while listening to podcasts or music (without earbuds for bonding purposes lmao), and chat with them in a kind of casual way. I've heard people treating them very respectfully and like a 'spirit' of sorts, and some people who just see them as a tool like how they may perceive a anthem ext. I was thinking about this because a friend of mine said it was kind of strange that I named my deck, so i thought to ask here lol!
I have noticed my different decks will have different sorts of "personalities" so to speak and I treat them accordingly. The main deck I use is individually sleeved to protect it from wear and tear, as this is the deck I often carry around with me wherever I go; I think of it like another organ of my body, or like a voice in my head, so I respect it the most despite being most casual with it as well. The rest are kept together in a special place and taken out on a need-by basis, typically cleansed before each usage.
Tarot cards are not just a divination tool—they are also a powerful magical instrument. I keep separate decks for magical work and separate decks for divination, as I believe each serves a different purpose.
I regularly cleanse my decks by passing them through the smoke of juniper or Palo Santo, and I purify them from time to time to maintain their energetic clarity. I handle every deck with great care and deep respect, treating them as sacred tools rather than ordinary objects.
I treat them like I do candles, and other tools. The cards are just cards. I am the source and the power, not the cards. Without me, the cards are useless. In fact, I am willing to bet your best deck is useless to everyone that isn't you. So where does the true power lie, in the cards, or in you?
A few of them got names , usually a joint effort , ie. names made up with a friend that I used to read a lot for . Some of those names are a bit amusing .
and use them very casually, usually while listening to podcasts or music (without earbuds for bonding purposes lmao), and chat with them in a kind of casual way. I've heard people treating them very respectfully and like a 'spirit' of sorts, and some people who just see them as a tool like how they may perceive a anthem ext. I was thinking about this because a friend of mine said it was kind of strange that I named my deck, so i thought to ask here lol!
I am an hermeticist so I use them in that context ( astrological and other energies context ) and as a 'map' / scemata of 'the Universe' - that way the whole deck can be laid out and used for various 'readings' .... I rarely used them for 'prediction' but ore to see the 'energies' floating around, and from that possibilities can be drawn .
They sit on a shelf wrapped up in material with an Egyptian print on it . I rarely use them nowadays .
I treat them like I do candles, and other tools. The cards are just cards. I am the source and the power, not the cards. Without me, the cards are useless. In fact, I am willing to bet your best deck is useless to everyone that isn't you. So where does the true power lie, in the cards, or in you?
HA! Not entirely useless . Some people use playing cards as fortune telling cards .... my playing card deck disappeared ... it could just as easily have been my Tarot deck . Where on earth did they go ? Maybe a couple of years later (about 3 weeks back ) I smelt that horrible death smell forming ( I live in a bush cabin ) - a dead rat ... hunted it and ... crap! its inside the wall . So I had to rip of the outer wall boards , and found it in a nest it had made there ..... along with my cards ! I dont know how it got the deck in there but it looks like it had put some cards over the cracks between the boards , to keep the cold air out ????
So .... not entirely useless
Or you could use them as coasters ..... Hmmmm ... I wonder if anyone has used their tarot cards as coasters ?
I had this visitor once , they were entirely shocked about what they considered was my disrespectful handling of the cards ... they consdiered it 'bad treatment ' - I think I plopped them down on the table or something ,,,, and not on 'the cloth' . I rtesponded pretty much like your post here did
I mainly use playing cards personally, though I do still have a deck of tarot cards. I keep it wrapped in silk, and try my best to shuffle it in a way that won't damage the cards. When I use them, I thoroughly wash whatever surface I'm putting them on before putting them on. I always shuffle them atleast ten times before pulling (not neccesarily for any occult reason, I just like how it feels in my hands lol). I treat them like a tool more than a being, but still with incredible respect. In addition to how I treat them physically, I also put an emphasis on playing with the cards I have in order to bond with them. When I get a new deck, whether playing cards or tarot, I make it a point to play a game with them. My personal favorite for tarot decks is a game called The Fool's Journey.
I also put extensive sigils on the containers (or silk) I keep my cards in so that no unwanted anything affects them so that my pulls are entirely 'filtered' through me only.
I like that . ( I have been recently having discussions about MPD/DID/AIO - Multiple Personality Disorder , Dissociative Identity Disorder , Associated Identity Order )
people have different models ( for 'multiple self' ) ; tarot can be one . A common starting point is the astrological schemata where the Sun is considered ego and the signs are aspects of ego - or in this case , in extension , are 'internal selves '
So, when one asks''What is your card ?'' - all of them ! In all of these internal systems there is usually some type of governance set up ( 'main' and 'lesser ' important roles / decisive or 'automatic roles ' .
I would suggest the external personna is somewhat the Fool and the inner aspects male and female ; anima and animus are Magician and Priestess , the Trumps are major aspects of personality ( and personalities ), the courts are various internal personnas ( or 'moods' as some prefer ) , the aces root elemental powers and the small cards ( decans ) those with lesser or 'automatic' responsibilities ... or can be seen in other ways relating to psychology ; specific 'drives' etc .
