Hail and well met! I had a tarot deck many years ago but unfortunately I wasn't serious about it and didn't treat it well, and it subsequently left me... seriously, its gone and I have no idea where. Bound and determined to do it right this time, I just bought another deck (The Wild Unknown) and did a wonderful interview spread that I found here: http://www.twosidestarot.com/blog/5-ways-to-bond-with-your-new-tarot-deck
I found it so helpful I wanted to share it with others. Also I got a pretty intensely beautiful first reading with the deck. I am so excited! I feel like the questions in the interview really helped me to get to know my deck better.
What do you all do to bond with your decks?
I carry my cards with me. I’ve had the deck for a few years but it was tucked away in storage until recently as I’d been moving around a lot, so I’ve taken to carrying mine in my bag so they can get familiar with my energy and with me again. I cleanse my deck with sage every so often because of this, I can get super irritable due to my day job so I don’t want the deck clinging to any negative energy I generate lol
I’m definitely going to try the interview spread, it seems like a great way to connect (or reconnect, in my case) with a deck.
When I got my first tarot deck, I had access to incense. So I went through every card individually, waved it through the smoke, then admired it, and gave it a welcome and a thank you. I was living on campus and couldn't have incense when I got my oracle deck, so I did the same thing, only I waved it briefly through the steam of an oil diffuser. Kept both decks under my pillow, and now keep my tarot deck in a silk cloth and my oracle deck has remained in its box. I tried moving it into a pashmina scarf, but it didn't feel right. It seems comfortable there in the box.
During Tarothon2019, a YouTuber called The Hermit's Cave had a live all about bonding with your deck. It's an hour-long video but I found it extremely helpful! It's here, if you'd like a direct link.
Same thing happened to me with a deck I had a few years ago, I'm pretty sure I didn't give it away or anything, but it's nowhere to be found!
I love the idea of interviewing a new deck and will definitely try that out. I usually familiarize with new decks by looking through all the cards and carrying them around with me. I also store them with some crystals to charge.
With new decks, I don't cleanse them too often, because I kind of want my energy to cling to them so that the deck can "get to know me" (since I mostly do personal readings). With pre-owned decks, I cleanse them with incense smoke and/or by blowing on them.
i'm going to start tarot at the ending of august with a prinited deck. I'm a secret and baby witch so i can't just ask my parents to buy me a tarot card deck..It would 100 percent blow ma cover. Since i'm in 7th grade,it's going to be a great rest of the year with witchcraft!
I'm getting acquainted with a new Waite based deck, and getting reacquainted with the golden tarot deck. I carry them with me to work, and handle them while I'm on the phone all day with customers. I handle each card, sometimes I shuffle and do a 1 card read and put them back in order, all while on the phone. I"m still really new at this, I've dabbled in witchcraft and tarot for years but decided recently to really pick up on my knowledge and get into both more.
I agree, carry them with you. Sleep with them. I keep all of my decks in their own pouches wrapped in silk and in wooden boxes cleansed with salt.
Im sure many of people already said this, but when i first got my deck, i literally took it with me everywhere! luckily, mine came in a nice box, but there are tons of ways to transport a deck safely. i just kept it in my purse. i would take it out when i went on walks and sat down. i would have it with me when i was drawing or note taking. I liked to pull cards at random,, without shuffling to see what the deck wanted to tell me. I really just tried to spend time with it and get to know it like a friend. i always refer to the book, but i also started writing down my own definitions for the cards according to the correspondences that i have made in the past. good luck on your tarot journey!!