Multiple Tarot Decks: Collecting or Hoarding

Someone on one of my Tarot Facebook Groups posted a question a few days ago about collecting tarot decks and what were the pros and cons.  I had to take some time to think about collecting decks, whether I was hoarding them, what the advantages are, and how I use them. I came to a few conclusions about the benefits of multiple decks.

Having multiple decks helps me to learn the nuances of the cards as some decks highlight different aspects of a card and/or speak to your intuition differently than others. For instance, the first deck I worked with was the DruidCraft Tarot and I hated the six of pentacles as the card made me think that this poor old man was being asked to give more than he could afford. However, when I started working with the Hanson Roberts deck, my reaction was completely different as this was someone who could clearly afford it giving money away. And the scale showed he thought about who he gave it too. The card on the left is from DruidCraft and the one on the right from Hanson Roberts.

Different decks also help me to tap into different energy. The deck I use for most of my readings is the Diamond Tarot and it is a very light deck. Picking it up makes me happy and the readings are generally spot on. However, when doing a Shadow Work Chllenge at the beginning of the year, I used the Tarot of the Sidhe because that deck is known to be good for Shadow Work. I’m really glad that I chose to use this deck for my shadow work as I think it picked up a deeper layer of energy than my Diamond Tarot would.

I also like to support the Tarot Community and will buy decks from people on meet online who give back to others in the Tarot Community. What I like about these decks is that there LWBs (or in some cases Big White Books) give insight into why they drew the cards they way they did. Lisa de St. Croix’s LWB for the Tarot de St. Croix tells about where she was in her life as she wrote some of the cards and who is depicted on the cards and that gives me a deeper appreciation for cards. Her Website also includes backstory on some of the cards For instance, I usually don’t like the Five of Pentacles because it always strikes me as unhappy, but I love her depiction of the Virgin of Guadalupe looking over day laborers.

Some deck creators such as Lisa and Joanna Powell Colbert, who created the Gaian Tarot, have spreads included in their decks or on their websites and I like to use their decks to do these spreads as it feels respectful and as if the deck and the spread mesh more than if I did the spread with a different deck.

The last question I asked as I was thinking about my tarot decks was whether or not I was hoarding and was it possible to get to know all my decks. I have 33 Tarot decks and about 10 oracle decks and it feels like a little too many. I went through my decks yesterday and there are ones I may not use, but I need to ponder getting rid of them or keeping them until it feels right to use them. These include a Visconti tarot that has pips instead of pictures and the Cook’s Tarot. I liked them when I bought them, but I’ve never worked with them.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the line between hoarding and collecting tarot decks is a fine one and there are no right or wrong answers in whether it makes sense to have multiple decks.  As for me, I’m going to take the middle road and keep the decks that speak to me and contemplate getting rid of the ones that don’t.