My Tarot Story

I got into Tarot during my teen years. I'm in my late 20's now. I had always been into horoscopes and palms and what not, but not taken a serious interest to it. I was in sixth grade and there were cutout cards in YM magazine. A girl noticed me looking at my silly little set told me she bought real cards at Waldenbooks, and that my cards were fake. I felt so embarrassed. Once at Hot Topic around 8th grade, my dad refused to let me buy a boxed set of astrology, palmistry info, and Tarot cards. I was so upset that he referred to them as the "dark arts." My father is a Catholic, and I was seriously considering leaving the faith around that time in my life. So of course, I thought he was just overreacting. 

Later on some time after that, I was out with my grandmother and other family at a Barnes and Noble. I spotted the yellow Rider-Waite box with the Eden Gray book. My grandmother decided to buy it for me. I was in the 9th grade at the time.  I never really liked the Eden Gray book because it was too simplistic and confused me more. I would read for friends, and its divinatory meanings made no sense in any context. I also wrapped my cards in a scarf, slept with them under my pillow, and made seekers cut the deck in three piles with the left hand in the left direction. Iju st wanted to get it right! I remember once in study hall, my teacher noticed me and said that I needed to put the book down. She had a student who once read for her and blew her away. I was embarrassed yet again, but still unsure of how to find reliable information (THIS WAS BEFORE GOOGLE, ok?) But, unfortunately my Tarot search was halted by my father since I was also a rebellious teen not doing my best in school.  He considered my cards a distraction, and confiscated them. It wasn't due to the cards, I'll tell you that! I was so devastated, but ended up doing better in school. My sister found the cards for me, and I would see them and put them back where my father hid them. 

I did purchase the Tarot of the Sacred Rose during the time my Rider deck was away from me. Hated it. I can't even tell you what happened to it. I also got the Cat People Tarot. Very 70s. I still don't know where that went. I discovered a site called "Aeclectic.net" that I believe heightened my fascination with Tarot. At that point, I simply went to Barnes and Noble, mortar and online. I was limited to their selection. But with Aeclectic, I was exposed to hundreds of decks. I wish I could have had them all! I did notice a different version of the Rider deck called the "Universal Waite" on this site. Love at first sight! I preferred this deck to the harsh Rider deck. I went to a metaphysical shop around my neighborhood and purchased it on my way home from school one day. There were so many more details noticeable here than with the Rider pack. I held onto that deck for almost ten years, and have had some amazing readings with it. 

I got to a point where I charged 50 cents for readings in high school. People asked silly questions, and I gave them silly answers. Some were good. I told a girl her dad was changing jobs, and her mother hated it. She approached me, shocked a week or so later telling me how the outcome played out. I did also read for my grandmother's clients at her hair salon, charging the same amount. I told one woman she had success at work and to "beware the Black man." She thought I was silly since she preferred lightskinned men. Her own husband was light, and was not concerned about her being around a darker male friend she begun to take a liking to. Almost a decade later, my grandmother still laughs at how she left her husband and now has two children with this darkskinned man. 

I didn't have a consistent relationship with the cards. I went to college, and occasionally did readings for myself, recording them in a journal. I had a weird experience with two males. One was my ex, the other my future boyfriend. Both wanted readings, over and over. I passed out after feeling dizzy and overwhelmed. The outcome in my future boyfriend's card was the Queen of Pentacles=Taurus=Me. I was shocked because I wasn't trying to date him. We eventually dated for five years after that. 

After college, I was still inconsistent with the cards. Life gets in the way of hobbies. I did acquire a World Spirit which gave me more meaningful, although less specific readings than Universal Waite. I used to refer to it as my "psychology" deck. It was less about "fortune-telling" and more about getting to the heart of the issue with that deck. I did buy a Thoth deck, but passed it along to a friend. Not my style. 

It was getting to the point where I would bring my cards out only by request. I noticed that reading took a lot out of me. It was very intense. I would have emotional reactions to the cards, and my voice changed and I sat straight up in my chair. So my family says. My grandmother thought I was possessed, and didn't want the cards in her home. They're still here, but I don't bring them around her. My sister requests readings and I can tell her all about her personal life although we don't really gossip much to each other. 

This year, my passion was awakened. I went on a Tarot binge, and my collection doubled within a very short time. It is small compared to other collectors, but I never really set out to be a collector. I just love the cards! Being younger, I used to select decks because they were pretty. Today, I seek decks that have substantial imagery and symbolism. 

Whew! Next time I'll talk cards. Real, actual cards I swear. Thanks for keeping up with me! I told you I'm playing by ear over here!

Shuffletrumps.

Hello!

Hello! This is my blog, Shuffletrumps! I'm going to try and start up a Tarot/oracle card discussion. I have almost 15 tarot and oracle decks, and hate when they just sit unused on my shelf. So this blog will serve to highlight my collection and also study the Tarot in general. I'm new to this, so I'm going to play by ear and do my own thing. Hope it works out.