Quote from ShadowOfLight on 20 June 2023, 00:06

Traditionally, Tarot cards (and other divining tools) are gifted to the user/reader.

When I was a kids, my mom gave me my first Tarot Deck: her Rider deck. I was less than ten years old, but showing the touch. I did not learn Tarot enough to read without family help for a few more years. The Rider deck made no sense to me--for which we will come back to later.

Fast forward to high school, I began my own path and, one not approving to my roman catholic family, I found myself out of the loop for family assistance in getting a new deck. So, I bought my own. Mythic Tarot. I was saving for the Shapeshifter deck, but Mythic, I could not get out of my mind, like I could barely even look along the shelf--just to it. Third occurrence, I bought it. Took every penny I had on me.

The deck worked fine. I was on-point and got a few connections. Albeit, when reading for myself, it was very vague, like smokescreen haze. The deck never lied, it never led me into harm. But, it never gave a defined answer. It left everything up for my interpretation and caused me many hours in meditation. Lol. Often the best teacher anyway.

Then, a decade plus later, it disappeared. I about had a breakdown! My spouse and I ransacked the house several different times. The deck, which I had used not the week before, was gone. I was in tears and begging every god on high to, please, bring it back to me. Two months passed and no return. A friend of mine, love her dearly, gifted me a replacement Mythic Tarot deck for Yule/Christmas.

That deck, my first, honestly gifted deck, is awesome. I call it a rogue deck. It is wild, nearly feral, and brutally honest. It hits details I never knew could be caught by cards and their connections, when I read them, glow. I can actually see the energy connect between certain cards and feel the intuitive lesson. Is a rollercoaster each time I draw on this deck. Never have I experienced such a phenomena. I love it!

Few months after the new deck arrived, spouse traveled out of town to clear out an old storage unit of ours. He called me the second he opened the unit. Instead of a hello, I got "WTF is going on?!" This was before I could even say a hello as I answered the phone. He was clearly upset.

I asked him what was wrong. His response: "I found your cards."

"No," I said, "they are here somewhere."

He sent me a picture. In front, in the center, of the storage unit, atop a wall of boxes was a laundry basket. Standing (not even laying) above the rim of the basket was my Mythic Tarot, cards, box, book, and all. On the back of the box it came in was a window to see the artwork of the cards through. The window was front and center. By this point, I cannot recall what the exact card was. Either The Fool or The Hanged Man. I tend to think the latter.

LOL! Spouse had a time of it, seeing those cards staring at him like that. Just glad to have them back. Spouse and cards. Though, I carried the deck everywhere for two weeks after that! Rule of thumb for carrying a tool is three days. This is let your energies get acquainted and bond user and tool. I do this no matter bought, gifted, or made. Though, some made items are obviously not made for long term bonding. (covered later)

In some cases, our reading tools, outside of tradition, are best acquired on our own. Playing cards is the rule here. Find a pack that feels good in your hand, a hearty heft to them, curls the fingers nicely. Very much like picking out a baseball bat. Well, in my experience, that has always brought the better decks.

For dominoes, runes, dice, even pendulums and spirit boards, I prefer to make my own. Making the items/tools focuses your energies and tempers the item to be more useful or compliant--also honest. Store bought spirit boards tend to lie and attract more trouble than the homemade versions. Then again, that can also be said of many buyers. Intent upon purchase makes all the difference.

Anyway, craft stores have an abundance or pieces, wood to tile, even clay, to make reading and divination tools. This also allows for greater personalization and bonding with the tool(s). You can get as creative or fancy with them as you like, ore just draw up a working tool for a moment's use. I've drawn up dominoes on paper for a quick read. Make an origami balloon and draw on dots for dice or runes for rune dice (super fun). This world is full of moments for us to always have what we may need.

Now, back to that ol' Rider deck . . .
It had been my mom's. Now, she and I were oil and water, had been even early on. For board-use, family kept a log of who worked best together and who could never be paired, she and I were never to be paired. We've never even been able to touch the plaque together. It spins out, often off the board. Whoever's fingers touched first held the only touchable piece.

So, when I found the deck impossible to read, I was less than surprised. I knew why. Hell, it was damn near expected. My grandmother did not want mom to give me a deck. Mom did it anyway--hard telling why.

But, after a few tries, I could not read with the cards. I could not even remember their meanings! So, fed up with my leaving them on the bookshelf in my room, mom took them back.

The cards got mad.

When a divining tool or magical object (they are one in the same) gets upset, it leaves. Some tend to roam simply by nature, but if upset, they will make you pay for it. They will leave, misdirect the read/question/energies, spells misfire, or they may just brew an unwelcoming air about them. If left unchecked, it will hurt you as any negativity will.

Traditionally, tarot is gifted onto the reader. It is the deck finding its owner type of action. To be taken back, this greatly disturbs the deck. It confuses it and brings about a null ownership. Cards like having an owner. To have one nulled such as that, it breaks the connection of and in the cards.

This deck broke and split. The majority of the cards vanished. Only six were found, in various parts of the house. Like I said, they got mad. And, oh, so did mom. But, it was her own act which caused the cards to split. Mimere stepped in when the blame began to fall my way and reminded my mom about what the cards were. After that, yeah, my mom refused me a new deck (couldn't yell at me, so never gave me another deck). But, on a whim, she got into reading playing cards. And, being able to pick out my own, we each set down to read our own cards with a shared book containing their meanings. Was one of our best afternoons.

So, treat your tools right, gift when you can, accept when you should, take back NEVER, and make anything the allows it.