As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m in the process of moving. This has, among other things, meant packing up my whole life and making some critical decisions about my possessions. Some things are getting packed into suitcases and taken with me to my next (semi-temporary) home. Some get going into storage until I land somewhere more permanent. Some are getting thrown out altogether.

One of the things I had to think about packing was, of course, my Tarot collection.

I used to love collecting Tarot decks. I remember the days of the Aeclectic Tarot Forum, when I would interact with other users whose deck collections numbered in the hundreds; I had a feeling of deep envy, wishing that one day I could have that many decks. I love seeing the variety of interpretations and perspectives that different artists and deck creators can come up with, taking the core themes of the Tarot and exploring them in new, exciting ways, blending the universal language of Tarot with their personal art.

But over time, I sort of reached a saturation point. I got less and less interested in collecting new decks. When I did get a new deck, I would usually find myself really excited about one or two cards—but kind of bored with the rest of it. I used to do deck reviews for every new deck I acquired, but those reviews got harder and harder to write. I found that for the most part, I just didn’t have all that much to say about most of the decks I saw. They were still beautiful, and inspired, and I deeply admire the passion and artistry that goes into creating them, but the reviews I was writing kind of felt rote. And—most damning of all—I would buy a deck and then never use it.

For a couple of years now, my Tarot rotation has been down to only a couple of classic decks: The Thoth, a RWS clone (I like the Golden Universal Tarot because I’m easily distracted by shiny things), and more recently, the TdM. Everything else, even the most beautiful decks in my collection, I just don’t touch. That even went for new decks I acquired: I would buy a deck, maybe write a review of it, but then stick it in a crate under my bed and never touch it again. And honestly, if I’m doing that, what’s the point of having those decks at all?

So as I gear up for this move, I have downsized my Tarot collection drastically. I’ve gotten rid of practically everything, giving away just about every deck in my collection. I’m only keeping the three aforementioned decks: Thoth, Golden Universal, and TdM. Those are the only ones I actually use, and I do use them consistently. Everything else, though, I’m parting ways with.

I may expand my deck collection again at some point, or I may not. I certainly think there’s nothing wrong with having a large collection of decks, especially if they’re used regularly (or at least if they’re taken out of the box so the owner can see and appreciate the art). It’s just that where I am in my life right now, most of my Tarot decks feel like things I own just for the sake of owning them, and that’s not something I particularly need to hold onto. Nor, for that matter, do I feel a pressing need to pay to transport all those Tarot decks from one home to another if I don’t have any intention of using them.

I think it’s very easy, especially in an age of social media, to fetishize stuff—to want to buy things just for the sake of buying them, or because they’re new, or because someone we admire has them or said they’re good. (Conversely, it’s also easy to moralize consumption and make people out to be villains for ever buying anything, which I certainly don’t want to do. If a thing makes you happy, that’s reason enough to have it.) Thinking back to a younger Jack, starry-eyed at the enormous deck lists on other people’s Aeclectic accounts, I think I fell victim to that commodity fetishism. There was a long period of time where I wanted to buy new decks simply for the sake of having a big deck collection. There were other, secondary reasons, of course—I genuinely do love Tarot art—but I think the need to own decks, as opposed to just appreciating them from afar, was part of an uncritical consumerist attitude, concerned more with what I could possess than with what I would consistently use.

Like I say, my deck collection may (and indeed, likely will) expand again over time. But if and when it does, I hope to be more mindful about that expansion, only bringing in decks if I really will use them consistently. For the time being, and for the phase of my life that I’m currently in, I think three decks will suit me just fine.