Pick A Card….

Decks of cards have always held a fascination for me. My Grandma was a keen card player. I loved being allowed to play with old packs of ornate cards. I loved the pictures, the smell and feel of them and could spend hours stacking them into towers and sorting them into suits. I didn’t quite become the keen crib player she was hoping for.

My fascination took a different turn when I discovered Tarot Cards, buying my first deck when I went away to college at 19. It was the Mythic Tarot by Juliette Sharman-Burke and Liz Greene. I still have it today.

Choosing your deck

Over the years of working in the shop I have realised that there is a lot of superstition about how you should choose your deck. Here are a few:

• Some people say that you should never buy your own deck. Which is too bad if you find your dream deck and have no one else with you.
• Another strange one I’ve heard is that you must only inherit your deck. That struck me as being strange the first time I heard it. It conjured up images of would be readers sitting waiting for the reading of granny’s will to see who got the cards.
• It is also the opposite of the myth that you should never use old cards!
• The worst thing I have ever heard is that you should steal your deck. Please don’t! This one I’m not disputing – talk about inviting the wrong sort of energy!

There is no law that says you are stuck with the first tarot deck that catches your eye. And no reason why you cannot have more than one deck.

I know a few accomplished readers. Some own only one deck and are masters of the subtleties of those particular images.

Others have multiple decks and will use whichever they feel is most pertinent to that reading.

I don’t do professional readings. I read for myself alone and have several decks, because I am fascinated by the imagery and artwork. Working in a shop like mine really does not help to quell my tarot magpie!

The way to choose a deck by and large is to use your intuition. After all you will be the one using it. There is so much choice around and many new decks being published even as you are reading this. Choose one that you feel speaks to you in some way. If you love the artwork, you will be more inclined to work with it. Shop around too. Check out the internet for imagery or take a look in independent shops in your town centre. We try to keep a display copy of our most popular decks so that you can see the imagery on all the cards. You never know, you could walk into The Healing Star in the near future and find the deck of your dreams

. If you would like to know which decks we have available in the shop please contact us