Show Me your Most Well Loved, Weathered, Oldest Deck

[Wyrdkiss]

On 11/19/2022 at 7:46 PM, Aliki said:

My precious very first deck i connected to it before i even get it it's my most trusted one so far and my favourite no matter the decks and oracles I'll collect and have so far 🥰 even though i have other favourites too that's my most favourite 

That has a well loved and well used look!

[Chariot]

🙂 My oldest is also a RWS, with the blue and black plaid back.  Bought in the mid-1970s.  

Has anybody noticed that many of the reproductions of this classic deck available at the moment are quite garish in colour?  I'm not talking about the Radiant, etc, which have deliberate colour changes, but about the ones that are marketed as traditional RWS decks.  I've bought two (from different sellers) recently as gifts, and have been really disappointed at the quality.  In fact, one was so bad I never gave it, and ended up throwing it away.

Edited November 24, 2022 by Chariot

[Aliki]

5 hours ago, Wyrdkiss said:

That has a well loved and well used look!

Thank you I'm really trying but i only have it till 2020 when i first started reading myself it has a slight colour on the edges thought cause i keep this in a special wooden box exactly its size but i think it makes it more vintage 

[Aliki]

3 hours ago, Chariot said:

🙂 My oldest is also a RWS, with the blue and black plaid back.  Bought in the mid-1970s.  

Has anybody noticed that many of the reproductions of this classic deck available at the moment are quite garish in colour?  I'm not talking about the Radiant, etc, which have deliberate colour changes, but about the ones that are marketed as traditional RWS decks.  I've bought two (from different sellers) recently as gifts, and have been really disappointed at the quality.  In fact, one was so bad I never gave it, and ended up throwing it away.

I adore rw decks especially mine even though i don't have a thoth for now rw is the one i learned tarot with so I'll be forever a rw girl 

I recently saw a video of a newer rws set which was horrible though I'm not even sure it's fully out though can't remember the name but the cards seemed thin like paper 

[Scarlet Woodland]

I didn't think I had any decks to contribute to this, until I just posted over on DOTW and of course I do!

 

I think of my ageing The Illuminated Tarot as perfection, so forget it's had a long and perhaps eventful life. This came to me second/third/fourth(?) hand and is probably from the late 90s.

 

It's curved, twisted and floppy, the edges are grubby, the drawer liner vinyl backs are gently insane and there are little bubbles and creases in some of the front lamination. But I adore it just as it is 😊.

 

(How is it so hard to capture deck imperfections on camera when it shows my face in such alarmingly gritty detail? Conspiracy! 😄)

 

Edited November 25, 2022 by Scarlet Woodland

[Aliki]

6 hours ago, Scarlet Woodland said:

I didn't think I had any decks to contribute to this, until I just posted over on DOTW and of course I do!

 

I think of my ageing The Illuminated Tarot as perfection, so forget it's had a long and perhaps eventful life. This came to me second/third/fourth(?) hand and is probably from the late 90s.

 

It's curved, twisted and floppy, the edges are grubby, the drawer liner vinyl backs are gently insane and there are little bubbles and creases in some of the front lamination. But I adore it just as it is 😊.

 

(How is it so hard to capture deck imperfections on camera when it shows my face in such alarmingly gritty detail? Conspiracy! 😄)

 

It is beautiful 👁️👄👁️ ☺️

[Misterei]

On 8/15/2021 at 2:33 AM, katrinka said:

I think it comes down to having too many decks. My first Tarot deck got very frayed and worn because it was all I had for some time. I mean the only deck I had...

For many years before the digital revolution ... I read only with my plaid-back RWS deck. When it wore out ... I burnt it and bought a new one just like it. Repeat. Now there are SO MANY decks ... the only other deck I've come close to wearing out ...is my first Ciro Marchetti Legacy of the Divine. I used it so much it was all frayed and one edge was torn. I was going to burn it ... but decided to trim it instead. I trimmed it and finished the edges in black. Probably I'll get another 5 years out of it now.

[Wyrdkiss]

@Misterei it would kill me to burn a well used deck.  Glad you trimmed that one for some extra life. My one deck that is too used to regularly use is my Thoth Greenie.

 

But I use it once a year on my birthday, since it was my first.

[Aliki]

@Misterei @Wyrdkiss out of topic but may i ask why you should burn them like is there a reason or just personal preference? I think I've heard about it before but I'm not sure

[Misterei]

9 hours ago, Wyrdkiss said:

@Misterei it would kill me to burn a well used deck …

 

3 hours ago, Aliki said:

@Misterei @Wyrdkiss out of topic but may i ask why you should burn them like is there a reason or just personal preference? 

@Wyrdkiss I knew a pro reader who still had her original deck. The cards were like ragged pieces of cloth almost … she took great pride in it … like ballet dancers … who has the most ragged toe shoes is the queen };>

@Aliki When I read professionally on phone lines or in a shop … I felt the cards got really polluted after a while. Hence burning. Now I am semi-retired and I only read for select clients … so I don’t feel any more problem with decks getting polluted. Prolly I can go the rest of my life without burning a deck. We shall see.

[Wyrdkiss]

3 hours ago, Aliki said:

@Misterei @Wyrdkiss out of topic but may i ask why you should burn them like is there a reason or just personal preference? I think I've heard about it before but I'm not sure

I think it is pretty rare Aliki and preference,  not necessity for everyone. 

[Aliki]

11 minutes ago, Misterei said:

 

@Wyrdkiss I knew a pro reader who still had her original deck. The cards were like ragged pieces of cloth almost … she took great pride in it … like ballet dancers … who has the most ragged toe shoes is the queen };>

@Aliki When I read professionally on phone lines or in a shop … I felt the cards got really polluted after a while. Hence burning. Now I am semi-retired and I only read for select clients … so I don’t feel any more problem with decks getting polluted. Prolly I can go the rest of my life without burning a deck. We shall see.

Oh i definitely get that and i understand exactly what you mean 

 

@Wyrdkisswell I'm beyond glad then cause I don't think i could ever do that especially on my precious first one

Edited November 27, 2022 by Aliki

[Akhilleus]

My most well-used deck by far was also one of the first I've bought for myself. It's the Thoth Tarot published by AGMuller in a clamshell box with the Ziegler book.

 

I've sworn to give it a one-year respite though. Nine months to go. 

[Misterei]

9 hours ago, Akhilleus said:

My most well-used deck by far was also one of the first I've bought for myself. It's the Thoth Tarot published by AGMuller in a clamshell box with the Ziegler book.

I think I had that deck. The beautiful large deck? I had to burn it 😪 due to bad vibes.

But I still have my Gerd Ziegler book!

I still have a regular size thoth deck which is somewhat old and maybe faded ... but not ragged. I never used thoth on the daily.

[Wyrdkiss]

I have the red German mini pocket  Thoth, AGMuller printing w/ the nice box.  love that, it is my travelling pack to read wherever. 

Edited November 30, 2022 by Wyrdkiss

[Akhilleus]

29 minutes ago, Misterei said:

I think I had that deck. The beautiful large deck? I had to burn it 😪 due to bad vibes.

But I still have my Gerd Ziegler book!

I still have a regular size thoth deck which is somewhat old and maybe faded ... but not ragged. I never used thoth on the daily.

 

It was just the regular-sized version in a blue box with a blue book.

 

My Thoth was quite worn, literally and I guess figuratively too. I sensed that I was relying too heavily on it as a crutch so I gave it some much-deserved rest. 

 

That said, I've heard of Thoth decks that have caused people to nope. Glad that your experience didn't deter you from working with it though. 

[Misterei]

23 minutes ago, Akhilleus said:

That said, I've heard of Thoth decks that have caused people to nope. Glad that your experience didn't deter you from working with it though. 

It wasn't the thoth deck. Many years ago I had a magician friend. Said friend charmed the deck ... supposedly to help it give better readings.

 

I didn't think  much about it as i didn't often use that deck. It sat for a few years in an ornately carved box. One day i opened the box to use the deck ... and WHAMMY. Something felt VERY weird. Not in a good way, either. I burnt the deck immediately.

 

Killed me to burn that beautiful deck ... but touching the deck creeped me out. My friend later became mentally unstable and devolved into obsession with magical attacks. I had to cut ties with the person which hurt more than burning the deck.

[Jasmine]

My oldest deck is The Mythic Tarot.  Bought in the 90s.  The box has fallen apart, though the cards are still in good condition.  There is something comforting about this deck - it's like an old trusted friend. 

 

[Wyrdkiss]

21 hours ago, Jasmine said:

My oldest deck is The Mythic Tarot.  Bought in the 90s.  The box has fallen apart, though the cards are still in good condition.  There is something comforting about this deck - it's like an old trusted friend. 

 

That is GORGEOUS and weathered and perfectly seasoned. 

[rylla]

Mine would be Le Grand Tarot Belline. I love that deck and it was one of the first decks that I bought. It's a big size deck with a sturdy, thick cardstock. Can't show it used as it is not used. But neither are any of my other decks. I don't do reading too often, I shuffle them with care, and use a deck only a few time. I'd love to have a used deck (it has its charm for sure!) it's just that because I love my decks I'm too careful with them. 

[Raggydoll]

Some of my older favorites. 
 

Even though I’ve never been an avid Thoth reader, this has stayed in my collection over the years. I love the artwork. 
 

A vintage ‘blushing fool’ RWS with homemade box. This deck has held up well but is a bit worn now. I shuffle it as gently as I can because it’s my favorite RWS

 

I have two versions of Stella’s tarot, this is the trimmed one. It has seen a lot of use. The sides are a bit worn. 
 

[Coriade]

I love this thread, this collection of old decks is just...precious!

My first and oldest deck is from 2007. I bought it from Viena during a work trip. I actually used this deck exclusively until recently, when I wanted to use more decks at a time so I finally bough some new ones. But yeah, me and this deck we have a long history and travels and it's really special to me.

The box is the most worn out and I actually patched it. The deck ages really well, it got darker on the edges and there is also a scratch pattern in the cards' surface that my camera could not pick up. 

 

[Mister]

These are the ones I have on hand at the moment.