Toque, Berühren, Toucher

Having Others Touch Your Deck?

Some readers hate it when other touch their decks. I’ve witnessed extreme verbal violence in response to decks being touched.

Some have decks ‘just for myself’.

So what gives? Should others touch or not touch your decks?

In the May 2018 issue of Scientific American, there’s a brilliant article on pages 66-71. If you can acquire a copy of the issue, I highly suggest it. But I’ll attempt to encapsulate the key points.

Humans are social animals. To feel secure emotionally, ego strength and confidence in our relationships with others, are required components.

When we lack secure attachments to loved ones (or have few or no relationships), we often ‘imbue’ our inanimate possessions with deep meaning or human qualities to fill that void.

Through physical contact, we believe that our things are infused with our essence, and that we pick up ‘others’ essences by touching their things (“I don’t want an evil person to touch my deck”).

Although this “contagion” was identified in ‘primitive’ societies in the 19^th century, it is alive and well today in the Americas and Europe.

Anthropomorphizing our treasured belonging is normal. But some vulnerable people may develop pathological hording behaviors.

So for some, their tarot deck becomes a ‘security blanket’.

So is your relationship with your decks healthy?

“Our Stuff, Ourselves” is an eye-opening read.