Spare Cards

What do you do with spare cards? How do you even acquire spare cards?

Amassing Spare Cards

1. if I get a deck that I don’t really like to read with, I’ll relegate those cards to the “spare cards” pile.

2. if I lose a card or wreck a card from a deck, I’ll consider the remaining cards as “spare cards.”

3. sometimes people send or give me lone cards (at classes or conferences, for example); those sometimes end up in the spare cards pile.

4. at conferences, sometimes attendees receive free decks; if I get one that I already have and cannot trade it or find someone to give it to, it becomes a bunch of spare cards.

Uses for Spare Cards

1. put them in baskets around your house (mix up multiple decks!) and let visitors take one or use them for random divination. This is very useful (okay, more fun than useful) for when you don’t know what to watch on TV, which book to read next, or what snack to have

2. use spare cards for party favors, perhaps having people exchange cards and fortunes

3. put in snail mail or packages to friends and family (if appropriate)

4. use in arts and crafts projects

5. spare cards are excellent additions to visual journaling

6. when tipping,  leave nice ones in hotels or restaurants with a handwritten blessing

7. bookmarks

8. coasters

9. art–a single tarot card with a bold mat in a color that lets the card pop and a simple frame can make a dramatic and inexpensive statement

10. purse or wallet affirmations-put an appropriate card in your purse or wallet so that every time you see it, you affirm abundance or prosperity in your life (alternately, use this idea in other ways, such as putting an appropriate card on your bathroom mirror or in your closet to remind you how awesome you are (I like to use the Queen of Wands or 9 of Pents for this).

11. create a Crazy Quilt Deck — have you ever seen a “crazy quilt”? These are quilts that are NOT all perfectly lined up and designed. Instead, they are random and often overlaid with decorative stitching. If done well, the resulting look is very rich and layered. Take your spare cards and pick out your favorite images for each 78 cards in the deck and make that collection your deck. So what if they aren’t all the same size or have the same backs? It’s your Crazy Quilt Deck.

12. print your name and contact info (email, website, whatever you want to distribute) on address labels (or similar) and afix to the backs of spare cards (you might want to select only those that you want representing you and/or your practice) and use them as business cards.