Is it necessary to receive a tarot deck as a gift?

This is not a new question and is the subject of much debate in the tarot community. Some people insist that a tarot deck will only work for divination purposes if you received it as a gift from someone. If you bought it for yourself, it is worthless.

Others believe that this is an outdated idea, invented by those who do not want the tarot community to be "diluted". Those who want to limit who has access to tarot divination, want to dictate, control, and hierarchically regulate when and how others can start and do the tarot card reading. In addition, there are those who believe that tarot card divination has strict rules and forms, and can only be done according to these regulations. That the meanings, the interpretations of the tarot cards are strictly predefined.

My opinion is that all of these are traditions, customs, lores and opinions.

But what could be behind the background of the "mandatory gift" tarot deck? As with many other traditions, we must raise the following issues: What is the underlying consideration? Is this background the same in all cases?

Although some traditions are formally the same, the principle that guides them may differ. There are some customs that become shallow over the years.. We simply do them because we were taught to do them, and everyone else does them that way.

It is worth asking those who insist on the custom of 'gifted tarot' the question "but why is this so?"

I read an interesting opinion about this, according to which "if you receive it as a gift, the very 'act' of giving it opens your consciousness to receive, accept unexpected, unknown information". The author of the opinion suggested that in order to avoid buying a deck yourself, we should give money to a friend who will buy the deck for us and then give it to us. Or give the deck you have already bought to someone and hope to get it back from them one day. These two solutions seem to me to be a circumvention of the basic principle, which serves only to maintain formality, not to really follow the underlying tradition.

But what is my opinion on this? Is it necessary to receive a tarot deck as a gift?

Well, no and yes, and maybe. It depends.

If I take the reasoning raised above as a basis ("to open ourselves to the unexpected"), then my answer is, maybe. If for "unforced, unmodified" information-reception you need this ritual, this form of energy-connection, then yes, it is necessary. If in your consciousness the use of the cards as an external focus is enough to exclude your own opinion during the information-reception, then my answer is 'no'.

There are occult groups where they follow strictly fixed traditions, customs, rituals. Where the student moves up from level to level, and new doors open for them. In such groups, where tarot is also part of the curriculum, there will probably be a precisely defined form of acquiring a deck of cards. If such a group insists on receiving a deck as a gift (say from the teacher or fellow student), here the answer is again yes, it is necessary to receive the deck as a gift.

And the answer is a definite 'not necessary to receive as a gift' for everyone who is not interested in such traditions or the teachings of occult groups, but simply wants to use the tarot deck. With practice, they too will achieve the results they want.

So my opinion is that, at the end of the day, it is up to you.