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What deck(s) do you use and why?
Do you think individual decks (instances of the same design) have their own personalities - like, do you expect your copy of Rider-Waite to behave differently from my copy of Rider-Waite?
Do you use different decks for different readings?
Do you put the Crowley and Waite decks together and shake the jar to see if they'll fight? (Don't laugh, I've heard of people doing it.)
Does a deck work better if you receive it as a gift than if you buy it? Is it necessary, or unthinkable, to steal your deck? (All positions I've heard people advocate seriously.)
These days I mostly use the Manara Erotic tarot. Probably an unusual choice - I think that deck was primarily designed as an "art" deck rather than for serious divinatory use - but I've found that it seems to work well for me, even for the non-sex-related reading I usually do. There are a lot of things in the design of that deck that I think could either be very clever, insightful choices on the part of the designer, or else just random stuff he did for artistic reasons on which I'm imposing my own tarot-related assumptions. For instance, I like how the Knights are all female; that nicely solves the imbalance a lot of people object to in the court cards (three men and one woman per suit, in traditional decks) in a way that I think is definitely right for this particular deck. I also like the skinny Empress - it's a clever way to update the card image to the modern setting.
I also have a Rider-Waite deck I use when I do readings in public. It's familiar and non-scary to most people, and it's cheap and easy to replace so it doesn't really matter if it gets dirty or ruined in the places I take it.
I rarely use my copy of the Crowley Thoth deck. It doesn't seem to speak to me as well as some of the others. I feel like it speaks in the voice of its designer (metaphorically - I don't believe in tarot working by a "channeling" mechanism to any spiritual being other than my own unconscious mind) and most of the time I don't need to hear what Crowley has to say on any given subject. Smug bastard. I do really like the book he wrote about it, though, partly because of its random and uneven nature. He'll write ten pages about one card, then half a paragraph about another, and then oh look it's five pages of drug visions, and then back to the list of individual cards...
I have a whole bunch of other decks, most of which seldom see much use.
Do you think individual decks (instances of the same design) have their own personalities - like, do you expect your copy of Rider-Waite to behave differently from my copy of Rider-Waite?
Do you use different decks for different readings?
Do you put the Crowley and Waite decks together and shake the jar to see if they'll fight? (Don't laugh, I've heard of people doing it.)
Does a deck work better if you receive it as a gift than if you buy it? Is it necessary, or unthinkable, to steal your deck? (All positions I've heard people advocate seriously.)
These days I mostly use the Manara Erotic tarot. Probably an unusual choice - I think that deck was primarily designed as an "art" deck rather than for serious divinatory use - but I've found that it seems to work well for me, even for the non-sex-related reading I usually do. There are a lot of things in the design of that deck that I think could either be very clever, insightful choices on the part of the designer, or else just random stuff he did for artistic reasons on which I'm imposing my own tarot-related assumptions. For instance, I like how the Knights are all female; that nicely solves the imbalance a lot of people object to in the court cards (three men and one woman per suit, in traditional decks) in a way that I think is definitely right for this particular deck. I also like the skinny Empress - it's a clever way to update the card image to the modern setting.
I also have a Rider-Waite deck I use when I do readings in public. It's familiar and non-scary to most people, and it's cheap and easy to replace so it doesn't really matter if it gets dirty or ruined in the places I take it.
I rarely use my copy of the Crowley Thoth deck. It doesn't seem to speak to me as well as some of the others. I feel like it speaks in the voice of its designer (metaphorically - I don't believe in tarot working by a "channeling" mechanism to any spiritual being other than my own unconscious mind) and most of the time I don't need to hear what Crowley has to say on any given subject. Smug bastard. I do really like the book he wrote about it, though, partly because of its random and uneven nature. He'll write ten pages about one card, then half a paragraph about another, and then oh look it's five pages of drug visions, and then back to the list of individual cards...
I have a whole bunch of other decks, most of which seldom see much use.
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why is the same for all: because i like them and bought them, so i have them around to use.
which ones: can't be arsed to give the whole list, but these days i'm using tarot of timeless truth, the manga tarot (lo scarabeo), and the enchanted tarot by zerner & farber. i also use non-tarot oracle decks.
Do you think individual decks (instances of the same design) have their own personalities - like, do you expect your copy of Rider-Waite to behave differently from my copy of Rider-Waite?
no. i think i have individual personalities. or, uh, individual reactions to different artwork. :)
Do you use different decks for different readings?
only by mood, not topic.
Do you put the Crowley and Waite decks together and shake the jar to see if they'll fight? (Don't laugh, I've heard of people doing it.)
no, i don't care for either of those decks or about either of those people as personalities. (most of my decks are rws variations though.)
Does a deck work better if you receive it as a gift than if you buy it? Is it necessary, or unthinkable, to steal your deck? (All positions I've heard people advocate seriously.)
no. i call bollocks and superstition. and stealing is wrong, kids.
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I also use I Ching cards. It's not traditional but the artwork and symbols are hard to resist.
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it's so nice that people are posting in this community already.
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I use the Ancient Egyptian Tarot pretty much exclusively. when I came across the deck on aeclectic.net a few years ago, I fell in love. I was extremely fortunate to find it for sale on ebay for $15. I think it was meant to be mine. :) I follow the gods of Ancient Egypt. When I got this deck, I finally got the tarot, and I've been able to do readings without having to check the book for interpretation every time I drew a card.
past decks I've used: the Rider-Waite, Morgan Greer, Tarot of a Moon Garden, and Connolly Tarot.
I liked the Morgan Greer a lot, and used it until I got my hands on my Egyptian deck. I had a very hard time reading the Moon Garden deck; it was very pretty to look at, though.
I don't have very many superstitions (for lack of a better word) regarding my tarot deck. I keep it in a little bag I made because mine didn't come with a card box (just shrink-wrapped cards in a larger box with the book), and I don't loan it out to anybody because that feels strange. however, I don't mind if people shuffle it while I'm doing a reading for them, and I don't think there is anything mystical about the cards themselves -- they are just cardboard. personally, I believe that Something is guiding the distribution of the cards in a meaningful way.
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The Rider Waite, card design by Pamela Smith
Tarot of the Witches by Fergus Hall
The Mythic Tarot by Juliet Sharman-Burke and Liz Greene and illustrated by Tricia Newell
The Merlin Tarot by R.J. Stewart and illustrated by Miranda Gray
Santa Fe Tarot by Holly Huber and Tracy LeCocq
Experimental Tarot by Samvado Gunnar Kossatz
Tarot Cards copyrighted by S.R. Kaplan (1970)
I also have a couple of miniature decks more for novelty than actual use (oh but so cute).
As for individual decks I have to say yes and no. If when buying a brand new deck and picking out one from many of the same design, probably no (aside from misprints or other mechanical ways to differentiate between like decks of cards). But sometimes, rarely, I do get a feeling/"spidey sense" ;-) about something. Perhaps it is superstitious of me but I never buy the top, first one of anything in a store. My suspicions are that the item has likely been handled by many people and I know that sounds germaphobic of me (and perhaps in part that is true) but I truly believe that things can be "imprinted" by people.
And this is why I will not buy a used tarot deck of cards for more than admiration of its art - I believe that you do leave a part of yourself in/on anything you use. This is not a bad thing but for something so personal as the tarot, I want to know that it is all "me" that I am experiencing.
Okay, I know that this may sound a bit off-the-wall but if you think about it everyone's hands (more or less) produces oils. Everyone has a particular way they hold things, shuffle the cards, etc. I know that all this handling causes physical changes: worn corners, frayed edges, slightly bent cards, etc. I don't consider this damage but more of what makes the tarot deck (or even a favorite pair of shoes) uniquely yours.
So yes, I do believe that I could pick out my deck from your deck (or a new deck) even if they were of the same design.
Fighting cards? This is something else I have not heard of! I will have to try it and see...
A gift? Hmmm... well I try not to make light of gifts but whether or not the deck became one of my favorites would depend on how well the gift-giver knew me. To steal a deck? I don't know about this... is it a custom or ritual? Can someone tell me more about this?
The tarot I use the most I suppose is my Rider Waite deck as the images were sort of "imprinted" on me a time ago. I love all of my tarot decks - the artwork can be quite stunning but for imagery I still turn to Rider Waite, it's an old-comfortable-pair-of-shoes thing for me.
My Merlin Tarot is my difficult deck. I want to love it as much as I do the Rider Waite but as beautiful as the images are, they don't speak to my subconscious mind (as mskala says about her Crowley Thoth cards).
Ah, this is probably more than enough from me again ;-)
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"Nah, I'm not that into Pokemon."
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What if you cleanse the deck before using it?
I believe the same thing, that cards can be imprinted by people handling them or reading from them -- but that's why I cleanse a deck, do a couple of test readings, and spend some time with it before I rely on the readings I get. Even shrinkwrapped, new-from-the-store decks have been handled. You may not be able to wash off oils or unbend corners, but you can certainly cleanse a deck of psychic traces to make sure that it's just you and the cards connecting.
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You make a good point
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What deck(s) do you use and why? Crowley, Voyager, Rider-Waite, variations of Rider-Waite like the Palladini deck, also the Blake deck.
Do you think individual decks (instances of the same design) have their own personalities - like, do you expect your copy of Rider-Waite to behave differently from my copy of Rider-Waite? Yes, I expect your deck to behave differently because you undoubtedly see some of the cards differently.
Do you use different decks for different readings? Yes.
Do you put the Crowley and Waite decks together and shake the jar to see if they'll fight? (Don't laugh, I've heard of people doing it.) Hee; no, have never tried that!
Does a deck work better if you receive it as a gift than if you buy it? Is it necessary, or unthinkable, to steal your deck? (All positions I've heard people advocate seriously.)
I have bought all my decks for myself except two, which were gifts from my brother in law. I think stealing a deck is a very bad idea.
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My primary deck is the Universal Waite, because I used it to work through 78 Degrees of Wisdom and now get pretty good readings from it. I also use the Shakespeare Oracle and the Old English Tarot; I have my eye on the Faeries Oracle and the Motherpeace Tarot, but I don't own those decks yet.
Do you think individual decks (instances of the same design) have their own personalities - like, do you expect your copy of Rider-Waite to behave differently from my copy of Rider-Waite?
Yes, to a certain extent. I think all decks of a type have a certain nature to them -- all copies of Rider-Waite will behave in generally the same way -- with variations that come from the reader.
Do you use different decks for different readings?
Sometimes. It depends on what I'm asking and how I'll need to hear the answer. If I need a more metaphorical answer, or an answer that isn't steeped in Tarot symbolism (which I need to look up, as often as not), I use the Shakespeare Oracle. If I need to access that Tarot symbolism and other readers' experiences, I use the Universal Waite.
Do you put the Crowley and Waite decks together and shake the jar to see if they'll fight? (Don't laugh, I've heard of people doing it.)
No, but now I want to know exactly what kind of "fight" those people would expect to see! And whether they saw it!
Does a deck work better if you receive it as a gift than if you buy it? Is it necessary, or unthinkable, to steal your deck? (All positions I've heard people advocate seriously.)
I think that how you come by your deck will always, on some level, be associated with that deck. So just calling it "a gift" leaves out the circumstances of that gift: A basic deck received from a favorite aunt on your 18th birthday will have different associations from a deeply symbolic or challenging deck that your recently deceased grandmother left you. "This is the deck I wanted for months and bought with my own money" will be different from "This is the deck I wanted for months and stole from a friend of a friend who never used it". And so on.
The best way -- and I say this in an ideal sense; it's nice if you can do this, but by no means necessary -- is think of qualities you want in a deck. Elaborate fantasy artwork? Traditional card names? Not a true Tarot at all, but an oracle deck? Or simply, the right deck for you? And just kind of put it out there, to the Universe, that you need this deck. (Best if you have an actual need, not just "Ooh, pretty.") Then keep your eyes open. Someone might say "Here, I know you like Tarot and I never use this deck, do you want it?" Or you might come upon just the right deck in a store when you have exactly enough money to buy it. I think it's fabulous when a deck comes to you in that way. In my brief experience, those decks are the easiest for me to read from, and the ones that I just go out and buy are more diffcult.
Everyone's experience is different, and some people get fabulous readings with decks they've carefully researched and bought specifically. I just like to have stories to go along with mine. ;)
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What deck(s) do you use and why?
I've only been studying Tarot for about a year. In that time, I've acquired a small (but ever-expanding) hoard of decks, partly in search of the perfect deck (still searching) and partly because I love getting 78 pieces of art for between 20 and 30 bucks. My main reading deck is the Robin Wood, which is gorgeous and luminous and very friendly to beginners. My only complaint with it is that this deck has the standard elemental associations wherein Wands = Fire and Swords - Air. This has never made sense to me, but while I have found decks that equate Wands with Air and Swords with Fire, which does make sense to me, I haven't found a traditional RWS-style deck that does so.
I use the Hanson-Roberts and the Universal Waite as study aids to help me become more familiar with the standard iconography. I also use the Voyager deck when I want to stretch a bit, and I love the Tarot of the Magical Forest, and Zach Wong's amazing Revelations Tarot, which is awesome for working with reversals as each card is "double-ended, with an upright and reversed image merging in the center of the card". I have a pile of other decks, but I don't use them as often.
Do you think individual decks (instances of the same design) have their own personalities - like, do you expect your copy of Rider-Waite to behave differently from my copy of Rider-Waite?
I'd never really thought about that. I do think that the way I handle a deck and the energy I put into it changes it, so in that vein, I guess my Waite would probably be a little different from yours. I think this has a lot more to do with the reader and zir relationship with the cards than with an inherent value in the cards themselves. They seem to start out in a pretty neutral state. Then again, the only second-hand cards I've had have been gifts from a friend who energetically cleansed them before giving them to me. I have a used deck on order. Maybe that'll feel different?
Do you use different decks for different readings?
Mostly, I'm sticking with the Robin Wood, although I find that the Tarot of the Magical Forest is really good for readings about dreams or issues of imagination and Voyager is good when I need a very different way of looking at something. The Voyager Tarot is a bit beyond me for everyday, but it's awesome in small doses.
Do you put the Crowley and Waite decks together and shake the jar to see if they'll fight? (Don't laugh, I've heard of people doing it.)
Heee! This is the first time I've ever been tempted to buy the Crowley deck! I wonder if I can achieve similar effects by putting the Waite and Hello Kitty Tarot together? I'll be spending the next week entertaining wildly inappropriate speculation on the effects of putting the Manara Erotic and Gummy Bears together and shaking the jar. ^_^
Does a deck work better if you receive it as a gift than if you buy it? Is it necessary, or unthinkable, to steal your deck? (All positions I've heard people advocate seriously.)
I've been given several decks by generous friends, and I've really liked them all, but I've had the best results with decks that I've chosen regardless of whether I've bought them for myself or received them as gifts.
It's unthinkable, unethical, magically and spiritually stupid, and just gross to steal a deck. I can't imagine using a tool as powerful as the Tarot that I've tainted from the beginning. Buying a deck is not just an exchange of money, but an exchange of energy as well, a gift for a gift, coin for cards. If I like a deck enough to want to own it, I better save my pennies and support the creators of the deck. Gods know the artists get precious little by the time everyone else gets their cut.