Ah, decks that I use/admire/consult: 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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Date: 2009-04-16 07:36 pm (UTC)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 ;-)