Personal Resemblances

Have you ever bought a deck, only to discover that its characters bore an uncanny resemblance to you or your family and friends?

I use the Hanson-Roberts deck, and the first time I drew the Eight of Swords, I immediately thought of my Pisces friend, who loves to play the "damsel in distress" to a frustrating degree. It looks exactly like her, right down to the colors (but not the archaic dress, of course).

Then we have the Lovers card. Forgive me if this sounds pretentious. I'm a blond-haired, blue-eyed woman dating a brown-eyed, brown-haired man--another Pisces with a Martyr Syndrome--and the distressed expression of the man on the card caught my attention. (Big apology to all of you stable fish folk!)

I could go on and on--but I'd rather hear about your experiences. Now, we're all bound to make a connection once in a while, but there's so much discussion about Fate and coincidence on this forum that I thought I'd ask. So, have you had a similar experience?

Welcome to AT, Shale!

And, in answer to your question---YES!

especially with the Golden Tarot deck, the one queen reminds me of my sister all the time. Many other cards in other decks who bring to mind other people I know--family and friends. too many to list here right now. Generally it also seems their personalities will fit right in with the meaning of the card too, so I find myself bringing that into the reading, and the client seeing it as being correct. wierd.

cool question...and welcome!

i primarily use tarot of the old path. i bought my first copy way back in the day and remember being immediately struck by the resemblances! my sweet piscean mother has the same coloring as the queen of cups - which is SO her, btw - and i remember thinking how neat it was. frequently, cups folks are depicted with blond hair...but here was one with lovely dark brown hair and blue eyes.

at the time, i was a ringer for the queen of swords - blond hair and all. that disaster has since grown out but i still love her. i admit that the face she's making is one that i make rather frequently. kinda haughty. oops.

my husband looks like the emperor in this deck too. the first time i showed him the cards which do you think he picked out? you got it.

Perhaps some of you have read the Agatha Christie "Miss Marple" series? Miss Marple was an elderly lady who was deeply observant of others, and though she lived in a small village, it was the larger world in microcosm. She often solved mysteries by referring back to a similar situation with similar motives that she had observed in St Mary Mead, her village.

I think that our personal life experiences can be a key to a deeper understanding of tarot, and for that matter what we have read or even movies we have watched (if the characters are well drawn). Seeing someone in the cards gives you a deeper understanding of some of its layers of meaning.

My only caution would be to not stop there, there is certainly more to the 8 of swords that you have seen with your Pisces friend. Also it is fun, in those instances where things are going hot and heavy in your life, to see how it work as a card or card combo. Not just interesting but sometimes lets you step back from a situation.

Alta

Robin Woods King of Pentacles bears an uncanny resemblance to my other half, and it is his significator card too.
The High Priest of the Druid Craft is the spitting image of another person I know.

And I was looking at the 4 Pentacles in the Tarot of Dreams the other day, and thought that guy sort of looked like Kevin Costner.

There is a old and true saying that comes to mind: Our eyes see what we love.

Those who are special in our hearts are the ones we tend to see... in crowds we notice those who resemble our beloved, and in pictures we gravititate, often unknowingly to that which we hold dear.

Reba said:

Robin Woods King of Pentacles bears an uncanny resemblance to my other half, and it is his significator card too.

Click to expand...

If that is the case, take a look at the King of Wands and the Eight of Pentacles as younger and younger versions of your other half!

I think these three cards look a lot like my ex at various stages of his life...the first time I saw them, it was like, Whoa! They must have some sort of universal look...unless...

What did you say your other half's name was??? j/k

personal resemblences

Hi to all,
Well my deck now is the druidcraft. I love the 10 of pentacles, reminds me of when I played piano and people would be sitting around. Also, it reminds me of when i was in my school for the blind in the studyhall and people were studying. I see this in its upright position, but also see it as being reversed. That's the only other card I can think of. That's the one that I think of, oh yeah and the queen of wands.
All the best,
Veronica

I have so many friends who are drama queens that the 10 Wands in The Ancient Egyptian Tarot is now the Drama Queen card for me.

When I was using the Mythic Tarot back in the 90's and was doing the exercises in the workbook, you were actually supposed to correlate each of the court cards to someone in your life.

Rodney

I always see my wife in the Lady of Wands in the Alchemical Tarot. Looks just like her except for the odd tucked dress.