View Full Version : Decks you used to love...
This is a variation on some threads that have started.
What deck did you used to love, read with constantly, and one day you notice that you never pull it out anymore?
For me: Osho Zen, Robin Wood, and World Spirit. Decks I used to practically sleep with.
truthsayer
24-08-2003, 21:16
i once only read with my hoi polloi. well, it was my only deck for around 10 years. then i only read with my rider waite and thoth--for 15 years. then i read with my legend authurian for a couple years. i've read with my hanson roberts mostly the last 2 years. wonder what's next? ;)
Logiatrix
24-08-2003, 23:01
The deck I used to love was "The Next One."
I used to love just HAVING tarots--lots and lots of decks, and then MORE decks. However, I can't even name a single tarot deck that I thought was so amazing that I "just had to have it." I do remember the generally frenzied feeling I had until I got my hands on the newest prey, then believing for a little while that I had "the ONE." But all that was infatuation, not love.
Anyway, I'm over it.
Now, I just want my "working" decks, and these are the same ones to which I remain loyal.
:)
Chronata
24-08-2003, 23:28
I actually forgot about a deck that was once very dear to me! I re-discovered it when I was cleaning out the Big Bookcase O' Tarot, and trying to decide what I wanted to part with.
The Mythic Tarot was once the deck that went everywhere with me! I even bought the workbook, and carefully, with great thought filled in every single page. As a kid, I had a great love affair with Greek mythology, and I was so excited about this deck when I first found it.
I am not sure that I have done a reading with it for the last 13 years....
Hmmmm...I think it's time to dust this one off again!
I did all of my initial learning on my old RWS. I puzzled over that deck, did reading for historical figures, tormented my friends, and now, it just resides in my mind as a point of reference and I never pull it out. The other two I mentioned followed the same pattern, including declarations to everyone who would listen that they were the best decks, no matter what!
Why does that happen? Must be like old friendships which fade rather than end. You still kind of like them, but for some reason never call them anymore.
WolfSpirit
25-08-2003, 07:18
I never really had one deck I used all the time, i have always been a multi-deck person.
But I used to like the Robin Wood, now it does not appeal to me at all. The people all seem to be made out of the same mold, boring ! I don't find it attractive at all now, and I don't read much with rws-clones now anyway.
I used the Halloween a lot, now it hardly ever comes out. Although there is more to this deck than some people think, it does have its limitations. I will use it in the weeks before halloween, but I don't think it will become a regular again.
wavebreaker
25-08-2003, 07:35
I used to be crazy about the Glastonbury, but I haven't touched it in, well, I think a year...
I still list the World Spirit as my favourite, but come to think of it, I haven't touched that one in months either. But then I've hardly touched any cards in months...
I think for me it was the Spiral, I used this deck constantly - carried it round with me, shuffled it when I watched tv. It was never very far away then I started to get interested in other decks - other Rider Waite clones, then the Thoth and clones - and it was put to one side and I guess I just moved on. Its still a very special deck but I haven't used it now in months.
Cerulean
25-08-2003, 19:51
sometimes I used to think it was my retro yearning for Victoriana. I thought that the Victoria Regina would replace it, because it's all about the Victorian times with gaslight and smoky London fogs kind of atmosphere...I used to read London Times Mirror (it may have been just the Mirror in the university library stacks?) just for away time between classes...
But oddly the Enchanted is good to read for others, a nice mixer with other types of decks when the size is similar...something about the modern collage with the retro images and fabric makes it nice for me to pick up now and again.
The Herbal tarot. I used to read with it a lot and now i haven't touched it in years. i made a bag for it and haven't removed it from there since.
Ancestral path was another fave of mine that was used a lot in readings and studies. Now - dusty on the shelf.
Le_Corsair
28-08-2003, 08:23
Miss Cleo Tarot Power Deck, but then Miss Cleo was arrested and convicted of fraud!:( I'm so embarassed! :| How could she betray all of her adoring fans like that? :confused: Tarot for me just hasn't been the same. I guess I'll just...... :THANG
Bob :THERM
Bob, Bob, Bob, don't despair. I sure she will be proven innocent and come back and redeem herself and then you can hold your head up again. :D
Somehow I am not sure if we really do 'outgrow' decks, because other people start to love the same decks we forget. I wonder, although many of use the same decks for years, if there isn't some quality in humans that keeps thinking 'well maybe it would work better *this* way'. You know, that same little voice that causes us to rearrange furniture. Subconscious Feng Shui. (okay, I am mostly kidding but not entirely).
Same with I Ching. I drank the Wilhelm version of the I Ching for about 12 years. Then I started buying other translations, but they all seemed frivolous. Then I discovered the Stephen Karcher translation in the "Elements of..." series (now republished as Thorson's), and I have rarely opened the Wilhelm version since. Okay, why does that happen? Clearly the first one 'satisfied', until we met the others. Is this all a part of human fickleness in general? Does this mean Kiama is a totally faithful person because she always reads with Robin Wood? (I say she just hasn't lived long enough yet, but she has looked at a lot of decks). Just random thoughts after a long day at work. :)
lawguy51
30-08-2003, 23:06
I cut my Tarot teeth on the Mythic deck. Now I pull it out rarely and when I do, it feels familiar yet flimsy in my hands. I had an early love affair with the Victoria Regina and used it several times in the Exchange but moved on and haven't really gone back to it for a while. For me, finding the Thoth deck was like finally arriving at my deck destination. I experiment with other decks but my one true deck continues to be my Thoth deck. It's like the gift that keeps on giving!
Lawguy51
Ah Marion... A long long time ago, before I joined Aeclectic, I did not own a Robin Wood...! *Gasps* *Kiama without her Robin Wood? Surely not?!?!* It's true, all true...
I used the Shakespearian Tarot from the age of 13-15. Before that I used the Sugar Mystic deck. After it I used the Witches Tarot. And after that... I started collecting decks!
I used to love the Shakespearian Tarot, since I have always loved Shakespeare, but it was a very difficult deck to read with when I was only 13, and I think the only reason I read with it was because I had neither the money nor the knowledge of Tarot-deck 'outlets' to be able to get another deck. Needless to say, it went by the wayside when I found the Robin Wood deck (after wading through Witches, Fenton Bale, Moon Garden, and a few more...). Every now and then I notice it in my collection and bring it out to have a look and reminiscence... The highlight of this deck was being asked for a reading with it by my Fundamentalist Christian English teacher. I think her love of Shakespeare finally overcame her! ;)
There was a brief time when I gave up the Robin Wood *More gasps* for the Nigel Jackson, but it only last a few months. The Nigel Jackson was too big for my hands.
Every now and then I'll read with a different deck, when I feel like a change, or I'll pull out a second deck to add to my Robin Wood in a reading.
So I'm not totally faithful.... })
Kiama
CompassRose
31-08-2003, 11:33
For me, definitely the Aquarian. My dearest, oldest friend, who also reads the cards, got an Aquarian back in high school, just when I was first fooling about with Tarot. I loved her deck, loved it. (Of course, back then, we also very frequently went about the streets dressed in elegant vintage clothing and little hats, so...)
When I had saved enough to get my own deck (to replace the gift Marseilles one with which I had been fruitlessly struggling) naturally the Aquarian was the one I grabbed. And I used it for years.
Now, I can't believe how bland and boring it is. Although I do still very much like "my" card in this deck, the Page of Cups. That fish-to-face immediacy still charms me.
arcanalefait
31-08-2003, 23:44
This thread has made me slightly pensive. I posted on a different thread about my ebay-tarot-collecting binge that I am recently recovering (I think--unless I find a really great deal =) ) from. I managed to amass about 30 decks in several months. Now I'm completely overwhelmed by all these strangers...and I really really miss those easy, carefree days when I would simply reach for my Ancestral Path deck.
I read with a few other decks before finding the AP (Arcus Arcanum and William's Renaissance) but the AP seemed to fit neatly into my intuitive mind. My readings with it were excellent, I loved the imagery...and life was so simple.
Its been so long since I've even looked at that deck--between my obsessive pouring over ebay listings, and wandering through the new decks in my bedroom...Maybe I'll pull her out tonight!
Arcana
Frequency
01-09-2003, 13:39
The Osho Zen was my first deck. I loved it for it's simplicity but then I started to think it was time I got one that was more complicated and accurate. The Osho was often too general, which is fine I think but I just wanted to see what it would be like to have a second deck so recently I bought the Haindl with a companion book by Pollack. I've been using it exclusively ever since. It's a lovely deck and unlike others here I find the pips court cards and aces to be nearly just as detailed as the majors. The stones don't have much substance to them but the title on each card explains it enough so that you remember which meaning goes with which card easily enough.
Even though I don't use the Osho anymore I strongly recommend it for beginners. I don't think I have enough experience with tarot to recommend it for experts and more advanced users but I believe the artwork speaks for itself ;)
Cerulean
01-09-2003, 20:34
I used the Voyager. Then most of my questions that I started with the Voyager, I move to Thoth for personal readings. If I want to read collage style decks for others, sometimes I pull out the Enchanted.
I like paintings better. I've like collage decks, but I gave many to friends who like that art form for their work.
For awhile I collected multicultural, pagan, celtic, anime illustrations, Rider Waite workalikes. But I have winnowed down these selections and added a few modern French and Spanish and German decks for change. I like my historical Italian Milanese variants and use them mostly.
Some of the more colorful and creative modern decks from Urania, AGM Mueller and the latest from U.S. Games, New Century Tarot, have innovative and amazing art...
moonlitpath
02-09-2003, 22:23
I learned to read with the RW, but never use them anymore. To be honest, I only bought them because they were recommended to be great for beginners. The artwork never did much for me and I always new I'd move on.
......On the other hand, I LOVED the Sacred Circle! I used them exclusively for a while, but found other decks I loved much better.
Dark_angel
04-09-2003, 10:06
...when I started to learn, I learned the basics using a deck that WASN'T MINE! My boyfriend has a battered copy of Morgan-Greer that he was given but never got around to learning to use, so I borrowed it. The artwork didn't really appeal, and I found the cards a bit shallow, but I knew that tarot was for me. I think I'll have to persuade him to dust it off for old times' sake, but I don't think I'll read with it for a while. Maybe I'll come back to it one day; after all, as the Wheel of Fortune says, everything's cyclical...
brennamor
04-09-2003, 17:09
I used to like Robin Wood, Universal Waite and Whimsical. But over time I have to admit that all three have palled on me. I still like Whimsical as a deck to use with children but beyond that - ehh.
I've had other decks that I wanted to like but just never did - Spiral falls into this category as does Spirit of Flowers, Laura Tuan's Celtic deck and the deBurgh Celtic. So off they went. It just goes to prove how personal and unique each person's taste are when it comes to tarot decks.
Aquarian was also my deck of choice, my only deck for a very long time. But while it rests in a very lovely bag, I don't use it anymore. It just doesn't read for me like it used to - it might sound odd, but I almost feel like I used it up.
Now I use the Universal RWS quite a bit, both for reading and study, and plan to branch out to the Thoth, and beyond.
CastleRock
06-09-2003, 23:12
It would have to be the Hanson-Roberts. Seems as though it just tells me what I want to hear, not the truth.
I used the Rider Waite to get a feel for the Tarot. Then I moved to Hanson Roberts. I don't know why, but it really speaks to me when I use it on others, but if I try to read for myself with it, I get very bad impressions.
For myself I use the Wild Spirit. I can connect to it, and I love the Fairy aspect of the deck. I know a few of you have commented on the book and how it was done, but if you give it a chance, and read it all the way through as you use the cards, your readings will be amazing. Also Tarot of the old path is a favorite, both an old favorite and a current favorite.
pentunen
18-09-2003, 09:48
I used to read with the Rider Waite all the time, since it's the deck most beginner's tarot books are based on, but I've barely touched it since I got the Robin Wood.
Most of the symbolism is the same, but the artwork is so much prettier - I guess I'm just a sucker for bright colours and gorgeous drawings :)
- pentu
wolfen045
19-09-2003, 21:38
Like a lot of people I started with RSW .Now I only use it for reading for others. My big favorite for a long time was the Masonic Tarot, but the cards are too large for me to comfortably shuffle. I also went through a phase of using the Tarot of the Ages deck constantly.Now it just sits in my drawer. My current tarot love affair is with the Vampire Tarot. I also recently dug out my Yager Meditation deck to use for (duh) meditation. Blessings, wolfen
I started out liking Faery Wicca, but I had trouble reading with it.
Then I was browsing the Internet one day and found an article that said the creator knew nothing about what she was doing when she designed it and that it isn't authentic Celtic. I thought, so what? That's not why I bought it. I told myself that even if the article is correct, I didn't care, I still liked the deck. I kept telling myself that, though I wasn't reading with it. Now I notice I've stuck it on a back shelf and when I take it out I feel entirely disenchanted. I just don't enjoy it anymore. I never could read with it very well.
It's my least favorite of my decks. I'm going to get rid of it. Bleh.
But then, maybe I never did really love it, if I discarded it so easily.
Was digging around for something and found this thread buried; would love to hear people's responses.
My choice for "used-to-read" deck would be the Wonderland. Which seemed so quirky and clever when I was obsessed with Lewis Carroll 20 years ago, and now all I can see is the design compromises and thoughtlessness.
Anyone else want to speak up?
World Spirit - it was my one and only reading deck for ages - hardly ever use it now.
Love
sulis xx
jackdaw*
11-10-2005, 06:45
The Robin Wood Tarot. I used it regularly when I first got it, but haven't touched it in ages. But it's still the one I think of when visualizing many of the Courts (the Queen of Pentacles, the Pages) and many of the Minors (especially the Seven of Swords).
Tarot of a Moon Garden
I still think it's beautiful and can give me great readings... But for some reason I just don't feel like using it anymore. I'm sure it will do a 'comeback' sooner or later though. :)
Um, the only tarot deck I cannot read with anymore is the old selfmade one which I never took with me when I left home 16 (?) years ago. I cannot imagine why the heck I never took this deck with me so I did not break with this deck because I felt outgrown or whatever.
The decks I used to work a lot with were Lenormand and Kippercards 11 years ago but I haven't used them for ages. When I joined you in 2001 I felt that neither Lenormand nor Kipper could compeed with tarot. So this is why I don't use these cards anymore.
For me there are two decks: The Robin Wood and Tarot of the Old Path. I still really like these decks, and will never part with them, but I just don't use them. Once my Cosmic Tribe arrived, and later my Fey Tarot all others have simply become beautiful treasures.
I learned with the RWS (only available deck in those days) and when more decks came out in the '70's I had a many-years marriage with the Aquarian, a torrid long-time affair with the Morgan Greer and a deeply significant relationship over several years with the Hanson-Roberts. The Morgan's tarot became my private play-pal for a few years in there, too.
The Robin Wood took everything over for many years, I wore out several copies. It only shared the lime-light with the Mythic, which gave me an easy way to do depth readings. It taught me more, I think, than all the others. Went through a couple of those, too. The last great passion was with the Courtney Davis celtic deck, that I loved so much I learned to read pips for---no small thing.
I don't really read with any of those anymore. It's the oddest thing, I have all of them, but it's like they're historic relics, not meant for my use anymore. I can do it, but it feels stale.
Except the Mythic. I think it's time to re-up the Mythic, read the the companion book again, cleanse the cards, and see what's happening. I don't really have a "One True Deck" right now, but I use the Buckland Romani, the Druidcraft and the Revelations a great deal in reading for myself and others. I think the Mythic will join (re-join?) that group. I am defiantly open for another grand Passion :love:
earth mama
11-10-2005, 23:10
The Universal Waite. I used to absolutely adore it but haven't used it in ages.
I ended up giving it to my sister the other day she'll get more use out of it than i do. It was my first deck it seems fitting that it should be hers as well.
I used to read with the Hanson-Roberts alot, but for some reason, I got all addicted to buying other decks and have kinda layed it on a shelf. Now I use the Universal Waite, and Gilded mostly (for now)
OakDragon
12-10-2005, 02:53
Hmm, this thread is interesting. Much to my amazement, I find that the Rohrig Tarot falls into this category for me. It was my first deck and once was my favorite. It's not so much that I've outgrown it or that I don't like it anymore, but that other, newer decks have eclipsed it as far as the level of current interest goes. I am sure I will return to it one day.
My first tarot love was the Russian of st petersburg. Used it exclusively but now I find my self hardly ever using it. It sort of stopped working for me. I do still like the colours on the pictures and the black background works really well,, but somehow I don't like the drawings themselves anymore. Nowadays I mostly use the RW.
Emeraldgirl
13-10-2005, 02:28
I learnt with the Mythic and for a long time it was my one and only deck. Then it got put away while I explored the word of other decks. And then I came across the Russian Tarot of St Peteresburg and I fell in love. I haven't used it in ages. It doesn't have the same appeal any more :(