How does a deck "Speak" to me

Hmmmm what is it supposed to feel like. Tell me how it feels when you're with your best or favorite deck so I get a feeling.

Perhaps like being with a good friend? I just feel like I "fit" with my deck/s... It feels right. Some decks, like the RWS feel "wrong" to me but a favoured few feel "right"... a gut feeling perhaps

I like that thought...."like a good friend".....

Think of how easily the conversation flows, even when you have a hard time finding the right words, with your oldest and dearest friend. You dont always have to have the right words, because your friend can finish your sentences or fill in the blanks with out you saying anything.

Also, personally, I like certain types of artwork, so my favorite deck(s) reflect that taste. I can see things better in an art form that i can relate to.

When a deck resonates with you, be it from artwork, feel, and so forth and you are then able to really "relate" or "connect" with those features to give you a bit understanding of the deck itself, and the pictures you are actually looking at during a spread.

If your Tarot deck is covered in computers, and keyboards scare you - that is not a positive sign.

If say, you are the biggest fan of the Knights of the Round Table and the Grail Legends ever, then the Hollowquest deck, which pictures people from those legends and events which unfold and take place during them - would be a far better connection point for you. You would see the image, think of that part of the "story" and know what one of the cards meanings where without being forced to rely on the LWB that goes with the deck.

-Fenier

I feel like I have met a dear old friend for coffee. Even a new deck can feel like an old friend because there is an intimacy there that comes when people are best and closest friends for most of their lives. There is no uncomfortable silence and no need to force conversation. It's ok to just be together, quietly. That's what my decks feel like to me. Sometimes I get a feeling that is like when you are on a roller coaster and going up that first big hill...anticipation, excitement and scary - with a splash of goosebumps!

valeria

When I find "the one" it sort of feels like I have come home to those I love & cherish. I have tried desperately to connect with some decks that I thought were truly gorgeous to look at, but it hasn't worked. I had the Quest tarot which looks fantastic ( I like modern, digitally made decks best ) but no matter how I tried I just couldn't do it. Then one day I pulled a particular card, can't remember which one, & I just thought " no that's so NOT what that card is about ! ". I just knew that it wasn't for me. The same happened with the Witches tarot. I thought they looked fantastic but that's not enough.

I spotted the Tarot of Dreams months ago on here, long before I joined, & I was knocked off my feet ! But I refused to buy it because I thought that I wouldn't connect with it. I eventually gave in & it arrived a couple of weeks ago. Whenever I take it out of its bag I feel a smile spreading across my face & a lovely warm feeling inside, sounds stupid but it's " mine. "

I'm no expert, I have only been studying seriously for less than a year. But really, you just " know. "

redflash said:

When I find "the one" it sort of feels like I have come home to those I love & cherish. I have tried desperately to connect with some decks that I thought were truly gorgeous to look at, but it hasn't worked. I had the Quest tarot which looks fantastic ( I like modern, digitally made decks best ) but no matter how I tried I just couldn't do it. Then one day I pulled a particular card, can't remember which one, & I just thought " no that's so NOT what that card is about ! ". I just knew that it wasn't for me. The same happened with the Witches tarot. I thought they looked fantastic but that's not enough.

I spotted the Tarot of Dreams months ago on here, long before I joined, & I was knocked off my feet ! But I refused to buy it because I thought that I wouldn't connect with it. I eventually gave in & it arrived a couple of weeks ago. Whenever I take it out of its bag I feel a smile spreading across my face & a lovely warm feeling inside, sounds stupid but it's " mine. "

I'm no expert, I have only been studying seriously for less than a year. But really, you just " know. "

Click to expand...

Ditto for me too (except 'the one' for me is the World Spirit deck).

I had bought the Ancient Egyptian deck (Barrett), as I found the images fascinating and study threads extremely thought-provoking. When I got it, I totally immersed myself in the book, did research on the net and studied each card very carefully.
But when it came to reading them...nothing!
The images and ideas behind it are fascinating, but I realised I just couldn't juxtapose the Egyptian artwork to my outlook on life (and how I interpret a card). I found the use of a specific theme for an entire deck can actually limit it's potential...but's that another thread

On the other hand, I had seen the World Spirit deck loads of times but dismissed it as too primitive looking. But then I noticed that a few cards had Egyptian settings. And European settings. And Indian settings...
It's a deck that draws on almost the whole of world history (and 'spirit') as it's 'theme'. Some of it felt unfamiliar, but this kind of gave it greater appeal - it had a mystery to it, and the fact that I may never fully understand it means I'd never get bored of it.
So I bought it, fell in love and the rest is history.

So...by all means go by your first reaction (and consider the decks that you find pretty), but don't dismiss those you don't instantly click with. When you dig deeper, you may actually realise 'the one' has been right in front of you all this time.

I get a funny tingling feel in my finger tips when I get a deck that is "right" for me and a kind of "That's it!!" pops up in my mind.

The decks I have in use for ages (RW, Thoth, Legend Arthurian) have grown on my and have remaind faithful. Friends may change but the cards of YOUR deck stay true to you.

With the decks I use the most (RW, Phantasmagoric Theatre) it's a feeling of complete trust in the cards, if I don't accurate or understandable reading with those decks I just assume I'm doing something wrong, while if I get a blurry or inaccurate reading with other decks I tend to think it's a combination of the deck and me, if that makes any sense... If you get a strong reading you'll feel it instantly regardless of the deck though, for me it's like a jolt of electricity hitting me as a I turn the card over, and you just know what it means, there's no questions about it.

I don't have a favorite; it is a matter of function.

They all work but I have decks that I enjoy looking at better and decks that are easier to visualize with. Perhaps you should consider yourself the "fifth element" and focus on cultivating yourself instead of having a "favorite".