Sacred Circle Tarot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 05 Sep 2001, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Major Tom	05 Sep 2001
I couldn't resist this deck so I rushed right out and bought it from Amazon. }> The trouble is now that I've got it I just don't get along with it. Don't get me wrong - it is a beautiful deck - it just doesn't speak to me. }> Any suggestions?

Logiatrix	05 Sep 2001
major, i know what you mean... my readings with this deck were pretty mediocre--i'm still such a beginner that anything outside of the standard RWS symbolism really throws me. however, i had really good results when i used the sacred circle for meditation, specifically pathworking. i think the art style on this deck really lends itself to this manner of usage, and the book provides plenty of guidance for using the cards in meditation. keep us posted on this new relationship of yours...it's bound to change, too, you know. one day, something just "clicks" and the deck not only speaks, it SINGS to you! :D

truthsayer	05 Sep 2001
don't feel bad, major tom. i bought the SCT based on multiple high recommendations and some online glimpses. my experience vs. how the deck was reviewed were 2 completely different things. i tried to read w/ them several monthes but they don't communicate to me. my fav decks generall "speak" to me w/in days or hours after purchase. i have decided that one thing that bothers me about SC is how the artwork is done w/ part photography and some kind of computer wizadry. after seeing other decks done this way, i realize that kind of deck art turns me off. the gendron is another done like this and i can't relate to it either. the research behind the SC and the SC book itself is excellent. i can see myself meditating w/ the cards but not reading w/ it. i know it's not lack of interest in celtic tarot b/c i love the celtic wisdom tarot and the druid animal oracle. the main difference is that both decks have been painted and/or drawn.

cSpaceDiva	06 Sep 2001
Major Tom-maybe your deck should get together with mine and they can speak to each other, 'cause I don't hear it talking either. The computer/photo combination works for me in the Cosmic Tribe tarot, but not this one. That's all I'm going to say.

Brynn	06 Sep 2001
I fell in love with the deck too. But unfortunately, I can't use it either! It is beautiful and a shame that it seems lifeless. I get very vague and confusing readings with it and then use my usual deck and the question is asked and it's clear to me. Sad but true! Love and Light, Brynn

Kiama	06 Sep 2001
My Sacred Circle deck never has spoken to me, and never will. It is too far off from traditional Tarot, cuz of th ere-ordering of the card sequence, and teh re-naming of the Majors.. Also, the Minors are not very well done. They are just six swords in a pretty background ,with no real symbolism, no scene being played out on the card, so it's pretty difficult to build a reading from that. I find, cuz I'm Celtic Pagan, however, that I can use these cards (Only the Majors though) for meditation and pathworking. They really do help me gain a closer connection in my mind with The Gods... I bought this deck because of the Empress card. I love most of the Major Arcana, but just don't like their re-sequencing.. Ah well. It's a lovely collector's deck. Kiama

HoneyDreads	16 Sep 2001
Not long ago I posted about this deck and got some good feed back. I ordered it yesterday. I can't help ya, the last deck I didn't get along with got shipped to a friend in Hong Kong. Love & light, HoneyDreads

Knight of Swords	16 Sep 2001
I used to own this deck, and the artwork is great. However, I also wasn't able to use it. The cards don't give very many good "jumping-off points," not a lot of things you can key off on. While I initially liked the keywords printed on the cards, as I used the deck, I came to find that the keywords actually hampered my readings by pushing me, at times, in a direction that might not have been relevant. Often, the keywords were the only part of the card that would give me any kind of message. I found this frustrating when the keywords had nothing to do with the question at hand. Allen

crystals	17 Sep 2001
I bought this deck sight unseen. It came in a box and I bought it on a whim but from the moment I bought it I have loved it and unlike many others here I found that it resonates with me, and i am not pagan! I think this is a really good deck for those who need spiritual guidance. I must say I cannot fault it at all.

tarotbear	18 Sep 2001
Being a pagan at heart, I was given this deck for Yule by two friends who purchased it as a joint gift. I almost never use this deck; however, since I collect decks I love to point out the differences to my students. The deck does not bother me at all...but the book does! If a symbol is repeated on many cards - such as Hawthorne- it is only described on the first card that has it and then ignored on the rest of the deck. Secondly, the author tells you to 'deliberately turn part of the deck over to get reversals' - to me to 'deliberately' turn the cards makes reversals a planned and not a random act, which is what it should be. I agree, though, that the cards need a few more symbols in them.

Thirteen	19 Sep 2001
I've a friend who liked this deck but wouldn't buy it because you couldn't do reversals (the backs, as you know, give away whether the card is reversed). So if reversals are natural to you, it might not be singing because you know you can't naturally have them. Similarly, if you're a traditionalist, then the missing/changed major arcana can be annoying. Put it another way, some decks don't sing because subconsciously you're fighting with them--your way vs. their way :) and this deck very much has a way of its own. On the other hand, I tend to think that if a deck attracts you, and you like it, then it will sing to you if used in the right circumstances. As was pointed out, it might be good primarily for pathfinding, meditation or spellcasting (in fact, I suspect it'd be very, very good for that). Also, I tend to find that certain decks work in readings with certain people, while other decks don't do as good a job. Sacred Circle is, let's face it, "Earth" heavy. Rock, stones, plants, green. Even with the swords hanging in the sky the background photos are all of mounds and such. Just a theory, but it might "sing" to Earth signs, or people with multiple Earth signs in their chart, rather than those of us with other signs.

tarotbear	19 Sep 2001
Re: the design on the backs lets you know that a card is reversed.... What? Is it supposed to be a surprise or something? The design on the back lets you know that the card is reversed -- you still don't know what the card is until you turn it over, so why is this a problem?

purplelady	19 Sep 2001
Tarotbear , I never have understood what was the big deal about the backs being reversable either. I lay out my cards face up anyhow. Thirteen , interesting theory, since I am an earth sign and I LOVE sacred circle tarot! I even dreamed of the backs a few days before I'd bought them ,the grey stone, and I'd Never seen them before. You have definitely given me something to think about!

Thirteen	19 Sep 2001
Quote: tarotbear (20 Sep, 2001 01:36): The design on the back lets you know that the card is reversed -- you still don't know what the card is until you turn it over, so why is this a problem? Hey, my friend's logic escapes me too :) I think it may have something to do with knowing that a negative is coming up. All he said to me is that he didn't like the fact that the backs "gave away" the fact that the card coming up was going to be reversed.

tarotbear	20 Sep 2001
Thirteen - tell your friend that if he thinks that a reversed card is only a negative, that I think he reading the cards incorrectly; many reversed cards have positive meanings.

Major Tom	20 Sep 2001
Maybe Sacred Circle doesn't speak to me because earth signs are so scarce in my chart. Thanks for the theory Thirteen }>

Logiatrix	20 Sep 2001
thirteen, t-bear, purplelady, et al... practically speaking: i lay my cards face-up, too. however, i don't do reversals, and i don't "riffle" my cards anymore, so i find that i need card backs that are NOT reversible. this is because i like being able to mix my cards on the spread cloth (like hand-tossing a salad) and then i gather them up without looking at the facing side, "righting" them by looking at the backs. only one of the decks i use is without this convenience (universal waite), but i work around it. anyway, when a review about a deck includes whether or not the card back design is reversible, i'm grateful. i guess it's a details thing. i'm one of those tarot fanatics that likes to know dimensions and card-stock quality, too! :P

HoneyDreads	23 Sep 2001
Well, my Sacred Circle Tarot has arrived and I absolutely love it. I connected with it instantly, woohoo. I've been getting very accurate readings with it. Love & light, HoneyDreads

Lee	05 May 2002
BUMP :) -- Lee

The Sacred Circle Tarot thread was originally posted on 05 Sep 2001 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.