A little help plz... Osho-Zen?
Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 Dec 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.
| ShorTerM |
11 Dec 2002 |
|
Hi, I am new here, and even moreso I am fairly new to The Tarot...
For a long time I never really believed in any divination type stuff (well psychics to be exact) but lately my views are becoming much more liberal as opposed to the rigid set of beliefs I held previously, and as such I find the Tarot to be quite fascinating...
Well anywho, I have just started getting into all of this stuff, and a large part of that is due to my sister being interested by it as well... For quite some time now she has been intrigued by astrology and things of that nature... Although at the same time I feel her interests are more recreational...
I am not familiar enough with The Tarot to know if that is alright or not... is it?
OK well enough background info for now, as I am sure all of you know Christmas time is approaching rather quickly, and I thought that for Christmas I would try and get my sister a Tarot deck, and after reading a number of reviews and looking at the images for a ton of different decks the one that stands out the most to me is the Osho-Zen deck... The imagery on the six cards shown are simply breathtaking...
and I was wondering if this would make a good tarot deck to get for her (she is a beginner as well) I believe she bought a book already which came with a deck of cards that look quite similar to the Rider-Waite deck, and I have already formed an uninformed opinion that I do not really like the Rider-Waite deck, of course I have never done a reading, but the images do not evoke anything more than the keywords when i look at those cards, perhaps I am looking at a poor Rider-Waite clone deck, but regardless it does not appeal to me...
so anywho what is your opinions on getting the Osho-Zen deck as a present for a beginner... It appears to me that from most of my readings that the Osho-Zen is not really a beginners deck and I was wondering essentially if I should get this for her or look for something else...
thanks in advance :D
|
| jmd |
11 Dec 2002 |
|
In the Partial Table of Contents are a number of threads listed discussing the Osho-Zen - until you get further replies, it may be worth checking these older discussions... and welcome to Aeclectic.
|
| ShorTerM |
11 Dec 2002 |
|
thanks for the quick reply, I noticed that thread in the search I did but passed over it :D:D:D perhaps I will give it another try :D
|
| Khatruman |
11 Dec 2002 |
|
Osho Zen happens to be my favorite deck, but it is non-conventional. So if, as a beginner, she is looking to get to know the standard images and meanings behind the tarot, then I really wouldn't suggest it.
If she knows some things about tarot, and feels very intuitive, then it is a good deck. Keep in mind that it refers to many Oriental zen concepts, so if she wants to go that way, it is good.
Offhand, I cannot think of a conventional deck that might be good. If Rider-Waite deck doesn't work, maybe the Universal Waite? I use that I like it better than RW.
Peace!
|
| Scorpion |
11 Dec 2002 |
|
Hi, ShortTerM!
I too am a fan of the Osho Zen and although it was one of my earliest decks I am not sure I would recommend it for a beginner. With a bit of lateral thinking you can match up conventional Rider Waite meanings to it but it's not always obvious.
That said, I am not a fan of the Rider Waite either. I must admit, though, that the more I read up about it (in generalised books on Tarot) the more I am impressed by the sheer amount of symbolism they packed into it that just isn't there in other decks. It is certainly a deck with a vast of amount background reading and source material available and there are a lot of beautiful decks out there based on the RW which work perfectly well with material intended for the RW. I would recommend one of these decks. For instance, have you looked at the Goddess Tarot or the Spiral? My only criticism of these two decks is that the artwork is absolutely breathtaking in the Majors but very sketchy in the Minors. In addition, I don't think they come with the books and you have to buy those separately - in each case there is so much mythology in the Majors that the books are in my opinion essential. My personal favourite RW based deck is the Ancient Egyptian, which does come with its own book. The artwork in the Minors is as clear and exquisite as in the Majors and I see more into the cards each time I use them. It has become my "working" deck, but I am biased as I have always felt an affinity with Egypt and its art.
You'll probably find that you've set us all off on our usual "plug your favourite deck" round - don't be surprised if just about everybody jumps in!
|
| darwinia |
11 Dec 2002 |
|
The Osho Zen is my favourite deck. The artwork is wonderful and I refer to it as my touchy-feely deck because it seems so good for relationship spreads, questions about life etc.
The Zen outlook is accessible to everyone and "gladdens the heart" even when pointing out negativities. For a beginner that doesn't know conventional meanings, it's a nice way of enjoying art and meditating on life and how to be a better person, that kind of thing.
The book is good too, and each card has a practical sort of write-up that is then augmented by words of Osho, so you get a balance. Osho had his problems as a person (who doesn't), but you can concentrate on universal truths and insights rather than focusing on the man himself.
I find it interesting to compare this deck with conventional decks too. It was my 4th deck and I was so glad I found it, I just love it.
Judy
|
| Diana |
11 Dec 2002 |
|
Wonderful deck, but indeed is not conventional.
If you want something that will match up to Rider Waite meanings, then I wouldn't recommend it. But I personally don't think that is necessary. They are the most common meanings, but not the only ones around.
The Osho Zen can turn your life up-side-down. And the view from there is very pretty indeed.
After my Marseilles tarot decks, it is one of my favourites and I wouldn't want to live without it.
|
| Logiatrix |
11 Dec 2002 |
|
S. T.,
if your sister is seriously studying tarot, she will WANT to parallel the osho zen meanings with her standard deck, and comparison study is a great way to absorb tarot. if she doesn't tend to delve that deeply, she will STILL have an excellent tarot set with the osho zen.
either way, it's all good!
:)
|
| ShorTerM |
11 Dec 2002 |
|
Thank you all for your comments up to now, I am going to order it through amazon in a couple minutes...
As for what made my decision, well a large part of it is a link rostie posted for me... I went there and did a one card reading and then a relationship spread... and both seemed to tell the truth and moreso made me feel better about myself...
And as such I have formulated a small theory (again hardly an informed opinion here) but I am thinking that The Tarot never lies, the misunderstanding come from misreadings, and on top of that there is no such thing as a negative card... while when a certain card comes up it may portray a negative meaning to us, but that is only because it is telling us something we do not want to hear and as such we take it as a negative thing...
Im not sure if that makes sense to anyone (heh im not sure if it makes sense to me, but after I learn some more about The Tarot I may come back and read this and see if I still feel it holds true :D)
once again thanks all for your opinions, and plz continue to share them, as I have decided on what to get my sister for Christmas I now must investigate getting a deck of my own :D
I thought the Thoth deck looked pretty interesting, the artwork looked a little different each time I looked at it, and I suppose that is a good thing because it would allow me to see different things in the card depending on the reading at hand...
But I will also investigate the other decks mentioned so far :D man that could be a lot of research if you all plug in your fav decks :D:D:D
|
| Jewel |
11 Dec 2002 |
|
There are multiple threads on getting new decks and decks for begginers that you might want to check out. It really depends on what you like (elemental correspondences; placement of Strength and Justice; types of minors: fully illustrated, "moody" minors, or unillustrated pips; style of deck: Raider Waite based, Thoth, Marseilles, non-traditional, etc; type of art; etc ...)
|
The A little help plz... Osho-Zen? thread was originally posted on 11 Dec 2002 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.
|
