What deck *would* you use to read with?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 May 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Phoenix	11 May 2003
Inspired in part by divinerguy's post about decks you would not use. I probably use a Waite or Waite clone deck. The Sharman-Caselli deck is wonderful for this purpose, as it is pretty tame. I have also had good experiences with Jane Lyle's Renaissance Tarot. Which ones do you like to read with for strangers?

Logiatrix	11 May 2003
Phoenix, Ancestral Path, no problem! I find that people often look for themselves in the images, so I prefer a multicultural deck. The Ancestral Path has people in all different shades and features, which is very conducive to reading for a variety of querents. I also like it better than other multicultural decks because it doesn't convey too much of one belief system, either. The RWS or variation is a good idea because the images are so common, and it is a strong possibility that the symbols will be recognizable to the querent. I think this is true for the Marseille, too. :)

Cerulean	12 May 2003
The Spiral has been good for me so far for online readings. I'm going to try to practice with the Thoth for others. In very rare instances, I've been lucky to read for someone quite experienced and delighted to have me do an art deck---my writing was sufficient in one case for the Dante Tarot. But trying to do the art decks such as Olympus (Lo Scarabeo) or Romeo and Juliet (Del Negro) or Manzoni (Vecchio?) for those unfamilar with such iconography or stories was frustrating for them. I found some of my art deck readings also needed extra comparisons to a deck that someone had or at least could see online. So if you have a deck from tarot.com or know of a link where all cards are posted, that makes it more helpful. One art deck that was successful because the people either had it or could look link to the pictures online: the Victoria Regina. It is a very very good deck and inspirational if one knows of people who like period illustrations and artistic ideas. Mari H.

Khatruman	12 May 2003
With folks curious about the tarot, but with little or no experience with it, I have found the Osho Zen to be wonderful. People get the message very clearly and the numerology, astrology, suit designations are unnoticeable by the non-initates. That makes them feel comfortable with it, that it is not occult and secretive knowledge, possibly sacrilegeous. Also, it isn't spooky. The pictures give clear messages. This is a deck where it is easy to ask a querent what he or she sees in the image. They are symbolic and bright.

jmd	12 May 2003
My main reading deck remains the Schaffhouse (published as Tarot Classic by US Games) - a deck having numerous similarities to a Marseilles. It has the advantage of being clearly recognisable as a Tarot...

Jenny-Li	12 May 2003
Thankfully I don't do many face-to-face-readings so I don't have to think about that, and can safely continue to work with my Cosmic Tribe. But to be honest, I think I would use it even for real, live readings. It's a great deck, and the person came to me. I might ask if they have a problem with a deck with lots of nekkid people in it, just to give the person a choice. I just got the Thoth that might work for public readings, but I'm still very lost in its symbolism, and would probably prefer to use one of the RWS-clones instead. The World Spirit was a favourite for a long time, that may work. Or, actually, the plain and simple Universal Waite - I actually quite like that one, although I never really used it much...! Jenny :)

astril	12 May 2003
I use my Hanson Roberts. All the symbolism is there, but the art is pretty tame. The colors are soothing, and everyone so far always chooses this deck. Seems to work for me! Astril

Maan	12 May 2003
I would use the fey or the phantasmagoric but people could feel that i'm not taking the seriously..somehow there are always people that expect a riderwaite style deck or something darker otherwise they thinks its not "real" So i would porbebly use the spiral or maybe the i am one if i ever feel that i have mastered that deck ;)

RedWood	12 May 2003
I think I might use my Durer or Wheel of Change once i get confortable with that deck.

Emily	12 May 2003
I think I would go back to using either the Universal Waite or the Spiral, because its still this kind of deck I'm most familiar with but I'm hoping that soon I'll feel confident enough to use the Thoth as my main reading deck and not just a study deck. :)

Keslynn	12 May 2003
I use my World Spirit most often in readings for other people. I find that the artwork appeals to most and is easily understood. Also, it's got lots of different sizes and races, and even people with glasses. I just love it, can you tell? A close second is the Spiral. I adore that one too. :) Kes

Cerulean	12 May 2003
I just replied to an Alchemical thread. I may use it for readings in a few days.

sagitarian	12 May 2003
now, i use my faery oracle deck by Brian Froud. The images are very friendly, easy to look at, and even when i'm giving a darker serious message to the querent, they still have a soft smile on their face as they gaze down onto the spread seeing all of the faeries that have come forth to give a message. I used to use the Hanson Roberts tarot deck. That was my other main deck that i used to read with. I read with that deck for 10 yrs. Hanson Roberts Tarot is a RW clone, but a bit more whimsical, however the messages were still very mature and adult oriented. The colors were soft and the pictures friendly to look at. If i were to use any other deck, it would be the universal waite deck, the artist being Hanson Roberts "redoing" Pamela Colman Smith's work. Again, the colors are very friendly, and with the more traditional deck, the themes in the deck would be more recognizable to the general public. (if this is relevant at all, which for some reason i feel like i should state it, mostly i read person to person readings. i dont' get nearly as good of results when i read on line. i can, but not as good, detailed, or clear.)

azuremariposa	13 May 2003
well, i tend to stick to my RW for most readings...it's what i'm most comfortable with... i love my Victoria Regina, but for me, it's more suited to smaller spreads and more personal readings... i'm hoping to use the Fey more, it's beautiful and i love it, but haven't done any 'big' readings w/it, or read for anyone else w/it yet...i do love it though :D i think most RWS clones are cool for reading for others...most would recognize the symbolism and such, and it would make for an 'ease' or 'flow' in the reading...just my opinion though ;) many blessings, ~azure

C.N.	13 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Tauni Ancestral Path, no problem! I find that people often look for themselves in the images, so I prefer a multicultural deck. The Ancestral Path has people in all different shades and features, which is very conducive to reading for a variety of querents. I also like it better than other multicultural decks because it doesn't convey too much of one belief system, either. The Ancestral Path has a problem. Its wand suit will upset historians, so you should probably not use this deck with historians and people you suspect are intrested in history.

Keslynn	14 May 2003
Most historians are sadly resigned to the fact that most things, including some purported history books, are in fact historially inaccurate. It might make some historians mad, but most will probably just give you a gentle lecture. Come on, it's good for you! ;) Kes, historian

truthsayer	15 May 2003
i would use my hanson roberts. it's such a readable friendly deck. i can use it from cradle to old age. you'll have the occasional HR detractor but doesn't matter. mary hr is #1 in my book. if i didn't use the mhr, i use her universal waite instead.

Bings	17 May 2003
I actually use my Legends; Arthurian Tarot the most when doing readings for others. This is the deck I am most comfortable with. My Waking the Wild Spirit deck is wonderfully accurate for a friend of mine who is pregnant. I'm thinking of using this deck more and more when women have more personal or intimate questions to ask. Dianne

Mimers	17 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by C.N. The Ancestral Path has a problem. Its wand suit will upset historians, so you should probably not use this deck with historians and people you suspect are intrested in history. I am curious, what is wrong with the staves in the Ancestral Path deck? Historically speaking that is. When I read for others, it depends on the person. My Mother loves the Ancestral Path Tarot, so I always use that for her. My friend is very superstitious when it comes to Tarot and certain cards scare her in the RW deck and others. So, for her I will use the Vision Quest or the Fey Tarot. I haven't read for complete strangers, but I think if I did I would use my Gill or my Vision Quest deck. In general my reading decks are Vision Quest Universal Waite Ancestral Path Gill Not necessarily in that order. Mimi

Dee	17 May 2003
yes - i am also interested in that - what is inaccurate about the staves suit in the AP?

Woof	17 May 2003
Universal Waite. My first readings for strangers was at a party in March. Most people interested in Tarot are familiar with it and for me it is still the one I'm most comfortable, even though it's not what I use on myself. Good question, thanks for raising it. It's interesting to see others replies. Woof

krysia322	17 May 2003
Currently, I use the Celtic Dragon deck for most general readings. I seem to reserve my MotherPeace deck for readings with women --- although I have used it with some men with near hysterical accuracy. (The expressions of skeptics when the tarot nails them just about always cracks me up, LOL!) However, my MotherPeace tarot is now used mainly for self-readings. It just doesn't seem to allow others to choose it yet. Another deck I often use is the Ancient Egyptian tarot. I find it a very "user-friendly" deck for beginners (either readers or readees). :)

Moongold	17 May 2003
For the few readings I've done face to face, I've used Morgan Greer because I'm really comfortable with it and things just flow. When I'm doing other readings it's usually Tarot of the Sephiroth. I love this deck because it's rich and thoughtful and constructive. Lots of things to think about and bounce off. I really like all of my other decks too and use them according to situation. Love the Shining Tribe as well. Where do I stop?

MeeWah	17 May 2003
When I am unsure of what deck to use, I rely on the Rider (Smith) Waite, which was my first Tarot deck. It *never* fails me. The decks I refer to as my reliables are the Rider (Smith) Waite, Robin Wood, Ancient Egyptian, Chinese. I occasionally read with other decks but those are tried & true. I am studying The Tarot of the Sephiroth after a fashion. It is the first Thoth-influenced deck where I am beginning to better grasp some of the qabalistic associations. I am finding that its card meanings differ from the Waite thought--but I am far from understanding it well so I have not used it to do readings per se.

Gerbear	17 May 2003
The kingdom(?) of ta-seti, predated the founding of ancient egypt. These peoples were dark-skinned, and lived in the area of present day Sudan. The political union of these people and the peoples to the north, led to the establishment of early egypt "Official" history is notably deficient in depicting any other than the rich and powerful - and the story of their conquests.

Diana	18 May 2003
Actually, I am now trying to read without a deck (some people may have seen my "experiment" in the Reading Exchange). If I do a Majors only reading, I will always use my faithful old Marseilles Grimaud deck. The cards are grubby and old, but they never fail me. If I do a reading with Majors and Minors, I use Kris Hadar's Véritable Tarot de Marseille. Another deck that greatly appeals to people is the Tarocchi del Vetro - delicate, elegant, courteous, deep without getting too sentimental or emotional, and extremely intelligently thought out. On occasion, I will use the Hudes deck which has illustrated minors, but the trouble is, the Strength and the Justice card don't follow the system I use and then they tend to mess up my calculations if I need to do some numerological stuff.

tabbycat	18 May 2003
For many years I've used the Celtic Tarot (Courtney Davis) and it has a wonderful way of discovering peoples' secrets! For the last reading I did I let the subject choose a deck from a sample of five - she's a stauch Christian who likes me to read for her every few months and, just as I'd guessed she would, she picked the Spiral. My latest deck acquisition is Brian Williams Minchiate Tarot and I like the gentle pastel artwork so much that I may start reading with it soon. Jilly

Trogon	18 May 2003
An interesting variety of opinions on this topic... dare I say... even an aeclectic collection of opinions! ;) I've actually ended up surprising myself quite a bit over the past several months in this regard. I now own 7 decks which I am able to use for readings. This is surprising to me, because not all that long ago, I only owned 1 deck which I used for readings. But as I pick up more decks, I find myself using them for readings. If I'm doing a reading for myself, I just pick whichever one seems to suit my mood at the time. When I'm doing a reading for someone else, I usually let them pick the deck, though occasionally, I get a strong "feeling" that a particular deck will best suit the needs at that time. These are the decks I'm currently using for readings; Rider-Waite-Smith Röhrig Tarot Goddess Tarot Victoria Regina Tarot Dragon Tarot Spiral Tarot Haindl Tarot

Kiama	18 May 2003
I usually use the Robin Wood deck, simply because so far everybody I've read for with it has had no offense to it, and they find it easy to look at. It's good for kids and old people, my family, strangers, Christians, Pagans... It's a fairly un-offensive deck. I find that since it also has no specific theme, it's easier to use with certain people... I have a few friends who are complete anoraks on certain subjects. I remember showing the LOTR to a LOTR anorak, and he spent the whole night criticising the deck. I showed a history anorak my Olympus Tarot, and he did the same thing as the LOTR anorak! Kiama

baba-prague	18 May 2003
I hate to say it in a way, but I have been using the Golden Rider recently. To be honest, I don't like the deck much - the colouring is too crude for my taste (all that shocking pink!) but it's currently giving good clear readings. I did use the Victoria Regina for a while, but the fact that the courts seem a bit samey was sometimes a problem - I may try it again at some point. I want to read with our own deck of course, that will be an interesting experience indeed!

SharonElizabeth	21 May 2003
I'm glad to see that other people have mentioned the Hanson Roberts deck. It is my favorite deck by far, I think the imagry is beautiful and the deck size really agrees with me. That is the deck I most often use when reading for other people. The rider waite deck is also a good one for reading with others. Another one I thought of which has not yet been mentioned is the Visconti Tarots. I got that as a gift at a party, did a bunch of readings with it, and people really seemed to respond to it.

Cocobird55	24 May 2003
I had been using the Sharman-Caselli deck, because it is a great deck to learn with. However, my favorite deck is the Gendron. I used it to do a reading for someone else, and it was great -- there was so much information in the cards that I didn't even think about consulting a book. :-) I'm also working with the Transformation deck. Since I have been studying Zen for a few years, it works in conjunction with that, even better than the Osho Zen deck does. Sue

all78degrees	25 May 2003
Which deck would I use for strangers?? Hmmm I usually take a small selection of three or four decks. I take Medieval Scapini, Halloween, and Universal Waite. I might start taking the Comparative and Sephiroth Tarots soon. I probably wouldn't take Alchemical or Vision Quest but who knows. I just go with the feeling at the time. gav.

Sobeknofret	25 May 2003
I usually use what I intuit the client will connect with best. For example, a friend of mine is an Arthurian scholar, whose thesis was on Charles Williams and the Arthurian legends. He had to read Waite's "Pictoral Key to the Tarot", and hated every second of it, sooooo no RWS decks for him! The Legend Arthurian deck however clicked so well with him it actually astonished me; I hadn't seen that clear of a reading in a long time! Another client of mine was hesitant about consulting the tarot for religious reasons, so I chose the Halloween deck for him-- light and fun. Fabulous reading, and now I have graduated to using the Universal Waite with him. What I'd really like to try sometime is the Thoth deck, but I'm a little intimidated by it still, so until I get over that it's not going to be a reading deck. To public readings I mostly take the Univesal Waite or the Legend, and if there's a possibility of doing readings for kids I take the Halloween, or now the Whimsical. What a fun thread this is! --Sobe

The What deck *would* you use to read with? thread was originally posted on 11 May 2003 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.