Decks you have a love/hate relationship with

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 14 Nov 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Jewel-ry	14 Nov 2003
Hi everyone, Taking advice from 'All Is One' and starting a new thread on this. It occurred to me that I can really hate a deck one minute and love it the next. I have had several decks which on first impressions I have absolutely disliked intensely. I'll put them away and three months later will look at them and think 'Wow this is really great, I love it, dont know why I was so disappointed in the first place'. Sometime later 'Oh I really dont like this, whatever made me think I could get on with it? and so on..... The Haindl is a deck like this. Sometimes I really, really, think its an incredible deck. Othertimes errrhhh (screw up nose) really dislike it. But, I would never get rid of it because I have these swings of feelings. Anyone else have this with their decks???

catlin	14 Nov 2003
I had a real repusion against the Cannon-Reed Witches tarot. I disliked the art work from the moment I opened the box but the deck called out to me to use it at least once before trading it away and this reading was so great that I kept the deck. It is now one of my major reading decks for querents.

Kiama	14 Nov 2003
At first, I hated the Thoth with a feiry passion. But now, probably due to a new interest in Thelema and Aleister Crowley, I love it to bits! I think the reason why I disliked it initially was because I didn't understand it, but gaining an understanding of it meant that I could gain so much from it. Kiama

Chronata	14 Nov 2003
The Connely deck. I have the entire range of emotion with it from Love to Hate to Total Apathy to Mild Like to Complete Dislike. Most days I don't even give it a second glance, but I do find it works really well for public readings.

WolfyJames	14 Nov 2003
The first time I saw The Light And Shadow Tarot (Goepferd & Williams), I found it horrible and didn't like it at all. But more I saw scans of the deck, more I noticed details and more the black and white design started talking to me. Now, it's on my wishlist.

Moonbow*	14 Nov 2003
As you know I had an incredible dislike to the Vision Tarot when I bought it. It was a spur of the moment buy. I gave it away almost immediately thinking I would never use it. Fortunately I got it back and now I love the deck. It was pointed out to me that I should look closer into the deck and try to notice more to help me remember the cards. (especially the pips). Now it is one of the decks I would definately not part with. Its still not the prettiest deck I've got (Osho probably is) but I can read Vision and have alot of trouble reading Osho!! Goes to show you really have to give decks a second ( or third ) chance. Anyone else have feelings about Vision?

Mystic Zyl	17 Nov 2003
Kiama must be reading my mind......it is the Thoth, for me too. Once I devoted some time and study, I liked the deck.

Requiella	17 Nov 2003
The Sacred Circle has been that type of deck for me. At first, I had nothing but positive regard for it. After using it for a while, I realized that the photos were bothering me quite a bit. Since this was the first deck I acquired, this was something that had to emerge through experience. Since then, my impressions of various decks have been mostly consistent over time.

truthsayer	17 Nov 2003
i apologize in advance for my rant on the OZ. }) mine is the osho zen. i detest it sometimes and traded it away b/c of this. mostly i dislike the master card which gives me the creeps but after it was gone i started missing the deck. it's a beautiful deck and i like admiring it. readings with it aren't too bad either. it just seems to have a very dark side that not everyone notices. as much as i like it at times, i traded to get a copy of it back. (if the usps ever delivers it!) guess the love/hate thing will start anew when it arrives. maybe if i held an exorcism to get rid of the spirit of osho that i could tolerate this deck and give it the respect that it deserves.

Owl	18 Nov 2003
I think the Inner Child Cards are regarded as an 'oracle' deck rather than a tarot deck,but I had to post my love or rather like/hate relationship with them here..I can't stand them really,they are hard to shuffle, stick together and sometimes fall all over the place when I take them out of the box..Yet,for some reason,I return to them time and again..Still trying to figure this out :confused: Owl

Majecot	18 Nov 2003
Shapeshifter was one of mine, I loved the art work but I think at the time I was just too new... I did not get it.. but happy to say.. I am waiting on the mail man for that deck back to me.:* My other one was OshoZen... beautiful cards... couldn't read it. and I don't miss it .

Darla	28 Mar 2004
For me it's the Celtic Dragon. I wanted to have a new deck, (just got the SC at this time) bought it and for almost two years I didn't like it much and didn't use it. But a few days ago I pulled it out and started to read with it. Since then I get the most amazing readings with it and all of a sudden it appeals to me and I love it! Just wondering if this will change again because experience told me you never know.

contrascarpe	28 Mar 2004
The Gendron is my love/hate (or should I say, hate/love deck). I hesitated getting it for a long time but was drawn in by its colors. I bought the deck and hated it. However, I pulled it out once to do a reading and now it is one of my short-list decks to use for readings. I still think I hate it though, lol. Now for my hate/hate decks, top of the list for me are the Spiral, the Mythic and the Witches. But I guess that is fodder for another thread, lol. Dan

diane drizzy	28 Mar 2004
I wanted to love Rider Waite. I felt so smug when I got this deck,sort of like a "grownup". Needless to say we just weren't meant for each other. I even tried several recolorings but somehow I just didn't like these people and knew they could never be my friends!

Dragons_Wing	28 Mar 2004
i would have to say that mine went opossite way i did an impulse by to start tarot and got the witchs tarot. i really liked this deck for a month or two, i loved the art of the trumps, and the suits for the most part from ace - ten but the court cards would drive me nuts because i really couldn't tell them apart very well in readings because they looked all the same except the color of a dress or out fit and if they were holding a wand or pentacles. didn't see any symbolism in them. now earlier today i pulled the deck out again to have a look at it and am noticing much much more symbolism in the cards and now from hating them more passion than hating anything i'm giving them another chance hoping that it works out because i still love the artwork .

WolfyJames	28 Mar 2004
I want to update my take on the Light and Shadow Tarot, that I disliked at first sight, and yet, started to like. I have bought the deck, wondering what kind of effect the deck would have in my hand. I ended up liking the deck after all, and I use it once in a while. But I really want to study this deck closer and read carefully the book that comes with it.

Emily	28 Mar 2004
For me it was the Tarot of the Spirit - I'd seen scans of all of this deck, loved it online so I ordered it. I don't think I've ever been so disappointed in opening a deck, at first sight of the cards my stomach dropped - I didn't just dislike it, I hated it. The Majors and Court cards were like fragments of someones nightmares, the Minors were ok but only because they reminded me of the Thoth. I didn't even bother looking through the book or deck again, just got the cards packaged back up ready to send back. The next day I did look through them again and I think the initial shock had worn off because I could see why it was called the Tarot of the Spirit, it does have "something" - it did call to me online lol. I did keep it in the end, maybe because I'd never reacted to a deck like that before, and although its not pretty it does give good readings, and I do appreciate the artwork, once the shock of the Majors and Court cards had worn off :D I couldn't get rid of it now or trade it on, it is an unusual deck lol

lunakasha	28 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Darla For me it's the Celtic Dragon. I wanted to have a new deck, (just got the SC at this time) bought it and for almost two years I didn't like it much and didn't use it. But a few days ago I pulled it out and started to read with it. Since then I get the most amazing readings with it and all of a sudden it appeals to me and I love it! Just wondering if this will change again because experience told me you never know. That is SO funny....I had the same reaction to the Celtic Dragon...for some reason, the images just did not resonate with me at all!!! While I found some of the cards to be very beautiful, others were IMO almost cartoonish and bland. The main problem for me was that I could not connect with them enough to be able to read with them at all.... I still have this deck, which has been sitting untouched for months...maybe I should give it another try??? :) Luna

Darla	28 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by lunakasha That is SO funny....I had the same reaction to the Celtic Dragon...for some reason, the images just did not resonate with me at all!!! While I found some of the cards to be very beautiful, others were IMO almost cartoonish and bland. The main problem for me was that I could not connect with them enough to be able to read with them at all.... I still have this deck, which has been sitting untouched for months...maybe I should give it another try??? :) Luna Hey Luna! Sure, give it another try. Maybe it just wasn't the right time yet. I know what you mean when you say you found some of the cards cortoonish, I felt the same. And I was very disappointed about certain cards like the Moon. But somehow now I find that these little dragons have a charme that can be quite irresistable.

VGimlet	28 Mar 2004
Thoth for me three - even though it was one of the first decks I bought when I started collecting three years ago I was never interested in reading with it until recently. Now I am really liking the deck quite a bit.

The Decks you have a love/hate relationship with thread was originally posted on 14 Nov 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.