Goddess - frustrated!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 21 Mar 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Shalott	21 Mar 2004
OK, so I FINALLY received the deck...got the matching "Workbook" a while ago (ya never know with the Amazon Market place ;) ) For some reason when I looked through the excerpts on the Workbook on Amazon and saw card images of the whole deck - can't remeber where - I thought it would be close enough to RWS for me to "get." NOPERS!!! I've been trying to look through it and I don't get it at all. I don't know ANYTHING about these goddesses, except Rhiannon, thank you Stevie Nicks and Laurie Cabot, and apparently you have to to understand why a particular Goddess was picked for a particular card. Not to mention these cards are HUGE anc I can barely hold on to them whithout dropping the whole thing. BUT I've only had them for a few hours now. I came really close to posting them on the Trading forum... Is this normal to be so frustrated by a perfectly innocuous deck? I just ordered the regular book since for some reason I ordered the workbook originally, any of you who have this, is there a lot more info in it? The workbook is one of those What does the card mean to YOU books, which isn't helping much right now!! Argh! Sorry for dumping...I'm even a little afraid that the deck's going to pick up on the negative energy I feel towards it right now so I put it away at least for now. Any advice y'all have would be much appreciated... On a positive note, the Minors are great...I think I was expecting an instantaneous connection, and it's just n ot happening with the Majors... Thanks!

Jewel-ry	21 Mar 2004
Hi Shalott, I have this deck and have mixed feelings about it. I don't think it is immediately evident why the particular goddesses have been assigned to each card and think you definately need to put in some work in order to feel comfortable with them. That said, there was a study group on this deck, which you might like to take a look at, in the General study forum. I'm not sure how far they got but they started with the Majors and you might some of it helpful. The minors are actually a bigger problem for me because every person on each individual suit is the same. I found the cards quite boring to look at. Not inspirational at all. I keep thinking I will come back to this deck, because I do love the artwork in the Majors but I have too many other things going on at present. Ahh one day ... J :)

Silverlotus	21 Mar 2004
I have mixed feelings about the Goddess Tarot. On one hand, I really like the total package - the Goddesses on the Majors, the RWS inspired Minors, the way one woman each is depicted throughout the suits, I even sort of like the large size (even though I have tiny hands). But, the Major's can be a little intimidating. What I have started to do is to learn about the Goddess in each card. Some of them I already knew a great deal about, so Isis as the Magician and Venus as Love made perfect sense. Tara as the Fool, however, I didn't understand until I did some research. I think it can be a lot of fun learning the myths of these Goddess. There are a lot of good books with general myths, and many relating to a specific pantheon. For general myths, I actually like The Ancient and Shining Ones by D.J Conway. (Which appears to be out of print.) This is the only Conway book I would ever recommend, and it is far from perfect. However, it presents some nice quick and dirty info about a lot of pantheons. As for websites, here are a few: GodChecker Mythography MythHome Don't give up on this deck so quickly. There is so much you can learn if you take the time to research the Goddesses.

Shalott	21 Mar 2004
Thanks for the encouragement and extra resources, Jewerl-ry and Silverlotus! :) I like the minors, largely because they haven't strayed very far from RWS, which is what I know best, and I like that each suit is associated with a particular Major. Part of my problem is, I know a tiny bit about some of these Goddessi, and that tiny bit is leading me in a totally different direction: for example, Guinevere as "Judgement," what I know of her in relationship to any judgement is that she was sentenced to death for her adultery with Lancelot...whereas I strongly disagree with adultery, I also don't think it's a capitol crime so looking at this, I would draw the conclusion that it means being judged harshly for something...whereas the authour of this deck talks about her wisdom in the area of justice...which is about the exact opposite! Also, un-RWS-like, the Goddessi, while beautifully depicted, aren't really doing anything, other than sitting there or standing there...like the Wawalak: they don't necessarily look oppressed sitting on the ground with their babies. I had to look pretty closely at the Japanese food Goddess in transformation to see that she is transforming into something else (food). That makes it about the most repelling "death" card! LOL. But I mean, I think I really overreacted...I was expecting instant connection, and when I looked at the cards and my mind went totally blank I'm like GRRRR!!!! Probably be worth it to stick with it, possibly better after a good night's sleep, too....

Shesawolf	21 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Silverlotus ... For general myths, I actually like The Ancient and Shining Ones by D.J Conway. (Which appears to be out of print.) ... Her book has be re-released with a new title "Magick of the Gods & Goddesses" http://www.crossingpress.com/Oldnews/frameset.php3?url=fall03Frame2.html

Shalott	22 Mar 2004
Interesting...could it possibly just be my copy of the deck: after reading through the study group and links as much as possible, I just did my first reading with it...I found it very difficult to shuffle, not just because of the card size (I have tiny little hands and struggle with anything bigger than playing cards, making it ironic that I'm bound determined to study Tarot!), the cards stuck together and they seem to have a bend in them, they won't lay flat at all they have to be either concave or convex...is this the way they are published or do I have a strange copy? The reading itself seemed pretty accurate, although just for study purposes I'm going to do the same with RWS. :/ still mixed feelings, I think I made my own mental block against this deck...maybe I'd benefit from putting it aside for a while and returning to it when I'm feeling more willing to learn a new deck. Update: my beloved Radiant Tangerine Deck seems downright DINKY now! HA!

Silverlotus	22 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Shesawolf Her book has be re-released with a new title "Magick of the Gods & Goddesses" http://www.crossingpress.com/Oldnews/frameset.php3?url=fall03Frame2.html Well, I'm glad to hear that, but I'm also getting seriously annoyed at books being rereleased under different titles. I get all excited that a new books is out, but it turns out to be the same darn thing. :(

brandi124	22 Mar 2004
I know what you mean about this deck! I got to know the tarot through a Universal Waite deck and then I saw the Goddess tarot deck at the store and they were just gorgeous and I had to have them. I then went through a kind of rough breaking in period with them and have actually started to REALLY really enjoy reading with the cards. It did take a few weeks and a lot of studying though. I have found now that I really like them to do personal, introspective-type readings. Reading about each goddess also helps too. Now I feel weird if I try reading with anything else! Good luck!

SongDeva	22 Mar 2004
*Holding Brandi124 by the ankles and dunking her into Mimir's well* Hold still while we wash away this block you've created, hon. Odin hung upside down from the tree Yggdrasil for, what, 9 days? and sacrificed an *eye* just to get the runes, in order to bring them to Earth. Surely you can invest a few weeks (and still keep both eyes) to get to know this deck! Sounds like you've already decided to. Just chill out and breathe deeply. Instead of shuffling, indulge and swirl them around on the table. If you want, roll around naked in them on your bed. I wouldn't, but it's your deck. Now, set a couple of intentions. Let this deck be itself, and not a different model of an old favorite. Expect that it will speak to you in a whole new, lovely language. Know that you are capable of speaking and understanding this language. Invite the Goddess in and learn all about her in her many forms and guises (I'm getting all earthy here. hehehe). Your guides tuned you into this deck for a reason. Play with it and let it say whatever it wants to you. If you later decide you hate it, fine, trade it away. But I feel strongly that I should urge you to indulge in this new and different experience. I personally find a beautiful feminine energy coming in around me when I use this deck regularly. Here's another thought: Kris Waldher's website might be good for you to check out. I found the book to be pretty much the same as the workbook in terms of text on each card. You said that the "what the card means to me part" isn't helping you right now. Clue: this is just more mental block. Might be good to wade your way through it and fill in those lines. Add to them as your goddess knowledge grows. Good luck! Love and light, SongDeva

Shalott	22 Mar 2004
Thanks for the encouragement. I'm starting to realize a few things about the various decks, thanks a lot to a really insightful thread started by Punchinella on reading pips...and I thought about a deck I have that I love, Maggie Kneen's Old English Tarot, which I want SOOOO badly to love but I get a little hung up on the fact that the minors, some are RWS-like and some are Marseilles-like. Now I'm thinking that with Goddess, the minors are very RWS-like, but the majors are a whole new system, so I do need to stop forcing them to be something they aren't. I read a TON about Tara thru Athena last night, at least enough to feel comfortable with reading them upright. I'll keep plugging away as much as time allows. Thanks again, I'm glad I didn't post it for Trade before turning to y'all here!

Island Dreamer	23 Mar 2004
I received this deck in the post at the weekend (just the deck not the book) I don't find the LWB very helpful but Joan Bunning's book did give some useful pointers for my first reading. I also have small hands and I found this deck hard to handle. The cards are large, slippery and yes, they do seem to have a distinct 'bend' in them. I've only done one reading with it so far and it was spot on. A 3 card reading showed me Athena, Freya and the Seven of Pentacles. Joan Bunnings book pointed out the particular reinforcing relationships between these three cards which really illuminated the reading for me. I suspect I will be getting the Pocket Goddess Tarot deck if I want to use it regularly though. Island Dreamer

Thea Lynx	23 Mar 2004
Hi Shalott, I too, found the Goddess deck a bit challenging for my smaller hands - but I just had to be a little innovative about my shuffling. I also decided to take a deep breathe and just let the deck be - I found that I had been expecting it to read as others had, which was not the way to approach any deck. Once I relaxed with it, the readings were wonderful. More than made up for any awkwardness of size. I am not a big fan of the way the book was set up - presently I have only allowed myself a week per deck (until I get them all worked, but naughty me added two decks this week, so I am once again behind schedule) but once I have the luxury of just going with the flow ( which I probably should be doing now) i expect to have a very amazing time with this deck. Thea Lynx

Shalott	23 Mar 2004
"I suspect I will be getting the Pocket Goddess Tarot deck if I want to use it regularly though" There's a pocket version??? OMG!!! That would be perfect!!! I can't order any more decks right now, but if I can find it it'll be next on my list! :D Update: found it on the USGames website! http://www.usgamesinc.com/search/viewProduct.cfm?Product_ID=66639

Cerulean	24 Mar 2004
Many but not all of her goddess cards, pictures and some text are listed here...may help some: http://www.artandwords.com/toc.html Scroll first down and look to the right to see the tarot cards listed. AND then look to the left--she has FREE e-books, including one that describes the Goddess Tarot. I was stunned to see free beautiful artbook samples...she did a great one of Dante and Beatrice, taken from La Vita Nueva or The New Life. I was trying to find out about her Lovers' Path...actually after some heisitation, I have sentimental reason to keep the Lovers Tarot by Jane Lyle, but the Kris Waldherr's Lovers Path Tarot looks much nicer. I like the artwork on the Goddess Tarot, it's just the theme didn't work for me. I like her art very much though. I'm real curious what her new deck will be like...what a stunning website with all those free samples. Hope it helps. By the way, thank DolphinGirl, she alerted us to this great website. Mari H.

Shalott	25 Mar 2004
Yes, very cool, thanks to everyone who contributed! I'll check out this ebook ASAP! :D "How I Learned to stop worrying and love the Goddess tarot" LOL

ncefafn	10 Apr 2004
You know, I was never crazy about this deck when I saw it on the internet. The art didn't appeal to me, and I wasn't crazy about a deck that featured almost exclusively women. When I got it (because I wanted some more pocket-sized decks), I still wasn't crazy about it. But I've so far done two readings with it and have had tremendous connection with the deck. Funny, that. Kim

The Goddess - frustrated! thread was originally posted on 21 Mar 2004 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.