Celebrating Major Arcana Only decks

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 13 Dec 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

rosyelf	13 Dec 2004
I've become aware in the last few months of a growing number of Major Arcana Only decks. Some are part of an ongoing project to create a whole (78 cards) deck, while others are simply the 22 Major Arcana, project completed. Off my head I'll mention Mary-El, the Gaian, Garden Path, Aeclectic Angel and the Flowers of Life decks. I know there are others. My questions are as follows : Is there anybody out there who ONLY has Major Arcana decks ? Or anyone who prefers them to the full set ? If you use them, which are your favourites ? And how do you use them ? For meditation ? For readings ? If for readings, any special type of reading ? This is no way an attack on 78-card decks. Perish the thought. I like many sorts of decks. :)

Fudugazi	13 Dec 2004
Hurray for this thread! I have also become interested in these recently, and bought one TODAY! (Le Tarot d'Or). I think they add another dimension to tarot, allowing for more concentrated study of the archetypes.

Sophie-David	14 Dec 2004
rosyelf wrote: My questions are as follows : Is there anybody out there who ONLY has Major Arcana decks ? Or anyone who prefers them to the full set ? If you use them, which are your favourites ? And how do you use them ? For meditation ? For readings ? If for readings, any special type of reading ? Hi Rosyelf and Helvetica I'm very new to Tarot, but my second and third decks are Majors Only, Tarot for Cats and Blue Moon Tarot. I think there's a universal human attraction to archetypes, and Majors Only are like a distilled and potent dose of them, like drinking the cream off the milk. The imagery of both these decks was irresistable, but in quite different ways. And there is the attraction to me of being able to read with them faster, after all there's only 22 cards to get to know instead 78. I did use the Majors for an intensive meditational Fool's Journey recently, but I used those from the full deck Connolly Tarot. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with a Majors Only deck for this, or at least not with the ones I have, for they are quite idiosyncratic. I do like the Majors Only for quick three card spreads on important concerns, or to quickly get to the core of someone I'm having trouble understanding. I think I would feel pretty uncomfortable doing a larger spread like Celtic Cross with Majors Only, it would be pretty overwhelming for me at this point. I've also had Majors Only criticise me for asking them a mundane question and refuse to read! So then I've re-read the question successfully from a full deck. In Eileen Connolly's Tarot: A New Handbook for the Apprentice, she has two suggestions for using Majors Only. Firstly, if the querent asks for the "Wisdom of the Tarot", meaning she or he is searching for deep wisdom on the life situation (page 214). I have done this several times for myself. Secondly, if the reader sees four or more majors out of the ten of a Celtic Cross, Connolly suggests that the spread should be picked up immediately and redealt in Majors Only (page 226). I can't imagine a professional reader actually doing this, surely it would make the querent feel very uncomfortable! But I can see that the reader might propose a further reading using Majors Only after working through a lot of Majors in the first spread.

rosyelf	14 Dec 2004
Thank you, Helvetica and Sophie-David, for these responses. S-D, I too have the Tarot for Cats, and I agree it's very idiosyncratic-a bit of fun for all the feline freaks, of whom I am one. I don't think I'll ever be using it in a reading. I also agree the querent might be rather anxious if the reader suddenly took off on a brand-new spread. I know I would be. I'm going to introduce my 8-year-old son to the Major Arcana soon, via Dolphingirl's MOVIE MONSTER deck (Dolphingirl, if you're reading this, no, it hasn't arrived yet. Maybe tomorrow. The post takes a bit longer here during the Xmas season.) I feel the Majors speak so very clearly. As you say, they are like a distillation. I LOVE THEM. :) :) :)

Sophie-David	14 Dec 2004
rosyelf wrote: Thank you, Helvetica and Sophie-David, for these responses. S-D, I too have the Tarot for Cats, and I agree it's very idiosyncratic-a bit of fun for all the feline freaks, of whom I am one. I don't think I'll ever be using it in a reading. I do read with Tarot for Cats, although it wasn't really workable using Regen Dennis' charming card interpretations. I got the deck because I've been through a lot of changes in the last year and needed to lighten up, even when asking big questions. :) Since you have the deck too, just thought I'd tell you about my first reading with them. I bought the deck used, so after I had seasoned them by sleeping with them under the pillow for five nights, I asked them "Where Have You Been?" Body/Past: The Hermit. In loneliness and solitude (stuck in the back of a used bookstore for far too long!) Mind/Present: The Moon. In dark and mysterious dreams (under your pillow). Spirit/Future: Magician. Now full of creative energy and here to provide balance. Quite a cute and cheeky deck! They even said it was OK to read them inverted. But they were the ones that whinged about being asked mundane questions - a cat's dignity is easily offended!

rosyelf	15 Dec 2004
I realize I have underrated this deck ! I'm going to do myself a reading. Thanks for sharing this. love rosyelf

shadowdancer	15 Dec 2004
I do have 3 majors only sets, all came from Korea. My favourite is the Slumber Land deck. One deck is going to do some travelling around the world in a back pack. I have 32 spreads which I believe lend themselves to majors only typed on cue cards, and one deck ready to go. As I am taking a back pack this is ideal - they are light and take up next to no room. I have used majors only with one particular client who has had a lot of issues of late, and found they get straight to the point. Davina

rosyelf	07 Jan 2005
Shadowdancer, ENJOY YOUR TRIP ! love rosyelf P.S. Those Korean decks sound very interesting. :) :)

truelighth	07 Jan 2005
Sophie-David wrote: I do read with Tarot for Cats, although it wasn't really workable using Regen Dennis' charming card interpretations. I have used the Tarot for Cats for readings too sometimes. I agree on the interpretations. I don't even think I looked in the booklet when I used it though. The images kinda talk for themselves. I mostly used them when I did a reading for my boyfriend and I especially found the Sun card very appropiate then. I mean, just imagine being so lazy lying in the sun like that cat. Very clear message there :-). About the subject of majors only decks. I got a lot of them, about a third of my collection (that means more then 200) But that is also because a lot of them are Asian and they often only publish majors only decks. There is only a few I use for actual reading. Most of them are for study or just because they are pretty! :-)

truelighth	07 Jan 2005
rosyelf wrote: P.S. Those Korean decks sound very interesting. :) :) There is a few Korean decks on the market now. I got some myself through Ebay. There is a seller on there who occasionally posts them. You can also check out Tarotgarden. The Slumberland is definately the nicest though, IMO.

rosyelf	07 Jan 2005
Thank you, truelighth, for your feedback. I've made a note of the Slumberland deck for future reference. love rosyelf

The Celebrating Major Arcana Only decks thread was originally posted on 13 Dec 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.