Merryday Tarot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 Apr 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

earth en lady	11 Apr 2005
Hi everyone hope your all having a lovely day I recently acquired this deck, I love it ,the cards have so much too say and I find I can gleen a lot out of them, (shame about the borders) but almost perfect does anyone else use this deck ? I don't have the book and haven't a clue about the astrological numbers so any help would be great!

mnemosyne7	11 Apr 2005
I have been using the Merryday for a few years now. It is absolutely wonderful. Every single card has so much detail, that I often use it for one card readings. In fact, I don't like using this deck for spreads at all - it offers such powerful one card readings, but I get TMI (too much information) from more than one Merryday card at a time. The Fool/Wizard is my favorite fool in ANY deck. Louisa Poole, the deck's creator, did write a book to go with the deck. You can find out more about it on www.merrydaytarot.com. The book has some interesting information regarding numerology, astrology, alchemy and Louisa's perspective. I have to admit I found the book doesn't flow very well, but it is a good resource if you want to understand a lot of the symbols on the deck. Some of the alchemical and seasonal symbols are not as common as others, and it's nice to have them all explained in one place. Yet, the deck stands alone, and I don't know that the book is all that necessary to comprehending the cards. She numbered the deck 1-78, and those numbers and their reductions are the additional numbers you see on the cards. They add yet another dimension of meaning to each card. This is only my opinion, but a better book/companion piece to the deck is Numerology and The Divine Triangle by Faith Javane and Dusty Bunker. The entire second section of that book is devoted to the same numbering scheme used on the Merryday and gives some very interesting and coherent interpretations based upon the numerological resonance assigned to each card (though it uses Rider Waite images). I'm interested to know how you use this deck. Mnem

Kissa	12 Apr 2005
the court card renaming and logic seems to be one of the weirdest i've ever seen. could never get used to it, never really tried honestly. i agree that the artwork is brilliant, a bit too busy for my taste sometimes though. i definitely include this deck in the "78 card oracle" list rather than in the tarot list. my two cents... Kissa

earth en lady	12 Apr 2005
Hiya I have only recently started work with this deck,so I am studying it card by card at the moment ,the cards have so much to say I find I can write a couple of pages just from studying one card which is quite unusual for me! These cards feel natural and once I have woken up my intuition (takes a while) I seem to just read .I don't really want the handbook as I am sure the cards a full system as you said ,but I shall definately keep my eyes open for the divine triangle book sounds like a good read.I have also found these cards so non threatening that I use them for story telling with my 4 year old,she is a little capricorn and told me this morning that the friendly earth dragon came to see her in her dream. So far the fool is my favourite card in the deck too I think the way the fool can't see the wizard yet ,and looks to the heavens in bliss is travelling and the wizard is returning wiser and using his intuition (using my poetic license)

WolfSpirit	12 Apr 2005
One of my favourite cards is the first one I ever saw of this deck, the Tower. Looks different from all other Towers I have ever seen, it is not a threatening card but in no way so sweet it becomes meaningless. There is a lot of detail in the cards, I would have loved it if the borders had been smaller (or non-existent) so the artwork could be bigger, that would do more justice to the details. I did not get the book, as it is quite expensive and, as I understand, mostly deals with the numerology system, which is not really my favourite subject :P I rather read the cards intuitively anyway.

earth en lady	12 Apr 2005
Tottally agree about those awful borders !! And the tower is amazing reminds me of a lot of stuff related to Kundalini, Its great to chat about this deck as there is so much there Thanks guys

FaerieStorm	12 Apr 2005
Is the cardstock, color, and printing qualities acceptable? From the website it seems to be a self-published deck, so am curious as to how high the quality is in respect to the cards (and the book).

WolfSpirit	13 Apr 2005
The cards are thinner than most cards from big companies, but they still show surprisingly little wear, or at least that is my experience. The colours are bright and all the details are clearly visible, so the printing quality must be quite good. Although the cards are thin, I would say the overall quality is quite good.

mnemosyne7	13 Apr 2005
I'd second that, Wolfspirit. The card stock is pretty good. The colors are vibrant. My deck has held up quite well over the years, and I do use it to read for the public (though I don't use it as often as my primary deck). My only real complaint about the deck is the backs. AAARRRRGH! The black and white design with the deck name really looks more like an elaborate doodle. Don't get me wrong. There's some interesting stuff in there. But it's the only deck I hand to people to shuffle face up. Mnem

Grizabella	13 Apr 2005
I love the art work of the Merryday, but I was very disappointed in the thin card stock and the fact that it seems to shuffle in "clumps". It's almost like it was printed with a laser printer and cut by hand. Also, it seems like some of the black on the borders is slightly chipping off and I haven't even used the deck to speak of. I don't like the backs of the cards either. But the art work is so beautiful that I really love the deck. I know it sounds like I found a lot to dislike, but quite the contrary------the art work is absolutely wonderful.

13thFaeChylde	13 Apr 2005
Hi all! I just received the Merryday deck+book yesterday (thanks Kissa) and am in love. I wanted something with dragons, but not a whole deck chock-full of them, and this is perfect. I only have one complaint....the backs are horrendous! How did that happen?? Oh, and the chin on the Queen of Cups is rather large, seems way out of proportion. But, other than that, the cards are sooo gorgeous, and such a happy feeling emanates from this deck...I cannot wait to get acquainted with this gem.

Skydancer	13 Apr 2005
I like this deck as well, but have only had it maybe 2 months. The cardstock is thinish but okay for me. Glad to hear it holds up!! The backs are ... strange. But, then again, it DOES eliminate having something like Game Systems or logos printed somewhere on each and every card. And the backs all swirl together when spreading out so that it really doesn't matter to me. It is a 78 card oracle deck, not tarot per se. Anyway, back to your question. I use it so far for inner work. For my self. I pick a card and think about it during the day, see how it applies to what transpires. Still getting used to them! But I do like busy cards - as long as it doesn't get too far afield. And these seem to strike a nice balance. I find myself rather often thinking of how they relate to tranditional tarot numbers and meanings - and finding that it distracts from my becoming familiar with these cards for themselves as quite a bit does not relate to what I am familiar with. Anyway - glad I found them! :) Oh - I have the book now too, and wish it didn't have the mistakes. Maybe in the next printing errors will get straightened out. *S*

13thFaeChylde	24 May 2005
There is just soooo much info in this deck, and I admit, I'm hooked on the numerology aspect...I wonder if anyone would like to study this deck with me, in a laid-back fashion.

earth en lady	24 May 2005
Hi 13thFaeChild I would love someone to learn with :)

13thFaeChylde	24 May 2005
Awesome!! I guess we can start a thread in the Tarot Study forum, I'll have to read up on the rules and whatnot. I spent my lunch-hour figuring out soul-numbers for me and my children. Mine is 40/4 ~ Enchantment....beautiful card! Anyone else want to join us?

Kyrea Gold	24 May 2005
I'd join in on a study group although I only have the deck, not the book. hoping to get the book in a trade as the book is a bit spendy.

mythos	24 May 2005
I just don't connect with this deck .... and I know it is well-loved and popular, and absolutely chockers with symbolism. I think it is a bit too 'pretty' for me ... all of which just goes to show how much the issue of personal taste enters into our decisions re tarot, along side our interests in symbolism and so on. mythos

Mimers	24 May 2005
I love this deck and would most definitely participate. I already have used this deck for comparitive studies in my tarot journal. There is so much in it and it speaks so clearly to me. Kissa, I think we have finally found a deck that we don't both love! LOL. As far as the backs go, I love the black and white backs. I think it is perfect for this deck. I would say the book is so so. I don't know if I would buy it again if I had to do it over. For me, the numerology part wasn't easy to understand. I confused me. The part about the cards themselves was fantastic. Mimi

13thFaeChylde	26 May 2005
Wonderful!! So maybe we can start next week? I'm off to the beach this weekend :) I haven't read with my Merryday yet, but I think that when I do, it will be a good fit. And if anyone wants anything calculated regarding numerology, I can do that. She mainly uses your name for numerology stuff, which can be pm'ed.

Kissa	26 May 2005
Mimers wrote: Kissa, I think we have finally found a deck that we don't both love! LOL. Hi Mimi! nope we still haven't found that mysterious deck... the fact is i owned two copies of the merryday, the other one is with my sister for now but i will get it back this summer... lol keep trying, Mimi! ;) Kissa

The Merryday Tarot thread was originally posted on 11 Apr 2005 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.