Rapport with Decks

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 Sep 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Teal	11 Sep 2002
Has anyone ever found this to be something they've experienced? You shop for decks and there are some that you just don't like by looking at the art work on the cards, but then at some time you've actually handled and used that particular deck and found you had an immediate rapport with it? That the energy was just "there" for you and you came to love the deck? Or is it usually that you'll have a better rapport with a deck you're drawn to and do like the looks of?

Jewel	11 Sep 2002
I am not sure how this quite fits in with your question, but when I ordered the Cosmic Tribe I ordered it from a collectors perspective, I was personally not drawn to the deck. When it arrived and I started going through the cards it turned into love at first sight. And from the first moment I used it everything was easy and free flowing.

DarkElectric	11 Sep 2002
This happened to me with the Motherpeace deck. When I first saw it, (In a book, B/W colouration) I thought it looked like a bunch of little kiddie stick figure drawings. I dismissed it as ever being something I would want. Then, a good friend of mine and I were talking tarot. She said "I'm not too good at reading, but I got this deck as a gift. I absolutely love the imagery, but it's too big for my hands". (My friend is a short little lady, with very small hands. ) I said, " Let me see it!" It was the Motherpeace, large version. When I actually opened the deck and looked closely at the cards, I not only realised that I had severely misjudged this deck, but I really liked it, and would be able to read with it. She wanted to trade for the Mini Motherpeace, which she had been having trouble finding. I kenew where to buy a copy of that one, so I did, and traded decks with her. It has become one of my fav decks. I use it to clarify personal, woman related issues. It reads very accurately, and has helped me gain a lot of insight.

truthsayer	11 Sep 2002
i don't know why it is but there have been a very few that i felt an immediate rapport with. 2 of them from the moment i saw them online. when i finally held them in my hands, i virtually trembled excitement. one is neferteri and the other is the tarot de paris. the third deck i felt attraction to but not excitement until i first looked at it was the ananda.i was also very excited when i first held the legend arthurian 3 years ago. the wild LAT love is wearing off in favor of other decks now. i'm not sure why i'm attracted to any of them. an eygptian deck. a deck with statues in paris. the surrealistic art of a german artist. a deck about king arthor. they are all so totally different. then there are the decks that i've bonded with over time even tho i didn't have a strong rapport in the beginning. this happened w/ the inner child cards and the hanson roberts. not much similarity in either. preferences are a strange thing! ;) maybe it's lots of variety that i look for. i don't follow a pattern of a type of deck i prefer like marseille or rws or thoth. it's not all beauty or art.

Starfish	11 Sep 2002
I have experienced that a couple of times. The first time was with my Old English deck, which remains my all-time favorite deck; and most recently with the Fairy Ring Oracle that I just picked up yesterday! I was able to connect with it amazingly quick - and it's readings are incredibly accurate. I do have decks that I haven't connected with that I plan on working with again at a later date, and some that I just plain didn't get along with, so they were traded away to a home that can better appreciate them ;) :TEMPS Starfish

Emily	11 Sep 2002
It has only happened with my Spiral, I saw some scans online and fell in love with it there and then. It was even better when I handled the deck - I do believe I have a rapport with this deck, its very honest, brutally honest at times but if I'm having a bad day just shuffling the deck is relaxing lol. I liked the Robin Wood from online scans and am working hard to get into this deck but its not as easy as the Spiral and the rapport wasn't instant or easy but I think I'm getting there slowly and am hoping that this also turns into a friend like the Spiral has.

Teal	11 Sep 2002
I went and got some decks today. It's very hard to find decks here. I finally found a place and was thrilled because they had Vision Quest, which I wanted. I also found the Native American deck and got that, but my daughter wants to work with that one for awhile and I don't mind. THEN-----they also had the Cosmic Tribe deck and book set, all sealed in plastic, so I figured "hmmmmm, I'm going to splurge and get this because it sounds so good". Yeeeech!!! When I opened the box, I sure got a shocker, and had to put the thing away because I had grandkids with me. I bought a nice wooden box with a latch for a dollar at the Dollar Tree so I'll stash the deck in that in a drawer till I have private time alone to look it over. I may decide that's one I'm going to trade away, though. I'm raising two grand daughters I've had since their births, and then my other daughter and her three kids live with me, so Cosmic Tribe may not be too compatible here. Of course, you have to bear in mind that National Geographic was the sex education of my generation-----kids today may be using Cosmic Tribe Tarot, for all I know. LOL But I'd rather it weren't at my house, you know? If anyone wants to trade me a deck and book set for Cosmic Tribe, let me know and I'll keep you in mind. I'd take two decks and NO book in trade, even, as I'm seeing it now. (Been a widow for awhile and sure did make a Freudian slip spelling "deck" back there. Thank goodness I caught the typo in time! Need to hit the blood pressure medicine now. Haven't seen anything like that in years! I think I have one hormone left.)

wavebreaker	12 Sep 2002
This happened to me with the Glastonbury. I didn't think the artwork was very special, and some cards I didn't like at all. But I bought it anyway, because it was the deck that got me into tarot, so it had a special meaning for me. When I received it and started to work with it, and started to read about all the symbolism in the cards and about the stories behind them, I started to like it more and more. I see the artwork in a completely different light now, and the Glastonbury is among my favourite reading decks.

Teal	12 Sep 2002
I've been reading the book and working a little bit with the Cosmic Tribe tonight and I think I'm actually going to like it. The only thing is, though, that I have very small hands and I almost can't shuffle the deck. I have to really stretch to make it. Why do they make the decks so big? The only deck that's comfortable in my hands that I've gotten so far is the Native American deck, and my daughter is working with that one while I get used to my two other new ones. I want to thank everyone for their responses to my post. I'm finding it very interesting and I'm sure learning a lot here.

Jewel	12 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Teal I want to thank everyone for their responses to my post. I'm finding it very interesting and I'm sure learning a lot here. Teal we have a study group on the Cosmic Tribe in the Study Group Forum if you are interested in joining us ... we are covering the design elements , courts, individual cards, etc.

Teal	12 Sep 2002
I went to that study group and read a lot of the posts last night, but I didn't know how to formally join the group. Do we just go there and post, or do we sign up somewhere? My daughter tried the Cosmic Tribe cards this morning, and she loves them, too. I guess they're a keeper. Our first reaction was kind of "off", but I'm beginning to have the strong feeling that nothing I'm led to with tarot cards is without reason. Two other decks I now want are Ancestral Path and Osho Zen. Those with the ones I have and the ones Cricket is trading me will give me quite a selection of styles to work with as I learn.

Jewel	12 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Teal I went to that study group and read a lot of the posts last night, but I didn't know how to formally join the group. Do we just go there and post, or do we sign up somewhere? Two other decks I now want are Ancestral Path and Osho Zen. No formality required to join the CT study group, just hop on in feet first! Start where you like and feel free to start new threads. I look forward to our continued discussions of the CT in the Study Group. I really like the Osho Zen a lot. Some people find the deck really different from a traditional deck, I did not have that experience. I saw it as giving me the "zenish" version of the same card in most (not all) instances. I say zenish because I am not very familiar with Zen Buddhism (or Buddhism for that matter), so I am not really sure. Lets just say it fits my perception and makes sense to me. The art is lovely also! The Ancestral Path is a nice multicultural deck. I have not looked at mine in years, but know that I would not trade it *LOL*. I look forward to hearing your opion of the decks once you receive them!

truthsayer	12 Sep 2002
teal, it took me a while to "adjust" to the cosmic tribe, too. they are rather avante gard and a little bit more than i was prepared to deal w/ in the beginning. i quite bashful about nudity for any reason. i can see why so many ppl like the deck now. even i've managed to do some readings w/ it. surprize! surprize! it does good readings. often chillinly so. let me put in my 2 cents about the osho zen. i consider this a pretty controversial deck. there's been quite a bit of posting in the past on it. i suggest you check out the archives and read some of those posts before you get the deck. but briefly, the creator of the deck did it to honor a indian mystic that was sometimes called "osho" that started a cult following in oregon in the '80's i believe. i don't know if it was osho that was evil or some of his advisers but they caused quite a bit of difficulty. osho was eventually deported as an illegal alien back to india and is now deceased. i say this b/c there is a 79th card called "the master" representing osho. the card totally gives me th creeps. i keep it b/c it's such a beautiful deck but i don't read w/ it b/c i have such mixed feelings about the cult behind it. i believe it's still active somewhere but i don't know anything else about it. they supported the creater while she did the deck over 4 years. the history of the deck shouldn't be held against it but i can't help the way i feel. if i try a reading w/ it, i always take the master card out. i think the ancestral path is a nice multicultural deck. good art and coloring. each suit represents a different culture. i believe japan is swords and native americans are wands. i don't have the deck anymore so i can't remember. i think the only thing that turned me off w/ it is that there is that the fool is a woman reading tarot cards with a mirror behind her. it's very original. generally, i can prefer original. but somehow this perspective of the fool throws me off but other than that it's a likeable deck.

Teal	12 Sep 2002
Thanks for the input! Truthsayer, I live in Oregon and I know just where that deck came from, from what you say! I'm gonna just bypass that deck then. Those were some very evil people and I don't think even smudging the deck would make me feel comfortable using it. I actually like that concept of the Fool that you mention in the Ancestral Path deck! I didn't know that was the Fool card, but as I perceive the Fool, it's a card that signifies an innocent and naive kind of exuberance for life. I think that card says to me exactly what's been the case for me------I'm throwing off all too slowly the fanatical upbringing I had that's stifled me so much creatively and now I can wholeheartedly and enthusiastically embrace the tarot-----that's actually how I'm feeling these days.

Teal	12 Sep 2002
I was just thinking further that it's like she's looking to the deck to find out insight on who she is rather than into a mirror, which mostly only reflects superficial attributes of a person anyway. I like that!

Riversea	12 Sep 2002
Hi! I just wanted to chime in about the Osho Zen deck a little. Landon and I live in Oregon, too. Landon got the Osho before knowing its background. When he was first looking through the cards, I noticed the Master card and thought, "Huh...looks exactly like the Bagwan!" But I figured it was just me being ethnocentric or something. A while later, Landon was looking up information on the Osho Zen, and found out that it was INDEED the Bagwan. He figured that was the reason he'd settled on a scarlet silk bag from Tarot Totes for this deck! :) The Rajneesh group did cause quite a number of difficulties in Oregon in the early 80's. Some of the group even reportedly tried biological terrorism at the salad bar of some resturant. I don't remember too many other details about the group execpt the Bagwan liked Rolls Royces and the members always wore red/orange clothes. (Hence, the red silk bag!) Has knowing all this changed Landon's relationship with this deck? Some, he regards it with a bit of humor, but he still uses it daily and seems to be getting positive, helpful advice from the deck. I guess it is a little like the Thoth deck. Knowing about Crowley turns lots of folks from the Thoth, me included to a degree. Knowing about the Bagwan may turn folks off from the Osho Zen. That's cool. However, if you find the images really speaking to you, and knowing the background isn't block that can't be overcome, go for it! It seems to be a enlightening deck, good for self-exploration. Or so Landon tells me. :) By the way, Landon has the Thoth and the Osho Zen (and the Cosmic Tribe). He loves them all. And despite my misgiving about Crowley, I have to admit that the Thoth is beautiful. And while I may never read with it, it doesn't creep me out any either. ;)

truthsayer	12 Sep 2002
i'm glad i posted that info about the osho zen. since you're from oregon, you understand what i'm saying w/o having to read the old posts. i hadn't thought of the ancestral path the way that you speak. i haven't ruled out getting it again! ;) it is a very pretty deck.

Riversea	12 Sep 2002
I'm not sure how I managed that one! :)

Riversea	12 Sep 2002
I'm with Tarotlady on this one... the Glastonbury. Ever since the first time I laid eyes on this particular deck, I hated the artwork. I'm mean, really hated it. There was absolutely no way I had any desire to have this deck. But then, everyone had such nice things to say about it. I got curious about what Glastonbury the town was about, having never heard of it before knowing about the deck. So, I started reading about Glastonbury, and even though I am not a big King Aurthur fan, I got intrigued. Then someone posted a link to a place selling the deck half price, and I caved. Now, I like the deck quite a bit. The artwork seems more attractive even. And while it isn't my main reading deck (that's still the Universal Waite), I do use it fairly often, and it works well in areas where my other decks don't always mesh. It is fairly introspective, and usually kind and comforting. It may tell you something unpleasant, but it pats your back while doing so.

Phoenix	12 Sep 2002
It happened to me just yesterday. I had originally not liked the Robin Wood Tarot. But the chance arose that I was able to acquire one. And now, I absolutely love it! I can't believe that I didn't get it before! PS Thanks Jewel!

Cerulean	13 Sep 2002
Hello Teal, I read your posts and others with interest. I just started a thread about some decks that others might recognize for their Thoth-like meanings/structure. It turns out even before I had the small Crowley Thoth---the very recent U.S. Games version in the lavendar box---I was attracted to different decks with meanings and write-ups that seemed to come from the Thoth structure. I don't know why, it may have been they had unusual, creative and interesting ideas redone or artistically prettier in a less mysterious or poopy way than Alexander Crowley's meanings. Anyway, I think the Vision Quest and Cosmic Tribe might be similar to Thoth in meanings to some people....not certain, as the Cosmic Tribe is in my 'next month' list. The Gill and others are also mentioned. And this is my take---some people really are into the East Indian kama sutra or the non-mainstream Asian esoterics like Crowley was like. I'm more into the idea of balancing the nice celebrations, temperate lifestyle and diet aspect of my heritage Mari H.

Logiatrix	18 Sep 2002
teal, that's how it is for me with my visconti deck and my angel cards--those are my "babies"... i haven't a clue as to why my visconti "clicks" for me. for the longest time, i couldn't even read pips, but i was still somehow drawn to this deck and kept it in my study regimen; now it's my exclusive tarot deck. other decks float in and out of my favor, but the visconti remains THE ONE for me, and i'm not sure why. it just FEELS right to me (???), and i read well with it--probably because i'm so comfortable with it. :) my "healing with the angels" deck is my other absolute favorite. these cards have been easy to bond with, they are so...well, healing! the curious thing is that i don't naturally bond with HUGE cards, but i've found a way around that with this deck--my draw to them has been strong enough to still want to handle them, and i do okay. well, that's all...

faunabay	18 Sep 2002
I actually did something like this with my Nigel Jackson. The town I lived in before has a store where you can flip through entire decks before buying one. For some reason I was always drawn to the Nigel Jackson but once I looked at the cards I just thought YUCK! And would put them back. Well after doing this for weeks I finally decided to shuffle and draw a card (in the store) asking it what our relationship would be like if I bought it. Well I drew the 3 of cups!!! Decided then and there to buy it and absolutely love it now. Also like some others I bought the Glastonbury mostly for my collection but surprise, surprise! When I opened the box I just fell in love with it. The scans on the net just don't do it justice. I got a very comfortable feel from the cards as I held them in my hands.

faunabay	18 Sep 2002
OHHHHH, and some of you that have been around here awhile may remember me talking about my Brotherhood of Light Egyptian Deck. Talk about an example of rapport?!?! I traded for it for really no good reason other than as soon as I saw it up for trade I knew I HAD to have it???? I remembered seeing some scans of it before but really couldn't even remember exactly what it looked like other than it was a black and white deck (which I don't like). Oh, and it had pips instead of illustrated minors (which I also don't like??) Once I got it though we just clicked. Then one night after having and working with it for about a week or so I was shuffling the deck getting ready to do a reading and a picture flashed in my mind of me shuffling this very same deck but it was all yellowed and dog-earred with age!!!! Kind of freaked me out. After calming down a bit I decided to ask it if we had worked together before in the past and got the 10 of pentacles!! Even though I don't usually ask yes or no questions I felt that was definite yes. Now I feel very comfortable using that deck but only for myself. I've actually tried doing readings for others with it and don't get anything???? It's almost one of my comfort decks -- although one that doesn't pull any punches. Comfort deck in a way that I know it'll tell me exactly what I want to know - whether I want to hear it or not. For example I did a 3 card reading for the day one time and got 3 Fives!!! Needless to say that was not exactly a great day and I didn't reach for that deck for awhile. ROFL But I use that deck when I really want to know the flat out answer to a question.

catlin	19 Sep 2002
The decks I immediately fell in love with when seeing/having them in hands were: Legend Arthurian, World Spirit, Robin Wood, Daughters of the Moon, Motherpeace, Goddess, Glastonbury, Fairy Wicca, Visconti Sforza, Nefertari, Golden Tsar and Sacred Circle (I am sure I forgot some).

The Rapport with Decks thread was originally posted on 11 Sep 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.