Decks - do you choose, or does the deck choose?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 14 Nov 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

kreleia	14 Nov 2002
I just received my first tarot reading about a month ago from a good friend of mine. He inspired me to quit lurking in curiosity and actually go out and get a deck. Since then, we've both been talking about our experiences and our decks, and he mentioned something really interesting to me. He asked me if the *deck* did the choosing, rather than me. As I think back on it, I *was* drawn to the deck I ended up purchasing. I saw it, looked at it, and kept looking. But I kept coming back to it. So far, my experiences and learning have gone really well. What do you think? Did your decks (the ones you use) choose you, or did you choose them? kreleia ^.^

jmd	14 Nov 2002
Firstly, a belated welcome to Aeclectic :) I'm sure that most would have no problems with a description which mentions that one is drawn to a deck - and some would happily give psychological and/or aesthetic explanations as to why. The question you ask, however, implies more - which, incidentally, I personally accept, but which many do not. A question which asks if the deck chose one implies that it somehow either has some kind of cognitive 'magnet' or, perhaps more, has intelligence. I have posted a number of times that for me there is no doubt that a Tarot deck is also the expression of sipritual forces seeking to manifest in a particular way. In this sense, certain decks are far more likely to awaken our own spiritual inclinations with various levels of either empathy or antipathy. In my opinion, then, a deck can awaken in us, and the spiritual beings can prod us to pay, attention. However the choice, given our spiritual heritage of intrinsic freedom, remains ours to make.

Myrrha	14 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by jmd The question you ask, however, implies more - which, incidentally, I personally accept, but which many do not. A question which asks if the deck chose one implies that it somehow either has some kind of cognitive 'magnet' or, perhaps more, has intelligence. I have posted a number of times that for me there is no doubt that a Tarot deck is also the expression of sipritual forces seeking to manifest in a particular way. In this sense, certain decks are far more likely to awaken our own spiritual inclinations with various levels of either empathy or antipathy. That is very interesting because there are some decks I feel drawn to and would like to work with but feel like the *deck* is rejecting *me*, as if there is a barrier. Myrrha

SlyR	17 Nov 2002
Isn't this the same forum in which most members are repeatedly saying that "it's just a pack of cards?" The Tarot doesn't "call" you. It is not intelligent. It's a tool, like a hammer, a fork, a vibrator, whatever. It wasn't fashioned by hand and consecrated by ceremonial magicians. It was printed on bulk card stock in a factory by laborers who could give a rat's arse about the Tarot, and want no more than to fill their quota for the day and return home for WWF and a beer. How sacred is that? If you feel drawn to a deck, here's two possibilities you might consider as explanations why it happens. If you're a rationalist, #1 may apply to you. If you're a Chronic Believer, skip to possibility #2: 1. When you're shopping for an item like a car, a book, a deck, or whatever it is, you weigh a number of options. As you narrow your search down, you revisit certain options. Logically, you will have considered your final option a greater number of times than your other options, or else it wouldn't be your final option. When you finally make that selection, it might have occurred to you that you kept "going back" to that item. Assisted memory could convince you that you "had a hunch" all along. 2. Your Higher Self could be speaking to you when you experience an attraction to a specific deck. In either case, it's YOU, not the deck, that does the choosing - even if you don't recall making a very conscious choice. Your conscious mind is only a very small part of you. L.V.X., Frater S. L. Raymond

Ravenswing	18 Nov 2002
frater-- have you ever designed/developed/created a tarot deck? the one laurel and i are working on is being designed by a ceromonial magician; the aces are self-conscrating weapons a la GD (i prefer tool to weapon) it is fashioned by hand-- that's what moves the pencil around on the paper. if a higher self can **help** one choose a deck, might not a higher self guide in the creation of a deck? and there's always the chance that we may self-publish it. no beer drinkers here. please, as you yourself have cautioned, consider the source. with all due respects-- and only those due ravenswing swollowtail btw-- check 'tarot decks > in progress: tarot of the four worlds ' for our images so far

Kiama	18 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by SlyR Isn't this the same forum in which most members are repeatedly saying that "it's just a pack of cards?" Just cuz one person says the cards call to hem, does not mean to say that everybody thinks that, so please do not go making a mockery of things. I was actually going to say what you said in your post: That they're just a pack of cards. Personally, I feel that I choose the deck, based on pictures, whether or not it has illustrated Minors, whewther I an relate to the imagery... Although all this can still be seen as the deck calling to m I suppose. And here we are geting into cause and effect questions! Did the deck call to me, or did I choose the deck? The deck could call to me because of it's symbolism, art, etc, and it could 'bar' me for the same reason: If I can't get on with the symbolism, it is gonna feel like teh deck is blocking me. BUT we could also say that I choose the deck baed on all these things, not the other way round. Kiama

lawguy51	18 Nov 2002
Why the fuss? Aren't we really only dealing in metaphor here. You look at a deck, it inspires you, it draws you in, the creepy cards creep you out and the beautiful cards make you sigh and in the end, to be lyrical, you say to yourself, because it is a spiritual and romantic notion, that the deck 'chose me' or that the deck 'picked me'. I think we all know the decks are made of paper and ink. Lawguy51

Temperance413	18 Nov 2002
My thoughts in a nut shell Lawguy51! Eloquent! 413

jmd	18 Nov 2002
Whether the cards are made of pulp and various inks, or plastic - or even very thin small flexible plasma screens - is only part of the story. Certainly, one can also do a chemical analysis of the compounds forming a dog. To conclude from that analysis that 'all a dog is' is given in the result of the analysis, however, is inacurrate. At most, such only gives the physical-chemical aspects of the medium through which the Tarot or the dog is incarnated or manifesting. One certainly has particular characterological dispositions for certain kinds of representations, and the choice remains (in my opinion and as I mentioned above) ours. How one explains how we seem prodded towards or away from a certain deck will no doubt reveal our own metaphysical views - irrespective as to how correct or mistaken we may be (I of course include myself here!).

Silverlotus	18 Nov 2002
In my case, it is a combination of the deck choosing me, and me choosing the deck. There have been decks I have been drawn to for certain reasons, but once I explore the deck further I discover that it will not work for me. In the cases of the Witches' Tarot, I even worked with a deck for a long time before I realized it was not right for me. So, I think that the art work must speak to you. It must use symbols that speak to your unconscious. But the mundane aspects of the card must be right as well, everything from the design on the back of the deck to the size of the cards. I think the “magic” comes from the interplay of something (symbols, art work, who knows what) from the deck speaking to your soul/mind/spirit/unconscious and your rational mind finding all the other pieces suitable.

MeeWah	18 Nov 2002
Perhaps a bit of both forces are at work. When one is seeking &/or is open, keys are provided & doors open. I tend to see as JMD does based on the experiences that moreorless led me to Tarot & also to other things far prior to my association with Tarot & after. They were like pieces of a puzzle falling into place. Of course, I believe in free will & I could have ignored the "promptings". & I need not have made the choices or the connections that resulted as they did, but I am convinced that the Hand of Providence (or whatever one would call it) reaches out...& a deck of cards (or a book, a person, so on) is but one link in a chain of links that harken back to a Source.

SlyR	19 Nov 2002
Ravenswing: Of course I wasn't discussing privately published decks in my last post. There is naturally a greater "presence" in a hand-formed deck than in a mass-produced one.

Small-tree	19 Nov 2002
I have never really thought about this, but on hindsight......perhaps my deck did "choose" me. I had no real intention of even getting a tarot deck. The first time i saw my deck, i was just browsing through wat i thought was playing cards with interesting pics. Well.......i didn't get the deck the first time round, but i found myself repeatedly going back to the same shop just to "browse" and though i looked at many decks, i always ended up holding that one edck in my hands. Finally after 6-7 trips back n forth.....i gave up n just bought the deck !! So now i'm a beginner with a deck n trying desperately figure out how to use it.

fairyhedgehog	19 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by SlyR Isn't this the same forum in which most members are repeatedly saying that "it's just a pack of cards?" Yes. And the Bible is just a collection of old books. If you want to look at it that way. To my mind, the images of many tarot decks are as powerfully evocative as a religious text, or as a Shakespeare play, or as good poetry. More so for me, as I am a very visual person. And as lawguy has pointed out, for many of us the idea of a deck 'calling us' is metaphor. But we don't all believe the same things, thank goodness. To those who do believe that tarot cards are the expression of a spiritual force I would say 'good for you'. Because we are all different and what to me may seem to be the expression of someone's creativity may seem to someone else to be an expression of spirit. Who is to say which of us is nearer the truth?

SlyR	20 Nov 2002
fairyhedgehog: "Yes. And the Bible is just a collection of old books. If you want to look at it that way." You're absolutely right. That's why my Bible didn't call to me. I just looked for the cheapest one I could find so I could go home and read the **** out of it.

Shadow Wolf	25 Nov 2002
I have four decks. The Witch's Tarot being my favorite, and I think the deck chooses you. With all four decks I seemed drawn to them. This was so true in my case that I wouldn't buy any of them the first time I picked them up. I found that I had very uncomfortable urges to go back to the store and buy them. So, for whatever reasons, our decks choose us. My humble opinion !!!

LeaRay	25 Nov 2002
It was interesting how I found my first deck. I had been looking for a while, but was unable to find one I liked. So Idecided that when I found the one that was right for me I would simply know it. About 5-6 months later,I was in the mall with my mom, just window shopping. I when into a book store and they had on one of the sales tables was a boxed set of tarot cards, that came with a book. The box is a very beautiful shade of blue and that was what initially drew my attention. But as soon as I touched the box I suddenly new that this was the deck for me. I didn't have the money that day to purchase it and I kept thinking about this deck of cards, and just knew I had to have it. So I went back acouple of days later and bought it. This deck has no special 'name'it is just call Tarot. The small book that came with it is by Sasha Fenton and the illustrator is Samantha Bale.Published by Mars Publishing. Blessings! LeaRay

The Decks - do you choose, or does the deck choose? thread was originally posted on 14 Nov 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.