a "soul deck"

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 Oct 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Kyrea Gold	11 Oct 2003
happy saturday! i know that many people have a "soul" deck or a personal deck and if so, would you share the story? do you think it is like romantic love and you can't quite control how or when it happens. and can you find yourself falling out with a supposed soul deck when another comes along and steals your heart away or if it is the "real thing" will it last forever hehe! can a deck you feel friendly with suddenly sweep you off your feet... kyrea

Cerulean	11 Oct 2003
I do have lovely histories with a few decks, but retired them because I'm not learning anything new about me with them: I hear the sweet stories, but if I painted my soul with them, you'd get the gentle faded tones of the past that I've done before and they don't refresh me any more. Here's one story: I do keep a Ukiyoe Tarot in a pretty box one grandmother gave me and another cloth probably similar, if not, the same dance cloth of a childish time where we dressed in the style of an old past . We ate food in the Americanized versions of feasts with chicken, beef and corn, in summer festivals. I'm fine with these memories and yes, they remind me of a quiet home. A mellow time and summer colors, all softer in memory. But I live in a different time and place, so the other tarots I work with help with balancing life here and now. Sounds like you are having a heart-deck connection or looking for it--got a story that you enjoy sharing as well? Mari H.

Emily	12 Oct 2003
I think my first soul deck was the Spiral. I connected with this deck from the online scans and having the deck in my hands was like holding something very special. I liked everything about this deck, the size, the purple colours used, the cloudy purple borders, the cards very pretty, vibrant and full of life. It was very different from the Rider Waite I had been using. I loved the stories in the book that feature on the Majors, even the Minors that some people have problems with because they seem a different style to the Majors. At first this deck seemed to read my thoughts, the readings were very clear, I used it for months - didn't really look at any other decks at all. Then one day I picked it up and I had a complete readers block - nothing at all. I still can't read with it months later. I don't know what happened but it made me check out other decks, some I bought and were completely wrong for me others I can work with. I moved into theme decks lol, Marseille/Soprafino decks, other decks far removed from traditional tarot - all good learning experiences. But I'm still looking for that one deck that I will again connect with on a level more than what I have now. Actually I'm having a pretty good time with the Haindl at the moment, but I'm hesitant to say that its my 'Soul' deck just yet. :)

WolfSpirit	12 Oct 2003
The Shapeshifter tarot used to be my soul deck. It is very untraditional, which is why many people can't use it, but I fell in love with the artwork and I did not know very much about tarot, which probably helped with such a different deck. Then I started collecting other decks, and I used the Shapeshifter less and less. Recently I took it up again, the artwork still does it for me but I can't read with it like a tarot deck at all now. I sometimes draw one card and don't look at suit or number, don't look at the keyword, just look at what I see in the card and give it its meaning from the picture. So when I use it now, I use it like an oracle deck rather than tarot. I doubt if I will find a soul deck again. I have collected and am collecting some fine decks, I all love for different readings. This makes it very difficult to have "the one" deck. I couldn't choose just one - but I think the Ancestral Path comes close. I am glad it is allowed to be promiscuous with tarot decks ;)

Astraea	12 Oct 2003
The Tarot of Prague, without hesitation. I love the Ancestral Path, as well, but they feel completely different and the AP seems to correspond more to the personality, and TOP to the soul.

Rusty Neon	18 Oct 2003
My soul deck would be my 'mental' tarot deck which is based on - the illustrations of the Rider-Waite deck, - the illustrations of the major arcana Conver patterned Tarot de Marseilles, - the illustrations of the pip cards and court cards of the Thoth deck, and the pip card keywords of that deck - the divinatory meanings of the OGD's manuscript _Book 'T'_, and - the divinatory meanings in Waite's _Pictorial Key to the Tarot_ (which is an amalgam of OGD and pre-OGD divinatory meanings). Every physical deck, classic or modern, I encounter is nearly always viewed by me within the framework of my mental deck.

WolfyJames	18 Oct 2003
So I'm not the only one in love with her deck? I saw my deck, The Enchanted Tarot (Zerner-Farber) ten years ago, and I fell in love with it, love at first sight. I didn't know anything about tarot then and I wasn't looking for that in the store. I kept looking at the Moon card on the cover and found it so beautiful. I loved the name and I thought that indeed that deck was enchanted (still do). The problem was that the deck was quite expensive (60$CA, with taxes) and I couldn't afford it. I came back home in tears, not wanting to let it go. I spent days, nights and weeks thinking about it, regretting not buying it and despising poverty. I never came back to the store, never found the time (I was in College) and didn't have the money. I got a loan though, afterwards. I used to go to a small bookstore all the time and once, there were tarot decks in its window. I was surprised because I've never seen tarot decks in the bookstore before, and guess which deck was in display in the window? The Enchanted Tarot! I ran into the store and I used my loan money to buy it. I came back home happy and delirious. I was not disapointed with the rest of the deck, not at all (I had only seen the Moon card). I slept with it, caressed it, read with it. I still love this deck, even though we don't share the same bed anymore.

Logiatrix	21 Oct 2003
My soul deck is the "Visconti Gold," and we are still together, despite my terrible ways. I strayed long ago, always going crazy over the newest thing out there, leaving a trail of stray cards and empty boxes behind me. But, mercifully, my Visconti Gold has forgiven me. Now, I still buy and trade other decks, and I keep a very small collection, but I no longer search for "The One." My beat-up, old, care-worn Visconti Gold is "The One." You just can't replace loyalty... ;)

The a "soul deck" thread was originally posted on 11 Oct 2003 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.