Angered Tarot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 06 Feb 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

fairyangel	06 Feb 2004
I have had my beginner Rider-Waite (i can't spell..) for about a year and some, but i haven't been using them. The first time i tried doing readings i could sense some negativity from them...and since ive been gone at boarding school (military...so the last thing i thought to bring was my tarot cards! XP), i haven't been home to read them. My mom is sending me the cards, and i KNOW for a fact that they are going to be mad as anything, so could anyone give advice on how to settle them down and forgive me? (i know this sounds quite stupid, but i can really feel they hate me...im not kidding! i got all the worst cards all the time...whats worse is that it ended up being the complete opposite of what i gotten!) thank you very much rebecca

Alissa	06 Feb 2004
Hi and welcome fairyangel, I love your name! :D I would say, I really don't believe your cards will get angry with you. If you think of your cards as tools, would your hammer get angry if you hadn't used it in a long time? The magic, I believe, lies within us. Not in the cards. To anthropomorphize, and attribute emotions to the deck isn't always helpful. Believe in yourself, and when you're ready, just shuffle your deck for a good long while, getting the feel for it again, and get started. You may be pleasantly surprised!!!

Chronata	06 Feb 2004
Hi fairyangel! Welcome to Aeclectic! (I like your name, BTW!) To me, this doesn't sound that stupid. But here's the thing...lots of folks here (including me) will tell ya that the tarot cards can not have emotions. They don't have feelings because they are only paper and ink. There isn't any magical sentience about them. They are simply a tool. And these wise folks are right. It is not the cards that are angry...but the emotions that you project onto them. They are a mirror to what may be inside you, subconciously. You may be feeling angry that you have not had much time to spend reading them, or playing with them, or studying them. That said... My cards got angry with me a lot. Because I felt that I was neglecting them. :) Happened a lot with my Rider-Waite too, come to think of it. And when I felt like they just didn't want to talk to me (they wouldn't shuffle properly) I would put them all right side up in order. Organization. Of the cards. And my thoughts. Worked every time! :)

fairyangel	06 Feb 2004
thank you very much! the name was randomly picked lol! amazingly, i have just realized that there was very much negativity in my house at the time, and i think thats what it was from. i tried to cleanse it by running each card through incense and saying a blessing, but i got bored! lol..im so bad! so i decided to just, stick the rest of the deck through the incense and said alot of blessings...lol... thank you very much again! you guys are all so smart! im very jealous :-) rebecca

Alissa	06 Feb 2004
Don't be jealous! All you need to do is hang around Aeclectic long enough and you'll be talking pro talk sooner than you know! And I agree with Chronata, our cards are often mirrors we reflect things onto. Wise thoughts indeed. And, having said that, I once felt my Universal Waite deck didn't want to be read with. It showed me the Hermit card, every single time I picked it up, for about 10 times in a row over a few months time. Didn't matter if I shuffled, nada. I finally set the deck aside for a while, and when I went to it a few months later, it showed me the 3 cups: "Welcome back, let's play." ;)

Ninelives	08 Feb 2004
Hi, Fairyangel: there's a simple solution to your problem - ask the cards ! Shuffle them well, whisper your question to the deck ("are you really angry with me ?" or "why are you angry" or, probably most to the point, "why do I feel that you're so angry with me") & lay out any spread you're happy with. Then just relax & the cards will give you all the answer you need. Best Wishes

Diana	08 Feb 2004
How can a Tarot deck get angry???? It doesn't make sense. My car doesn't get angry with me when I don't use it for weeks on end. My toaster doesn't get angry with me when I don't take it out of the cupboard. And my Tarot deck doesn't get angry with me either. It's just a deck of cards. It's not like it's alive or anything. If it gets angry, it must have emotions. If it has emotions, it has to have, amongst other things, a brain. If someone can show where the brain of a Tarot deck is, then I may change my mind. But I've checked all my decks. Definitely no brains.

Lady Eclipse	08 Feb 2004
Hi fairyangel, I don't think your cards are angry with you, it just sounds to me like you need a different deck. You seem to have some negative emotions toward this one for some reason and I would suggest trying another deck. Some decks you connect with and some you don't. Nothing to feel bad about. :-) Joy to you, Maralee

AmounrA	08 Feb 2004
My computer has no brain, but I am almost certain it hates me:-) My biased opinion is its the deck, Rider Waite is [imo] a terrible deck, created by [imo] a silly serious man. Perhaps the result of this is that the decks gaurdian is also a bit too serious. ? . I am sure the Thoth deck would love you ;-)

fairyangel	08 Feb 2004
i heard that Thoth was like, very...well...erm...scary? i like faeries, but im too poor to buy another deck! at the current moment i live well...in a desolate area...and theres no place to buy tarot cards but online! and that takes too long...and ive become an incredibly impatient person (all my life ive waited...and ive become sick of it! lol) im an earth sign (virgo) and faeries aren't earth! their air! (i think..all this homework has made my head go all crazy!) would it be too bad if i got a faerie deck, but i LOVE faeries! ( i think they're beautiful!) should i still get that deck? thank you! rebecca

AmounrA	08 Feb 2004
Fairy angel, Thoth is perhaps the best deck at rewarding loyalty. It was born of genius, and never lies. The myth about it's scaryness comes from its creator , A great man, who partly due to his sense of humour, but mostly due to the christian media and sensabilities of his time was labeled 'the wickedest man alive'. I must admit I know very little about Faries, I've only ever seen one once, at a distance, and it may well have been a dragonfly. If Thoths meant for you, your paths will cross ;-) (P.S I must also say the artwork from Lady Harris is quite astonishing, and she deserves more credit for her contribution)

Umbrae	08 Feb 2004
Now this is my opinion, so let’s not get too carried away here… Ain’t nothing wrong with the Ryder Waite Coleman-Smith deck. Not a thing. Some folks don’t like it, so what, that’s their issue – not yours. I used a RWS for many many years before I ever got another deck. Read with it through thick and thin…served me well. Ain’t no reason to go out and buy another deck. Wanna get your deck back on track? Shuffle it while watching TV (preferably baseball). Some folks (including me) will tell you that your deck cannot harbour emotions…but what if…what if we are all wrong? If your deck in your hands harbours emotions – then you need to get along with it…and the key to that…is shuffle it…a lot. No thoughts, just shuffle for hours…you two will be right as rain.

Lady Eclipse	08 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by fairyangel i heard that Thoth was like, very...well...erm...scary? i like faeries, but im too poor to buy another deck! at the current moment i live well...in a desolate area...and theres no place to buy tarot cards but online! and that takes too long...and ive become an incredibly impatient person (all my life ive waited...and ive become sick of it! lol) im an earth sign (virgo) and faeries aren't earth! their air! (i think..all this homework has made my head go all crazy!) would it be too bad if i got a faerie deck, but i LOVE faeries! ( i think they're beautiful!) should i still get that deck? thank you! rebecca Hi again, There's no reason why you can't have more than one deck so I say go for it! I have many decks I use on a regular basis and not one of them is the RWS. I have hundreds more in my ever growing collection but I'm one of those people referred to as tarotholics...LOL! Maybe you'll connect with your RWS later on and maybe you won't. That's not for us to decide...that's between you and your deck and no one else. Joy to you, Maralee

fairyangel	08 Feb 2004
thank you all very much for giving me your opinions! i don't know how many times ill say this, but im very new to tarot, and i wish so badly to be able to help out other people by giving them readings, helping them out in what to do, etc. my roommates (i go to a boarding school) boyfriend has lung cancer, and shes especially the one i want to help out the most. i don't want my cards to give me the death card when im giving her a reading! it'll freak her out! (thats the most frequent card they used to give me lol...man oh man do i repeat myself..XP) again, thank you very much!!! any ideas for a spread i could use for her? rebecca

Alissa	09 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by fairyangel i wish so badly to be able to help out other people by giving them readings, helping them out in what to do, etc. my roommates (i go to a boarding school) boyfriend has lung cancer, and shes especially the one i want to help out the most. i don't want my cards to give me the death card when im giving her a reading! it'll freak her out! Rebecca, the wish you have to help others is wonderful, and the world needs people like you. Tarot can help people when they're hurting, it's true. For myself, I would want to help a friend who was hurting as well - but please know that reading Tarot cannot put a positive spin on a serious disease, no matter what. Whether or not the Death card comes up is irrelevant. Yes - it freaks people out. No, it does not mean physical death as the only interpretation. If it came up, it could signal the end of their relationship. It could signal the end of her ego's feeling like she must nurture him while ill. It could mean plenty o' things. Of course, it would depend on the spread. But, I caution you regarding spreads that deal with life and death issues, medical issues, or financial issues. People's emotions can be very volatile while discussing thse things. It's very tricky. As for decks, you may wish to check out the Froud Faery deck if you love the Noble Folk. It is a wonderful deck to read with as well.

fairyangel	09 Feb 2004
thank you very much :) i know that the death card doesn't always symbolize the actual thing, and that it hardly means that at all. Its really a rebirth of something and such... what i meant by the death card was that because, earlier when i tried doing readings on myself a long time ago, i would frequently recieve the death card for reasons unknown...i tried to decipher it, but nothing would come up that even remotely had to do with rebirth/death of anything! i just was afraid that it would give a bad reading, thats all... i have learned though that it might be a reflextion off of the readers energy, and at the time i was in a very bad state of mind. i can remember the home being very destructive, and unsafe. i am almost positive that the energy my brother was throwing around created demons (i am 17 and i STILL sleep in my parents room! talk about frightening!) and thank you for the word of caution on doing readings for issues concerning finances, medical, diseases, etc. thank you very much for your insight! it is greatly appreciated :). rebecca

full deck	09 Feb 2004
Fairyangel, you sound very much like you have alot of issues to resolve in your life. Please do not try to seriously read for others until you have gained more insight into your own mind or things will just get worse. Try working through and studying the symbols in the Tarot FIRST and read the threads herein and please feel free to ask questions and discuss things but realize you have alot of work to do with yourself *first* before you start reading for others. Using Tarot means that one confronts themselves so maybe that is a useful thing for you but not without greater understanding and insight regarding yourself. I'm being frank with you though others have tried to be more indirect with their comments.

lunakasha	09 Feb 2004
Hi fairyangel, and welcome! I have been reading this thread and the responses have been very interesting...I would say I probably agree with 90% of what everyone has posted so far...so now I'll add my two cents :D I agree with everyone who said that the cards themselves do not have actual *feelings*, but if you are feeling anxious about using them, this negative energy could be influencing the cards you are choosing, as well as your interpretation of them. It is important, especially as a new student of tarot, that you allow yourself plenty of time to work with the cards and get comfortable with them before reading for others. I have been studying tarot now for over two years, and I have just started reading for others...and even so, only for close friends that I feel comfortable with. But that's OK...everyone needs to go at their own pace, so above all else: be patient with yourself! :) As far as scary decks (you mentioned Thoth), I don't believe that any decks are inherently "scary" or "evil". It comes down to personal preference, and if you get a bad feeling with a deck, then that deck is probably not the one for you. Fortunately for all of us (and to the detriment of our bank accounts ;)) there are many, many decks out there, so you should be able to find one that works for you, that feels good in your hands. If the RW deck you have now keeps giving you a hard time, then maybe you should try something else. There are many RW "clones" out there which are great for beginners. Also, if you love fairies, then by all means...indulge!!! There are many lovely fairy decks to tempt you...check out the decks here at AT...and good luck! :) Luna

faunabay	10 Feb 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Alissa As for decks, you may wish to check out the Froud Faery deck if you love the Noble Folk. It is a wonderful deck to read with as well. I completely agree with Alissa!! When I read you connected with fairys I immediately thought of Brian Froud's Faeries Oracle!!! They are wonderful, beautiful cards!! But as a warning :) - if you feel the Rider Waite deck has emotions......I swear the Faeries in Froud's deck are real! :D Really though I'm just teasing (sort of). :) Either way, real or not, they feel very real to me!!!!

The Angered Tarot thread was originally posted on 06 Feb 2004 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.