Has anyone ever noticed that some decks can be rude?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 21 Sep 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Beelady13	21 Sep 2004
When I first started reading, I used to ask the same questions over and over. The cards would always give me the same answer, but after about the 3rd reading they seemed to be mocking me. this seems to happen the most with my Rohig deck which is why I wont use it when reading for strangers, because it always makes people cry. Bosch makes them laugh, Voyager leaves them blown away. What gives, is it just me or is it the attitude of the deck?

Woof	21 Sep 2004
I found my Victoria Regina to be sarcastic. It almost had a mean streak. I traded it away. And I so wanted to like that deck. Woof

Teranar	22 Sep 2004
Woof, Sarcastic? It was mocking you? Hehe! I would have traded it away too! But my Medieval Scrapini deck seems to have the best relationship advice, my ancient RWS deck seems to give the most profound (But not always relavant) And my dragon tarot seems to be the most straightforeward.

Eco74	22 Sep 2004
Deckpersonalities.. Yes indeed. My Swedish Witch is still not speaking to me. Probably jealous that I've picked up a few other decks and am no longer mezmerised by it alone. My Fantastical does NOT cut corners but heads straight on the issue (though taunts me slitely if I dont 'get it' and ask for clarification). Most of my decks are pretty communicative though. There is the rather selfish Art Nouveau deck I got from a friend who decided not do deal with tarot, atleast for a time but possibly for always. And I do mean selfish.. From the lookthroughs I've done sofar they are NOT speaking to me. Not because they can't but because they have better things to do. Will see how that goes in future.

closrapexa	22 Sep 2004
Oh, yeah, there are times when I read and my cards have a definite sense of humour. For example, if I ask them what I should do in a certain situation, then they tell me something loke "do what you think is best" or something like that. Those are the readings which, even if they don't really give me any insights, I enjoy the most, since they keep me from taking myself too seriously.

Macavity	22 Sep 2004
Dunno - but sometimes I feel a need to apologise on it's (RWS) behalf? :D I just seem to be "on a roll" with female querents in their situation/self (roughly) spread positions... Queen of Pentacles (Rx), Queen of Swords (Rx), Page of Cups (Rx) etc. etc. Plus their significant others seem to fare little better - As "challenged" male courts. But, such is life - Shame I don't do "3rd party" readings... ;) I suspect this is more of a "psychological" and/or reversals issue. But the immediate (unsanitised?) literal card comments can be such FUN... }) Macavity

Myrrha	22 Sep 2004
This is puzzling me also, Beelady. I have recently been reading with two decks very close to RWS. One I didn't care for the art so much but using that deck the cards drawn were cards clearly applicable to the situation without any reaching or sqeezing to make an interpretation fit. The deck where I did really like the art gave me cards where it was much harder to see what they had to do with a situation. They really do seem to have different personalities. --Myrrha

Satori	22 Sep 2004
yes, I find that decks have distinct personalities. Perhaps it is a vestige of the art and the deck creator coming thru...because how can paper have a personality? It always cracks me up when I hear, decks are just paper... and paper is from trees and trees are/were living things and living things have a soul, right? Nothing is just anything. Everything is something.

Leleii	22 Sep 2004
All my decks has distintive personality. My Tarot of Saints is nasty and sacrastic so is my tarot of the Moon Garden. It seems to me that my so called light decks are the nastier. My darker decks gives me better readings and are nicer.

WolfyJames	22 Sep 2004
I like rude decks personally. It's hard to make an impression on me and I need decks that hit me with a hammer. I love honesty and truth too, the type that is cold and painful. I love The Old English Tarot, but I don't use it much because the deck is so cute, polite and quiet that I don't really notice aything when I read with it. Other decks, like The Golden Tarot, tell me right away and abruptely what I need to know. The rude decks I have: The Golden Tarot, besides it's prettyness, is to me a rude and sincere deck, that doesn't play games. The Rider-Waite Smith Tarot is rude as well, and in my case, takes the shape of the Diamond Tarot. The Sola-busca Tarot (Ancient Enlightened Tarot) does hit with a hammer. There are times when The Enchanted Tarot, surprisingly, can be rude as well. The Fantastical Tarot shows potential for rudeness. As for The Gothic Tarot, it is in the middle, sometimes rude, sometimes mysterious, whispering me secrets.

Beelady13	22 Sep 2004
Elf, Do you think that since there are diffrent trees being used in the production of paper, that not only do diffrent decks have diffen't personalities because of the art, but also because of the tree they came from..the older the wiser? -B

MuffinTops	22 Sep 2004
Quote: Originally posted by elf yes, I find that decks have distinct personalities. Perhaps it is a vestige of the art and the deck creator coming thru...because how can paper have a personality? It always cracks me up when I hear, decks are just paper... and paper is from trees and trees are/were living things and living things have a soul, right? Nothing is just anything. Everything is something. Well said, elf.

Satori	22 Sep 2004
Hi folks. Beelady, I really do think the tree-soul comes thru. That is why the cards to me are more than paper. That is why I said, nothing is JUST anything. And even tho paper is treated with chemicals etc. it seems to me that the fact that a fly landed on a puddle just when the tree fell, and died in the puddle, under the tree, and that the sound of the falling tree, mingled with the scream of the machinery and the brush of the wind, and the shiver of the surrounding trees as a sister or brother fell as no tree should fall before it's time, and the laughter of the lumberjacks and the smell of their cigarettes, and the whispers of the devas and the calling of the crows and a million other subtleties were encrypted into the moment and the pulp somehow became a Tarot deck, with an attitude......

Maelin	23 Sep 2004
Decks absolutely have personality - it could be your own projected on the cards? No matter, my old RWS is very protective, and sometimes the answer to a question sounds very much like " Now dear, I don't think we should be discussing that, I'll just give you some general advice about getting more rest". My Hallowquest Arthurian deck takes itself very seriously as a spiritual growth advisor, and sometimes like a badly behaved dinner guest, will insist on turning the conversation to a subject it is interested in discussing!

Mesara	23 Sep 2004
The Magickal Tarot is pure evil!!! It is really, really, really mean. But it is also accurate. However, I don't use it anymore. That was my first deck, and I just couldn't take the meanness so I have moved onto others.

dame_drache	23 Sep 2004
Glad Thoth has been nicer to me than some of ya'lls. :) It took a while to warm up to me; the first readings I tried to do for myself were extremely ambiguous - to the point that I couldn't even find a starting point to try interpreting it, everything just seemed switched around wrong. I wasn't making a very good connection, so I switched from a personal reading to using it to determine a plot point in a story. It worked wonderfully, not only giving me some ideas to work with, but very accurately painting the picture of where the characters are now. I was impressed enough that I tried another personal reading, and it came up much clearer. I guess I had to appeal to Thoth's creativity before it'd talk to me. I cut my teeth on a Robin Wood deck, though, back when I was first fiddling with Tarot at all. I get the impression it was extremely bored with my newbieness, though it was never directly mean. Just sort of answered my questions the same way you might to a friend that's babbling on and on. "Uh huh... yeah... right... uh huh... mmkay.." :)

kerri28	24 Sep 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Maelin My Hallowquest Arthurian deck takes itself very seriously as a spiritual growth advisor, and sometimes like a badly behaved dinner guest, will insist on turning the conversation to a subject it is interested in discussing! [/b] Oh how true is that?! I've only just gotten over the bluntness of this deck and the fact that it has a mind of it's own. Sometimes, very badly behaved.lol Anyway, we've come to a mutal kind of respect with each other now and i'm much more open to it's advice or should i say opinion! Elf very interesting reading. Cheers for that.

Moongold	24 Sep 2004
I think the cards are made of paper but they hold images which evoke responses in us. It us something in us which then accesses the information in the collective unconscious, the mind of spirit, the universal mind - however we understand it. We may be attuned to the art work on the cards or we may be a little out of kilter which perhaps gives the impression of rudeness . Many times I've been given amusing, sardonic and downright hilarious readings through these evoked responses but I don't actually see the cards as doing this. I think we might get the same effect if the images were painted on glass, plastic or tin. I may not be right of course :D. There are theories that EVERYTHING is energy - millions of molecules connecting with each other in miraculous ways - if this is so, then indeed there may be life in those dang cards.

The Has anyone ever noticed that some decks can be rude? thread was originally posted on 21 Sep 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.