How many decks do you read with?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 21 Oct 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

chomby	21 Oct 2002
Does anyone read with more than one deck? Or does one use a deck for back-up? Do you read with your collector decks? Just curious.

wavebreaker	21 Oct 2002
Hi chomby, welcome! Do you mean using more than one deck during a reading or just in general? Anyway, I have four different decks that I read with, but I only use one during a reading. I have about 15 other decks. Some of them are just collectibles which I will most probably never read with. Others I'm still not familiar enough with to read with them (I've bought too many decks in the past few months and just haven't had the time to study them all! :D), but I do intend to start reading with them some time.

Phoenix	21 Oct 2002
I have 30 some odd decks, but as tarotlady already stated, I only read with maybe three or four. Most of mine are collectable.

Zhritza	21 Oct 2002
For anyone interested in the multiple-decks-at-once aspect of this, here is the thread "Mixing Tarot decks:" http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8195

catlin	22 Oct 2002
I usually use around 5 decks for my querents to read with, the collector's decks are for my personal use only (I do not want to have them abused by rough handling).

WolfSpirit	22 Oct 2002
At the moment I read with the halloween tarot, that gives a good reading but to add some more spiritual insight I lay the same spread with the shapeshifter tarot, if I use only the shapeshifter the reading gets a bit "fuzzy" as it concentrates so much on your inner world. I think the two complement each other well, but I may change this combination as I have a lot of decks, I think it's possible to read with all of them if I give it enough time (don't know if I will though)

Maan	22 Oct 2002
i can read with almost every deck in my collection...the ones i can't read with are up for trade ;) But in general i read with four decks..i really love the phanasmagoric, thats my main deck but sometimes a really "need" t read with the spiral or the robin wood. And for when friends come to me with a difficult question and are feeling extreemly said a use the hanson roberts. But who knows maybe i the next deck that i get will replace one of the above..a tarotholic is never finished ;)

marmalade	22 Oct 2002
i have four decks now, and i intend to read with all four, but since i've had one beck for about 6 years, and the others are all less than 3 months old (to me), i tend to favour my original deck for readings, just because i know it better. i've used the other decks for readings already (minus the one that i just got last friday!) and they were reasonably successful, but i'd feel more confident once i study them more. i've never tried reading with 2 or more decks at once, but maybe i'll give that a shot soon.

jema	22 Oct 2002
my most used reading decks: Spiral (as number 1) Gill Hanson-Roberts World Spriti (a newcomer for me) Osho Zen then there are all the rest (i have about 50+) that i read for myself only or just use for studies or looking at. like the transformational - no one else gets a reading from that one but me:) and i must say i got about 15 decks i just never ever touch. they just sit there. odd decks like Santa Fe and Bosch.

Trogon	22 Oct 2002
Well... I certainly am starting to feel like the poor-red-headed-stepchild... ;) I have 3 decks and actively use 2 for readings. I have the Rider-Waite and the Röhrig deck which I use for readings. I let the querrent pick which one they prefer to have the reading done with. If I'm doing a reading for myself, I tend to go with the Röhrig, but still occasionally use the RWS. I also have an Albano-Waite deck which I haven't used for reading because it is old and seems to be printed on cheaper card stock.

faunabay	22 Oct 2002
Do you sense a trend here? LOL :D I have 50 + decks but only read with about 3 or 4 of them. Right now I'm using my Camion Marseilles, Faeries Oracle, Halloween (it's that time of the year LOL), and Tarot de Paris (getting to know and LOVE it!!!)

Zhritza	22 Oct 2002
I read with so few of them... I keep getting decks that are a joy to look at, but not really suitable for reading. The decks I adore visually that are relatively easy to read with are the Victoria Regina, the Halloween, the Gill -- which I have only read with once so far, but that reading was spot on and illuminating -- and the Morgan Greer. But the Robin Wood and the Mythic remain by far the easiest to use and to get useful new insights with, despite their relative visual dullness (to me).

ihcoyc	23 Oct 2002
I have about 8 decks --- last time I counted --- and I read or have read with all but a couple of them. The Swiss 1JJ is getting a bit worn and frayed. I use it occasionally, mostly for very personal questions, but it does not get a lot of service. Same way with the RWS: it's almost as old as the 1JJ, and has seen a great deal of use. I own a Thoth but do not read with it, and I doubt I ever will. I own the Vachetta Tarot of the Master, just got it a few weeks ago, but I probably will not read with it --- the backs are not reversible. The decks I use most often for reading are the Ancient Italian, the Ancient Lombardy, and the Fournier Marseilles. At work, I keep a Grimaud Marseilles in my desk and use it from time to time. I also read the Parisian Tarot, but since that's one of my favourite decks and nigh impossible to find anymore, I tend to "save it for company."

Riversea	23 Oct 2002
I have 12 decks there-abouts. Decks I do read with are: the Universal Waite, Victoria Regina, Old English, St. Petersburg, Glastonbury, and the Halloween. Of these, my favorite reading decks are the UW, VR, St. Peters., and the Halloween (though the last few times I've read with OE, it seems to be making a play to move up the favorites line.) ;) The ones I have that I don't read with are: Lord of the Rings (not reader friendly, images are questionable) Tarot Nova (too small, though I think I would read the larger one) Kalevala (don't know the epic, need to study more, will someday) Napo (again, need to study it more, again planning on it) Golden Tarot of the Tsar (like it, but too Christian right now) Vertigo (original printing, want to get newer printing for study and reading) So, I guess I read with about half my decks. And most of the ones that I currently don't read with are on my list to start reading in the near future. I also have two Major only decks (Tarot for Cats and the Amazing Fortune-Telling deck) which I mostly got because I like Kipling West's art so much. I haven't read with these (because they are just Majors, and more importantly, both are OOP), but I could if I wanted to. :)

Logiatrix	23 Oct 2002
i have about fifty tarots, but read with only one deck, my beloved visconti gold. i also read with the healing w/the angels oracle cards and i just started using buckland's gypsy fortunetelling deck. only this one tarot deck has stuck with me. even when i had as many as 120 decks at one time--totally tarot-holic--it's always been this visconti deck that i work with so well, despite my attempts at having a "second" deck or even a "personal" deck. i've tried numerous sets, but nothing has lasted except for the angel cards, the i-ching, and the visconti when it comes to tarot. the other fifty-or-so are what remains after i sold about seventy decks last fall. they are primarily renaissance/medieval and historically themed decks, plus some that i keep for study, like the thoth and the rider-waite. i'm trying to keep my collecting more thematic and less frenetic, but it's still sometimes tempting to spy a new deck out there and think that maybe it'll work for me like the visconti does... *sigh*

Dark Inquisitor	23 Oct 2002
I read with different decks all the time. I think it is good to do that because: a) You learn something new from each deck, or it stimulates you in some way. b) If you rotate your deck usage instead of sticking to just a few & wearing them out, your decks will last longer and be in better shape if you want to well or trade them later. Just one more reason to buy more decks & not feel guilty! It is clearly the right thing to do! Don't argue, - just go buy more decks! Tarotphelia

DarkElectric	23 Oct 2002
I like that idea! Buy more decks...a wonderful philosophy! And with sound reasoning behind it, too. I now will go out and buy all the decks I want, guilt free! Yay!

Fuzzmello	24 Oct 2002
Hi all, I have 8 decks and use them all myself, but only use RiderWaite or Osho Zen for clients. Fuzz

Emily	26 Oct 2002
I have read with all my decks at one time or another but my favourite deck to use is the Spiral with the Robin Wood second and the Hanson Roberts third. The other decks I get out and use when I feel the need. :)

napaea	26 Oct 2002
i read from several decks NOW. up until recently i was primarily an Osho Zen girl. i loved all my other decks but the Osho just was clear to me. then i wore it out and it told me to leave it alone. so now i am reading with the Ancestral Path, the Tarot Nova (despite the littleness, i love this deck!), the Secret Tarots, and the Halloween (yippee!) i think it's a good idea to alternate decks when you feel you need to. i think like Tarotphelia said, it gives new perspective.

Phoenix	26 Oct 2002
Napaea, which Secret Tarots do you use??

fairyhedgehog	26 Oct 2002
I've got 10 or eleven decks, but at the moment I'm mainly using the Moon Garden and the Tarot Nova. I think I want something gentle - which Moon Garden is - and Tarot Nova tends to make me laugh. In the past, I've read with Universal Waite and the Whimsical, and I can always read with the Hanson-Roberts. I still have to use the book with the Glastonbury. I feel inclined to trade any deck I can't use to read with, but I need to be in the right mood for a particular deck.

Pollux	27 Oct 2002
Casting aside the "comparativ readings" topic... I have 14 decks right now, and in theory I could/would read with them all - the exception would be Witches by Reed, Shakesperian and Rock & Roll, since I should study them first. Anyway, the collectibles are meant for collection. :P Actually, at the moment, I have several reading decks, but only because I tend to use them for different purposes - and therefore "rotate" and not use any too much or ruin it. - Aquarian is the factotum: any question, any spread, any querent (but ME). I prefer not to use it for first and relationship/love readings either. - Spiral calls me for first readings and for relationship readings (the only ones I did with it so far but HEY I did GREAT! :P) and sometimes for personal ones. - Goddess stands as second choice for first readings, and for situations in which a soft deck is needed, a sort of tarotical hug from the cards themselves. - Vision Quest is exclusively for MY spiritual stuff. And in rare cases for someone else's. But no mundanity. - Cosmic is rarely used, but I enjoy it anyway. I use it when I need some visual extravagance mostly. And it is my magick-purposed deck. - Gill is for abstract thing mostly. Personal deck and chosen when I don't feel like using the Spiral, or when the stuff is not mundane and frivolous. To this add that I use the Celtici (Tuan) Majors for Love reaidngs at times. And Bosch when I need a brutal approach - even though I am trying not to use it anymore.

Sulis	27 Oct 2002
At the moment I have 10 decks but for readings I use World Spirit and Gill. I`ve just got the Mythic Tarot which I`m studying. I hope to use that for readings when I`ve done a bit more studying. Crystalmynx xx

Major Tom	28 Oct 2002
There's definitely a trend and I'm not going to break it. }) All my readings these days are with one of three decks: The Standard RWS, The Spiral, and The Mountain Dream. There are decks I use for other purposes but surely that's another thread. })

The How many decks do you read with? thread was originally posted on 21 Oct 2002 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.