Different Deck, Different Interpretations/Meanings?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 29 Apr 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Nao	29 Apr 2003
For all those who have read with different decks or have a lot of various decks...do you read them differently? By differently, I don't mean just a slight change of interpretation...but a completely different meaning? I can't think of one card in particular to give my example to...but I've come across so many decks that sometimes have a very very different imagery or idea depicted-- especially in such ways that can make a previously thought to be a positive card become negative or vice versa. Do you then shift your "meanings" to conform per deck...or is there a general "universal" meaning that you've all somehow adopted for a card regardless of which deck you're using? And yes yes...I know how cards shouldn't be viewed as positive or negative...and a lot of times it depends on the surrounding cards, the situation, etc etc....but I mean cards on the individual...

jmd	30 Apr 2003
For myself, there is a little admixture of the two at play - as well as what emerges (irrespective of the deck) at a specific time and specific reading. For example, the three of Coins may, in a specific instance, appear to unveil something quite different which discussions about this card may reveal. I suspect that for most of us, cards, as they become better understood, speak of their own accord of their nature. As a non-Tarot example, an owl, in imagery, may indicate Athena, Wisdom, etc. Similarly, the Magician may clearly indicate the manipulation of the elements. In this sense, there is consistency across decks. In a specific instance, however, and irrespective of the deck, a minute detail may take on proportions beyond its normal image depiction. Here, not only different decks, but the reading in the moment gives the meaning. As this very post does, however, there is a continuous weaving back and forth between the specificity of the moment (and deck used) and the general understanding one develops beyond the specific deck. Looking forward to other responses.

Astraea	30 Apr 2003
This question plagued me for years. Lo Scarabeo decks are famous for changes of the kind you describe. In this situation, I place the most emphasis on the image of the card before me, in the context of the overall deck, and relate to the image intuitively, as well as analytically; I hold the more traditional association in mind as a "backdrop," and look for similarities and differences against that background -- sometimes, the areas of greatest likeness or disparity will provide important clues to meaning. It seems to me that one's choice of deck for a particular reading is significant -- if you had the option of reading with a RWS deck and, say, the Tarot of the Imagination (by Lo Scarabeo), and you picked the latter (or just "happened" to have it with you when you were called upon to read), it's likely that there is a message to be found in the LS deck that might not hit you as strongly -- or at all -- with the RWS deck.

zorya	30 Apr 2003
i generally give the same cards from different decks the same meaning.... generally. sometimes an image or color will jump out from a particular card and alter how i might interpret that card in that reading. there are so many variables in how i might interpret a card, the surrounding cards, the position and spread, the thoughts that pop into my head, different images on different decks are just another variable.

Thirteen	30 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Nao For all those who have read with different decks or have a lot of various decks...do you read them differently? By differently, I don't mean just a slight change of interpretation...but a completely different meaning? Very rarely a completely different meaning. Differences, yes, absolutely, but the deck itself has to be pretty radical--and the meaning for the card given in the accompanying book has to be compelling enough for me to switch. The Sacred Circle deck pops to mind here. Instead of "Temperance" it has "Initiation" (card #16 by the way--with Sacred Circle you have to ignore the numbering--it's Magician card--the Shaman--is #5, while it's Hierophant--High Priest--is #1). The card is about transition and transformation, balance and harmony, so it's pretty close to Temperance. It is not, however, about a merging of things to reach a new substance nor about "tempering"--which would be my more conventional reading of and RW or Crowley Temperance card. According to the book, the Initiation Card is about a passage, a lift up from one stage of life to another--a one-of-a-kind event, a spiritual awakening. So, if using this deck, I doubt I could easily impose "Temperance" as I would usually read it on this card; but I would not say that the interpetation is so radical from Temperance that it's a wholly different card. Does that answer your question?

The Different Deck, Different Interpretations/Meanings? thread was originally posted on 29 Apr 2003 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.