Intensive Deck Study Support Thread ~ Part 2

SolSionnach

Skimo said:
Hi,

Finally I think that I will take a week of break after the 21th, when I will have finished with my first IDS.

Then I will IDS for one month with the deck I will choose to bring with me during my larp (live action role playing game) in Elric's world at the beginning of august.
The Archeon, Universal Fantasy and Fantastical are my first choices... will have to go down to one.

Then another break of one week and I will begin my second 3 monthes IDS with the MAAT until Halloween (I can't not read with my halloween tarot the night of halloween).

The Bohemian Gothic can be a good candidate for a winter IDS... don't you think?

During this time, the Illuminated will be my comparison and travel deck, and my oracle will be the Froud Faeries (during winter, I may change for the water crystal oracle...)

I can't commit to anything about deck buying... it's an addiction...

Welcome to all the new IDSers!

Hey Skimo - go with the Universal Fantasy. I can't read with that deck, but it strikes me as the best one for your larp. Just sayin' :)

I'm starting out with the Maat and the DAO/DPO for my oracle. I won't officially start until the Solstice (6/22 here) as I will be visiting the 'parental units' this coming weekend, and they are most definitely NOT tarot-friendly, so that's right out. I'm going to go to the Equinox (9/22) and then re-evaluate. :)

Neither of these decks go with my interest in things Japanese (I'm learning the language) and Shinto, but I'm just not interested in using the Ukiyoe at this time. I guess that will just be too much Japanese culture right now. Onward to feminist Pagan/Druidry for me! ;) :) :p

I can't swear that I won't buy, look at, or sell more decks in the meantime, as I'm lusting for several right now (see the de-enabling thread), but I have no money, so that's a good thing. :) Nor am I going to be completely true to the above 2 (3) decks - I may well want to look at other decks in my collection. But I'm not going to read with them, or study them at all. :)

Sravana, happy to be doing the IDS this time...
 

Weed Woman

Great! Just what I was looking for...

I'm really glad you've decided to do a "Part II," because I clicked on the old thread, and realized it had started so long ago, that it seemed too late for me to join the study. (I should mention that I just joined the AT forums.)

I'm going to use the Morgan-Greer deck, as I seem to have some difficulties with it, even though I love the groovy '70s art work, and even though it's supposed to be "beginner friendly."

I'm going to commit to an "official" personal start date of the Summer Solstice weekend, getting all of my ducks in a row over the next week and a half.

Thanks for including me.

Cheers,
Weed Woman
 

afrosaxon

Hi all,

Since I finished my IDS with my beloved New Orleans Voodoo Tarot, I am taking a break and then will do another IDS with the Daughters of the Moon Tarot.

I liked most of my IDS pledges except the handling/use of other decks during the IDS outside of trade/sale purposes. Sometimes doing a quick read with another deck helped put my IDS deck in perspective, and I could make comparisons and contrasts as well.

T.
 

Bloudwedd

OK, maybe I have waaaaay too much free time to enjoy my IDS with - but what on earth do you do during your IDS with a specific card?????

I have found that I can easily look at the assigned card. See the details of that particular card and then also see the meanings connecting. And then I am done it feels like...:-( And do not get me wrong, sometimes it is a blessing to be able to do this quickly. But somehow I feel kind of as I am letting down myself too easy. Anyone got any suggestions to someone with a bad lack of imagination?
 

rwcarter

afrosaxon said:
Sometimes doing a quick read with another deck helped put my IDS deck in perspective, and I could make comparisons and contrasts as well.

T.
That's a slippery slope that new people to the IDS should give considerable thought to beforehand. I think comparing and contrasting cards between decks is a wonderful thing to do. Even doing an occasional reading with another deck might help to put the IDS deck into perspective. But as many people found during the first IDS, the temptation was strong when hitting a roadblock with their IDS deck to grab another deck (usually an old favorite) to see what it said. That kinda defeats the purpose. And I believe that most (if not all) the people who experienced that and stuck with their IDS deck were glad they did so.

The IDS isn't a one size fits all exercise, so what worked for one person may not work for another and vice versa. In the beginning it would not have been a good thing for me to use another deck for any purpose. But I'm at a point now where I could use another deck without adversely affecting my IDS.

Rodney
 

Prism

Since I loved my first round of the IDS with the Tarot of Prague, I'm going to give it another go, this time with the Golden.

I tried to be a little too rigid the first time around, with a very organized notebook, etc. But that just didn't work for me. So this is what I'm proposing for myself this time around.

Loose Rules

1. June 21 - Sept. 21.

2. Only the Golden (this is my only hard and fast rule).

3. I will continue to use books for reference.

5. Right now I'm doing a 3-card daily draw, but I'm not necessarily going to stick to that system.

6. I will try to journal with the deck every day, but I'm not making any promises.
 

afrosaxon

Bloudwedd said:
OK, maybe I have waaaaay too much free time to enjoy my IDS with - but what on earth do you do during your IDS with a specific card?????

I have found that I can easily look at the assigned card. See the details of that particular card and then also see the meanings connecting. And then I am done it feels like...:-( And do not get me wrong, sometimes it is a blessing to be able to do this quickly. But somehow I feel kind of as I am letting down myself too easy. Anyone got any suggestions to someone with a bad lack of imagination?


:laugh:

This happened to me more than once.

For each card I got into the symbols, colors, etc. and jotted down my notes on them. Being that I have a nontraditional deck (New Orleans Voodoo Tarot), I also did research on the various spirits in vodoun, which gave me a greater understanding of WHY cards were drawn the way they were. I would also try to connect them to the more traditional RWS meanings; the NOVT tended to do this in a very roundabout way, and sometimes with alternate meanings.

For some cards I was only able to write a few sentences; others, I wrote an entire page.

It happens. Don't beat yourself up because you are less chatty about certain cards than others. I found that I would end up (and still do) going back and adding insights as they came to me, and this would happen long after I'd finished a card and moved on to another.

T.
 

afrosaxon

rwcarter said:
That's a slippery slope that new people to the IDS should give considerable thought to beforehand. I think comparing and contrasting cards between decks is a wonderful thing to do. Even doing an occasional reading with another deck might help to put the IDS deck into perspective. But as many people found during the first IDS, the temptation was strong when hitting a roadblock with their IDS deck to grab another deck (usually an old favorite) to see what it said. That kinda defeats the purpose. And I believe that most (if not all) the people who experienced that and stuck with their IDS deck were glad they did so.

The IDS isn't a one size fits all exercise, so what worked for one person may not work for another and vice versa. In the beginning it would not have been a good thing for me to use another deck for any purpose. But I'm at a point now where I could use another deck without adversely affecting my IDS.

Rodney

I agree, Rodney. Good point.

I didn't really start using another deck (even occasionally) until the final month of my IDS. I wouldn't recommend it to someone just starting an IDS.

Now that I'm about to go into my second IDS with another deck, I too am at a point where I could use another deck without adversely affecting my IDS. Which is good, because the NOVT is like a trusted friend and I don't want to just shunt it aside altogether! :D

T.
 

thorhammer

Hello, everyone! Please forgive me if I don't reply to each and every post, as happened in the beginning stages of the first IDS with one person chucking a wobbly :D.

I'm pleased to be continuing with my Wheel of Change, for the moment. I'm powering through it, actually! After almost three months of gettin gto know one another, I finally began journalling intensively with the cards in sets of each number and the Majors alone, and I'm going very well! I've done the Fives, Sevens, Tens, Strength, Judgement and one of the Sixes. I'm so proud of myself, because not only is this a real breakthrough in terms of discipline for me, but I'm really making some wild connections. Studying the sets of each number was the key, I think. By pondering the "meaning" of each number according to the creator (as well as other sources) and how each card reflects that, I'm really starting to see not only what makes the set cohesive, but each card's Suit nuances as well.

The Majors are the exception to this rule. The creator of my deck puts forward an alternative layout for the Majors, setting aside the Fool's Journey (which has always seemed contrived and somewhat of a "long bow" to me) in favour of what she calls the Tarot Tree. This has necessitated some juggling of meaning in a couple of the cards (notably Judgement, The Chariot and Strength), but nothing Earth-shattering. It makes wonderful sense to me, but it means that the traditional numbering of the Major Arcana is all but meaningless in this deck. So the Majors aren't part of my sets.

I haven't struck a Court set, as yet. In a way, I'm actually looking forward to it, especially to learning the difference between the Princes and Princesses. At the moment, they're all a bit the same to me, I'll admit! :laugh:

This whole journey has made me realise just how non-traditional my deck is, and more to the point, how different each deck is from all others. I'm glad I chose this one (well, it's more that it chose me!), rather than a RWS-derived deck like the Golden or DruidCraft. I just don't think I could have focussed for this long with a deck that didn't challenge me as much as the Wheel of Change does.

\m/ Kat
 

shamoness

Choosing my deck

I have narrowed my choice of decks down to The Robin Wood or the Universal Waite. It was very hard since neither deck is my favorite. I guess I am trying to select a RW clone because I have not read much with them and I feel I need to focus on what I don't know.

My husband and I were talking about the decks and he doesn't understand why I don't just choose the Vision Quest. He knows it is my favorite deck. I read very well with it because I understand its symbols since it is from my culture.

So anyone have any suggestions? Robin Wood? Universal Waite?

I even considered The Pictorial Key Tarot which I just got in a trade. ARRGGHH!

My Rules:
I do plan to use my Medicine Cards as my Oracle, with my Sacred Path if needed.
I will try not to buy any decks during my IDS.
I will not use any other decks during my IDS.
I will put all my decks away for the duration. (This will mean on a high shelf as space is a premium in this house. No room for a big box or tote.)
I will journal at least 3 times a week but hopefully more.
I will handle my chosen deck everyday.
I will use my books for supplement.
I will post to this thread especially if I am struggling before I wimp out.

I think that is enough in the rules area for me now, I don't do well with rules. My friends call me an outlaw. Can't help it. It's in my DNA.

Peace!