One Deck Wonder Resurrected

Alamaris

Auracana, I hope I'm not stealing your fire by starting this thread, since you were the first to mention it in the 78th DotW! I couldn't resist.

I've been enjoying participating in the Deck of the Week group, but lately I've been hankering for something more long-term. I adore reading the old One Deck Wonder and Intensive Deck Study threads, and loved participating, even when I was flighty. Like Auracana, I prefer the ODW title to the IDS, as the ODW always felt more adventurous and fun, while the IDS felt rather more (as Auracana put it) academic. I eat, sleep, and breathe academia -- I don't necessarily need that association in my hobby! :p

For those who haven't heard of the One Deck Wonder and don't feel like reading the threads, the gist is this:

You choose one deck to work with for a preferential amount of time, which is often six months or a year. There were various iterations of the theme, as some folks added a Marseilles to their main deck, some chose an oracle, and some stuck with only their chosen tarot. The original ODW stipulated no books, and the IDS emphasised as much studying as you wanted. The structure became more flexible over time, to entice more people to try the challenge, although my favorite is still the original: one illustrated deck, one Marseilles, minimal "study," just you and the deck and becoming a better reader. This is the form I hope to resurrect. A minimalistic approach to tarot, about the reader rather than the cards.

The last IDS thread sunk beneath the waves in mid-2012, but I hope we can resurrect the One Deck Wonder once again! Who's with me? Come join Auracana and I in our delightful madness!

I will finish by quoting the first official One Deck Wonder thread, started by Satori:

We have put away our deck collections.

We have chosen one illustrated pip deck and one Marseilles style deck.

Some of us have committed to a 78 Day Fool's Journey with only these two decks.
Others of us have committed to 6 months on this Fool's Journey.
And still others hope for a full 12 months of minimalistic Tarot journeying...

We are committed.
We are traveling light.
And we are excited about the wonders that surely await us on the way.

Travel well my friends!
Travel strong.
Post often and tell of us your adventures along the way.

Namaste!


ETA: We have a Reading Exchange thread, a Daily Draws thread, and a Spreads thread! Thank you, Auracana!
 

Miss Divine

I'm in! I have never joined in the ''one deck wonder'' threads because I am usually the ''deck hopping wonder'' instead.

I think I m now ready for the challenge... ~gulp~
 

Disa

Ok, so I'm in- I think. What rules are you having this go round or are we adapting?


I have only ever done the IDS before and I quite liked it, So..
I would like to use only my Druidcraft for an unspecified period of time (at least until the next sabbat- maybe longer), but be able to refer to the book in order to really learn this deck better. Will that be fine?

The problem is, I haven't much time for reading lately-but when I do read, I'll be using the DruidCraft.
 

Alamaris

As far as the rules are concerned, I think keeping it simple is the best policy.

I'm no arbiter, but going on the basis of old threads -- how do these sound?

1. Time limit of at least one month -- any shorter and you're better off doing a Deck of the Week study.

2. One deck, plus one Marseilles-style deck if desired (that is, one deck with illustrated minors and one with pips). I believe that in the IDS threads some people picked one tarot and one oracle, but I feel that's a personal matter -- any discussion of the oracle would be done in the oracle sub-forum anyway, so it's a bit of a moot point. The One Deck Wonder is meant to be a focus on a tarot deck (and supplemental decks like a TdM or an oracle) for an extended period of time. Some One Deck Wonder participants are using other decks to do readings and may be participating in other groups like Deck of the Week. How you choose to study is up to you.

3. No cheating. If you buy or recieve any decks, you can check for completeness and flaws, and then promptly put them away with your other decks.

4. Handle your chosen deck every day even if you don't read with it -- a quick minute of shuffling while your soup heats up is better than nothing, if you're rushed.

5. Journaling as such is not necessary, but keep a wee notebook or a tablet nearby to write down any epiphanies, or quick reading sketches.

6. Have fun! If you're stuck or frustrated with your deck, post here for hugs, commiseration, and support.

I feel that books are well within the bounds of the ODW concept. Some decks have systems that can't be learned without a companion book or research, unless you're doing a full-on intuitive run. :)

We can do it!
 

strings of life

An introduction & my One Deck Wonder:

Alamaris, seeing this thread made my day :D :love:!

I was contemplating starting a thread similar to this as well but couldn't decide how to resurrect the one deck study. See, it was called the One Deck Wonder, which seemed to focus more on reading with the deck, tossing the books and LWBs. When it morphed into the Intensive Deck Study, it felt...what's the word...inclusive to some degree in my opinion (read the threads, especially the guidelines). So many rules. I couldn't help but wonder, I don't want to study my deck. I want to read it! I signed up a few times and my interest died out rather quick. Like a few days quick.

Before the One Deck Wonder thread (in Alamaris' first post) there was another thread: The International Icon and Me. Satori explained why she started the thread (you can read about it there, but it came from a conversation with AT member Umbrae) and she decided to share what she was going to do: read with a deck exclusively in order to get to become a better reader. Umbrae said it best in this thread. He recommended using the International Icon Tarot since it was the RWS stripped down to the basics along with a TdM. I highly respect his opinion. Taken from the thread:

Let me back up and see if someone’s behind me…

A little history here.

I recommended that Elf use one reading deck for six months (actually 1 illustrated pip and one non-illustrated pips).

Now I prefer the International Icon as a reading deck for face-to-face readings with strangers (with or without candy).

It’s inherent and intended lack of detail allows for more fluidity of thought and intuition. The colors are brilliant in concept and design.
I recommend that folks go to the Tarot Garden Library and read the interview that Dan guy did with Robin Ator – they discuss the actual creation of the deck at some point.

It’s a readers deck.

And by it’s lack of detail, helps us make that transition to face-to-face readings for strangers.

Now that’s my opinion.

Freeing the mind allows us to focus more upon the sitter, and The Process of reading.

Six months is a suggested time for making that ‘transition’ of focus.

And no, I’d not suggest ‘cheating’. The way the mind works, you’ll find yourself sitting there with a client who’s reaching for a tissue and you start ‘thinking’, “if only I had my Fey” – and then you won’t see the answer that’s sitting right in front of you. It’s our minds and thoughts that have to be re-trained as we make the transition from ‘reader’, to Reader.

The idea here is to be basic. Simplify everything. Put it all away. Pack it all away. Pack the books. Pack the decks. Keep one very very basic WCS and one very very basic unillustrated pip'd deck.

A standard icky old USG Waite deck is fine if you don't have an ITT.

I really cannot recommend any other deck (or ANY books) for this exercise. You may wanna use a different deck; you may not want to pack up the books and the decks...

But this exercise is not about what WE want.

It's about being better readers in (face-to-face) readings with strangers.

This whole exercise is about stilling ego, so it's not about the deck WE WANT. It's about going basic, going lean.

Kind of like mystic casting off the trappings of the mundane world except a loincloth and a wooden bowel.

Go basic.

The IIT is the most basic of basic. In being so it helps open you up. Minimalism will set you free. You’d spend the money on dinner and a book – the deck is inexpensive.

Packing up books I hear you cry? You've got a book with 78-pages that can be arraigned in infinite chapters. What more do you need?

And I don’t wear armor…

** Edited to add some clarification: While Umbrae stressed (face-to-face) readings since that was what Satori was working on, I feel that this applies to reading in general, for yourself, even online readings. It encompasses any time of reading! **

The nuts and bolts? To become a better reader doesn't mean that you have to study a deck in an academic way that is unique to that deck. To become a better reader is to get to know your deck: the cards, what the colors and the symbols mean to you in a reading, anything that helps you tell the story you see. Numerology, colors and symbols have been used for centuries to evoke certain emotions and have meanings that transcend time.

However, if working with one deck and reading the companion books and studying is what floats your boat? Go for it.

As far as the rules are concerned, I think keeping it simple is the best policy.

I'm no arbiter, but going on the basis of old threads -- how do these sound?

1. Time limit of at least one month -- any shorter and you're better off doing a Deck of the Week study.

2. One deck, plus one Marseilles-style deck if desired (that is, one deck with illustrated minors and one with pips). I believe that in the IDS threads some people picked one tarot and one oracle, but I feel that's a personal matter -- any discussion of the oracle would be done in the oracle sub-forum anyway, so it's a bit of a moot point.

3. No cheating. If you buy or recieve any decks, you can check for completeness and flaws, and then promptly put them away with your other decks.

4. Handle your chosen deck every day even if you don't read with it -- a quick minute of shuffling while your soup heats up is better than nothing, if you're rushed.

5. Journaling as such is not necessary, but keep a wee notebook or a tablet nearby to write down any epiphanies, or quick reading sketches.

6. Have fun! If you're stuck or frustrated with your deck, post here for hugs, commiseration, and support.

I feel that books are well within the bounds of the ODW concept. Some decks have systems that can't be learned without a companion book or research, unless you're doing a full-on intuitive run. :)

We can do it!
Excellent rules because you know what? The less rules the better!

.

Now for me? My One Deck Wonder focus:

I'm going to use the International Icon Tarot (II). Since it is the RWS stripped down using iconographic signs, your eyes can focus on the colors and the symbols in an uncluttered way.

1) Time frame is 6 months and will introduce a TdM in July, after I have worked with the II for 6 months. You know what? When you are passionate about something, 6 months or even a year, isn't a terribly long time. I'll still acquire decks, but I just won't use them.

** ETA: I made it until March 21 - 3 months! I'm proud of myself, but am dealing with too much in real life right now and simply can't focus. I'll still be working with my II and still have plans to post in the Study Group. **

2) I'll be using The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols book to better familiarize myself with colors, numerology, and other symbolism. I also have 2 oracle decks on color that I may use: Dreaming in Color: Luman Deck and The Secret Language of Colour Cards

3) I will NOT read any Tarot books. None. I've read so many already. Just me and my deck!

4) I'll be journaling (blog TBD, notebook).

5) I will also post in this thread and in the II Study Group: Back to Basics - International Icon Study

6) I will handle my deck daily and will carry it with me when I can, and I'll draw a card a day or do a small spread a few times a week. My aim is for this to be an enjoyable journey, not a task.

In the end, I want to become a better reader and no a deck inside and out. And while the story in the cards may tell me something new each time, I want to know why certain symbols make us feel the way that they do.

I'm a compulsive deck flip flopper and I thought long and hard about what deck I was going to use after I read the One Deck Wonder threads and the original Talking The International Icon and Me threads months ago. It took a long time to decide whether I wanted to use the II and a TdM, just the II, just a TdM, or another deck and in the end, I decided to go with the II.
 

strings of life

Also, I don't think there needs to be an official sign-up list. Join if you want, state your rules/guidelines (if any), and exit as you please.

But, hopefully you can last :).
 

baylys

Oooohhhh, this sounds like me. I tried deck of the week, but I suck at doing daily draws. So just being able to play for a long while suits me.

Tarot of the Absurd and I'll have to go see if the Daniloff has plain pip cards.
 

Alamaris

Also, I don't think there needs to be an official sign-up list. Join if you want, state your rules/guidelines (if any), and exit as you please.

I completely agree! And THANK YOU for your fantastic post! You said it far better than I did, m'dear. I'm even more excited about this than I was this morning, if that's possible!

Okay. This is a good time to do my intro-post, then.

I'm in from February 2nd to at least July 31st with the Fournier Tarot de Marseilles. Hopefully until the end of the year. (For the next week I'll be substituting the Hadar, as I am waiting for the Fournier, but they're functionally identical in my mind, both being non-photo-reproduction Marseilles decks.)

I will allow myself to buy decks if I wish, though I buy very few as it is. I have locked my decks away in a safe tote box, aside from the Marseilles. I will allow myself to use an oracle on occasion, if time permits... but not to the exclusion of tarot, or before it.

I will handle and shuffle my deck daily, and attempt, if nothing else, to do a very small reading daily, even if it's just on the state of the weather -- or the cat. :D

I will keep a notebook, and herewith allow myself to take very messy notes if it gets the job done. I'll also be using my massive binder of planetary, astrological, and elemental gubbins that I've collected since I first learned Mel's method back in the day.

My goal at the end of the ODW is to be able to read for anyone, anywhere, with no more than a Marseilles and my own brain -- no notes, no books, no hesitation.

Good luck, everyone! I'm so glad to see you all here!
 

strings of life

I completely agree! And THANK YOU for your fantastic post! You said it far better than I did, m'dear. I'm even more excited about this than I was this morning, if that's possible!
I was hesitant to create a new thread and I knew that it wouldn't make much sense to revive an older one (especially the original one on the International Icon Tarot), but you started the thread; you made this happen.

And while I may not have much company in the Study Group for the deck, I'll have it here.

Disa and baylys, nice to see you here as well :).

* thread watched and bookmarked *
 

strings of life

Oh, and I mentioned this in the DoTW thread last week, but my International Icon Tarot came from a trade with Sulis, one of the people that participated in the original One Deck Wonders. It is worn in and looks like it was lovingly used! And it smells amazing, a beautiful incense aroma. I didn't know about the One Deck Wonder threads until about 3 months ago, so to read about how my deck was used in that journey makes it feel quite special.

* grabs deck and takes a huge whiff *

Ahhhhhhh!