Who's still using the Mary El as a main deck?

inanna_tarot

Hi ATers :D

Just wondering if anyone here still is, or new to working with the Mary El? Its a deck I have had in my collection since it was first published (the Schiffer edition, not the beautiful self-published one which I couldnt afford all those years ago even though I lusted after it), but I just have not felt able to work with it, until now. I feel like I need to step back into the world of deck study and picking one deck to really work with. Thankfully we still have this lovely resource of the IDS forum but is anyone else here?
Any insights that you may have from working with the Mary El for a long time?
 

illyria

Hi, inanna.

I only got my Mary-el this year, but I feel that it lends itself to deep and grounding meditative work. I work with this deck best when I have true quiet time to myself, where there are no distractions from the language and layered symbolism of the images. I don't often pose a question to these cards, nor do I bother myself with reversals. I just shuffle, cut, and lay down one to three cards, and I internalize the images and see what insights they hold.

I had an interesting experience with the Eight of Disks recently. I took to describing the composition of the card to myself, freeing myself from traditional RWS associations.

"The lamb rests calmly between two fierce creatures. The golden beast on its left is above it, protective of it, sheltering it. We see this golden beast overpowering the fire of the red one, edging it out of the frame as it desperately tries to sink its claws into where the lamb sits. A plume of smoke rises above the lamb, the same color as its hide, ending in an eight-pointed star to which the red beast ecstatically surrenders."

Right. Time to bring that description down to earth and relate it to my state of mind at the time.

"I can and should allow myself to be still, and to nurture and preserve that inner silence that an action-oriented, impatient and aggressive material world doesn't always take too kindly to. Allowing the quiet yet potent energy of my feminine side to manifest without apology is something I have to learn and work on, but it's very much possible. If I'm honest and authentic about my boundaries, about the extent to which I allow stress to intrude into my life, then I don't have to be paralyzed by external influences I don't have any control over."

I know that was long and rambling, but I hope it helps.
 

Rose Lalonde

Technically I'm not working with the Mary-el at the moment, since I'm learning about the Thoth, but those studies are clarifying aspects of the Mary-el for me too. I had them out yesterday.

Plus I wanted to pop in and cheer you on. :)
 

conurelover

I want to cheer you on too. I go back and forth using this as a main deck. I enjoy reading the new posts to the study group.
 

Alexxa

new to mary-el

I'm new to working with the Mary-el Tarot. I've had mine for a couple of months now.
 

Patrick Booker

I have just ordered this deck. I followed it online when the artist was developing it, but somehow I never got round to purchasing it. Wonderful, powerful images. Several of the images on Marie White's website seem to have been altered from those I remember. I am looking forward to getting it - Schiffer decks are always nicely produced.

Patrick
 

Crazyaboutlearning

Hi

I got this beautiful deck this month (June 2015), I have a few decks but had never really studied them. The Mary-El deck has made me want to learn what these stunning images mean to me, I have even started a journal just for this deck. I feel that getting to know this deck will give me so much, as I want to look inside of it and therefore inside myself. I would be very interested I how others see these cards.
 

Snowhunter

I've been concentrating on the RWS and this deck for the past couple of months. I bought a lovely trimmed Mary-El and then decided a few days ago that I needed the untrimmed for study and as a backup. I've lost any desire to even look at my other decks and I wonder if I should even keep them. Is this just a phase and will I move on eventually?
 

delinfrey

Before I started working with this deck, I just started to read the book cover to cover ( I rarely, almost never read the companion books like this).
The way Marie White has integrated different mystic schools and traditions in this deck is trully unfathomable. This is not a deck I would use for readings for others, actually not even for myself (in the style of CC or the likes). I very much like the approach of the poster above, just pulling a few cards and focusing on their insight.

This deck feels almost sacred to me and I hesitate calling it a "main deck". To me, this deck ascends all the others and is just in a completely different category.
 

Amerie

Just ordered Mary-El

I saw just a few pictures - I remember the King of Disks - and decided to buy it. After reading the comments on this thread, I'm really looking forward to getting it. I know I won't use it as my main deck anytime soon because it will take me a while to be able to read it, but I will work with it somehow. It's beautiful, and what I've seen speaks to me.

So I plan to follow this group and hope to make useful comments.

Yours
Amerie