Crow's Magick Tarot

It has been some time since there was much discussion of the Crow's Magick Tarot, and even then, it seemed to be mostly of the "I find them difficult to get started with" variety. Well, time has gone by. People who had the deck a few years ago have had ample opportunity to get into it. Others may have acquired it since. Books may have been bought and studied. So it is time that someone brought up Crow's Magick once again.

If you have this tarot deck: (1) Have you been using it? (2) Why or why not? (3) In what ways have you used it? (divination, meditation, etc.) (4) What if any particular difficulties have you had with it?

Other critique or comments you may want to offer would be welcome.

I have this deck and the companion book, and am just getting started with it. I got it because the corvid/animal theme appealed to me, as did the imagery. Any observations, experiences, or warnings will be appreciated. Thank-you in advance.

No, I dont have this deck, but just wanted to add:-

They say:

"Crows are messengers of the spirit world"

NightWing said:

If you have this tarot deck: (1) Have you been using it? (2) Why or why not? (3) In what ways have you used it? (divination, meditation, etc.) (4) What if any particular difficulties have you had with it?

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Hi NightWing,

I do have the deck and I love it. It was on my wishlist for a long time, looked at the scans, longing for it and when it arrived I was even happier as it became one of my favourites for personal and meditative spreads.

So yes, I use it. Not very often, perhaps once a week. What I like very much about this deck, that it is perfect to use next to other decks with more obvious cardmeanings. The CM is not a pipdeck but the images leave much more open to be interpreted and the animals and geometric pictures open up some kind of another dimension.

I found that querents do not often pick this deck. Most of them tell me they find it beautiful but they also tell they prefer decks where they can see "things going on" like RWCS based decks, or where they are attracted by the atmosphere like Thoth or Old English etc.

The CM is imo very interesting to use next to spreads which leave some
matters to be answered. It has a unique view on things and can stress matters which may be overlooked or not present so easy in other decks. I also like to use it for more meditative readings. Sometimes I just take 5 cards from it and make a story with the animals in it and then I try to connect that story to my own life. The animals then represent people in my life, including myself, and then I try to see how this story is happening in my life. This can be done with any deck of course, but the CM is so unusual that it gives interesting unusual not so obvious answers as well. I can recommend this way of working with this deck highly!

I had no real difficulties with this deck, but I think it helped that I know in general the meanings of the cards already before I got the CM. That helped me to recognize the meanings and have energy left to look for more. If it would have been my first deck I am sure I had to rely highly on the keywords written on the deck. And imo they suck. Would advise to ignore them while they are distracting from the deeper and much more interesting meanings. I would recommend this deck to anyone who is into something different, beautiful, and more intuitive. Also when you love birds or animals in general this is a must have!

Blessings

edited to add: NightWing, I don't have the book with it, perhaps you can tell us what it is like.

I too have the Crow's Magick and the book - I don't use the deck as much as I should. I love the dark colour of the cards and the vibrant use of colours in the shapes and animals. There are, I think, only four human figures in the whole deck - the Hanged Man, five Swords, The Lovers and Chariot. The rest are different types of bird not just crows and animals. The keywords seem to fit the feel of the cards but the cards would I think be easy to get into intuitively - something I haven't tried yet.

The book is a good read - it really gives you a feel for the deck and is well worth getting if only to understand why Londa Marks uses a particular scene to illustrate a card. It always feel more Thothlike to me than anything else.

Hi all,
I love my Crow's Magic deck! I don't have the book but would like to get it someday. I use this deck a lot for myself, especially for spiritual insight and growth. I love the shamanistic feel of this deck. I don't understand why some people call this a 'dark' deck. It is very open and honest. It doesn't shy away from anything!

I have this deck but until now it is just a collector's item, I have not started working with it due to lack of time.

I have the Crow's Magick. I don't use it for most readings though. When I do use it for a reading, it's for a specific purpous. Most of the time when I do pull it out, I use them for mainly clarification cards. My main use for it is for tarot magick. It's a very good deck for that application.

When in the rare case I use it for readings, I find it a useful tool for necromancy.

I haven't used it in a while but I've had no problems with it at all, my readings have all been very accurate.

The Crow's Magick Book

Dwaas said:

...NightWing, I don't have the book with it, perhaps you can tell us what it is like.

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Yes, of course. Just briefly, the paperback book by Londa Marks is of smallish format, measuring 4.6 inches by 7 inches, with a mostly black cover, illustrated with the Tiger from her King of Coins and other card bits. It has about 185 pages of text and B&W card scans, and a few pages left over for several poems, acknowledgements, and blanks for "notes" at the back.

There are three very short introductory messages, some brief astrological material presented in tables, and a small bit of numerology at the front, altogether adding up to 18 pages. The rest of the book is devoted to a short treatment of each card, with a good sized card scan, a kind of reflection that averages half a page, and short divinatory "meanings"(with reversals) that are in small paragraphs.

The card reflections are well-written and enjoyable to read. The brief divinatory material is best illustrated by an example for the upright card, as below:

"The Devil - DIVINATION: Competitive. Strongly engrossed. Unshakable. Self-respect perceived as self-centeredness. Jealousy occurs when people compare their lives to yours. Drive is often mistaken for evil ways."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For those unfamiliar with the deck, the cards include 22 Majors that all retain traditional titles, except "The World" here is named "The Universe". The four suits retain traditional card numbers and court titles, in Swords, Wands, Cups, and Coins. It is the card images that are very different, and also much of the suggested divinatory material.

The book is helpful with this particular deck, and I'm pleased to have it. In no sense is it a general introduction to tarot, nor would it be of much use with any other deck.

I have this deck and I like it. I've just been away from Tarot for a while.
Now that I'm back I'm exploring all my tarot decks like I'm getting reacquainted with old friends. I just haven't gotten to Crow's Magic yet.

But now that you brought it up, I'll pull it out later and see what I come up with. I'll let you know.