How do you feel about reading for others with the TdM?

I really love the TdM -- even briefly considered using it exclusively and selling off the rest of my deck collection, when I 1st fell for it!

BUT I have had issues using it for sitters. Some people don't want to simply be "told" the answers to their questions -- they want to connect to the cards, and really get a feel for the message & reading.
These are my favorite types of sitters: the "dynamic" ones, the "participators"!
And these are also the same sitters who may need scenic pips, because they aren't able to connect to the TdM's pips yet, but they want to have a more active role in the reading.

Obviously, the Sitter knows their life best, and they may very well have knee-jerk reactions to the images, with associations that you as a Reader never could have known.
Like my friend, pining for her ex after a break up, who exclaimed: "that's him going on a cruise the day after he dumped me!" when she saw the 6 Swords (in my RWS-inspired Aquarian Tarot deck).
This visual connection could not have been made via the TdM 6 Swords...

So for me, I think it ultimately comes down to how much of a role the Sitter wants to play in the reading.
Some people just want the "message", and that's fine!
But my most successful readings have ultimately been collaborative in nature, and if the Sitter needs "training wheels" (in the form of illustrated pips) to play along -- so be it!

Good point, WendyWu!

I didn't think about that. I was thinking the more benign pips and people liking pictures. But I can see the TdM could make them less anxious if ten of swords came up, even if they are familiar with a basic meaning of it and many aren't if they haven't had many readings.

DavidLee said:

So, how do you feel about reading for others with the Marseilles? Do you ever feel like you are "robbing" them of the visual feast of a typical deck? Because I often do.

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I'm enough of a Marseille Queen not to be bothered at all by people who might prefer scenic pips. I'd tend to say, "Honey, you're ordering tacos in a Chinese restaurant. You need to find someone who is good with those decks." On the other hand, I've only read for friends using the deck I had at hand, which would be TdM or a Soprafino type.

I think that if I were reading in a shop, especially someone else's shop, I'd want to take a more businesslike approach. I'd want to keep the proprietor, the customers, and (a distant third) the other staff members happy. So I'd probably offer a choice of decks in addition to my preferred one or two. And I'd probably make sure the other decks were decks the store usually stocked, or was able and willing to special order.

Here's a question:

How do you feel about showing (fanning out) the card fronts to the sitter and letting them choose? I feel like this might take away from the reading for a couple of reasons, but I'm curious what others' thoughts are on it.

I agree with Princess Pauline. If you are going to do interactive style readings where you encourage the client to free-associate on the cards (like Mary Greer used to teach before she went bonkers for Lenormand) then it's important to use a deck the client likes. I give them a choice of several, and sometimes they choose a TdM.

Otherwise, your deck is your oracular tool. It's an extension of your intuition, an expression of your reading style, and reflects your philosophy of how tarot and divination work. You wouldn't ask the Pythia at Delphi to have some runes on hand in case she got a Norse client and needed to make him feel at home! Neither should you worry about what the client, the store manager or anyone else thinks of your tools. By trying to please everyone you'll lose sight of who you really are.

Sherryl said:

I agree with Princess Pauline. If you are going to do interactive style readings where you encourage the client to free-associate on the cards (like Mary Greer used to teach before she went bonkers for Lenormand) then it's important to use a deck the client likes. I give them a choice of several, and sometimes they choose a TdM.

Otherwise, your deck is your oracular tool. It's an extension of your intuition, an expression of your reading style, and reflects your philosophy of how tarot and divination work. You wouldn't ask the Pythia at Delphi to have some runes on hand in case she got a Norse client and needed to make him feel at home! Neither should you worry about what the client, the store manager or anyone else thinks of your tools. By trying to please everyone you'll lose sight of who you really are.

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Thank you so much for such an insightful post - (Thank you to the all the others as well!) - especially that last line. The more I feel forced to use a Waite-based deck, the more I feel like I'm diluting my whole ... "mojo".

I ended up getting hired and today was my first day. I had the Morgan-Greer on the table, but I never used it. One thing about the Marseilles is that it becomes a conversation piece for anyone who is familiar with Tarot. Most of them have never seen it used, so you definitely get some curious looks.

But yeah, I just feel so connected to the deck - I have since I started reading Tarot, when the Marseilles chose me.

One thing I will say is that if you use a system of numerology+suit for the pips it can start to feel formulaic. I think that's a valid complaint about this type of deck, so I am definitely open to expanding my conceptions of each card, and of the numerological significance of all the cards.

Sherryl said:

You wouldn't ask the Pythia at Delphi to have some runes on hand in case she got a Norse client and needed to make him feel at home! Neither should you worry about what the client, the store manager or anyone else thinks of your tools. By trying to please everyone you'll lose sight of who you really are.

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That's it! Spot on. I shall remember this...

DavidLee said:

I ended up getting hired and today was my first day. I had the Morgan-Greer on the table, but I never used it. One thing about the Marseilles is that it becomes a conversation piece for anyone who is familiar with Tarot. Most of them have never seen it used, so you definitely get some curious looks.

But yeah, I just feel so connected to the deck - I have since I started reading Tarot, when the Marseilles chose me.

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Congratulations! It sounds like you've found your true tarot path - something it took me (and lots of others) decades to find.

One thing I will say is that if you use a system of numerology+suit for the pips it can start to feel formulaic.

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It IS formulaic. It's a useful system for beginners but gets limiting pretty fast. Besides, I don't think the Golden Dawn system of elemental attributions (wands=fire, swords=air, etc.) necessarily works with the TdM.

Someone here mentioned "scrying" with the pips recently. The trick is to loosen up so you have the courage to just say what you see no matter how weird is seems, without censoring yourself. It helps to practice in a safe place with a friend, or by yourself. Pull cards and make up silly stories. Put on your satin turban and make outlandish predictions. Flip cards over as fast as you can and say the first thing that pops into your mind. Do enough of this and it will carry over into your real readings. You'll start seeing unexpected things in the cards and you'll have the courage to just tell what you see.