A Deck "Reading Well"?

A deck reading well for me means that the images really evoke a response in me.

That said, I can read with any deck. Even ones I really dislike. But, I only own the ones that really make me feel connected to them, and that make me feel happy when reading.

A deck reading well for mean means as soon as I open the box and lay down that first reading, I get flooded with info. It's hard for me to predict based on art alone. There have been decks I was iffy about and not immediately drawn to (for ex: Illuminati & Wild Unknown) that immediately became go-to decks. Some decks I liked the art AND they read well (Joie de Vivre & Ellis). Others I liked the art but they took work to read (Shadowscapes). So you never know... I like to be experimental with decks, because I never know whats going to give me that "click." But I generally tend to like decks that are creative and stray pretty far away from RW. And I have a penchant for dreamy, ethereal colors on one hand, or bold brights on the others.

At this point, I can read with any deck that gets put in my hands, but some just flow better than others. A deck reading well is a very subjective thing and you should probably ignore that statement in reviews. Unless you find someone who has similar tastes in decks as you.

Actually, decks don't read. Their owners do the reading.

I agree that it's very subjective and that a person who finds one deck readable may be totally unreadable for another reader, so for one reader to say they can read a deck well doesn't mean others will find it so readable.

I love Lo Scarabeo decks. Bonefire is one of my very favorite decks to read with, too. I'm more proficient with RWS than Thoth or Marseilles but the decks that deviate from the RWS illustrations are great, fertile fields for sparking intuitive thoughts during readings. Shadowscapes, Wild Spirit, and others may seem to totally depart from the standard RWS but I don't have any problem reading with them. I lovse the Joie de Vivre, too, and Wickwillow. I could name so many. But to others, those might not be very readable for them.

uraszz said:

Hi

I was just wondering by what it means for a deck to "Read Well" or not because I've used many many decks which I like and don't like and I've always been able to read with them no matter the artwork

-uraszz

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I agree with you, uraszz, that any deck is readable. However, I find that some decks read more effortlessly than others for me. Instead of saying they "read well", I think of them as "decks I prefer to read with" because they stand out for me in some way.

Barleywine said:

For me, "reading well" as applied to a deck falls into the "I don't know what it is but I know it when I see it" category.

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I think Barleywine has explained it best. There are some decks whose colors, symbolism, theme, and artwork create the perfect storm for sparking intuition and effortless readings. For me , these are the decks that "read well" but, as already stated by many others, it is an individualized experience as to which deck might create this feeling for each of us.

uraszz said:

Hi

I was just wondering by what it means for a deck to "Read Well" or not because I've used many many decks which I like and don't like and I've always been able to read with them no matter the artwork

-uraszz

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When a deck reads well for me, it means the following:
-Able to be read without a guidebook or manual, regardless of whether the meanings are traditional or not
-The energy from the cards flows well when being used in readings with multiple cards per spread
-The art speaks to the intuition
-The cards have multilayered symbols
-The contextual meanings of each card is easy to be grasped within a spread
-The art is aesthetically pleasing to me. I've found that if this element is missing, it's more difficult for me to be interested in the cards

I use this phrase quite a lot, maybe because I'm baffled at the disconnect between my appreciation of the artwork and the ability to read the cards. It's surprising (I'm an art historian and work with art every day) and weird.

My examples are the Margarethe Petersen, a deck with very good art that I love - but maybe i like the art too much and can't connect with it as reading deck? My readings with it never got very far... and on the other side, the New Vision whose art is really bland and lacking any individual expression. And I can read with it with ease.

So maybe TOO GOOD art overwhelms me? Not true either, there are decks like the Touchstone whose art I adore and who read really well.

So I have no idea but when I write about a deck that it reads well, I know that this doesn't mean it will read well for others.

Even if I find I can't read with a deck right now, it doesn't bother me. Sometimes it takes a long time to discover the qualities of a deck. And I use decks also for affirmation, meditation, studying and self reflection... and just plain visual enjoyment.

uraszz said:

Hi

I was just wondering by what it means for a deck to "Read Well" or not because I've used many many decks which I like and don't like and I've always been able to read with them no matter the artwork

-uraszz

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I don't think it's so much a question of the artwork. It looks like you've been lucky though that you haven't come across a deck that doesn't read well for you.

I've had it happen to me but not often. I have 117 decks and had 2 that did not read well for me which I gave away. Sometimes after years you just "get" the deck and a deck that made no sense before just suddenly starts to.

I think that all decks carry some of the personal life philosophy of the deck creator in their artwork. Or sometimes even in the keywords on the cards. I think it happens that we don't get/understand a deck (when it doesn't read well for us) its when out personal life philosophy is too vastly different from that of the deck creator.

It could come up, for example in a card with the keyword of "Destiny" when you personally don't believe that destiny exists. What are you supposed to tell the querent about destiny related to their situation when you are sure there is not such thing? As a reader you are not likely to want to give advice on something you are sure is untrue, and yet there is the card wanting you to talk about it.

Or sometimes in some decks, it can be just really hard to understand what they are trying to say at all. For some reason, with those decks the answers come up in vague obscure ways that are hard to understand.

Although on the topic of artwork, I read mainly through the card images. I make very little use of the set meanings but get most of my meaning from the card images. THAT means that decks with pips that have no imagery are not going to read well for me. Because I read through the card images, I need ALL the cards to have images to read.

Also, decks with simple card images will not have as much to say to me in a reading as more complex ones. I may then have to use 3 cards of the simpler deck to get the same amount of info I get from one card in the one of more complex imagery.

Babs

The phrase a deck reads well for me is a subjective phrase that means to me, "I get this deck and I can use it easily and not have to immerse myself in studying it for weeks before it makes sense."

For myself, as others have said, I can now read with nearly any deck, but using a deck I like makes a huge difference in how my reading flows, and if I feel the connection it makes reading more enjoyable for me.

Once in awhile a deck will cross my path that doesn't read well for me. Sometimes decks where I like the art, but something just doesn't work for me. I have also run across decks that read well, but I don't feel a connection, or I hate the artwork. It really is very subjective. Is it helpful in reviews? Sometimes. If someone else doesn't feel it reads well, and can describe what it is about a deck that makes it not read well for them, I might look a little closer before I buy. Or not.