Anybody here work with the Etteilla decks?

LixiPixi said:

I do have this specific deck as well and I like it very much. I've done a couple of readings with it and find them to be very accurate. But these accurate interpretations only came after referring to the LWB. Unfortunately, I found this deck to have very different meanings from the ones I'm used to. Normally this wouldn't bother me as I use intuition A LOT when I read, but I don't find this deck intuitive-friendly.

I would love to do a study with someone on this deck. Maybe a card a day, share some thoughts on the LWB meaning, what we see in the card artwork, etc. It is a fantastic deck, but one that definitely needs some special attention to help learn, retain, and not become dependent on the LWB. I'd be game to participate with you if you choose to delve deeper with this one

LP~

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Hi Lixi:

I'd like that. not a card per day (I'm too busy to make that intense a commitment and there is the time difference between us) but we can develop a flow. after New Years will be fine. I haven't begun yet, so you have a head start. but now you've given me more incentive to get off my backside and get moving with this, so I'm going to do some reading tonight .
I
'm curious, did you use the suggested spread in the LWB?

I'm also going to read the Grimaud LWB and see if there's anything it can add or if there's anything fundamentally different between the 2 versions.

as far as intuition is concerned, I suspect it's like when you get your first RWS deck and you're forever chained to the LWB until your abilities and understanding mature, so I don't see any reason why it can't eventually be the same for the Etteilla.

I also found this which may or may not be any help but it does seem to provide some good background material:

http://www.villarevak.org//emw/emw_1.htm

http://www.tarotpassages.com/etteillathoth-lb.htm

I have been reading with the Libro de Thoth, Book of Thoth Etteilla deck since 1982. I would be glad to offer up any pointers to those who would like to get to know the deck better. I don't feel it is harder to read than other decks, but it is different.
Because my deck is antique and I bought it in an old book store I did not ever have a LWB to study with it. I think this was probably a good thing. I did translate the French meanings on the tops and bottoms of the cards and would recommend doing that before you use them. Most of the cards can correspond with those of the Rider decks, but there are some that are unique.
Because I also believe in spirit guides, and because my Etteilla deck came to me from a past user or users, I have come to feel that consulting it is a bit like getting advice from a relative or ancestor or at least from someone who knows me and looks after me.
Because of this sometimes ( when I feel I have a difficult problem) I read my other decks to receive a more "impartial" answer. Hard to explain, but like asking advice from your grandmother or from your barber. The advice is sometimes different.

Do those of you you read with the Etteilla use the keywords?

Also, do you use the method like it says in the LWB where certain cards together with certain other cards have a very specific meaning?

Do you sort of take off from the keywords according to intuition?

I found my experiments with the Grand Etteilla a bit exhausting but maybe if I were more used to the deck it would be easier.

I wish I had the Libro Thoth version, it is gorgeously old-fashioned looking and dignified. And mysterious.

--Myrrha

When I began I used the keywords. I found them helpful because I had no idea what I was doing and I didn;t have a LWB because they were antique and without a package. I still today think they would be helpful,especially because they are French and many of the words don't directly translate to English. That seems good to me because the meanings can then be "interpreted" more and are not so fixed. I have always worked with traditional celtic cross spread most often with my Ettellia, again because I didn't have the LWB at the time I got the cards. I have since purchased a repro of this deck to get the LWB, but I was so ingrained in my old way I never could get used to their instructions and the results didn't work for me.
I especially like the "Birds and fishes" card because I feed and care for both birds and fish on my property and feel their "spirit guide" presence in my life so when I draw that card I feel like I am receiving a message from them

blackairplane said:

When I began I used the keywords. I found them helpful because I had no idea what I was doing and I didn;t have a LWB because they were antique and without a package. I still today think they would be helpful,especially because they are French and many of the words don't directly translate to English.

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I found that the Grimaud edition is much easier to work/learn with in that respect.

Yeah, I can see that would be easier. I grew up near French Canada nad thus can read enough French so most of the words didn't stymie me, but a hour in a library with a French dictionary should set it right. The words are not that difficult and many have similar roots to those in English.

Christine Payne-Towler has an interesting article:
Masonic/Martinist Tarot, or Was Etteilla an Initiate?
http://noreah.typepad.com/tarot_arkletters/2007/02/masonic_martini.html

John Meador said:

Christine Payne-Towler has an interesting article:
Masonic/Martinist Tarot, or Was Etteilla an Initiate?
http://noreah.typepad.com/tarot_arkletters/2007/02/masonic_martini.html

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thank you, that was very entertaining.

that's some really wicked stuff

Since it didn't seem fair to post this question in this thread, I thought I would bump this one.

I'm interested to know how those of you who read with the Etteilla lay out the cards and decipher them. From what I can see the LWB (with the Grand Ettilla at least), doesn't help much. The description for reading with the deck is muddled to me. I've looked at the villaRevak site and he gives interpretations of the cards but not the method of reading with them. I see them more as a fortune telling deck than Tarot and not unlike the Lenormand decks for reading. There are cards called 'Woman Consultant' and Male Consultant' in the LWB which is reminiscent of fortune telling decks.

So, what spreads do you use which would be authentic for this deck?