Deck(s) you use with Mary Greer workbooks?

[Freddie]

Hi All,

I have built up a little collection of Mary Greer workbooks, but alas I have never written in them. I must admit I have struggled to find the right deck to use with them. I have recently began to actually write in Tarot Transformation (Tarot for Yourself) and I am finding the experience to be far more richer than just reading the book. The enlightenment I have recieved from her books has deeply enriched the Tarot for myself and those I read for. Thank you Mary Greer!

I have been using 'Vision Quest' and 'Hudes' with good results with Mary's books. I like both RWS and Thoth which are the primary illustrations within these books, but over the last almost 30 years I am very tired of looking at them. I do feel the illustrations are appropriate for these books as they are universal and easily identified within the Tarot community, so I am not complaining about the illustrations at all.

My trouble with finding compatible decks with Mary's books spring from her wonderful prose concerning sex and gender within the realm of Tarot. I have discovered through her books that being able to truly relate to the opposite sex (as depicted in the Tarot female/male image) is really about forgetting about gender and seeking something more personal yet universal in the image. This is why I have chose these two decks, because both sexes seem more realistic and are interchangable with each other. The decks that portrayed women as sex objects or men as macho were automatically taken out of the mix early in this decision (not for use with the workbooks at any rate).

Which deck(s) do you all use with her workbooks and why?

Freddie

[vee]

I've written in my copy sporadically over the years, and thus have not stuck to just one deck. I think I've just used whatever deck caught my fancy at the time! If I was going to work through one of her books at once, I would probably do what you did and pick one or two decks. I think I'd probably pick ones that have rich, scenic imagery, but mostly just ones that I wanted to get to know better! Sounds like you're on the right track to me.

Even beyond gender, I think it's important to pick a deck where people are expressive and dynamic. So many of her exercises call for you to talk to the characters or write stories or imagine who they are, so it's much more rewarding to use a deck where the people in the cards are interesting!

Edit: I also think you could do this with a non-human deck too, like the Cat's Eye. I prefer people but some people might not! I think it's just about what appeals to you. I actually did some of her exercises with Roots of Asia, which is not a very expressive or scenic deck, it's more abstract--and it turned out great, so I didn't even follow my own advice! I'd say the only thing that really matters is if you're enjoying the deck your'e working with and if you're getting something out of the exercises.

[AJ]

I used whatever my deck of the week was as I worked through the book.
My theory being you are trying to break yourself out of a box, not box yourself in.

[rwcarter]

I agree with AJ - I think the whole point of Mary's books is teaching you to read with whatever deck you're currently using.

But to answer your question, I've used Barrett's Ancient Egyptian Tarot with Tarot Constellations (currently released as Who Are You in the Tarot?). I chose that deck because I was doing an Intensive Deck Study with it and was ready to take my study to the next level of looking at the similarities and differences between the cards based on their constellations.

Rodney

[BirchTreeNymph]

I love her workbooks. I intend to use 21 ways to break in a new deck. I have gone through it most of the way with a single card (the Hierophant from the Llewellyn). I also went through the exercises with various different cards from my Wildwood trying to get connected with it. A failed effort (sadly) but I'm still going to do it with my next deck, because I think it'll really help start things up.

[jema]

I am like AJ really, whatever deck I happen to work with. One deck that I gotten really interesting results with together with Mary Greers 21 ways is the 'Shining tribe tarot'
Those 'raw' and tribal images just work for me in a wonderful way :-D

[Le Fanu]

Erm; just a quick question; how many workbooks are there by her?

I thought there was only Tarot for Yourself and 21 Ways &c. Give me a list. I may need to buy them all. LOL

[Freddie]

Originally Posted by vee

I've written in my copy sporadically over the years, and thus have not stuck to just one deck. I think I've just used whatever deck caught my fancy at the time! If I was going to work through one of her books at once, I would probably do what you did and pick one or two decks. I think I'd probably pick ones that have rich, scenic imagery, but mostly just ones that I wanted to get to know better! Sounds like you're on the right track to me.

Even beyond gender, I think it's important to pick a deck where people are expressive and dynamic. So many of her exercises call for you to talk to the characters or write stories or imagine who they are, so it's much more rewarding to use a deck where the people in the cards are interesting!

Edit: I also think you could do this with a non-human deck too, like the Cat's Eye. I prefer people but some people might not! I think it's just about what appeals to you. I actually did some of her exercises with Roots of Asia, which is not a very expressive or scenic deck, it's more abstract--and it turned out great, so I didn't even follow my own advice! I'd say the only thing that really matters is if you're enjoying the deck your'e working with and if you're getting something out of the exercises.

Indeed I agree with you. Great post!


Freddie

[rwcarter]

Originally Posted by Le Fanu

Erm; just a quick question; how many workbooks are there by her?

I thought there was only Tarot for Yourself and 21 Ways &c. Give me a list. I may need to buy them all. LOL

There are 12 currently listed on Amazon, but there's a thread over in TB&M dedicated to Mary's books - Mary K Greer's Books.