Da Vinci Enigma Tarot: Any Luck??

[princeofcups518]

So after reading a book on Leonardo's life and his science, I felt compelled to buy Caitlin Matthew's Enigma Tarot... I'll just say I regret this buy. It is dreadfully accurate when used with the book, except, to not use the book is virtually impossible, as Ms. Matthews delivers about 80 some-odd meanings to each card, all of which are relevant depending on their context (which she explains). This frustrates me endlessly, as the cards are really quite lovely, and are also very unique, however, I haaaate to rely so heavily upon the 200 page book! It seems like such a cop-out, and the joy of interpretation gets sapped out of it. Yet, honestly, the deck just looses all effectivity for me when I eliminate the book from the equation.

Has anyone else purchased this deck and experienced the same problems? Has anyone found any success with the deck sans book? What would you recommend?

 

[Le Fanu]

Don't be embarrassed, read this!

Oh and , if all else fails, these decks with complicated systems which people have difficulty with, always end up being highly sought after in a few years anyway when no longer available and HTF. Just hang onto it!

 

[hopena]

One of these days, I'm going to try an IDS with this deck... I received it for my birthday, in April, and used it for a couple of weeks in June - great readings, but I would also prefer to not have to use the book every time.

 

[gregory]

I DO NOT GET THIS DECK.

But it has nice pictures.

It is, I think, the MOST remaindered deck I have ever seen; if anyone needs one I know where there are several..... Even in the NETHERLANDS and Belgium have I seen them cheap ! (not that I have anything against either one; I love them both, but I have rarely seen anything remaindered in either country.)

 

[Le Fanu]

They're also cheap here; I bought mine dirt cheap, always a good sign for future collectibles (and here they don't even have the concept of "remaindered" but for this they made an exception)...

 

[HearthCricket]

I have never even tried to read with this deck. Maybe someday I will give it a whirl, but basically I bought it for the artwork and its unique theme.

 

[princeofcups518]

Hahah, I'm glad I'm not alone! I agree that the pictures are really quite lovely. Personally, I think Leonardo was the supreme artist of the High Renaissance, but one could debate who deserves that rank for hours on end. Who knows? I got mine pretty cheap for the most part too, thankfully. I don't know, I'm just disappointed that it's like this, as the readings I get with it are always spot on and really profound, but only with that darn book! Really frustrating.

 

[Le Fanu]

This is a deck, let's be honest, which totally paralyses any attempt to read intuitively (not that I ever do read entirely intuitively). You will always be aware that something is missing. And so you should, because something will be missing! I haven't dug mine out for a while but I do remember thinking what a well thought-out system it was and how clever it was to use sketches which gave a sense of the formation of an idea, an idea on the move, as it were.

I always think that the Matthews do very clever, well-constructed decks, but they can be a little cumbersome because they're invariably unfamiliar to most people and remain so until you really dedicate time to them. I actually think that the number of people who are prepared to give time to a totally new system, and put in the required effort, must be tiny, and I suppose it must be quite disheartening to the creators.

Besides, why would anyone seek out a different system then totally disregard that very same clever system/way of reading (as in the case with this deck)? Laziness is all too often the main reason I fear. Not the case of the O.P as he really wants to try with it. I never really delved deeply into this deck because I don't share that fascination with Leonardo (which I think you have to have) though I do think it is quite refreshingly removed from the usual "easy" decks churned out by the dozen...

I think nisaba quite likes this deck, maybe she can shed light on how she reads with it.

 

[gregory]

Funny you should mention her - that's what I was going to say too ! She likes it a lot. She also trimmed it, I believe.

 

[nisaba]

So after reading a book on Leonardo's life and his science, I felt compelled to buy Caitlin Matthew's Enigma Tarot... I'll just say I regret this buy. It is dreadfully accurate when used with the book, except, to not use the book is virtually impossible, as Ms. Matthews delivers about 80 some-odd meanings to each card, all of which are relevant depending on their context (which she explains).

I bought the kit and book a couple of years back, and I didn't have the same problem as you.

I read the book, basically because I have many books by Caitlin and John Matthews on my bookshelves and none of them are unread, but in using the deck, I don't use the book at all. I eventually ended up cutting the deck down to 78 cards (which I now rather regret, but not enough to find the deck unusable), and use it pretty much the same way I use all my other decks - by referring to the cards and how they make me feel and what they make me think.

Works like a dream. And no, I haven't studied her system - I read the book once, quickly, and immediately forgot it.