My One Deck is making me nauseous!

[rebecca-smiles]

I have the Rider Waite. Recently i get this 'oh no' feeling, kind of mild revution to the cards. I know why it is; its that feeling of having spent every day all day for too long with your lover, playing your favorite song to the death, eating too much chocolate in one sitting...

And worse, the meanings are starting to calicfy. What once felt like fluid possibilities that slowly focus to a contextual meaning, is now becoming a narrow, predefined meaning, as though i have read just one meaning given out of a book. Mostly no words come at all, just the image on the card. Like all the possibilities are just sticking to it and adhereing to what i see on the cardboard. Rather than the answers be revealed through the image its like the answer conforms to the image. static. I hate it.

I'm guessing both feelings go together, so the question is, is it time to get a completely different deck to refresh myself? or is it more worthwhile to persevere with this one?

Anybody else experienced this? what did you do and how did it help?

 

[Sakura Murasaki]

I didn't start out with the Rider-Waite-Smith, but I sort of experienced it with the Aquarian. As I was starting out, I paid waaaay too much attention to the LWB, and while I thought I was getting good readings out of it, the images and meanings became static, like you said.

My answer was to get another Tarot deck with a new LWB, which I promptly lost. Then I figured out that it's not about the book meanings, or the pre-defined symbolism, it's about the reading. It's about letting the symbols speak to you, not how they spoke to someone else.

Maybe it's time to find a deck. I know a friend who uses Soul Cards and they are great because not only is there no LWB to go with it, you're supposed to interpret the images on your own. I don't think that those will ever become static, because the images will always say something different about any situation.

 

[Apocalipstick]

I went through something very similar with my RWS after about three-four years of using it. It was my only deck.

I let it sit. Not a single reading for six months or so. When I came back to it, on a whim, I reconnected just fine. Even saw things that weren't there before.

Obviously, this may not be an option for you.

Second time this happened, a year or so after the first crisis, I just got another deck. The Thoth.

Got along with it fabulously.

And it helped. Lots. The different persepective was just the jolt I needed to get me interested in my old RWS again. Except this time, when I came back to it, I had the distinct feeling I had outgrown it, so readings with it were sporadic but extremely intense.

Kinda like illicit sex with an old lover.

But then I lost my Thoth and I made up with Waite's baby.

Anyway, maybe what you need is to try something else. Perhaps a well-rendered RWS clone, though I'd be inclined to suggest something completely different, since you're complaining of static meanings.

Let it sit a while. Challenge yourself with something new. It might help.

 

[rebecca-smiles]

Hmm...well something is up, but not LWB static. Although I think i might try a completely different kind of tarot deck for refreshment though. thanks for feedback guys.

 

[elvenstar]

The same happened to me when I was a one deck girl. The first couple of times, I took a break. The next one I got a new deck. Both worked

For me it's like you lock yourself up in a specific frame and need to get out. Overexposure to the same images makes me not being able to really see them any more, so if I stop looking at them for a while, I start getting fresh insight again when I go back.

 

[Raya]

I agree with everyone. I have something like 8 decks now (and counting!), and they're all quite unique, which gives me the chance to choose the best deck to fit each querent, question, etc. For example, Revelations is a good one for male querents, since it was made by a man and has a more masculine energy to it. The Goddess is good for women, the Voyager if I need something get my creative problem solving juices flowing. But I always end up going back to my original, the Robin Wood, like an old friend, when I feel really confused and need a deck that I really understand. I have a good friend who only ever uses the RWS, and she seems to get stuck in the same old interpretations of cards, but the cards are there to help expand your mind and intuition, so I figure it's good to challenge yourself with new imagery and ideas now and then.

Besides, tarot decks are pretty and fun to collect.

 

[raventepes]

You know. I've been through that too, and buying a new deck does help, but it's one of those things that you have to be cautious about too. For a good example of where I'd go if I were you, you started with the RWS, which is a good deck, but is limited. Now from here, you have options. Option one is to get another RWSish deck. Too many tarots are modeled after the Rider. So (take it from experiance) getting another deck of the same type may help, but it can also hinder at the same time becasue a lot of the LWBs use generic meanings, which generally come directly from the Pictorial Key To The Tarot, which was written by Waite himself.

With that issue finished, next, I'd take a differant option. Finding another deck whos roots differ from the RWS. While all tarot decks share the same root, not all are the same, which is why if I were you, I'd go looking for something differant like a Thoth or Thoth inspired deck such as the Haindl or the Liber T or something else. All are fantastic decks, which can help you rekindle your readings. But why limit yourself there? There are other deck types out there that can and WILL help you grow in how you read. The Visconti, Marseilles, Wirth, and other historic decks can have a LOT to teach you. Or you can do what I wish I could have done and that's get the Eclectic Tarot. I really wish I'd have known about it earlier in life when I went looking for another deck. It sort of incorporates many differant decks into one, getting a vibe like no other.

lastly, you could get an Oracle deck. These can be fun. A lot of the time, when I just don't want to read with a tarot deck, I'll use one of my few oracles. They're a great way to rind of refocus myself. And in regards to the Soul Cards (1 and 2), I HIGHLY reccomend them to anyone wishing to become more intuitive with reading.

These are just a couple ideas. I've been where you are before, and all I want to do is help.

 

[Jewel]

Perhaps you are working at them too hard. A break from tarot might be a good thing. It is amazing how a break can really refresh one and bring whole new perspectives to decks we are absolutly convinced we know.

 

[rebecca-smiles]

I have been taking a break, just a couple of readings a week. actually that is all i've felt like doing.

But you're right, raventepes, I'm drawn to the thoth right now and i am borrowing my mum's. I like the fact it has a bit more bite to it, and seems a bit more daring. The rider seems cute in comparrision!

I would really like the vertigo, but when i can find it i can't afford it. £60+ on ebay. I might get the marseilles as well and compare them, then stick at one for a while until i want to use the other. i think using one deck at a time is a good idea for me at the moment though as i hcae only been reading, what? 7 months? (no i have not had my head in the LWB all this time!) so i figure i should give myself plenty of time with each deck, and that deck only, as it might help me learn tarot better. I'm still only a beginner.

Anyone contradict this though? i mean, did you find it better starting out with more than one?

 

[Raya]

Anyone contradict this though? i mean, did you find it better starting out with more than one?

I started with one deck, but I have been known to buy two decks at a time. But like you, I keep the rule that I won't buy anymore decks until I know the other ones I have. Maybe I don't have to become experts with each one; a couple decks I have are a bit difficult for me to read still, but I have a strong base with them, I guess you could say. We've come to an understanding for the time being.

I think you just have to trust your intuition. If you walk into a shop and two decks really speak to you, (and your finances allow it), get them both. If you only get the good vibes from one, just get the one. People always end up with the decks they're supposed to have, so no worries.