What kind of deck do you use for serious/ sensitive issues?

[Reverie]

I was just wondering... because I asked my Victorian Romantic deck about a subject that means a lot to me, and the cards are quite intense and frightening... So what do you use? Do you use more 'light themed' decks for those serious subjects? Do you feel that 'dark' themed decks add to the fear of a situation, or an intensity that doesn't in fact represent the situation?

 

[mgrace]

"An old friend"

If the question is "intense," I don't go to a light themed deck. I'll go to a deck that I've used a lot, and found that I've been able to draw positive guidance (versus positive outcomes) from the readings.

I had such a question recently, and I chose my Tarot of the Cat People deck. Because that is the deck I used solely for 18 years (it was a gift from my sister; my prior, Aquarian, deck had gone into "hiding"); and I'd found that, in the years I read with that deck, I always had something constructive and uplifting to say to people, no matter what the reading was about. I'm much more engaged with my MR decks, and some others at this point, and don't use the TotCP very often right now. But the particular question came up, and I wanted a bit of "safety" along with my truth! (Not that the others would necessarily have been alarming; it was just looking to talk to an old friend, at that point, with "whom" I'd had many, many conversations.)

 

[Apollonia]

If the question is "intense," I don't go to a light themed deck. I'll go to a deck that I've used a lot, and found that I've been able to draw positive guidance (versus positive outcomes) from the readings.

Me, too--if I really need guidance on a sensitive subject, I'll go with my Universal Waite, the one I've been using the longest and that tends to speak directly, but without dark shadings.

 

[RussianSoul]

For really serious questions - Marseille.
For conflicts - Vertigo or Marseille.
For relationship questions - Victorian Romantic.
For life wisdom - Buckland.
For my daughter readings (she is 17) - Rock&Roll or Victorian Romantic.

 

[mollymawk]

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[Thirteen]

For really serious stuff, I find that decks with fairly conservative and uncluttered images are the best.

Like the Aquarian Tarot:

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/aquarian/

Calming colors and images, with pretty straightforward symbolism, no bells, whistles or anything too far off the beaten path.

A quiet, serious, yet understanding deck, if you will.

 

[BLFO]

I like Aquarian, because it the illustrations forces you to pay attention to the card meaning instead of the illustration. Yes, the illustration is decorative but it is not creative for intuitive reading where looking at illustrations is concerned. You can't do illustration interpretation...that is what I mean.

I had Tarot of the Cat People but the dark colors became too depressing for me, especially if you are going through hard times. I am a sensitive person so I need a slightly happy or pretty spread to make the reading bearable.

 

[Lurea]

I think that this is one of those highly individualistic questions where everyone will have a different answer

For me personally, I don't want readings to make me cry. Or anyone else, for that matter. If I'm really emotionally invested in the outcome, and I NEED true divination, then I'm better off going for a more neutral deck like RWS or Voyager than one that is strongly slanted one way or the other.

OTOH, there's plenty of times that I do a Tarot reading not to find out how terrible a situation is--I know that already---but to find the positive hiding within the negative, or for some advice to give me hope. I tend to be naturally gloomy, so I can usually figure out the bad stuff without any trouble! In that case, I go for a lighter deck/more psychoanalytical deck, like the Inner Child, the Whimsical or the Tarot of Transformation.

 

[euripides]

I also use the TdM for serious stuff. It tends to be very direct and somewhat intellectual, or, I'll go for the RWS, which allows me to be a little more visually intuitive but is still restrained.

The Rohrig is serious but very emotional - EVERYTHING is a huge drama to that deck. I could ask what to have for dinner and I'd get an emotional outpouring about feeding the spirit. The Spiral is emotional in a dreamy, feminine sort of way.


I'm still learning the Arthurian and Norse, and found that it isn't a good idea to do important readings with unfamiliar decks - though they are both beautiful and quite serious decks, but I haven't quite figured them out yet.

 

[connegrl]

Well, it depends. I like the International Icon because its very straightforward. Good for when I need to be objective. If I need healing, then that would be the Drogi. Its one of the most positive decks that I've seen without being unbalanced. I keep the Drogi for spiritual work. I just can't imagine using it to do a reading for someone I didn't know really well. The IIT is better for reading for strangers. Plenty to draw my eye and I can find a flow and the positives in the situation. Its just recently where I can select a deck based on what kind of question I want to ask. I stuck with the IIT for several months and its the deck I would choose to read with first in an uncertain situation.

Jen