Intensive Deck Study Support Thread ~ Part 2

SolSionnach

I'm back - I had been off for a couple of days at the parental units' house where there is a TV (yay Olympics!), now I'm back at home, expecting a guest visit, and I haven't looked at the Hadar since Friday. (my parental units are tarophobic).

Not to worry, I'm here in spirit, and will be back in full swing by next weekend! :D

ETA: I did get the Huson book (Mystical Tarot blah blah blah whatever I can't remember the full name of it) yesterday, and it's interesting. Not sure if I'm psyched about it or not. I was unhappy to notice that the RWS was shown alongside the TdM cards in the delineation section. More on that later on.
 

Emily

I'm not doing very well with the Bohemian Gothic :( - I can't image studying this deck for any length of time.

I love the artwork but its just not speaking to me. And after the first positive spreads I did with it, I've had nothing like that again. I'm doing dailies and finding nothing that I can relate to.

I don't think I'm going to last with this one and to be honest I'm not sure I want to carry on with it. I'll give it until the end of the week and if I still feel the same then I'll end the study.
 

SolSionnach

Emily,
Here's a thought or two.

Your head has been full of Liber T for almost a year - stuffed full. IIRC that Julia Cameron in "The Artist's Way" says that creative folks should have a 'date' a week where they go off by themselves to 'refill the creative well'.

I'm wondering if you would have better results if you were to give yourself a week without any tarot, and then try out the BG again. Something to clear out your head from all the work you've done, Liber T-wise.

OTOH, I'm thinking that after working with such a compellingly esoteric deck for so long that the BG is simply too 'thin' for you. I had a great time with the BBC, but to tell the truth, these decks are both just RWS clones, and I have my doubts about using any RWS clone for a deck *study*. In some way there is no "there" there. (I'm getting back to my reply to Scion upthread).

I'm curious about your thoughts re: this. Is it too 'thin'? Or do you just need a break?
 

afrosaxon

sravana said:
Emily,
Here's a thought or two.

Your head has been full of Liber T for almost a year - stuffed full. IIRC that Julia Cameron in "The Artist's Way" says that creative folks should have a 'date' a week where they go off by themselves to 'refill the creative well'.

I'm wondering if you would have better results if you were to give yourself a week without any tarot, and then try out the BG again. Something to clear out your head from all the work you've done, Liber T-wise.

I agree with srvana here. Part of the reason I ended up taking a break in this IDS is because I didn't give myself sufficient time to recover from the previous one. I started the second IDS after maybe 3 or 4 days, which wasn't nearly enough time...and ended up taking a month off during this one!

T.
 

Scion

sravana said:
OTOH, I'm thinking that after working with such a compellingly esoteric deck for so long that the BG is simply too 'thin' for you. I had a great time with the BBC, but to tell the truth, these decks are both just RWS clones, and I have my doubts about using any RWS clone for a deck *study*. In some way there is no "there" there. (I'm getting back to my reply to Scion upthread).
Hey gang!

I've been thinking about this the past few days...

Sravana, I know exactly what you mean. Not that the BG or the BBC will be "thin" for everyone, but that once you come to expect a certain amount of symblioc traction from your deck, using a theme deck that's light on esoteric underpinning just gets harder and harder. There's something at work here about our old Plug-n-play thread and Koster's Theory of Fun. The line shifts for each of us, but there is a line. Too hard and we get bored, but too easy ditto. In some ways lighter clones seem like window dressing; they just spruce up the WS images for folks who don't want a big change, but want to stir the pot a little. Like holiday decorations. They aren't a remodel, just an overlay. And when you peel the overlay back you're left wiuth that one foundation. The clones that have more passionate adherents probably have more grist, and thenc emore symbolic traction.

Now, that speaks to something about the Bohemian Gothic specifically...

Emily, I seem to remember that the thing that finally "broke open" the Liber T for you was the way it accessed your intuition. Back when Karen & Alex were building the deck, I took a big load of books on the Gothic to Prague that they wanted. The deck was already underway, but Karen sort of wanted to toss some ideas into the stew. Maybe if you put away the deck and approached it from a more narrative standpoint. Karen was so dedicated to keeping the BG about Gothic as a landscape as opposed to a narrow list of stories.

I feel like what's so great about the Liber T is the way it reads as though you're having a waking dream, and the BG seems like it could head in that direction. Maybe if you took a week and just read some great gothic fiction... stuffed your head with the stories as it were? You might return to the BG deck with a wider field of internal references upon which your readings would draw. Not in the sense of book-learning, but just to feed your imagination.

Anyways, just wanted to toss my 2 cents in... Very interesting thing to think about actually. And one that probably merits a nice rowdy thread, sravana. :D

Having written all summer, I'm actually taking a much needed break from writing myself. :thumbsup:

XO

S
 

thorhammer

Emily said:
I'm not doing very well with the Bohemian Gothic :( - I can't image studying this deck for any length of time.

I love the artwork but its just not speaking to me. And after the first positive spreads I did with it, I've had nothing like that again. I'm doing dailies and finding nothing that I can relate to.

I don't think I'm going to last with this one and to be honest I'm not sure I want to carry on with it. I'll give it until the end of the week and if I still feel the same then I'll end the study.
Sad to say, this does not surprise me :( I had the Silver edition of this deck, and though I looked through it and tried to like it (not something I usually have to do!) it just did not appeal to me.

I did find it empty. Or "thin", to use sravana's word. I have posted many times in many threads about my preference for symbolically dense decks with a solid structure and foundation, and I wouldn't be surprised if you have the same sort of preference, perhaps expressed only for the Liber T :D.
Scion said:
Maybe if you took a week and just read some great gothic fiction... stuffed your head with the stories as it were? You might return to the BG deck with a wider field of internal references upon which your readings would draw. Not in the sense of book-learning, but just to feed your imagination.
This is a great point. I really think there is value in the osmosis method of "study" - surrounding yourself, immersing yourself, living and breathing the atmosphere and landscape of the deck you're using. Of cousre, it's going to be much more effective with the BG than, for instance, the Robin Wood. I think it would benefit an IDS-er using any themed deck, really, as long as the deck was of a sufficient calibre to stand up to that kind of pressure (no "holes", as it were :D).
Scion said:
Having written all summer, I'm actually taking a much needed break from writing myself. :thumbsup:
Good for you, mate. I'm envious! I would love a break from the day-job!

I got the God Level done last night :party: and I'm so proud of my efforts. This is the first time I'm going to do this - would anyone so inclined please take a look at my posts and *discuss*?

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=103904

Thankyou!

\m/ Kat
 

SolSionnach

Scion said:
Hey gang!

I've been thinking about this the past few days...

Sravana, I know exactly what you mean. Not that the BG or the BBC will be "thin" for everyone, but that once you come to expect a certain amount of symblioc traction from your deck, using a theme deck that's light on esoteric underpinning just gets harder and harder.
As I'm not heavily into esoterica, I'm thinking that there is more to it than even that. We're talking about an Intensive Deck Study - and if there's no "there" there, is it possible to do 3-4 months (or even weeks??) with a deck that's simply a RWS clone? Now, there might well be enough there to do a One Deck Wonder - particularly if you are reading, reading, reading - vs. *studying*. There has to be something there to study. I can see an ODW with the BBC (or BG? I don't have that deck, and wasn't interested in it) or Robin Wood, or Druidcraft, or any of a number of theme RWS clones. But if you're going to do an IDS, more meat is required! :D
Scion said:
There's something at work here about our old Plug-n-play thread and Koster's Theory of Fun. The line shifts for each of us, but there is a line. Too hard and we get bored, but too easy ditto. In some ways lighter clones seem like window dressing; they just spruce up the WS images for folks who don't want a big change, but want to stir the pot a little. Like holiday decorations.
Holiday decorations! That's exactly how I see RWS clones these days, too.
Scion said:
They aren't a remodel, just an overlay.
But then there are the 'remodel' decks - I'm thinking of the Wheel of Change and NOVT that afrosaxon and Kat have knocked heads with for months.
Scion said:
And when you peel the overlay back you're left wiuth that one foundation. The clones that have more passionate adherents probably have more grist, and thenc emore symbolic traction.

Now, that speaks to something about the Bohemian Gothic specifically...

Emily, I seem to remember that the thing that finally "broke open" the Liber T for you was the way it accessed your intuition. Back when Karen & Alex were building the deck, I took a big load of books on the Gothic to Prague that they wanted. The deck was already underway, but Karen sort of wanted to toss some ideas into the stew. Maybe if you put away the deck and approached it from a more narrative standpoint. Karen was so dedicated to keeping the BG about Gothic as a landscape as opposed to a narrow list of stories.

I feel like what's so great about the Liber T is the way it reads as though you're having a waking dream, and the BG seems like it could head in that direction. Maybe if you took a week and just read some great gothic fiction... stuffed your head with the stories as it were? You might return to the BG deck with a wider field of internal references upon which your readings would draw. Not in the sense of book-learning, but just to feed your imagination.
I think that's another good suggestion.
Scion said:
Anyways, just wanted to toss my 2 cents in... Very interesting thing to think about actually. And one that probably merits a nice rowdy thread, sravana. :D
You go ahead, I'm starting to get really busy... :)
Scion said:
Having written all summer, I'm actually taking a much needed break from writing myself. :thumbsup:

XO

S
so if you're taking a writing break/hiatus, are you going to be around here more often? ::hope, hope::
I wish you would tell us a bit more about your writing re: Liber T. I'm v. curious about your methods, and perhaps you could tempt us with a few paragraphs of your work?
 

afrosaxon

Happy Birthday, Faolinn Storm!

It's Faolinn Storm's birthday, and I don't think she's a paid subscriber.

So...here's her birthday thread! :party:

Happy Birthday, FS! Enjoy your day.

T.
 

Hooked on TdM

Happy Birthday FS!

I didn't get any studying done yesterday but I did manage to do my daily draw. I hope to get a few cards studied at some point today...

Hooked
 

Faolainn Storm

Thanks so much for the birthday wishes. I'm feeling a little blue at the moment and to get a happy birthday here was a lovely unexpected blessing.

I've been thinking about my IDS, and I feel that I've come to the end of it. Something sravana said has suddenly started bells ringing for me. I love the Tarot of Dreams, but it is a little "thin". I need something I can STUDY. I am a natural scholar, and love reading and researching, but there isn't enough here for me to study. It's a lovely and highly readable deck, but very much plug-and-play.

So I've decided to begin a new IDS. I'm going to go with the Arthurian Tarot (Hallowquest). I have two of the companion books and Arthuriana is my favourite area of study. I have copies of most (if not all) the original Arthurian legends (12th - 14th century stuff). I've read a lot of it, but not all and I've read a lot of academic work on Arthuriana. There's so much background related study I can sink my teeth into.

So I'm changing my IDS to the Arthurian Tarot from today, contining until, well I guess as long as it continues!

Faolainn Storm