Intensive Deck Study Support Thread ~ Part 2

PolarBear

Hi all,
I've been out of circulation for a while.

A couple of days off illl

followed by a fortnight on leave (obviously much needed!

)

I didn't manage to finish my IDS before the start of my holiday, as planned, but I managed to do the final cards while I was away.
Not sure what I am going to do now - may stick with the Llewellyn for a while and concentrate more on readings (as a beginner, I've been wrapped up in card meanings) - or I may move on to a new IDS with another RWS clone )possibly the Robin Wood).

Or maybe do an oracle deck.

ooh decisions, decisions ...

For the moment I'm just having a break, getting used to being back at work, getting used to having nearly finished the kitchen refurbishment (must be the longest decorating project in history - but it's looking great. Just rehanging the doors to go. Sanding bits off the bottom sounded so easy till I actually tried it!

- Think this is probably one for a professional!)
Oh, and moving the boyfriend in

Prism said:
PolarBear, you are not alone!

Prism

Thank goodness for that!

Prism said:
I've been working with "thin" decks -- I'm on my third of the year ... Hmmm, maybe that makes me "thin," which is OK too.

Prism

Maybe we should start calling them "perfectly proportioned" decks

sravana said:
Oh, yes, PolarBear, that is absolutely true. If one is a true beginner, then almost any tarot deck would be a bit "thick" (not dense, as in the mental sense...lol.. oh heck, you know what I mean!). But doesn't the Llewellyn also add in Welsh mythology, the Mabigonon (sp!) or some such? (I did love those myths when I read them last...) That would definitely qualify as a thick (vs. thin) deck.

Ah yes, there is a lot of mythology in the majors - I dabbled with this, but many of the stories didn't fit in a way that I found intuitive (the accompanying book did point out that the link was between the "episode" of any particular myth, rather than the whole think, but I found that really hard to get my brain round somehow - so I think I will come back to that aspect.
The minors are much less involed.

sravana said:
Oh, and how's that cardstock working out? I'm afraid to work with my Shining Tribe, for all I've heard about Llewellyn's bad cardstock.I think I need a reboot right about now, too. lol

I've found the cardstock fine - but then I'm a newbie at shuffling as well as tarot

- so I don't do that style where you have half the pack in each hand and then flick them so they interleve (is there a name for this?) - I imagine that this kind of shuffling would be the best test of cardstok.

Welcome to all the newcomers btw.

Cheers,

PolarBear

SolSionnach

PolarBear said:
ooh decisions, decisions ...

Me too! I just did a deck interview spread with 5 different decks... more below.

PolarBear said:
For the moment I'm just having a break, getting used to being back at work, getting used to having nearly finished the kitchen refurbishment (must be the longest decorating project in history - but it's looking great. Just rehanging the doors to go. Sanding bits off the bottom sounded so easy till I actually tried it! - Think this is probably one for a professional!)
Oh, and moving the boyfriend in

Yay! Big fun!

PolarBear said:
Ah yes, there is a lot of mythology in the majors - I dabbled with this, but many of the stories didn't fit in a way that I found intuitive (the accompanying book did point out that the link was between the "episode" of any particular myth, rather than the whole think, but I found that really hard to get my brain round somehow - so I think I will come back to that aspect. The minors are much less involved.

Sounds like a bit much to me. I als think that just doing readings with your deck is a good way to round off an IDS.

PolarBear said:
I've found the cardstock fine - but then I'm a newbie at shuffling as well as tarot - so I don't do that style where you have half the pack in each hand and then flick them so they interleve (is there a name for this?) - I imagine that this kind of shuffling would be the best test of cardstok.

Oh, I see. I definitely do the riffle/bridge kind of shuffling, and some decks (BBC, for instance) which have great cardstock are actually rather difficult to shuffle that way... not stiff enough.

Okay, so I did a new deck spread with my mini Jodo/Camoin, Hadar, Balbi, Vieville, and (gulp!) Liber T. Don't ask me where Liber-T came in, I'd just gotten it out today and was both drawn to it and repulsed by it. Just looking at the pips, I'm wondering how people can deal with the nightmarish imagery (Emily?) - but at the same time I found myself curious (yellow? lol) about working with it.

Jodo and Hadar didn't grab me, Balbi was close, but not quite. so it's between Vieville and Liber-T (talk about a contrast!)

The cards I got from Liber-T were... strange.
1) why should I choose you? 8/Swords. :bugeyed:

2) what will I learn from you? 2/Cups

3) what will our relationship be like? 2/Swords ???
4) commentary - Princess Cups. ooooookay.

I drew a clarification card for the 8/Swords - Princess/Wands. WTF?

Vieville was much easier to read (same questions).
1) Papess 2) Emperor 3)10 Deniers 4) Queen/Coupes (my fav card in that deck!)

I think I'm going to work with Liber T this week, and see what happens. If I can't make sense of it, I'll try a week with Vieville. In some ways I don't want to use that deck (it's OOP, HTF, irreplaceable - I should've bought 2 while I could!), but I do love it's sweet nature.

Liber-T? Deliver me!

ETA: on second thought, Liber T is not for me. I simply can't make heads or tails of it.

Onward with Vieville!

Onyx

sravana said:
ETA: on second thought, Liber T is not for me. I simply can't make heads or tails of it. Onward with Vieville!

I felt the same way until I spent a couple of months alone with the deck.

I actually took Scion's PDF to Kinkos had them copy it out (you should have seen their faces, Ha!) and bound it like a spiral. I had them just copy on one side of the page and then used the other side as a journal for my notes. I used that for the pips and I used the DuQuette book for the Majors, Courts and Aces. It is the beautiful Trumps, Courts and Aces that draw me back to the deck.

Three fourths the way through I thought once I was done I would never pick up the deck again but low and behold, I like it now. My break through was not on the Egyptian Mythological/Astrological side but that I really was able to open myself up more intuitively than ever before with that deck.

It is not for everyone and the images do still make me blush but it can be a good deck.

Onyx.

Emily

I too still think the Liber T is a deck that takes a little time getting used to, some of the artwork is extreme - its not pretty or overly colourful, human figures are distorted - but its a deck that goes deeper than the artwork.

When I first started working with it, I thought the artwork was a kind of test, with all the blood and some of the cards being disturbing - its not till you really start working with the deck that it comes alive, you start to understand why the artwork is like it is. The beauty of this deck is hidden from view until you can get past the artwork.

I've posted on here about my uneasy start with this deck when it first came out, it probably spent more time in the post than it did at my house and when I traded it, I had no thoughts of replacing it. But a few years later I did and I've used this deck now for over a year. I can't find a deck that really holds a candle to it so for now I'm content to carry on and just use it. I'm not really studying it now, just using it. I am also using Lenormand cards though, I thought I could do with a change of pace, seeing as I can't find another tarot deck I really want to have an indepth study with.

The Liber T is a hard deck to get into but it is so worth it, if you can get past the artwork and understand it. Nothing worth doing is ever easy.

Emily

sravana said:
Me too! I just did a deck interview spread with 5 different decks... more below.Yay! Big fun!Sounds like a bit much to me. I als think that just doing readings with your deck is a good way to round off an IDS. Oh, I see. I definitely do the riffle/bridge kind of shuffling, and some decks (BBC, for instance) which have great cardstock are actually rather difficult to shuffle that way... not stiff enough.

Okay, so I did a new deck spread with my mini Jodo/Camoin, Hadar, Balbi, Vieville, and (gulp!) Liber T. Don't ask me where Liber-T came in, I'd just gotten it out today and was both drawn to it and repulsed by it. Just looking at the pips, I'm wondering how people can deal with the nightmarish imagery (Emily?) - but at the same time I found myself curious (yellow? lol) about working with it.

Jodo and Hadar didn't grab me, Balbi was close, but not quite. so it's between Vieville and Liber-T (talk about a contrast!)

The cards I got from Liber-T were... strange.
1) why should I choose you? 8/Swords.
2) what will I learn from you? 2/Cups
3) what will our relationship be like? 2/Swords ???
4) commentary - Princess Cups. ooooookay.

I drew a clarification card for the 8/Swords - Princess/Wands. WTF?

Vieville was much easier to read (same questions).
1) Papess 2) Emperor 3)10 Deniers 4) Queen/Coupes (my fav card in that deck!)

I think I'm going to work with Liber T this week, and see what happens. If I can't make sense of it, I'll try a week with Vieville. In some ways I don't want to use that deck (it's OOP, HTF, irreplaceable - I should've bought 2 while I could!), but I do love it's sweet nature.

Liber-T? Deliver me!

ETA: on second thought, Liber T is not for me. I simply can't make heads or tails of it. Onward with Vieville!

You know even just by going on the most basic of keywords, that doesn't look like a bad reading. It might if you were taking RWS symbolism into consideration too.

8 Swords - Influencing - What made you choose the Liber T? Was it all the discussion that had been going on about it? Were you influenced? Is it the kind of deck you wouldn't normally go for? The large figure on the card is showing his hands, open handed - he isn't hiding anything.

2 Cups - Love - A human figure on the card - open to new ideas, standing firm - a pretty card to look at.

2 Swords - Restored Peace - Also Truce - This shows the worries you have about the deck - You might struggle with it but again look at the figures on the card - there is a balance there - dark and light.

The Cup Princess - not as powerful as the Queen but still a feel-good card - she is the most compassionate and loving of the princesses.

The clarification card for the Sword 8, the Wand Princess - well she's creative, fiery and up for the fight lol

I know you've decided to move on but I just wanted to show you that even when Liber T looks bad, it can be really sweet.

I've had some gut-punching readings from this deck too, especially at the beginning when I felt it was testing me - I still remember having a bad day and getting the Sword 7 - Weakness - that shows a headless man - and Oh Boy did I feel like that man lol There have been many other times when just one card can sum up a situation and have made the hairs rise on the back of my neck.

Essjay

High everyone *waves weakly*

I'm back after a looong absence spending far too long in the Tarot Deck forum. After having bought some decks that I'll never use, some on a whim I realise that I'm spending far too much time looking at decks and not reading. I would love to do another IDS but need to choose a deck. I don't have a set frame time but thought I'd start with four weeks.

My deck choices are: -

Radiant RW
Druidcraft
Pearls of Wisdom
Bohemian Gothic

These are amongst my favourites and I don't spend enough time with them.

Any advice for a lapsed IDSer?

rwcarter

Essjay said:
My deck choices are: -

Radiant RW
Druidcraft
Pearls of Wisdom
Bohemian Gothic

These are amongst my favourites and I don't spend enough time with them.

Any advice for a lapsed IDSer?

Essjay,

Let the cards tell you which deck to use per my suggestions in this post.

Rodney

Hooked on TdM

Welcome and welcome back to all who have joined!

Okay. I've been missing in action and not just from here. I have slacked. Oh yes, really slacked. I have not touched Tarot cards in days. I have a reading exchange to do that is not done. *sighs*

Some type of strange lunacy overtook me and I bid on a lot of tarot decks and won them. They arrived today. I have a White Box C Thoth, Pocket Thoth, Haindl, and incomplete Mythic and Cosmic. Now that they are here I am wondering why they are here? Other than the pocket Thoth (which I am keeping) I have no idea what I'm doing with these. They did remind me I need to quit slacking.

I think I'm in that bump. I've hit that wall. I'm in the black pit. I have no interest in the Swiss. Part of me just wants it done so I can move on. Part of me is avoiding it all. It's not that I don't get the deck, just that I am bored with it. And I only have a suit and a half of pips to go! How sad. I need to push past this and not sure how to go about that.. *sighs again*

Stuck in the rut,
Hooked

Essjay

rwcarter said:
Essjay,

Let the cards tell you which deck to use per my suggestions in this post.

Rodney

Hi Rodney

Great idea - I like those questions - depending on the deck they could be interesting answers!

Thank you

thorhammer

Hooked on TdM said:
I think I'm in that bump. I've hit that wall. I'm in the black pit. I have no interest in the Swiss. Part of me just wants it done so I can move on. Part of me is avoiding it all. It's not that I don't get the deck, just that I am bored with it. And I only have a suit and a half of pips to go! How sad. I need to push past this and not sure how to go about that.. *sighs again*

Stuck in the rut,
Hooked

Oh, mate

it's taken longer for you than it did me, but I was so there! I took, like, two or three weeks totally away from Tarot! I think I even stopped coming here for a bit . . . it passed. Don't fret - that makes it worse! At some point, suddenly the love for Tarot will flood back into your soul and you'll be all refreshed. Don't be too hard on yourself.

\m/ Kat

Intensive Deck Study Support Thread ~ Part 2

PolarBear

SolSionnach

Onyx

Emily

Emily

Essjay

rwcarter

Hooked on TdM

Essjay

thorhammer