I've noticed a number of people mention that a specific deck is accurate or not so accurate. I'd kind of like to know how my decks are doing in terms of that. How do you all determine that? I guess predicting something and then seeing whether it happens could be hard to use since there is no given time amount something has to happen during.
Harry
Tarot Deck Accuracy
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[Obsidian]
- Posts: 265
- Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:12 pm
- Gender: Female
- Location: Columbus, OH
I bet you could Sobek,but it would be more difficult than with a deck you like.I understand about that. I think it is very important that you have one you like and feel comfy with,but if you know your stuff, you can read with any deck. I dislike the Marseilles deck, personally, but have read for a friend with it, as they are her deck of choice and I don't carry my cards on me.[ this is how I stay 'sharp'- as I said in another post.lol]. I used the 'cat people' tarot recently for a friend and I enjoyed that,it's a pretty deck and rich to look at.
That's true i suppose, ive read with a few of different decks so i guess that was a half truth perpetuated by hyperbole. But if the person i read for doesnt want a specific deck of mine my Waite deck is my go to...the deck i loathe above all others(serious decks i mean, novelty decks and things likened excluded) is the "Celtic Tarot", it was given to me as a gift and i ended up giving it away.Geri wrote:I bet you could Sobek,but it would be more difficult than with a deck you like.I understand about that. I think it is very important that you have one you like and feel comfy with,but if you know your stuff, you can read with any deck.
Soon enough i hope to add an Egyptian themed deck to my collection, i look forward to seeing how i get along with thos cards.
In my most NOT humble opinion, I have to mention that when I say a card is accurate or not, I'm not talking about whether the cards give the reading accurately or not, card-wise. For me, it's mostly about does the card exemplify what the card actually means.
The only truly inaccurate decks are when the artist made the deck... because he wanted to make 72 pretty pictures that don't really have anything to do with divination, meditation, or enlightenment. The Black Tarot is a really good example of this. It's clear from reading the book that they just slapped traditional meanings on 72 pictures that don't really tell you what the book says it should.
Now, to make matters more complicated, there are a lot of idiosyncratic decks out there, where the artist decides he's going to change the traditional meaning of one card or another for good or ill. Sometimes this is successful, sometimes... not. This is one of the reasons that lots of people will say... "Start with the Rider-Waite. It's the ONLY starter deck!". Personally, I think this is BS, but I can see what they are trying to avoid.
Also, some of those idiosyncratic decks are not meant for divination at all, but for meditation purposes... basically spiritual enlightenment.
Those decks will not tell you what your best course of action are for that nasty family gathering are, but a good one will give you an idea which spiritual lessons you might learn from it.
Also, I think the best decks have a bit of enlightenment thrown in to the divination mix. My favorite deck to recommend beginners would be The Robin Wood Deck because hers are very traditional, but not boring. She uses traditional Wiccan corispondences, so most of what you learn from your other esoteric reading will fall into place when you read the cards. See, the Rider-Waite uses traditional Golden Dawn symbology to transmit it's messages, which isn't accessible to everyone, let's face it.
Hers is designed to be accessible, complete with visual puns and other cues to help you remember stuff that's not often obvious in other decks.
Like visual cues for alternate meanings of the court cards, for example!
So in Tarot divination, there are a lot of places where the signals between you and the message they are trying to deliver
can get crossed.
Sometimes, that deck is just not for you! I've seen very experienced and talented readers fail for no other reason than they just didn't do well with a particular deck. Of course, it could be that head cold that you don't know you've caught yet, or a bad day at the office or any number of other reasons that aren't obvious. However, if one is experienced and talented, you usually know by then which decks to avoid. The instances I'm thinking of had to do with "emergency divination" that they did at a friends house when they forgot their own deck and they borrowed the querant's deck.
So, sure. There is such a thing as accuracy, but for me, it's not about how good your reading is, but how close your cards are to speaking for themselves.
The only truly inaccurate decks are when the artist made the deck... because he wanted to make 72 pretty pictures that don't really have anything to do with divination, meditation, or enlightenment. The Black Tarot is a really good example of this. It's clear from reading the book that they just slapped traditional meanings on 72 pictures that don't really tell you what the book says it should.
Now, to make matters more complicated, there are a lot of idiosyncratic decks out there, where the artist decides he's going to change the traditional meaning of one card or another for good or ill. Sometimes this is successful, sometimes... not. This is one of the reasons that lots of people will say... "Start with the Rider-Waite. It's the ONLY starter deck!". Personally, I think this is BS, but I can see what they are trying to avoid.
Also, some of those idiosyncratic decks are not meant for divination at all, but for meditation purposes... basically spiritual enlightenment.
Those decks will not tell you what your best course of action are for that nasty family gathering are, but a good one will give you an idea which spiritual lessons you might learn from it.
Also, I think the best decks have a bit of enlightenment thrown in to the divination mix. My favorite deck to recommend beginners would be The Robin Wood Deck because hers are very traditional, but not boring. She uses traditional Wiccan corispondences, so most of what you learn from your other esoteric reading will fall into place when you read the cards. See, the Rider-Waite uses traditional Golden Dawn symbology to transmit it's messages, which isn't accessible to everyone, let's face it.
Hers is designed to be accessible, complete with visual puns and other cues to help you remember stuff that's not often obvious in other decks.
Like visual cues for alternate meanings of the court cards, for example!
So in Tarot divination, there are a lot of places where the signals between you and the message they are trying to deliver
can get crossed.
Sometimes, that deck is just not for you! I've seen very experienced and talented readers fail for no other reason than they just didn't do well with a particular deck. Of course, it could be that head cold that you don't know you've caught yet, or a bad day at the office or any number of other reasons that aren't obvious. However, if one is experienced and talented, you usually know by then which decks to avoid. The instances I'm thinking of had to do with "emergency divination" that they did at a friends house when they forgot their own deck and they borrowed the querant's deck.
So, sure. There is such a thing as accuracy, but for me, it's not about how good your reading is, but how close your cards are to speaking for themselves.
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amunptah777
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I gotta agree with Sobek.
Each deck being created with a different spirit, some decks just won't fly.
For example, I'm a huge Rohrig fan, but like...the Sensual Wicca or the Santa Fe decks are like "what? huh?...what?"
One time I had the....universal tribe...or something, basically, semi-erotic photos for the major and face cards...just....pltthhbbbthhh....I gave 'em away in short order.
Each deck being created with a different spirit, some decks just won't fly.
For example, I'm a huge Rohrig fan, but like...the Sensual Wicca or the Santa Fe decks are like "what? huh?...what?"
One time I had the....universal tribe...or something, basically, semi-erotic photos for the major and face cards...just....pltthhbbbthhh....I gave 'em away in short order.
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[Obsidian]
- Posts: 265
- Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2007 11:12 pm
- Gender: Female
- Location: Columbus, OH
Some people just don't *click* with certain decks. Or say for example..if one is familiar with the Waite clones but no others, might have a problem with some of the less traditional decks, especially if one takes a lot of cues from the visuals of the deck. (Myself, I'm not a fan of the Waite deck at all, but I like what I've seen of a few of the clones, though have never tried to read with any)Eretik wrote:I'll be able to read accurately from whichever deck I use. The skill belongs to the reader and not the tool - thus it is transferable.
Personally, my first deck was the Wind Of Change deck...never could do anyhitng with it. But I picked up the Haindl deck a couple of years later and straight from the box, I threw down a most disturbingly accurate reading. I had the spiral tarot for a while, which I was hit or miss for with some somewhat-ok readings and otherwise just awful. I had the Gendron tarot, and was able to read reasonably well with that. It's in storage somewhere in PA. I ended up picking up another copy of the same deck, which I never could read with, ended up giving it away. I acquired the Da Vinci Enigma deck which is really very different from anything else I've seen...I think I would be better with that one if I worked on it more. Most recent acquisitions have been the Archeon tarot and the Tarot Art Nouveau, both of which are requiring some work, but slowly improving on.
Unfortunately, tarot is taking a back seat for me right now as I delve back into runes and learn the Greek alphabet oracle for part of my clergy training. I'm also considering looking into ogham.
I know that is true.It is important to have a deck you like and feel comfortable with, especially when learning.I deliberately work'outside my comfort zone' to improve my skills and keep me sharp. I recommend it,as an exercise, once you have gained some experience. My thinking is most decent readers WILL be able to do this,over time, not that it will be easy -no -it is harder,you can do it with the unfamiliar cards first, note the reading and your thoughts, then repeat with your usual cards and compare. Leaving the two sets out side by side can show you where similarities/differences are. It's good for sharpening your inner senses.I dislike the Marseilles deck and Courtney Davies Celtic Tarot,[though the artwork is beautiful] the Celtic distracts me, beautiful knotwork patterns in bright colours....wheeeeeee.....oh, right reading...err.......pretty.lol.