Mixing Tarot

[Pan]

This just came to me as I was reading a thread that mentioned comparing the art.

What if some cards of a deck scream out at you.. but others just don't? And those that don't happen to scream out at you.. from another deck? Do you mix them?

Just an interesting question that I thought I'd throw into the void.


)edit(

Make that.. those that happen to NOT scream out at you from that deck.. DO from another?

eg.
Hanson-roberts deck.. Death doesn't call to me
Faery Wicca deck.. Death does call to me

Mix and match?

)end edit(

[Mithrea]

Loki,

Perhaps your problem is that you are expecting too much from your cards. I don't have any deck that all the cards "call to me" or a deck that I even like all of the cards in. Try not to focus on the specifics too much. It could be that you are responding to aspects of the *meaning* of the card that one deck emphasizes over another. I think if you can find five to ten cards in a deck that you understand and that you like, then you need to take that deck and keep working with it, especially the cards you don't like. Stare at them a lot, get used to them, get a symbol dictionary and look into the meaning of any symbols you don't understand. You are never going to find a deck where every card "speaks" to you. The problems is probably the meaning of the card as well as the artwork.

As far as mixing cards goes . . . I think it would be okay if they all had the same backs and where the same size, but judging from what I have here, that's not going to happen. It would be too easy to stack the deck subconsciously based on the size of the card and the back.

[Witchy Cowgirl]

Loki, that's a good question and I've often wonered the same thing. But I think I agree with Mithera.
So I should take that advise to heart and pull out one deck I have and try to work with it.
:)

Something elese you can do is use those cards that do call to you as a meditation tool. That way you can use the one(s) you like!:D

[Azure]

Another thought - I have several decks, and some of them I know won't suit my particualr frame of mind at the moent I'm reading - so I try to go with whatever I think is going to give me the clearest answer under whatever mental circumstances.

[Mithrea]

Good point Azure. I do that too, I just hadn't really thought about it. I also use different decks for different types of questions as well. :)

[Pan]

Yeah.. I know I won't find a deck that all the cards speak to me. I'm just really particular about what my eyes take in. I have to like what I see and.. well.. sometimes that doesn't always happen.

I'm a more visual person; I like to be aesthetically pleased. A lot of tarot cards are lovely and those are usually the ones that I get the best results from. If I don't like to look at a card.. I usually can't "hear" anything from it. I know I'm expecting way too much.. but I can't help it. If I don't like the way a card looks, it's almost painful to even touch it.

I've tried staring at cards I don't like.. and it just gets me that much more irritated and upset that I don't like the card. I've even gone into particulars about what about the card I don't like. That's just gotten me to not like the card even more. :( With something like this going on with me, it's hard to find a deck that I really like.

The only exception I've been able to find is the Fairies' Oracle by Brian Froud. But I find myself unable to use it all the time. I have to be really connected to the faeries in order to use it. I guess it's because of my depression and I can't afford meds for it. *sigh* I'll keep trying.. and I'll try to meditate on the cards I don't like again.

[Azure]

Have you tried takng a ritual bath before reading? When I'm down, that generally works for me - I go in more focused and in touch than otherwise.

[Mithrea]

Honestly, the problems you are having probably won't be cured by any deck. I don't know how else to say this without sounding rude and I really don't mean it to be. I consider you a friend. However, if you are having *this* much difficulty with it . . . I just really don't think these are fixable issues. The only *possible* chance is to make your own deck that you feel comfortable with. But can you make a deck that you are aesthetically pleased by? To me, that's just not what reading Tarot is about. Sure it's nice to have good-looking cards but that shouldn't be your focus IMO. If you can't get past what the cards look like, or you can't "hear" them because of what they look like, I really don't think I would be helping you if I didn't suggest you try another tool.

In my case, I wouldn't say that I'm "hearing" the cards as much as I am listening to myself. I think through a reading rather than just listening (passively or actively). It may be that you are approaching the whole thing incorrectly. I have found very few decks I couldn't read from. The one I sent you was the only one so far. Even the Tarot Art Nouvea with which, I find the nudity distracting, gives me accurate readings after some work. I'm not saying this is the case for everyone but I do think that these are things to consider and that there has to be *some* point when you should think about whether or not there might be something else out there that will work better for you. Think about how long you have been at this for example.

Imagine if you had the perfect deck. Every card was aesthetically pleasing and you understood all of the symbolism on each card perfectly. Do you think then you would be able to read? Why?

I'm just throwing things out there to think about. :)

[Storm]

Loki, I am right with you as far aesthetics. I was an art major and I find decks where the faces look distorted or the bodies aren't preportioned or also distorted hard to work with. I also would like to find a deck that suits my personality. And I have picked decks that are artistically pleasing to me but I feel like I haven't found that one deck that suits me. I really really like the Faery oracle but it is an oracle and I use it but I still want that tarot deck that really ....you know...fits me. I just got thoth and I would love haindl. I haven't had the chance to look at thoth yet and I think they are both a little advanced for me, but I think once I get the hang of the one's I have that those two will be my main decks. But that is just me.

[Pan]

I know it's not all about the way the cards look. I could probably be looking at it all wrong, too. I never really had anyone to teach me to read the cards.. my first deck being the Dragon Tarot and a gift from my hubby. I really liked the way the cards looked and would get accurate results. I still do.

I've looked at the art nouveau deck before and I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. I thumbed through the cards (as this was a shop where the owner watched me do it. it's a local shop) and loved each picture. I could see myself reading these cards, but I had no money. *shrug*

Making my own deck will take some time.. I might just save up for the nouveau deck while I draw.

[delirium]

I'm also with you on the "aesthetically pleasing" thing. It's hard to read from cards that irk you. Like the tarot of a moon garden deck I have. I love it but the fool card just annoys the heck out of me. I dislike it so much that it's distracting when it comes up. (maybe that's the point of it for this deck, but I don't like it.).

I have considered mixing and matching from other decks and I had an idea. I'm not sure about copyright and intellectual property laws, so I don't know if it's ok to do this. But you could take the mixed set of your favorites to kinkos, get them printed on card stock from a color printer and have a deck with images you like. Of course, the copies might not be that great and the card stock might not feel as good as regular cards. But it's a possibility. My personal opinion on the intellectual property issue: you're using the images for the purpose they were intended and you're not selling them, so I think it's ok to photocopy for your own use. But legally I don't know if it's ok.