Tarot Shadow Work- Which deck are you using?

I started today with the Star of Discovery, using the Tarot of the Secret Forest. I really wanted to use the Minor Arcana for this, as I work better with the Minors in general, and the ones in this deck are so absolutely beautiful, and emotive, and evoke a whole atmosphere and world that I just want to immerse myself into. The Majors, by contrast, are a bit less imaginative, though they're still beautiful and have their own charm and quirky symbolism.

This deck has a singular quirk, as well - for those who don't have it, it has two different images on each card, one on the front and one on the back. The "back" is a monochromatic version of the "front", which makes it at the same time more complicated and more eloquent to read with. I decided from the word go that I'd use both sides of the deck, and it's really panned out for me, though, of course, I am sure I have much to learn about this particular approach. But I love it, very very much.

\m/ Kat

I actually bought the Secret Forest to work with the Shadow book, but as it turns out, I'm actually using the Bohemian Gothic.

It's a great deck for it, I've found. Working with it for the Star of Discovery, I went into a meditation beforehand and encountered not the Goddess, but the Horned God, in a guise that I feel is a very personal thing to me. He speaks to me, and tells me the truth in my heart. He walks with me to the edge of the Forest and then he leaves me, when I'm ready, to walk in by myself. He says it's my forest, not for him.

I'm weird, I've concluded No altar, no Goddess . . . at least I decided against the Minors . I'm wearing in the Secret Forest, too, after shuffling it for hours in the car when we went away for our trip.

My boyfriend thinks I'm entirely bats. Maybe I am . . .

\m/ Kat

Hi All,

Performing a bit of thread necromancy here. I was wondering what people thought of the decks they used for Shadow Work and whether they stuck with them or changed them up. I have been debating using a dark deck for this. On one hand it seems appropriate to the work but on the other hand I wondered if using a dark deck would be a little too intense. Since the process holds up a rather grim mirror to our soul


Dark decks I'm debating: Vampire Tarot, Archeon, Deviant Moon, Bohemian Gothic

Non-Dark decks on the menu: Druidcraft, Oswald Wirth, Art Nouveaux (Myers), Fey, Secret (my main reading deck)

Currently the Deviant Moon and Druidcraft seem to be winning.

Any thoughts are much appreciated.

I've been using the Anna K, it seems very comfortable to me. Very non-threatning.
Osho Zen would be my second choice. And I hate to say it outloud. but I like the Vargo gothic for this also.

What is the Star of Discovery?

Ann

I think that the choice of which deck you use is very important. I used my Liber T deck after working with it pretty exclusively for months before hand.

One thing that worked for me was looking to other decks and alternate interpreations of the cards. I used the Bohemian Gothic deck in a comaprison with its LWB book meaning. Another deck that helped me to gain a wider perspective was the Fantastical Tarot by Natalie Hertz.

Using one deck is important to the work of Shadow Work. But I liked how the other decks allowed me see beyond the limitations of a single deck's point of view.

Onyx.

How funny that this thread got brought back up after I (tried) to continue with my shadow work today! I am using the Tarot of the Vampyries because, even though it was coming from out of state and purchased three business days after I ordered the book from a secondhand seller in my state, it arrived on the same day as the book. I'm really glad I chose it so far. If only I knew how to meditate, then I think I could get so much more out of them. e.o

I will use the Mystic Dreamer deck although not my normal deck i think the pictures work well with the sub conscience

I am using tarot of the mystic dreamer . I am trying not to make this to dark and think I meeting with my shadow will be a good event just a little tough.