Decks that chose you that you wouldn't have chosen

So in the world of decks there are the ones that we buy with the hopes that they read well for us. We buy them for various reasons be they we like the art, the system, the ooga-booga about the deck and they fall flat for us. On the flip side are there decks that you never in a million years would have chosen that you find you can just breeze through and read like cake.

The Sirian Starseed Tarot is one that I never ever would have picked up but was given it and it just decided to stick to me like a barnacle on a ship. It's not the style of art I am drawn to or anything but I can read it like a book.


So my questions is are there decks out there you can read fantastic with that are not your normal ascetic?

Great question, Starlightexp!

I have noticed decks whose art I could hang on my wall, I like it so much, isn't always the best "reader."

I had briefly hesitated getting the Pamela Colman Smith Commemorative Deck by US Games. Once I got it, I was in love with it. It's my go to and reads like a charm.

I have gotten beautiful decks that read "cold" for me.

So while I instantly loved the PCS Commemorative when I got it, I hesitated before ordering because it IS from a repro and isn't as bright or clear or whatever that some want. I think it is perfection. Would I use the art as a wall hanging? Probably not.

Yes - the Aquarian Tarot. I don't *mind* many of the images, and I do like the Fool card, but the art - overall - is not really my fave style, and the deck feels a bit cold and remote to me. Not too keen on the backs, either...And yet - there you have it. It's a truthy deck. And it insists on talking to me.

Navigators of the Mystic Sea - all those creepy green people and angular art and yet blammo - instant connection

The Contemplative Tarot, via trade!

I hadn't known anything about it but I love it completely. It really introduced me to the idea of meditating with a deck (those hyperrealistic majors are perfect!), and the strange, "moody" pips are endearing as well. It seems to get negative reviews and its major/minor divide in art style is a bit wide, but it certainly bothers me none I'm so grateful to have it. A unique little gem.

Vampyre & Ludy Lescot decks are 2 decks that I wouldn't go for and they both read well for me. I have a fairy biased collection.

The Angel Tarot. I bought it just because and it turns out it has incredible energy for me. As soon as it arrived I knew I was supposed to have it in my collection.

The Haindl Tarot. This was my first deck back into the world of tarot. I wasn't sure about getting it. I didn't know that I really wanted to even study tarot again. I also wasn't sure that I cared for the artwork. But it followed me, and got me back into studying the tarot.

I bought my Thoth completely out of spite, with my purchase having absolutely nothing to do with it. This woman I was involved with (complicated story) told me to never use it, that it was "too powerful" for me. At the time I had no opinion on the matter, since I didn't know anything about the deck. After there was a falling out, however (she was, incidentally, certifiably insane) I saw it in a store one day and decided then and there that I must have it. I had to "show her."

I can't say I fell in love with it immediately. I didn't understand it, and had a completely different style of reading then. I even thought it was kind of ugly. But then, over time, it just caught my fancy and hasn't let up since. It is now the only deck I use with any regularity. It took several years for me to even begin to try to engage with it, but once I started... well, pretty slippery slope.

Maybe she was right, I feel it has certainly changed me, and I can't imagine letting it go (except, of course, for a new version). Maybe it really is "too powerful."

ETA: I'm guessing it's an autocorrect thing going on, by "ascetic" (a person who deprives themselves) did you mean "aesthetic?"

I think still for me it was the Liber T. I liked pretty, fluffy RWS clones. This is anything but. I know myself that it is pretty ugly and I did hate the artwork on sight, then got rid of the deck within hours of it being in my house. A few years later I bought it again, was ready for the change of deck, I needed the challenge of using a deck I didn't particularly like but I wasn't ready to fall in love with it or to make it a favourite deck, which is what happened.

I'm giving tarot reading a bit of a break, a few personal problems, no reading of any kind of deck but I still get the Liber T out for a good shuffle.

For me, the RWS. I thought it was like training wheels on a bicycle. I didn't resonate with the artwork and I felt those blue plaid backs were awful. It was given to me in a tarot workshop I attended for free, so I figured why not use it?

The readings were so clear, I understood what all the hype was about. I had told myself that I would learn with a deck not many people are into, particularly one I found myself through extensive research of the Aeclectic tarot listings. That deck happened to be Vertigo. When I first saw it, I was in love. I knew it was for me.

Being that I already understood tarot when I picked up the RWS, it was more so about learning about the symbols on the cards that started it all. It helped me fill in some blanks when I did this.

The runner-up is BBCats from the Magic-Realist Press. I got the 3rd edition and didn't resonate with it. Bought it thinking it would be the one with the ornate borders, just because I didn't research properly. Didn't use it for the longest time!

Finally, decided to take a chance. Sold my Light Visions Tarot and bought the BBC with the funds I got from it. It took over a month to get to me from Australia, with the plastic wrap still on it. Didn't read the companion book, just went straight to the cards.. The paper, the borders, the original illustrations... I fell in love! Would also enjoy getting a second edition or a gold.

Beautiful. Reads so well, even though cats in costume are not my thing. : )