determining card meanings by using different decks

at the moment i keep getting the same cards regardless of which deck i use, so i think there is a message that goes beyond the particular images in any one deck. to determine what the message might be i took the same two cards (in this case 6 of cups and knight of pentacles) from three different decks and laid them out underneath each other. (the third card was the tower, but i find it doesn't really differ too much from deck to deck).

doing this i found different nuances of the same cards. for example, i didn't get the knight of pentacles in the secret tarot, but i do get the prince of disks in the thoth. same with the 6 of cups. things are becoming a bit clearer slowly.

that's why i love having as many decks as possible, so you can compare the different shades of meaning. i'm wondering though if this is how i should go about it or whether i should just stick to one deck for any one reading and work with the images of that deck, disregarding all the others?

Hi Brighteye! I was always drawing the 8 Cups- it was like I had a magnet on my fingers and the 8 was metal. I asked on the forum for ideas- I read books- I even laid out 20 different 8 of Cups to ponder upon. I finally found that for me it was about unresolved grief and I have not drawn it since.
Yes I quite often use card comparisons to get a different slant on the meaning. Some would say it is not necessary, but Mary Greer and other authors devote time to suggesting it- and I agree. I usually pick diverse decks- so if the question arises from RWS I will pick a Thoth type comparison or a TdM. I have a wide card stand and put them in it side by side.
Under the chapter Deck Comparison Mary Greer has the signature There are no facts, only interpretations Nietzche.
...most importantly, card comparison presents fresh options, of which you would otherwise be unaware.
Greer also says it gives you the opportunity to find decks that really speak to you.
The one deck wonders (use only one deck at a time) might disagree- but I do not. ~Rosanne

here is an example BrightEye- four different Towers 4 possible interpretations.
Rohrig- Dogma and mysticism smashed from the outside
Haindel- Collapse from within
Karma- Radio and lightening conductor Eiffel been awake to new ideas from outside
Chinese- Chinese Gods blinding with lightning, killing the unrighteous with the noise of thunder (forcing change)
~Rosanne

Speaking as one-deck-wonder, I usually go off the intuitive impressions of my cards as well as some guidance from the LWB. But on puzzling cards or cards that seem to keep coming up, I'll go hunt up meanings for that card from others sources such as the one here on AT and several other Web sites. So even though I only have one deck, I'm using the collected wisdom from quite a few decks.

What I do when I seem to get the same card over and over is a spread asking for advice as to why I keep getting that card (and I put the card in question at the center of the spread). I've found it to be a helpful exercise. Although I've done it in the past with a CC, I just particpated in another thread with a different spread and found the results to be quite interesting and enlightening.

With any deck, I believe the cards to be the deck author's interpretation of key principles/archetypes on which tarot as a whole is based. So being able to see the different interpretations from different decks can be quite helpful. This could be done using different decks or just using the interpretations from different decks. Sometimes I think the interpretations differ more between some decks than the images do. I think it is a matter of finding what "works" best for you.

i think they are all related quite closely

I think different images will make you think about the same message in a different way - perhaps a way that can get through to you/speak to you more successfully, or just expand on your understanding of a certain way/issue that the card is talking about - but ultimately its the same message - i think - they will trigger ways for you to think to *get it* as it applies to your personal psychology - iyswim