One Deck Wonder

Annabelle said:

Anyway, who else out there is still carrying on with their one-deck study?

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I am, actually. Funny story.... I've been working with the Universal Fantasy since the end of March (so that's four months now, wow!). In the beginning, it took me a good three weeks to finally get comfortable with this deck to use it, and at least that long to quit whining about not using my Victorian Romantic. Now (since the end of June), even though I've given myself "permission" to work with other decks, I just haven't. Turns out I really don't want to!

In fact, yesterday I went to a tarot class where we all did readings for each other. I brought my Universal Fantasy and Victorian Romantic but chose to use my Universal Fantasy the entire afternoon. Because I've gotten to know this deck and it's strange symbolism so well, I find myself turning to it when I want really clear answers. It's become my comfort deck. (Who woulda thunk it? )

I am really really glad that I did this exercise! I could probably keep going for another four months and get even more familiar with its symbolism, but I'm starting to get very antsy about my other beauties languishing in my closet...

I have not done any readings for a while, and in that time have studied what I have seen of the Kaos, in anticipation of my deck arriving. I think this is one I will want to spend some one - to - one time with. I have enjoyed the Bright Idea deck, and will still keep that going, but I now feel the need to expand and incorporate another deck of a different nature. It's as if I need a chalk and cheese thing going here to keep me really tuned on more than one level.

Bit of a shame, as I have the Fractal Firebird really calling out to me at the moment, thanks to a terrific trade over the last two weeks.
It will get its turn I have absolutely no doubt, and I still look through it virtually daily, just to soak in the feel of the shapes formed.

Davina

I'm still using my Hudes -- it's been almost a month now, and I feel like I'm just beginning to get to know this deck. I like it quite a bit.

I've been using the Victorian Romantic exclusively since the middle of May and still don't have the desire to use any other one. So I guess that might make me a One Deck Wonder now, huh? Or almost, anyway.

I'm a serial deck monogamist, and have been since the original One Deck Wonder group waaaay back when. I've been jumping from deck to deck lately, and my work with tarot has started to feel really unfocussed because of it. Soooo, starting August 1, I'm going to re-focus on just one deck. I was originally thinking the World Spirit, but receiving the Universal Marseilles from lunakasha, coupled with the release of the 78-card Jean Noblet, has prompted me to renew my interest in the Marseilles.

Oh well. I have one day left to decide, right?

Right now I'm going through my collection one deck at a time, taking time to really get to know each deck. Being on AT has brought so many decks to my attention that I really liked, but now I have a collection of about 35 decks and I feel that I not only own all the decks that really interest me, but also have enough decks to last me quite a while. Once my latest aquisition is in, I plan not to buy any more decks, at least not for some time. The decks I've discovered in the past months had been published over years and years, so I figure that within the next year or so, there won't be too many decks coming out that I will find worthwhile to add to my collection, and they will all still be available in a year from now.

Anyway, what I'm doing right now, is a bit like a series of shorter one deck wonders, I guess. I really want to take my time for each deck, hopefully a few months, to get into it. Most of my decks I'm so looking forward to getting to know better, but it's easier to be patient now then if I hadn't bought them yet, because now I know they're there, waiting for me. I would hate to see some of them being unavailable when I wanted to focus on them.

I want to try to immerse myself in the atmosphere of each deck as much as possible, e.g. reading novels that go with the theme. Right now I'm rereading George Eliot, as I'm exploring the Victorian Romantic. (Solitaire, I have to tell you how right you are about this deck. I hadn't expected it, the artwort isn't really my thing, but I'm amazed at how full of life and feeling the imagery is.) I'm looking forward to delving into the Arthurian cycle again, or fairytales. And I'm just as much looking forward to reading DuQuette's book on the Thoth or a good historical introduction to some non-literary themes.

But I have time. Right now it's just the Victorian Romantic, until the deck itself tells me it's time to move on.

Well, it's August 1st and I've made my decision. The World Spirit is on hold for now because it's going to be all Marseiles all the time baby! For a while, anyway.

I'm not giving myself an end date because I don't do well with deadlines. I'll know when its time to move on to other decks.

I celebrated my decision with an impulse buy from House of Tarot. The AG Mueller Marseilles will soon be mine (on sale and everything!). I really like the color scheme of this deck based on what I've seen online. We'll see how well I like it when it arrives.

Soo...Onward with the Marseilles! Onward!

I spent the last 7 months scratching the surface of the Thoth and pouring over Crowley's book. It's a wonder I'm not babbling snark, but it was very rewarding to use one deck only for a long period.

I recently found a Tarot de Marseille hiding on a bottom shelf at my local thrift, and since that was going to be the deck I bought this year, that is next.

Day 72 with TdM Grimaud

I haven't been over to this thread for awhile and thought I might pop in with an update.

I can't believe I am on Day 72!!! With the International Icon, time seemed to stand still for me, and the 60 days I spent with it seemed to never come to an end. Not that it wasn't a great deck to work with - it was! It seemed like I was using it because I was avoiding the Marseille...

But this is something different. There is so much history, there are different meanings, and yeah, there are those non-scenic pips!

I feel I have made progress, though... my mind no longer wanders and contemplates the plight of marmots when I am faced with a pip. Now I look at the colors and numbers and all the things that make up the card and wonder "what the heck made them draw it like this?" And then I think about what I would do differently to express the meaning if I were limited to non-scenic illustration only... and I got nothing Except I still see animals in the Pentacles pips

I got the Universal Marseille book/deck in a trade with Sulis (thanks Sulis ) and boy is Lee's book GREAT! It doesn't have any meanings for the pips - but there are techniques and suggestions for coming up with meanings. It's a great framework for me to work with.

Right now, I have no idea how long I will continue to work with this deck. What surprises me is that I have bought/traded for almost TWENTY decks since I started working with this deck, and I haven't been tempted once to end my study with this deck (I do look at the other decks though ) - and I am getting more TdM decks so I might be using them for comparisons - but I am still excited about working with this deck!

Now I need to go to Daily Draws and post all the readings I have queued up!

valeria

Originally posted by bleuivy:
Soo...Onward with the Marseilles! Onward!

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You won't be sorry! It's a whole new world

valeria said:

You won't be sorry! It's a whole new world

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So far, I'm loving, loving, loving the Marseilles. I don't know why its taken me so long to really sit down with it and study it, but I'm loving it now. I haven't settled on which Marseilles deck I'm using exclusively yet. I'm still trying to get a handle on how I relate to the cards and what sort of pip colors work best for me. Once I get that sorted, I'll settle exclusively on one deck from here on out.

I took the Universal Marsilles on vacation with me and did daily readings that were quite unlike any daily draws I've done before. Reading with the Marseilles I've learned, is like reading an entirely different language. Now I'm going to use the AG Mueller Marseilles until the Jean Noblet arrives (just about to order it from Tarot Garden and sooo excited!).

Overall, I'm definately glad I chose the Marseilles for this ODW. It just feels like the right time for me.