Decks that won't work with you

Honestly, I've rarely given up on a deck entirely, though I do have some I don't really read with much, for various reasons (bought as a collector's item, unusual/non-traditional illustrations/meanings), but I like to think that I COULD read with any one of my decks. I've read with playing cards and even Clow cards in the past (Cardcaptor Sakura, anyone?).

I do have decks that I struggle to read with, though. I just got the Sorcerer's Tarot and Epic Tarot, and while I love parts of both of them, some of the cards are just like "wtf, how is THAT the 10 of Wands?!" I struggle to read decks that don't have at least SOME kind of RWS-style meaning to them.

I have two decks i just do not read with, though. One is my Barnes & Noble Tarot, because it's my first deck and out of print and i'm terrified of damaging it, heh. I just want to save it for birthdays and New Year's and such...it's very special to me. The other is my Lord of the Rings Tarot. Just never saw it as a divination deck. It's great as a collector's item, but yeah, I don't read with that one.

Lately I've been studying more and challenging myself to read with non-traditional decks. It's a great challenge to NOT have the oh-so-familiar RWS imagery!

Julian Jaymes said:

Clow cards in the past (Cardcaptor Sakura, anyone?).

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Yes!!! My brother recently bought the light and dark versions of the deck from Japan. I'll have to borrow.

When I interviewed it, the Mary-El told me in no uncertain terms that it didn't want to be bothered.

I have tried several things: trimming, meditation, journaling, you name it. Every single one of those things has been interrupted --over, and over, and over, something that has never happened to me before or after with any other deck. Like, if I sit down to anything with it, stuff happens, unavoidable phone calls arrive, whatever. I have not precisely given up, but I did lay it aside for a while.

I'll go back to it in time, as it intrigues me like (almost) no other deck does. But I expect interruptions...

My daughter bought a deck that, after trying to work with it for a few days, seemed petulant and snarky. It's an indy deck and the designer's online presence seems to have a snarky/sullen kind of vibe. My daughter smudged the deck and then put it away for a day and the next time she took it out, the "voice" was completely different. Whether that's a placebo effect or not, it worked.

I've kind of had this happen with two decks. I was going to say one deck, but when I really thought about it, I remembered the other deck.

The first one I had a "problem" with was before I had started doing my "new deck" readings ("what will you teach me?", "what do you need from me?" and "what will our relationship be like?"). I had gotten the Unicorn Tarot a few years after I started doing readings. After studying it a while I tried doing some readings. I just didn't really click with the deck. So, I traded it with a friend who had the Dragon Tarot and was having the same problem. Both of us did better with the new decks (though I haven't used the Dragon Tarot for some years now).

The other was the Victoria Regina Tarot. I loved the deck and my wife had gotten it for me. I worked through all the cards, I loved the art, but when I started to try to read with it, it was like wading through mud. I tried it several times, then put it away for a while. When I got it back out, it was the same thing. So, I offered it up here on AT and was able to sell it to someone else who loved it.

I've had other decks that were somewhat difficult for me, but it was more along the lines of being an extra challenge which made me stretch my mind more and see other interpretations. The Haindl is one of those decks. I get great readings with the Haindl, but it's more challenging.

My point is, sometimes this happens. I personally don't feel that it was the deck rejecting me, but rather it was just that the art, the imagery used, just didn't work for me. I'm very happy that in both cases the decks went to others who would appreciate them and that they could read with them.