Traditional Way to Read with Marseille Decks?

I have been reading a lot about the Marseille decks. It seems there are many ways and styles of reading, and I'm not talking about reading them just following more in the RWS way. Is there such a thing as "traditional" reading with the Marseille? I understand it didn't start out as a divination or meditation deck, so what the original way was, perhaps who knows? But what is considered traditional or are there many accepted traditions? Just trying to get as much as possible as I go along my Marseille journey. I have the Camoin site, this one http://www.tarot-authentique.com/ and I have the ATS edition of Reading the Marseille Tarot. Lee's post about reading the pips he so graciously posted here was GREAT. But my question is, with all this info, is there such a thing as reading the Marseille in a traditional way? And if not, does it matter HOW it's read? I don't really want to apply my RWS roots way of reading to the Marseille, I want something different, but there is SO much info. Extremely interesting, but easy to go on overload with all the perspectives.

The TDM is my fave. But I'm not aware of an authoritative/historically certain version of it's interpretation. If such a source exists I want to know about it too.

The Golden Dawn spawned interpretations are easily traced to the source. Papus started a trend towards more esorteric interpretation. Crowley defined a technically specific interpretation.

To me the TDM is ambiguous, personal, historically vague, & as you like it.

Thank you for your thoughts, Iconnu

Well, yes, I am familiar with RWS, that's where I started, I know that there are different styles, systems, but as far as the Marseille....? I know tarot started as a game, but I know at some point, the Marseille decks turned into something more. So if one doesn't read it the way they would, say, an RWS deck, then it's whatever works, intuition? The tarot authentique link was most interesting, but there were these different ways they recommended reading with it, it's deciding on which one I guess. None really seemed to speak to me yet. Marseille decks look so rudimentary and yet there are so complex to me. Sometimes more is less and less is more and I admit the Marseilles has been a bit of challenge.

I'm just beginning but I am moving towards a combination of reading by the grid (number + suit + context) and also actually looking at the images on the pips. For example, on the 3 of Coins the 2 Coins on the bottom are separated by the flower, but then the stems curl in and there is another coin at the top of the card, so, when I asked about my week, I saw this as two people working separately towards the same purpose.

All my learning has been from Yoav Ben-Dov's book, "Tarot - The Open Reading" so far (I also use the app version of his deck, CBD Tarot de Marseille). I really like the way Yoav does not stray from the images in his example interpretations, and finds meaning in every flowing line and fold of cloth; really quite amazing!

I have also found a great Facebook group, "AndyBC Fortune Telling with the Tarot de Marseille" which, in the files, has some progressive lessons on using the colours, etc. to read. Members occasionally post practice spreads for us to try reading.

I also looked at the Tarot Authentique site just yesterday and found it interesting. I'll be returning as I am enamoured with the TdM and really want to become skilled at reading it.

Thank you Ace of Stars

Your thoughts were very helpful. It's like seeing a beautiful forest and just trying to find a start to a path. I am determined to work with the TdM, it's just been interesting getting my bearings, finding my starting point.

Here's an idea: For those who also read Lenormand, remove the pip cards 2 through 5 from your Marseille deck, then read the remaining pip and court cards by using their corresponding Lenormand meanings. You would need to memorize which cards go with which Lenormand images. In the Enchanted Lenormand book, there's a mnemonic rhyme for memorizing which playing cards go with which Lenormand images, so that might help with that.

Why not?

It's always seemed to me that, unlike Lenormand, there is no weight of tradition to reading Marseille pips. So we can simply choose whichever way appeals to us.

I might be mistaken, but I think the most 'traditional' way would be the Etteilla meanings, because he was probably the first person to systematically describe meanings for each card. So much traditional that there's a thread where someone posted 'ancient Italian meanings for pip cards', and they follow the Etteilla so closely that I use them with my Etteilla deck.

Having said that, I do, like others, fancy TdM also because it has no set tradition, and it can take up anything you like: numerology, Kabbala, astrology, elemental dignities, intuitive insights, visual rhymes, pips-as-trumps, etc. You just need to experiment with all these techniques and find what makes sense to you. And that's a happy, life-long journey.

Shake off the Lenormandesque quest to find the single-one-true-correct-traditional method of reading the cards (which almost always turns out to be a will-o'-the-wisp anyhow). The Marseille offers total liberation from the straitjacket of traditionalist mentality. If you must have a ready-made method, pick any one that happens to suit your fancy, and then start having fun with the cards.

Thanks for that, LRichard

It wasn't so much I was looking for the one true way to read, but trying to grab onto a thread to pull to give me a start, a boost. I'm trying NOT to see the cards the way I do RWS, which means grabbing onto something. I'm not that much of an intuitive reader, well, I guess in a way we all are a bit, but I can't just pick up a deck and then this means that, especially with unillustrated pips. Once I have my own idea about a card, I'm fine. I'm satisfied with going with my meaning, as I'm the one reading the cards, but I look at many of the cards, esp the unillustrated pips and get....crickets. So I need to figure out which ideas work for me, but so far, nothing is even whispering to me. But I am not giving up. I think it's just catching the wave......and I'm still paddling!

greatdane said:

but I look at many of the cards, esp the unillustrated pips and get....crickets.

Click to expand...

I think that it's alright that you get crickets from time to time. Let me suggest two exercises.

The first comes from JMD's excellent course: Play a few rounds of 78 card pick up. Scatter, really scatter the whole deck on the floor, or a bedspread, and just look at the result. What do the images to to each other, or with each other. You will get the chance to see all the images interacting in totally unexpected ways--its the kind of thing that may help the intuitive juices begin to flow.

My second exercise might be more difficult. Take your TdM deck and shuffle it several times and play several rounds of solitaire, or strip poker, or Go Fish, or War. Again, the point is to allow the images to reveal their gaming heritage. Divinatory meanings may become more apparent as you get familiar with the images as themselves.

Just a thought.

CED