Decks that won't work with you

Ace

Thoth deck. It gives me the WILLIES.

barb
 

Redfaery

The Fenestra Tarot. I liked it well enough, but the cards were always escaping from my hands with such great force. They'd just fly across the room when I tried to shuffle. I took the hint and gave it to a friend.
 

Nemia

The Holy Light. It told me in no uncertain terms that it wouldn't work with me. Or that's what I understood. Beautiful deck, fascinating deck, gave me the cold shoulder. I swapped it for the Kitty Kahane. Which doesn't speak much with me either.

But I'm not through with the Holy Light yet. The black and white version tempts me and calls me.

I also swapped away the Hudes. The amateurish art turned me off although the colours were beautiful and so were some cards. But no, I didn't warm to it.
 

Citrin

I know a lot of people love the Raven's Prophecy. I also love the artwork - but in readings... Gah! It gave me NOTHING. I found I had to use huge spreads to get any form of message from it. Eventually I gave up, it just didn't speak to me...
 

Barleywine

An interesting thing happened when I got the large, plastic, see-through, scrapbook bins for my deck collection (discussed in another thread). I sorted everything according to frequency of use and put the most-used decks together in one bin, and so on down the line until I had a never-used group in the last bin. Now I can see all the shunned decks clearly rather than having them stashed in a drawer, and will give some of them another shot.

The last bin includes my "art" decks (Kat Black's Golden, the Golden Botticelli, the Bosch); a couple of uncommunicative "rustic-style" decks (the Old English, the Old Path); and some where the artwork just didn't grab me (the Tarot of the Spirit, the Haindl).

But my most reviled deck of all time, Yaeger's Tarot of Meditation, didn't even make it into the storage system. That's one I have no hope of ever reconciling with.
 

katyanne

Oh yes, I like that! I really like that! Or store or right next to your... toys, if you get what I mean! [emoji13]

Why even ask this in the first place? I know there are people who believe that their decks have a personality but I would only feel inclined to ask something like that if I was unsure of the deck itself. Maybe if I regretted spending the money or if I wasn't that sure about the artwork after all.

I asked it because it gave me some crazy out there readings that were nonsensical and had nothing to do with what I asked it. A friend who is very good with tarot told me to do that because she said it sounded like it didn't want to work with me.
 

Farzon

I asked it because it gave me some crazy out there readings that were nonsensical and had nothing to do with what I asked it. A friend who is very good with tarot told me to do that because she said it sounded like it didn't want to work with me.
I don't believe it's the deck. It's more your emotional connection with it... what helped me in a similar case was to let someone else read for me with my own deck. It kinda broke the ice between me and the Silicon Dawn. Still not my favorite, though.
 

nisaba

I find it's usually my response to the deck, not the other way around no matter how much I may want to blame the deck. After all, in that relationship, I'm the one with the Central Nervous System and all the emotions.

Get comfortable with it. Compare its images with other decks you have. Shuffle it, You'll get comfortable with it in time.
 

Nemia

I did some Tarot Kaizen exercises with the Night Sun and it really helped. I could have thought of similar exercises........ but the Tarot Kaizen book is much more creative and systematic than I am.

With other decks, I try to get to know them better. I'm sure you were right, Nisaba, when you wrote some time ago that it's possible to read with everything. You can do it, and I really admire you for it. I'm not there yet and maybe never will be.

But I'll make an effort.
 

Grizabella

I think when we're new with the cards, we make it harder than it really is. Once you've familiarized yourself thoroughly with Tarot in general, then you'll find that it will become easier and easier to read with just about any deck you pick up.

The magic is with you, not the cards. So when you become more confident and learn that there's no "right or wrong" way to use them, then they become a tool that you can use at your command, without feeling that the deck just won't work for you.

Good luck! :) Hang around here a lot and you'll soon be just as confident as any of us. It won't happen overnight but it will happen, I promise. :)