The two cards themselves
TWO of CUPS:
A fey wearing funky clothes and wild hair style is offered a cup from a mermaid-Fey. An unlikely couple? They obviously know each other as she sits with her back to him, yet paying attention to his needs. The Waite-Smith two of cups card is totally different in its portrayal, yet it also conveys sharing, closeness, friendship as cups are exchanged -- there it is an equal giving and taking, in the Fey card it is shown as offering and acceptance. The message is much the same.
TWO of SWORDS:
Here the two decks take differing paths. The W-S card depicts balance, holding a static and perhaps stressful positon, and suggests that something may have to change -- soon, perhaps. The Fey deck shows an agressive posture, the sword held before the Fey's face and eyes in a having-just-made-a-slashing motion stance -- note the belt-ends still bouncing about as a result of the very recent motion. This card is anger in motion and is very unlike the passive nature of the Waite-Smith card. Who is this Fey fighting against and why? HOW WOULD THIS CHANGE YOUR READING relative to having the Waite-Smith two of swords before you? Now, thats a question !!!
TWO of PENTACLES:
The W-S deck depicts two pentacles being tossed about while the Fey deck shows two beings admiring the one pentacle. In this "two-ness" scene there is a Fey and a sprite -- both feeling the same way about the treasure before them. So, do we admire a treasure for what it is (Fey) or do we play with our treasure so as to choose which of it we like best (Waite-Smitch). How does that explain "two-ness?" One admiring many, or many admiring one. Perhaps its just different sides of the same coin. (Pun. I made a pun!)
TWO of WANDS:
One Fey sits in a nest high in a tree -- very, very high in a tree. The W-S deck shows one figure watching ship set sail to sea. The Fey itself has to take the plunge from the nest. The figure watching the ships depart waits for others to return from their adventure. In both cases the result of what is being comtemplated is still a little ways off in time. Expectation. Hope. Preparing for the results of taking a chance. This Fey two is not about a choice, its more about mental preparation for there is no choice -- the Fey has to fly sooner or later. In the W-S deck there is a mental pause, a time to worry or wait or to do something else. I see these considerations affecting a reading also.
SUMMARY:
I find, for me, that using the Fey two-cards in a reading would require an adjustment in a typical reading for each of the four cards. Using the Fey deck for doing a reading, after having used other decks, means making a commitment. While these changes are easy to make as we come to them and think about them, we who have used other decks for a longer time will have to make adjustments in how we view these cards. Aren't they just great? Dave.