Sherlock Holmes Tarot: how are you using it?

So, I caved and purchased the new Sherlock Holmes Tarot kit without much hesitation (I'm a huge Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fan). While I do enjoy the deck very much, I haven't really connected to it yet. Maybe that has something to do with my penchant for reading decks using RW or Thoth systems. Or maybe having a deck with a plethora of male characters is new territory for me. I dunno!

I'm wondering how others are using it/reading with it. Intuitive readings, perchance? I hope to make friends with this deck and, hopefully, I can find inspiration in your responses.

Thanks in advance

I like it and feel the book was a big help even with being familiar with the stories and characters. It's definitely a different deck and speaks to my more logical side.

Has anyone worked out the links between the cards and the various stories yet? T'would be a wonderful exercise to follow! I wonder if there is a thread or study group for this deck?

I find the book extremely helpful, but I also found that there's a lot going on in each card that you can be intuitive too!

CountryMouse

ctrymaus said:

I find the book extremely helpful, but I also found that there's a lot going on in each card that you can be intuitive too!

CountryMouse

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I have to agree that the book is really good (even though I'm having a heck of a time reinterpreting the suits into investigations, analysis, etc.)

Maybe I have to give this deck another whirl. However, given that most of the figures on the cards are male and I'm a woman, it's difficult for me to intuitively connect with the figures. I wonder whether it's possible to overcome this issue somehow.

If it doesn't work out, maybe this is a lesson to always research decks before I spend money on them. Sigh.

On a lighter note, I LOVE that the creators added in The Giant Rat of Sumatra wild card. I found it to be hilarious! Plus, using the street urchins as the pages is really creative.

What I'd like to know is if anyone is using the deck who isn't really an expert on Sherlock Holmes. Is anyone using it who hasn't actually read Sherlock Holmes?

Go on, confess! I'm just curious. I wonder how it reads if you just read the companion book?

I have never read Sherlock Holmes (I'm an avid reader and have read LOTS - just not read Conan Doyle - must add that!) I wonder if anyone is in the same positions as me and who has actually bought it...

Le Fanu said:

I have never read Sherlock Holmes (I'm an avid reader and have read LOTS - just not read Conan Doyle - must add that!) I wonder if anyone is in the same positions as me and who has actually bought it...

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I don't have an answer, but you really should! There are collections of all the short stories that were published in the Strand magazine. The novels are actually inferior to those stories, in my opinion. Plus, there was amazing television series that recreated in startling accuracy the Strand stories; they're the stories word for word, really. The scenes even recreate the original illustrations in the magazine. Very British television, of course, with a slow cadence, but that only adds to the atmosphere. As an added bonus, if you read Around the World in Eighty Days at about the same time, you can imagine they're both set in the same universe.

Has anyone else wondered "OMG the deck creators have just put in this character to fit such and such a card"? Like the lady that shot the blackmailer being cast as the Queen of Wands? I thought she would be a perfect fit for the Queen of Swords. But maybe that is just me. Does anyone else have problems with the "casting"? What about "Ooh" moments where you see a whole new side to a Sherlockian character with the added depth of the tarot wisdom nuggets provided in the Companion Book?

casting is usually the doorstop of a book themed deck. You need so many characters to flesh out the deck and they aren't or weren't that memorable to the regular deck user.
Jane Austen deck and Lord of the Rings decks and Dracula deck and Alice in Wonderland decks all come to mind.

AJ said:

casting is usually the doorstop of a book themed deck. You need so many characters to flesh out the deck and they aren't or weren't that memorable to the regular deck user.
Jane Austen deck and Lord of the Rings decks and Dracula deck and Alice in Wonderland decks all come to mind.

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I cannot speak for the other decks you mentioned because I don't have them but I would LOVE to have a Jane Austen deck. As someone who has read every novel by her and loves the notion of quaint tea parties and the kind of romantic life she describes, I would probably devour the deck and companion book. I have gone through some of the pictures on Pinterest and found some fairly accurate "casting". Like Justice being the letter that rights (or rather justifies/ explains) Darcy's actions towards Elizabeth and her family. Or what really stands out is Marianne as Page of cups. I do believe the imagery is based off off the Sense and Sensibility movie, and perfectly suits it. The Colonel Brandon card actually has a likeness to Alan Rickman <3 Anyhoo, since this is a Sherlock Holmes tarot thread and not one for me to gush about the Jane Austen deck... I just feel like this deck is a perpetual journey, that brings new surprises (be it in the realm of tarot wisdom or Sherlockian tales) every time you look at it. Also, could anyone explain why the London Times has been allocated the World position? Or, Bradshaw's (did I get that right?) as the Wheel of Fortune?