Making Friends with a Tarot Deck

Cynthia_H

Hi everyone

A while back I acquired the Fenestra Tarot. Right from the official opening I loved this deck, the images, the feel, the whole package.

My problem is that try as I may, I have never been able to read with this deck. I don't know why but the cards that I toss never seem to make sense in relation to the question or the spread. Even a general question "what do I need to know today" produces a jumble for me. It's like we are talking at cross purposes.

Has anyone else had this experience and if so were you able to mend your relationship with the deck and become friends rather than frienemies and how so ?
 

Cynthia_H

Thanks Beancrew49, I"ll watch the video and give the spread a try. Cynthia
 

Sentient

Cynthia, Many people have art decks they love but cannot read with, and decks they find aesthetically lacking that somehow read like a dream. It turns out that beauty and effectiveness are not well correlated. It's not just you.
 

BeyondtheVeil

I always do a first reading with any new decks on any message that the deck wants to tell me. I think that maybe there is a message that you need to know.

If you need a spread there are a lot of new deck spreads in the Tarot Spreads section. I usually just ask What message do you have for me? Then do the

Most Important-
What I don't know-
What I need to know-
Clarification-
Advice or guidance

You can make up your own. I would give that a try to see if it helps.


Good luck!
BeyondtheVeil
 

Tanga

As said here:

Cynthia, Many people have art decks they love but cannot read with, and decks they find aesthetically lacking that somehow read like a dream. It turns out that beauty and effectiveness are not well correlated. It's not just you.

...For some reason, though you love the imagery - you just can't work with it smoothly presently. :)
I have a few decks like that.
I can imagine that only sweaty and painstaking study might change that.
(In my case - I just don't read for someone else with the decks that I have that are like this...
They've ended up as my 'Altar decks'. Or I experiment with them on various things for myself on-and-off.
A few I know I could eventually read with, if I took the time to study their unique imagery and meaning... yes - when I eventually have enough hours in the day to do that. ;).
I have quite a few decks).


Have you done the stuff - of reading the LWB that came with it etc.? (of course - it may have a crap one. :) ).
Maybe - one card draws daily? (there's the 'am/pm 1 card draw' - where you look at the card and see what catches your eye and write about that in the morning... then in the evening look at it again and see if anything new strikes you about the card, or if there's anything about the card you can relate to your day, plus then you look up the LWB meanings etc.... You can use more than 1 card...).


Since I only tend to anthropomorphize my decks with my tongue in my cheek,
I don't generally do the "find out what each deck is for or has to say to me" thing.
I don't use my decks by "what they're best suited to read for". I use them by what imagery I'm most in the mood for at the time.

Your mileage may differ.
 

rylla

Wen I get a new deck I make acquaintance with it by doing this spread first:
2
3 - 4
1

1) What you want to tell me about yourself
2) What you bring to the table
3) How our collaboration will be (if it's a negative card I interpret it that it's going to help me dealing with that kind of negativity with the aid of cards 1 and 2)
4) What you are going to teach me

As I do that with every new deck I get the message of the combined cards easily (as they say practice is the key) and I get a feeling right from the beginning how easy or difficult will be to read with that deck.
Than when I do readings with that particular deck, keeping in mind the deck's message helps me make sense of the reading more easily.
 

Cynthia_H

Cynthia, Many people have art decks they love but cannot read with, and decks they find aesthetically lacking that somehow read like a dream. It turns out that beauty and effectiveness are not well correlated. It's not just you.

Thanks Sentient, this is good to know, now I'll not have preconceived expectations from a deck. Cheers, Cynthia.
 

Cynthia_H

Thanks Rylla, Tanga and BeyondtheVeil: I appreciate the feedback and ideas, which I will certainly give a try. I am still working thru tech glitches in the quote function and was not able to reply individually. Cheers, Cynthia.
 

BeyondtheVeil

Cynthia_H

Thanks Rylla, Tanga and BeyondtheVeil: I appreciate the feedback and ideas, which I will certainly give a try. I am still working thru tech glitches in the quote function and was not able to reply individually. Cheers, Cynthia.

You are welcome!

It may very well be that it is a beautiful deck, but one that you don't connect with for divination. I had some decks like that as well. :)

Good luck! Let us know how it goes!
BeyondtheVeil