Any thoughts or guidence on The Mary-El

[Padma]

It's not a problem, it is an obsession! there is a difference!

 

[lark]

Promised I'd give my impressions of this deck.
I spent last night and this morning with it.
Did a reading too.
I asked a hard question and the answers were multi faceted, compassionate, and very wise.
I like the book very much.
I found just enough to give me an insight into what was intended, and had a lot of aha moments while matching pictures with her thoughts.
The first look through of the deck is a visceral experience.
I think this deck was channeled...it has that feeling...like the Green Wood feels.
It feels like Mary opened up the primal, ancestral, core in all of us, that place that holds the record of all things.
And we get to experience that in this deck.
I can see why people use it as a very personal deck and feel they need to study it over a lifetime.

I'm very happy I got it and I it wasn't for Padma asking if I wanted to trade I might have never bought it.
I watched a lot of You Tube videos about it...and was frankly kind of repulsed by it...but having it in my hands is a whole different experience.
It is a powerful deck, but compassionate, and loving and wise.
I'm keeping it... and I'm looking forward to working with it.
Granted the card stock is not great...but the image quality is very good....so we'll take that and be grateful.
Thank you Mary if you are still reading this thread.
I think this is one of those decks that will become legend.

 

[Padma]

I also thought it would stand the tests of time, Lark. I am so very happy you love it! pleases me no end, so glad I was able to be the channel that got it to you! Cause...obviously you needed to have it!

 

[INIVEA]

Promised I'd give my impressions of this deck.
I spent last night and this morning with it.
Did a reading too.
I asked a hard question and the answers were multi faceted, compassionate, and very wise.
I like the book very much.
I found just enough to give me an insight into what was intended, and had a lot of aha moments while matching pictures with her thoughts.

Oh how I have been waiting for your impressions of the deck, thanks
This Deck has given me endless A'ha moments

The first look through of the deck is a visceral experience.
I think this deck was channeled...it has that feeling...like the Green Wood feels.
It feels like Mary opened up the primal, ancestral, core in all of us, that place that holds the record of all things.
And we get to experience that in this deck.
I can see why people use it as a very personal deck and feel they need to study it over a lifetime.

This is very interesting, you made a very observant point, "It feels like Mary opened up the primal, ancestral, that place that holds the record of all things." Akashic records. This I agree your are so right, which would to me IMO go hand in hand as to that why it took 10 years in creating this deck. This deck has become so personal to me, I spent a solid 4 months with it, to learn it's messages for me. Now I only bring it out when it calls me.

I watched a lot of You Tube videos about it...and was frankly kind of repulsed by it...but having it in my hands is a whole different experience.
It is a powerful deck, but compassionate, and loving and wise.

Owlmoon did the best video I think on this deck. Yes, It's a very deep, compassionate, and wise deck as you say.

I'm keeping it... and I'm looking forward to working with it.
Granted the card stock is not great...but the image quality is very good....so we'll take that and be grateful.
Thank you Mary if you are still reading this thread.
I think this is one of those decks that will become legend.

You will come to appreciate the Card Stock. You can have snacks, lunch or dinner, etc. while reading and playing with your cards, TEFLON, never stains. so don't freak out if you get a bit of food or drink on it, just wipe off and away you go. I enjoy reading and playing with this deck while having ice cream and other goodies.

This deck will stand the test of time.

 

[Astraea]

I think the deck was channeled, too, INIVEA.

To me, the Mary-El seems very much akin to the Osho Zen Tarot, in that it can be read equally as a tarot deck with distinctive (but still comprehensible) card meanings, and an oracle deck - or both at once.

The guidebook can be a door-opener to some, and a hindrance to others. I am among the latter, based on my experience as an art student. For every piece of symbolism I intended to build into a print, there were a thousand more that entered the mix on their own: without exception, those unplanned elements were the ones that united the others and spoke with the most authentic voice. So, for those who find the Mary-El guidebook a challenge (or even a burden), I urge you to listen to your hunches and inspirations - read the images and respond to what they draw out of you. You might be surprised at how quickly you can develop a personal rapport with this seemingly inscrutable deck.

 

[pickled pixie]

Promised I'd give my impressions of this deck.
I spent last night and this morning with it.
Did a reading too.
I asked a hard question and the answers were multi faceted, compassionate, and very wise.
I like the book very much.
I found just enough to give me an insight into what was intended, and had a lot of aha moments while matching pictures with her thoughts.
The first look through of the deck is a visceral experience.
I think this deck was channeled...it has that feeling...like the Green Wood feels.
It feels like Mary opened up the primal, ancestral, core in all of us, that place that holds the record of all things.
And we get to experience that in this deck.
I can see why people use it as a very personal deck and feel they need to study it over a lifetime.

I'm very happy I got it and I it wasn't for Padma asking if I wanted to trade I might have never bought it.
I watched a lot of You Tube videos about it...and was frankly kind of repulsed by it...but having it in my hands is a whole different experience.
It is a powerful deck, but compassionate, and loving and wise.
I'm keeping it... and I'm looking forward to working with it.
Granted the card stock is not great...but the image quality is very good....so we'll take that and be grateful.
Thank you Mary if you are still reading this thread.
I think this is one of those decks that will become legend.

Thanks for letting us know Lark and so eloquently ... glad you love it !! It is very special indeed..it must feel even more special, with how it came into your life

 

[EmpyreanKnight]

This thread is seriously persuasive. I feel very much attracted to dark decks so this should be a no-brainer, but with the Mary El something always held me back. Finally decided to just order the deck and be done with it.

It's gonna be in my hands before the end of the week. I honestly can't wait.

 

[delinfrey]

EmpyreanKnight, you will not be disappointed!
I was at awe when I first opened the box (I mean, the box itself is well worth the price).

Be sure to read the book, it is a real treasure. To be quite honest, I wouldn't call it a dark deck. To me, it is an art deck, with 78 breathtaking paintings put into Tarot deck format. It is meant to be experienced, much rather than read.

Hope you will enjoy it.

 

[EmpyreanKnight]

Got the Mary-El, and delinfrey, buddy, you have no idea how right you are.

The production value of the Mary-El is unbelievably topnotch. From the elegant rouge et noir box to the highly informative book to the hauntingly gorgeous cards themselves, everything screams of a concept that is briliantly executed. This is my first Schiffer, and is this what their products look like? No wonder it's more expensive than normal tarot sets - it's not just a kit, it's an experience. Alright, so I just made up my mind, I'm also getting their Didactic Tarot.

I'd love to delve deeper, but I'm just beginning my Tarot studies. I'm knee-deep in the Rider Waite Smith along with the Gothic Tarot by Vargo, and the Mary-El does deviate a bit from the RWS system. So to avoid confusing myself, I would have to postpone a deep study of this deck, however much it seduces me.

So it's true, this is no hype at all. One day I shall come back to it, and before that I shall brace myself for its onslaught.

 

[illyria]

I think this deck was channeled...it has that feeling...like the Green Wood feels.
It feels like Mary opened up the primal, ancestral, core in all of us, that place that holds the record of all things.
And we get to experience that in this deck.
I can see why people use it as a very personal deck and feel they need to study it over a lifetime.

lark, I think you hit the nail on the head with your impressions. I used the Mary-El exclusively for a while, and it remains to be a private deck. I find that I don't want to use it to read for others—there's something about it that invites me to imbue it with a very personal and intimate energy. It's darker than the Greenwood for me, but I get what you mean about it being "channeled." I should probably do more ancestor work with it soon.

Oh, there was a time when I wanted to trim it, but Schiffer cardstock makes me cringe, so I left it alone. I think it was the right decision.