Using a deck you hate ...

[silver_rain]

I'm very curious to see how this will turn out! I think it's a good idea to think outside of the box and see how you handle a deck you're not initially drawn to. Might go through my collection and try this as well should be interesting.. I saw in another subforum you're already trying out the deck. Good luck with that, I'll be following your progress!

 

[Grizabella]

For me, a of the decks I can't use is the Spiral. My daughter got it a few years ago and it made me literally nauseated---truly. Not too long ago I got it in a trade (if I remember right). At any rate, I ended up getting it myself for some reason. I loved the size of the cards and some of the images---at first. Then after a little while, again I got physically nauseated by it. So I traded it on. I just won't ever be able to get along with that deck. The very thought of it makes me feel queasy again. Must be some sort of psychological, deeply buried thing.

Maybe that's what it is with you and the Gilded, LB. My hat's off to you for hanging in there and trying to use it.

 

[Sheri]

There are two decks for me that I dislike - the DaVinci and the Sheridan Douglas. When I first saw the DaVinci in scans, I really liked it. I am a fan of DaVinci so I thought it would be a great deck that I would like alot. When I met it in person, however, I was completely put off by it. I didn't touch it for several weeks after I got it. Finally I decided I would try to use it. I could. I did a reading with it - but there was something about it, so I gifted it to someone who loves it.

With the Sheridan Douglas, I don't care for the artwork one bit. I am not a fan of the 70s and the artwork reminds me of it. However, I have it listed as one of my favorite decks to read with. We definitely have a mutual dislike for each other, but I read with it. It rewards me by punching me in the guts every time I use it. I get good readings with it - in fact the cards are always accurate - even if my interpretation is off. It tells me what I need to hear and doesn't have any regard for my feelings - in fact, I think it enjoys humiliating me. We swear at each other and get angry and I swear I will never use it again...until the next time.

 

[Little Baron]

I love what you say about the Sheridan Douglas. That made me laugh.

I wanted to like that deck so much. But I don't. I forget how many times I have looked at the sample in a shop and have shaken my head. Hate the majors. And the actual quality of the black lines on the drawings is pretty bad. It is inconsistant in thickness. And I think the majors are non-descript. Yep, not one for me.

I think the Gilded just makes me feel quite sick, most of the time. Tonight, I am trying to look at it differently. Working with it in little chunks, rather than choking on the whole thing.

LB

 

[Little Baron]

I just took the Gilded to my Circle of Stones reading.

It worked nicely.

If I had used my Menagerie, which I wanted to, I think I might have fallen into the cards a little further than I wished to.

But here, I kept the reading on a practical level. Trying to identify the people and situations. And in some cards, I made some [I feel] nice correlations with others.

So, it feels successful. In just the way I wanted it to be; detached to a point. Of course, we will have to see what my COS partner thinks

LB

 

[VGimlet]

I also find it a challenge to read with decks I don't like. Celtic Dragon, Unicorn, Londa. To name just a few.

Sometimes I find my dislike doesn't mean I can't read with the deck - kind of like your situation with the friends' boyfriend - sometimes I've had amazingly good readings. Because, perhaps, I was expecting nothing.

Sometimes I realize that nothing in the world is ever going to reconcile me to whatever I dislike about a certain deck. And that I really do need to think about trading some of them someday.

One example for me particularly is the Connolly, last weeks deck. 'Eeew', I wondered as I took it out of the box, 'why did I buy this deck?' I was pleasantly surprised to find it easy to read with. It's not a deck I'd use every day, but I can think of certain clients it would be perfect for.

 

[Neely75]

I actually know how you feel. I really, REALLY, dislike the Rider Waite decks. I have the Radiant one because it is the one I find the least atrocious of them all. I'm in a position now where it is being used in an online series of courses. I was hoping this would help me to appreciate the deck more and open me up to new possibilities, but I just can't take it. To have to meditate on the images that I find so distasteful, well... it's difficult...to put it mildly.

I'm with Disa here (Hi Disa! )

I have the Original Rider Waite and I just don't feel a connection with it. The artwork is just not to my liking at all. I'm also using them in online courses and although understanding more of the symbolism is really helping me to get to know these cards, I still don't know if I'm ever going to feel connected enough to read with them. I am trying to stick it out and see what happens. But I just don't love them.

I want to find a deck which I really love, one which I can look at and "feel" and "hear" the answers to the questions I'm asking.

I'm glad you've given them another go. I hope you end up happy and comfortable with what you are able to achieve with them.

 

[Little Hare]

Erk for me its the OSho Zen, it makes my skin crawl.. I have no idea why but the images grate on me... I can't use a deck i don't like, i feel it disrupts the flow and ***** with the messages i'm am meant to be delivering

 

[coeur]

I think working with a deck you don't like puts you back into 'default' mode, which might be a refreshing return to your intuitive roots. I certainly operate strongly off of symbolism, mythology, numerology, etc.; but I can only do so with a deck that appreciates all of these characteristics. A deck like the Klimt or Osho Zen has a much weaker appreciation of these elements of tarot, which makes it difficult for me to work them into my readings. I frequently find myself running off of pure intuition with these decks, which is sort of uncomfortable. Still, I think it really develops a deeper level of self-respect and self-appreciation in the area of tarot reading, as it throws the emphasis back on yourself as a reader.

 

[teomat]

I'm with Disa here (Hi Disa! )

I have the Original Rider Waite and I just don't feel a connection with it. The artwork is just not to my liking at all. I'm also using them in online courses and although understanding more of the symbolism is really helping me to get to know these cards, I still don't know if I'm ever going to feel connected enough to read with them. I am trying to stick it out and see what happens. But I just don't love them.

I want to find a deck which I really love, one which I can look at and "feel" and "hear" the answers to the questions I'm asking.

I'm glad you've given them another go. I hope you end up happy and comfortable with what you are able to achieve with them.

I felt like this for a long time with the RWS too.

I thought it was too simple looking, crude and just plain ugly. But despite this, it's the best deck I can read with. And although it sounds a bit weird, I think it's because I have respect for it. There are so many decks that jazz up it's imagery to fit trendy themes, however to me, it's the real deal - the original, no-nonsense version.
I guess you can read with a deck you don't actually like, but perhaps having some kind of respect for it (or just approaching them with an open mind) plays a part too.