Barleywine
Full Disclosure: I've never done a "new deck interview," since I get what I need in the way of first impressions by simply using the deck. But the idea intrigues me since many people seem to like it.
So I created a slightly more complex approach (no surprise there, right?
) that seems like it would be interesting to apply to all my decks, not just the new ones.
ETA: I ran a sample spread on my Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery, with interesting results that reflect my experience with the deck so far (I've had it since last November).
For the Heart position (vitality and core virtues) I got the 2 of Wands as the "tone" and the 7 of Swords as "personality," two elementally friendly cards. It has a good heart but is going to test me intellectually. (None of the minor cards are numbered, so it's off to a good start there.)
For the Voice position (fluidity and expressiveness) I got the 6 of Cups as "tone" and the 5 of Wands as "personality," two elementally unfriendly cards. On the surface it will read smoothly but it will really hold my feet to the fire on particulars. All of the Fives are "challenge" cards.
For the "Challenges" position (most difficult aspects) I got the 5 of Swords as "tone" and the Knight of Wands as "personality, two elementally friendly cards. It's liable to "bite" me if I don't handle it with respect, and isn't likely to have a lot of patience with any fumbling.
For the "Strengths" position (coherence and solidity) I got the 4 of Coins as "tone" and Death as "personality," two elementally friendly cards. The interesting thing here is that the man on the 4 of Coins is digging up four coins out of the earth, and the female Morta is bending over to inspect a dead sapling. I like the gravity of the two together, which is well supported by the overall tone of this deck.
Reading the four "personality" cards together, I would say this deck is intellectually exacting (7 of Swords); the "Devil is in the details" (5 of Wands); I may have some trouble matching speeds with its fervor (Knight of Wands); and there is absolutely nothing light-weight or superficial about it (Death). The Fives make me think of a line from the old Robert Palmer song, "Bad Case of Loving You:" "a pretty face don't mean no pretty heart."
For the quint (I include court cards in the calculation), I got the Hermit, suggesting that this deck is singular and won't give up its wisdom easily.
ETA #2: I just changed the basic meanings for the four positions of this spread to start with a positive connotation, which may change according to the nature of the card in each position. The sample spread is no longer aligned, but I decided not to edit it.
So I created a slightly more complex approach (no surprise there, right?
) that seems like it would be interesting to apply to all my decks, not just the new ones.ETA: I ran a sample spread on my Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery, with interesting results that reflect my experience with the deck so far (I've had it since last November).
For the Heart position (vitality and core virtues) I got the 2 of Wands as the "tone" and the 7 of Swords as "personality," two elementally friendly cards. It has a good heart but is going to test me intellectually. (None of the minor cards are numbered, so it's off to a good start there.
)For the Voice position (fluidity and expressiveness) I got the 6 of Cups as "tone" and the 5 of Wands as "personality," two elementally unfriendly cards. On the surface it will read smoothly but it will really hold my feet to the fire on particulars. All of the Fives are "challenge" cards.
For the "Challenges" position (most difficult aspects) I got the 5 of Swords as "tone" and the Knight of Wands as "personality, two elementally friendly cards. It's liable to "bite" me if I don't handle it with respect, and isn't likely to have a lot of patience with any fumbling.
For the "Strengths" position (coherence and solidity) I got the 4 of Coins as "tone" and Death as "personality," two elementally friendly cards. The interesting thing here is that the man on the 4 of Coins is digging up four coins out of the earth, and the female Morta is bending over to inspect a dead sapling. I like the gravity of the two together, which is well supported by the overall tone of this deck.
Reading the four "personality" cards together, I would say this deck is intellectually exacting (7 of Swords); the "Devil is in the details" (5 of Wands); I may have some trouble matching speeds with its fervor (Knight of Wands); and there is absolutely nothing light-weight or superficial about it (Death). The Fives make me think of a line from the old Robert Palmer song, "Bad Case of Loving You:" "a pretty face don't mean no pretty heart."
For the quint (I include court cards in the calculation), I got the Hermit, suggesting that this deck is singular and won't give up its wisdom easily.
ETA #2: I just changed the basic meanings for the four positions of this spread to start with a positive connotation, which may change according to the nature of the card in each position. The sample spread is no longer aligned, but I decided not to edit it.
