Tarot Decks: ring out the old, ring in the new!
Most of us Tarot readers have a favourite deck - whether it's the one that we started out with first, as our first purchase or gift, or it's one that, years later, sang a song to us and beguiled us with its beauty. We don't always say it's our favourite (it's rather like a parent selecting a favourite child...we know they have one, they just don't like to say as it will hurt feelings all round)...but it becomes our 'go to' deck, the one that we feel comfortable with, that we know won't throw us a curveball, that we can simply read, without having to be wary of potholes in the road ahead.
Like many things, art and beauty are subjective things, so one persons post-modernist impressionism is anothers toddler having at a canvas with some finger paints; one persons sunrise asana is anothers excuse to roll over and snuggle under the duvet, but however we embrace beauty and art in the images in the Tarot, it's certain that we started our journey with cards on one side of the fence: either Rider-Waite-Smith traditional (or at least sympathetic to those images), or non-RWS artistry and images (sometimes referred to as intuitive decks). When we come to utilise a different deck with a different set of imagery, associations and values, as much as that new deck might call to us, it can be a jarring experience - we see the title of the card, "The Eight of Swords" for example, and our brain expects one image because of what we are used to, but sees another...there's a momentary clashing of gears as expectations are subsumed by what the eye is seeing, and the message from the cards, from our intuition and from our connection to our client, can get lost in this translation process.
For anyone that has learned a foreign language, you'll know that you start out armed with a couple of pigeon phrases to get you by (hello, please, thank you, my name is, how are you, goodbye) and then we add to that a couple of comedy phrases ("ou est le synidcate d'initiative?" "ein stuck schwarzwalderkirschtorte, bitte!", "Hvor er den naermeste rutsjebane?") that realistically we'll never use, but still make us grin when the opportunity presents itself, but the biggest challenge arguably arises not when we try to memorise page upon page of vocabulary, and commit tables of rules and requirements to working memory, but instead when we come to think in that language as a fluent speaker must, rather than thinking in our native language and then translating it through that series of rules and filters that we 'know'...and that is the struggle readers face when we move from one deck to another where the images are so disparate from the method we learned - it's a new language in itself, a new set of ways for our brain to be inspired, and it can take some time for us to stop translating the cards in our head from one system to another, and instead open ourselves to the messages they're providing. Logical reasoning and thought often crowds out intuitive messages and feelings - we think, we question, we criticise and then when we're comfortable with our position, we open ourselves up to areas of inspiration.
It's not an insurmountable obstacle, but I know readers who will only use a single deck, and might collect or admire other decks or artwork, but they always return to the same deck time and time again, ignoring the opportunities for growth and new lessons, input and opportunities to be presented by another line of communication.
Perhaps you long for an opportunity to try something new, but are 'locked in' with the deck that you first acquired. Is your current deck coming to the end of its useful life, having been shuffled and dealt til it's crumpled, ruffled and ready for retirement, and you're looking to break-in a replacement? Maybe you've got a collection of decks gathering dust in a drawer, and on the couple of occasions you've experimented, you've felt out of your comfort zone and the flow of your readings have suffered as a result...you want to use all this beautiful artwork, but are struggling with breaking old habits.
If so, here are my tips for smooth transition from deck to deck:-
Lay out your chosen decks side by side - as an exercise, take the familiar deck, the messages and the images as they swim eagerly from the card, and put the same card from the new deck that you want to use next to it. Where are the differences? Where are the similarities? In what way do the messages from the cards synch with one another, and in what ways do they leave you looking for the answers in the gaps between them? By honouring the old, and celebrating the new, we'll see that even in RWS-tradition decks there can be a world of difference in how the same card from different decks portrays its message to us. By seeing them side-by-side, our brain will start to make the associations between them, and will prevent the mental gear-clashing caused by attempted translation when we view the new cards on their own.
Read the accompanying book/LWB - get a handle for the artists particular nuances or use of colour, symbolism and expression. By understanding their influences, their background, their technique and how they've brought those things together in their deck, you'll gain an insight into the messages that they were trying to convey through their interpretation of that card, and will give you a great starting point for understanding that new set of images spread out before you. These days most artists have their own website, facebook page, and even their own wikipedia entries, allowing you to see what their unique take on the Tarot is...and most will welcome an enquiring email or message expressing interest in their work and asking questions about their influences and style.
Style it out - expect it, know it will happen at some point, welcome it as an opportunity to hone your skills, and avoid the clashing of gears by going back to basics. We've all had the experience where we've drawn a card from a deck we're intimately familiar with, and *whoosh* the mental rolodex spins without throwing up information about the card, our connection with Spirit or with our Guides goes quiet, and we start mouthing like a floundering fish...all action, no voice, so it's going to happen sooner or later with a new deck. Go back to basics, and kickstart our knowledge base by re-establishing our connection with our intuition, revisiting those things that we know we know...it's the Queen of Cups, (what do i know about the Queens, what do i know about the Cups), she's wearing blue, and the ribbons of her cloak are tied at her neck (what do i know about the colour blue, what do i know about the throat chakra), and she's holding the cup in both hands, offering it to you (what does that say to me, how is that relevant to the client and their question)...and you're off. Engines sometimes stall - take a moment, check yourself, handbrake, clutch, ignition, and away you go again!
During a reading with a client, whip out your old deck, and go back to the familiar. This is your playground, your sandbox, your client has come to you for input, insight and advice, and if it's necessary that you kickstart your connection again by stepping back to the deck you're used to, don't be afraid to do so - do what is necessary for the benefit of your client - that action alone, acknowledging that what you're doing is for the benefit of the querent, could be the shunt that your empathy and intuition needs to 'reconnect' and get you moving again. Similarly, drawing a clarifying card from the new deck might give you an "aha!" moment, instead of fishing in the dark for signals about the card you've drawn - it could be something as simple as an unusual card in an unexpected position that throws us, rather than the new card/deck itself, and a clarifier can boost the input there and get us back on track!
Embrace and re-frame those negative things that are holding you back: fear of the unknown or fear of failure is an opportunity to excel in the new; worrying about our intuition, or about getting the wrong message is an opportunity to flex those empathic and intuitive muscles and strengthen ourselves with a different form of exercise; fear of the new or different is an opportunity to assess our current location, and to objectively consider how best we are fulfilled by where we are, and how best we can continue to learn and grow, without having to give up that core that is essentially 'us'.
Do you have any insider tips on breaking in a new deck and avoiding stalls and intuition interuptions? Share them in the comments below!
