TdM

This is intended as a master thread where we can share and discuss anything and everything that helps us further our understanding of the TdM. You can ask for tips (or share tips) regarding books, decks, websites etc. Discussions around reading techniques, symbolism etc are also encouraged. Just remember to stick to the topic of TdM Now, help me make this place feel nice and cozy! Feel free to share many pics... 😊

Hello, Here is a comparison between 5 tarots de Marseille that I occasionally use. I won't describe the differences between them. You can find videos on Youtube showing each card. I will rather tell how they look in my eyes and how it feels for me to draw cards with them. As an example, here is the same draw with each of them: Left: -Le véritable Tarot de Marseille, by Kris Hadar I like the deep rich colours of this one. If you get one, try to find the edition with the white box. The one with red and white box has colder colours (that's the one used in the above picture). Right: -Le Tarot de Mars…

So, I really, really like this deck... the artwork is charming and the cardstock and card backs are dreamy. I have a major problem though, or shall I say MINOR? How do you tell the bastoni/clubs from the spades/swords? They look SO similar! At first glance I thought, okay, the swords have crests (which I hope is the correct term for this type of decoration) and the clubs have leaves - but then this: 2 of clubs - leaves 3 of clubs - crest 4 of clubs - leaves 5 of clubs - crest 6 of clubs - leaves 7 of clubs - crest 8 of clubs - leaves 9 of clubs - crest 10 of clubs - crest 2 of swords - crest …

Just a heads up that Sullivan Hismans is working on a second edition of the Budapest Tarot. https://www.tarotsheetrevival.com/en/budapest-tarot/ Updates are on Facebook and Instagram but it looks likely to be released in the next few weeks. It’s a real gem of a deck - easy to read with and interesting from a tarot history point of view too.

Just when I told myself that I had enough Tarot de Marseille... I bought another one! ;D I saw this deck in a bookstore during my lunch hour and apparently it just got released by Lo Scarabeo, in June 2018 (based on Amazon). There is no video on it on YouTube and no written review as I can see, but I think I'll do a "reveal video" as it might help others. The tarot is a reproduction of the Claude Burdel TdM (1751), with golden foil in the background (like the Golden Universal Tarot or the Golden Visconti). It looks awesome! I made two quick pictures if you want to see what it looks like:

Hi, guys! I've become obsessed with the specific shade of light teal used in the 1930 "fleur de lis" deck of the Paul Marteau-designed Ancien TdM, and this is where all my troubles start. :)) This deck comes with the distinct variant of having two red coins on the Magician's table instead of two yellow/black dice, as well as an 1890 French tax stamp, and especially a fleur de lis on the 4 of coins. There's a copy of the fleur-de-lis deck on Ebay right now, and you can see all these distinctions in it, along with the very high collector's price. Here's a screenshot of this deck "in action", these colors, I love them so much. …

Some years ago on AT we had a little group who would take turns posting 3 cards from a TdM or other historical deck together with a question. The person posting the cards would interpret them first and then other people would chime in with their takes. The beauty was that any method was welcomed as it was useful to see how messages were similar or different. The original thread can be viewed here: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=165217 I’d really love to do it again. Would anyone else like to join me? [emoji4]

I bought Alejandro Jodorowsky's tarot book, which concentrates on TdM, hoping for more insight into reading my Ancient Italian Tarot. It's not TdM but it does have unillustrated minors (pips). I was not much helped. Although the book has extensive chapters on the courts and numbered cards, the vast majority of example readings in the book were trumps-only. Which seemed to confirm what I've read about TdM readers in the past - in practice, the majority of them read trumps only. So this is my proposal, which I'm framing as a modest and therefore at least somewhat satirical one. If you want to begin reading TdM or other historical decks, throw away everything tha…

Hey guys I'm looking into a nice authentic TDM deck to use and to gain an understanding into this school of thinking. I have narrowed it down to three decks, two of which are held in high regards one of which I am having trouble to identify but it looks really nice, limited edition, but is it authentic to the time. @katrinka I would love your input on this. Here are the decks First 2 images is the deck I can't find info on But I really love the look of it! This is Jodorowsky's Deck I have his book This is Yoav Ben-Dov's deck So…

On February 7, @fire cat pickles gave us a heads-up that a 3rd edition of the Yves Reynaud Pierre Madinié 1709 was in the offing. I’ve been checking frequently… and, today I see it’s there! https://www.tarot-de-marseille-heritage.com/boutique/tarot-pierre-madenie-1709-p-30.html?osCsid=447ecd04de20e269e017fb3a7a9532fd I emailed Tarot de Marseille Heritage twice asking if a new edition would be coming out soon, and never heard back, so I went ahead and got a 1st edition from eBay at what I believe was a fair price. But I’m really glad to see this: I’m a bit of a Conver fanatic, but I bet if you polled historical TdM aficianados, the Madenié would be …

How do you guys tell whether a pip is reversed or not? I can tell with coupes and most of the despees, but the deniers and bastons leave me scratching my head. I very very rarely mark my cards, but can I do this for the Marseille or is this considered verboten? I have some readings to perform this weekend so halp!

Hi, I’ve been searching for videos of people doing readings using TdM, but I haven’t been able to find many. Any suggestions? Thanks is advance!

THE TRIADIC TAROT (of Marseilles) From the website : A square Tarot de Marseilles with cards that can be turned in any direction. Pips arranged in triads according to a system described by the French occultist Papus. This radically unique deck will spark your intuition and give you a solid system for interpreting the pips. The sixty-page booklet that comes with the deck gives you everything you need to read with it. It’s great fun playing with the possibilities in these cards. More details on Sherryl E. Smith's Tarot Heritage website. https://tarot-heritage.com/2019/11/07/the-triadic-tarot/ I've ordered one from Santa Claus. Shipping only to the St…

I am fascinated by a number of seemingly minor details... things that look like they could/should be accidents or quirks...but nonetheless repeat across so many historical decks. If they keep showing up, surely they must have some kind of intentionality or meaning. Here's one that flummoxes me: In just about every historical deck (except the Conver... which is weird... because it is usually the most cannonical), the beautiful female figure in The Star is resting her left knee on some kind of plank... some kind of barrier between her knee and the earth. So... umm... what's up with that? Any insights or brainwaves welcome.

Hello tarot fam! This may be old news, but I haven't seen it posted here. Books-A-Million has Mary Packard's TdM kit for $24.95. This looks to be the same one that came out a few years ago, and is currently listed on Amazon for over $80, but it's been repackaged in a box similar to her Golden Tarot (Visconti-Sforza). It says it's still a reproduction of the Madenie TdM, and has the book and bag in it. I'm not sure if this was a well-received variant, but I figured I'd pass the info along. The BAM near me had four on the shelf on Friday. I may grab one and check it out; if so, I'll probably leave a review here or on my blog. For those of you who don't have a BA…

Hi guys I just found this movie starring and about Enrique Enriquez. I've not heard of him before but I bet a few of you have. He has an interesting and yet intuitive approach to reading the TDM. I thought of you @gregory when I saw it and if you haven't seen it already then I suggest you do. I'm pretty sure you will like it. It is called Tarology and you can find it here! Hope you guys like it! Aeon

The sequential method is a method of fortune-telling with tarot cards that is intended for the fortune-teller who would address certain specific questions concerning the past, the present, or the future by attempting to describe actions, circumstances, and events that may correspond to fact, whether at the time of a reading or subsequent thereto. When using the sequential method, which is intended for use with pattern sheets that are comparable to the Tarot de Marseille patterns, one is able to interpret coat or court cards with relative ease. Vocabulary Builder Adjectival Signification: a signification that is an adjective. Adverb…

I bought this deck today, the Tarot del Toro, and it is based on the TdM. I've only used RWS based decks before, so I'm a little confused. I get that the pips are read mostly numerologically with the suit, and this guidebook does tie in elements, but the descriptions in the guidebook for the numerology differ greatly from other TdM descriptions I've read. Example: all is fine until we get to the 6s. He relates the 6s to frustration, being unable to cope with the conflict of the 5s. Then the 8s are all about defeat. A specific example in the guidebook is the 8 of discs, which he interprets as possible bankruptcy or major money losses. …

I’ve just noticed that the Queen of this suit is actually labelled ‘Reyne de Baston’ which I think makes her Queen of the fight. I can’t imagine this is a misprint given Dr Ben-Dov’s care in recreating the Conver deck, so I’m wondering what the significance is?

The sequential method is a method of fortune-telling with tarot cards that is intended for the fortune-teller who would address certain specific questions concerning the past, the present, or the future by attempting to describe actions, circumstances, and events that may correspond to fact, whether at the time of a reading or subsequent thereto. When using the sequential method, which is intended for use with pattern sheets that are comparable to the Tarot de Marseille patterns, one is able to interpret coat or court cards with relative ease. Vocabulary Builder Adjectival Signification: a signification that is an adjective. Adverb…

The sequential method is a method of fortune-telling with tarot cards that is intended for the fortune-teller who would address certain specific questions concerning the past, the present, or the future by attempting to describe actions, circumstances, and events that may correspond to fact, whether at the time of a reading or subsequent thereto. When using the sequential method, which is intended for use with pattern sheets that are comparable to the Tarot de Marseille patterns, one is able to interpret coat or court cards with relative ease. Vocabulary Builder Adjectival Signification: a signification that is an adjective. Adverb…

The sequential method is a method of fortune-telling with tarot cards that is intended for the fortune-teller who would address certain specific questions concerning the past, the present, or the future by attempting to describe actions, circumstances, and events that may correspond to fact, whether at the time of a reading or subsequent thereto. When using the sequential method, which is intended for use with pattern sheets that are comparable to the Tarot de Marseille patterns, one is able to interpret coat or court cards with relative ease. Vocabulary Builder Adjectival Signification: a signification that is an adjective. Adverb…

Hi Guys Quick question ... What are your favourite keywords for the majors and Pips. Not necessarily the most historically correct but the ones that ring true the most when reading the TdM. Majors 0. Le Mat I. Le Bateleur II. La Papesse III. L'Impératrice IIII. L'Empereur V. Le Pape VI. L'Amoureux VII. Le Chariot VIII. La Justice VIIII. L'Ermite X. La Roue de Fortune XI. La Force XII. Le Pendu XIII. (La Mort) XIIII. Tempérance X…

It is on kickstarter til april 22 Someone illustrated the marseilles pips

Everyone knows Caitlin Matthews' name. Her new book, Untold Tarot, hit the bookstores in September. It contains history of the Marseille tarot and how the reading style evolved. She uses several different Marseille decks for illustration. Discusses each major trump card and how to read the pips. Offers different methods of reading including 3 or 5 cards up to tableaux size, including use of houses, and much more. This is THE definitive book to learn or expand your knowledge of Marseille tarot reading. Here's a great review of her book by the Card Geek.