Hi guys! Thoughts on digital decks

[Rosebud]

Hi, I'm new here! Before this I know about tarot from a digital tarot app back then in 2017 or 2018, iirc. Back then I was so sceptical but now I started to learn tarot again and so obsessed! I wonder is there anyone here using a digital tarot deck? If you are, then do you feel any difference between physical and digital tarot on the reading result? I understand that the experience will ofc different because the digital card is, uh, cannot be touched. But a digital deck is handy and practical. What would you think?

[gregory]

I PREFER actual cards, but I do use Orphalese at times. The thing I really mind is not being able to pick the card up and look from different angles. But the readings seem to work OK. And people say the same thing about reading for someone on line - that you can't "feel their energy" and all that - - again - it still seems to work. I don't, on the other hand, buy in to on line readings that are done automatically. I have to draw the cards and determine the meanings for myself.

[DanielJUK]

Welcome to our community @Rosebud

As this thread is more a discussion, I've moved it into a tarot discussion area where it will get more discussion 🙂

[Rosebud]

Thanka a lot @ DanielJUK! Sorry I didn't realize about this earlier 😅

[euripides]

I have some Fool's Dog decks on my phone, and I love them. It's true it's not the same though... I actually suspect there's an issue with their algorithm as I seem to get the same cards repeatedly in a non meaningful way. This is notable with single card draws particularly,  not so much with multi card draws. I think using the shuffle/wash helps reset it, as it should.

 

I've found it a great way to get to know a deck before deciding if I want to spend money on the paper edition.  Added bonus,  decks are always handy!

[DanielJUK]

I have to say I haven't really noticed a difference between digital and physical decks. I have a card a day from an app on my phone which produces RWS cards and I find it really accurate. If we believe that the decks are more accurate because they use our energy or connected to us, my digital decks are on my phone which is almost always near me. I like the feel of real cards though if I am doing a reading for someone and prefer apps for single card or 3 card readings.

 

I think you can make mistakes with digital decks though.....

 

- They really rely on the coding or an algorithm with the shuffling or randomising of the cards. It might be worth giving it a longer shuffle in the app. If you keep seeing the same cards, it could be down to the making of the app

- Cards often have meanings built into the apps but I wouldn't just rely on the set words with the cards, think of you own interpretations and what you see in the card! The text doesn't replace thinking of what it means in the reading.

- Becareful of apps which allow you to use cards that give you a yes or no answer, I've found the automatic sort of generating between 2 answers gives poor readings on apps. You also end up asking a lot of superficial questions using that function!

 

I think you get the best out of them if you treat them exactly like real cards, shuffle well, don't just rely on the text that comes with the deck, you need to work on the readings yourself, don't just leave it to automation because you will get an automated reading 🙂

[AnomalyTempest]

I, too, have Fool's Dog decks on my phone. I love using them to check out decks before I buy and I like having them to study when away from my physical decks. I have a friend who only uses and app though and loves it. I prefer my cards but I'll use what is handy. The Universe has a way of getting our messages to us in a myriad of ways.

[euripides]

7 hours ago, AnomalyTempest said:

The Universe has a way of getting our messages to us in a myriad of ways.

that's so true and well expressed.

[AJ-ish/Sharyn]

I agree with Daniel, the single draws on the four fools dog apps I have repeat. I've never used any of them for readings though, just research.  too easy to grab my deck. 

[fire cat pickles]

On 5/7/2022 at 5:35 AM, Rosebud said:

But a digital deck is handy and practical. What would you think?

 

One can definitely be handy and practical when away from home and only on my phone.

 

I use Galaxy Tarot for Android. I don't use their meanings but the meanings provided are decent if you want them. It is pretty useful and visually appealing. Very simple images, traditional, and this appeals to me. As far as I can tell it is fully randomized. There are several spread options.

 

As others have said there is no substitute for real cardboard and ink though.

 

 

Edited May 9, 2022 by fire cat pickles

[euripides]

21 hours ago, fire cat pickles said:

 

I use Galaxy Tarot for Android. I don't use their meanings but the meanings provided are decent if you want them. It is pretty useful and visually appealing. Very simple images, traditional, and this appeals to me. As far as I can tell it is fully randomized. There are several spread options.

 

 

So I just tried this one out - I'm not a huge fan overall but it has one really nice feature that I'm going to explore, and that's the symbolism - it tags cards according to different attributes/symbols/themes (such as mountains, flowers, birds etc) that repeat across the spread. 

 

The Fool's Dog decks I find really nice for reference purposes and worth the few dollars for an advert-free app. They have a huge selection of decks, too. What I would love is if there was a deck app like this that I could put my own images into. I might have to progress my coding skills!

[DanielJUK]

Galaxy Tarot is my fave for RWS but it's not been updated for quite a while

 

Two other suggestions apart from all the Fool's Dog decks on Android.....

 

Uni Tarot, this has a range of classic decks like Etteilla, RWS, TdeM, Sola Busca. You pick a deck to use. I think the free version lets you use one and you can buy the other decks to use for it. I think you can also pay a one off price and get to use all the decks forever (at some stage in the past I did this). The app is a little clunky in design compared to the Galaxy and Fool's Dog apps but it has a cute shuffling animation. You have to download each deck to your phone in the app before use and it does take additional MB if you have limited space left.

 

Labyrinthos, a lot of people on this site are fans of that site. It's more of a learning app with a tarot school, the deck and spreads. You have to sign up to the site to get into the app, you have to log into it with your Labyrinthos account but I believe it's free to use as long as you are registered.

[Rosebud]

On 5/8/2022 at 4:48 AM, euripides said:

I have some Fool's Dog decks on my phone, and I love them. It's true it's not the same though... I actually suspect there's an issue with their algorithm as I seem to get the same cards repeatedly in a non meaningful way. This is notable with single card draws particularly,  not so much with multi card draws. I think using the shuffle/wash helps reset it, as it should.

 

I've found it a great way to get to know a deck before deciding if I want to spend money on the paper edition.  Added bonus,  decks are always handy!

Ah, I just downloaded one of the Fool's Dog app last week and my current fav is Animal Totem. But yeah I haven't thought much about the algorithm issue. I also don't know whether the shuffle feature in the app is really works or it just an animation. But above all, I love the app!

[Rosebud]

On 5/7/2022 at 4:51 PM, gregory said:

I PREFER actual cards, but I do use Orphalese at times. The thing I really mind is not being able to pick the card up and look from different angles. But the readings seem to work OK. And people say the same thing about reading for someone on line - that you can't "feel their energy" and all that - - again - it still seems to work. I don't, on the other hand, buy in to on line readings that are done automatically. I have to draw the cards and determine the meanings for myself.

Agree, I feel things seems to work. Anyway looked up Orphalese; thanks for mentioning it 😁

[Rosebud]

On 5/9/2022 at 7:59 AM, fire cat pickles said:

 

One can definitely be handy and practical when away from home and only on my phone.

 

I use Galaxy Tarot for Android. I don't use their meanings but the meanings provided are decent if you want them. It is pretty useful and visually appealing. Very simple images, traditional, and this appeals to me. As far as I can tell it is fully randomized. There are several spread options.

 

As others have said there is no substitute for real cardboard and ink though.

 

 

Agreed, the feeling is not the same especially when shuffling the cards! But sometimes I wonder that digital deck is so helpful for people who are disabled or having an illness. Good to know that Galaxy Tarot is fully randomized 😀

[Rosebud]

On 5/8/2022 at 5:51 AM, DanielJUK said:

I have to say I haven't really noticed a difference between digital and physical decks. I have a card a day from an app on my phone which produces RWS cards and I find it really accurate. If we believe that the decks are more accurate because they use our energy or connected to us, my digital decks are on my phone which is almost always near me. I like the feel of real cards though if I am doing a reading for someone and prefer apps for single card or 3 card readings.

 

I think you can make mistakes with digital decks though.....

 

- They really rely on the coding or an algorithm with the shuffling or randomising of the cards. It might be worth giving it a longer shuffle in the app. If you keep seeing the same cards, it could be down to the making of the app

- Cards often have meanings built into the apps but I wouldn't just rely on the set words with the cards, think of you own interpretations and what you see in the card! The text doesn't replace thinking of what it means in the reading.

- Becareful of apps which allow you to use cards that give you a yes or no answer, I've found the automatic sort of generating between 2 answers gives poor readings on apps. You also end up asking a lot of superficial questions using that function!

 

I think you get the best out of them if you treat them exactly like real cards, shuffle well, don't just rely on the text that comes with the deck, you need to work on the readings yourself, don't just leave it to automation because you will get an automated reading 🙂

Thanks @DanielJUK this is so insightful 😊 sometimes I hid the card meanings (literally with my hand or paper) so that my reading doesn't being affected by the app 😁 quite interesting on the algorithm, sometimes I get a consecutive reversed cards when using tarot app, this intrigues me but yeah sometimes I got consecutive reversed card, too, when using physical card 😆 so now I combine physical and digital card experience.

[AlbaTross]

Not my thing, but I can see some utility with apps.  For one, having quick and easy access to a digital guidebook could be handy where needed.  I could also see some people trying decks out digitally before deciding if they want to buy them, or using an app as an introduction to Tarot before investing in a deck of their own.  Maybe I will have more to say if and when I ever do get into using apps.  As it stands though, I'm not against utilizing any resources available in this day and age, so if digital decks work for you then great.  

[SaraMastros]

Hi everyone!  My name is Sara Mastros.  I'm the new Managing Partner and Chief Educational Officer at The Fool's Dog.  In my "day job", I'm an author and teacher of witchcraft and sorcery.  However, before that, I was a research mathematician.  I wanted to talk a bit about our randomization algorithms.  We use what's called a "Well Equidistributed Long-period Linear."  It produces more or less the same spread of cards as shuffling a deck about 6 times does.  If you're getting repeats when doing one card readings, it is indeed fate, and not the algo causing that.  However, if you're using the "card of the day" feature, you'll get the same card all day.  (if anyone wants more crunchy math details, just let me know)

[Redfaery]

I use the Fool's Dog app on my phone for a Daily Draw, and recently that's been about all I've been able to do to keep up with my cards. I will say the app works very well for me.