WaiteSmith-Tarot, Tarot de Marseille, and back to WaiteSmith-Tarot

[SunIsle]

Hi there!

I've been reading Tarot for a few years and I often read in the Internet that beginners start with the WaiteSmith deck (WST) and move on to the Tarot de Marseille (TDM) in many cases.

I often get the impression that it's common to think that the TDM is for advanced readers, while the WST is for beginners because of its "simple" pictures.

 

[SunIsle]

But for me it was the other way around: After a few years with the WST, I learned that the TDM offers other possible interpretations and has a broader spectrum. For example, TDM 3 of swords can be interpreted on many planes, while WST 3 of swords has a clearer meaning.

[SunIsle]

After working with the TDM for a year now, I went back to the WS. Many say that TDM is "older" than WS and there is always an undertone that TDM is actually “the only true tarot”, also because it doesn’t contain any esoteric elements.

I've learned a lot, but I'm a visual person and I've found that I like and internalized the WST illustrations very much, while I just can't deal with the sceneless TDM Minors.

Does anybody feel the same?

[SunIsle]

(Sorry for doing 3 posts, but the system is telling me only 100 words per post are allowed. For whatever reason (?)

[fire cat pickles]

100 words for newer members maybe? Hmmm, dunno.

 

Anyway, authors such as Jodorowsky would argue highly against your statement that there are no esoteric elements in the TdM!

 

But I do agree with you that the simplicity of theTdM is part of its challenges. Maybe if you look at the images, sparse as they are, instead of meanings you'll have better luck?

 

How do the images match up from card to card? What colors do each card share? What shapes do each card have in common? What overall geometrical patterns are arching does the spread create to give meaning to your reading? Overlook preconceived notions of card meanings and use your intuition more with TdM and see where it leads you. You may have better luck 🙂

[euripides]

I was right into the TdM for a while there and I LOVE its majors, but I agree, the pip minors can be a challenge - they're very abstract. There's a logic to them, but I'm also a visual person and love being able to explore images. I think people are naturally wired for storytelling and images feed into that. They give our subconscious something to respond to.

[SunIsle]

Thank you for your answers.

 

Yes, Jodorowsky would maybe argue against it, but I was refering to the Western Occultism associations of the Golden Dawn. You will not find such stuff in the TDM deck.

My previous approach to the TDM pips was to combine them with the numbers of the majors.

For example:
9 of coins = 9 - The Hermit and the element of earth. That could be mean (among other things) a single person who is financially indepenet, lives in prosperity (or is even rich).

7 of swords = 7 - The Chariot and the element of air. That could be mean the perspective to a further education.

 

But I've learned that this approach doesn't make sense for every pip card.

I just think it didn't suit to my needs.

 

I don't know. I wanted to hear other opinions, but I went already back to the WaiteSmith-Tarot and I think I will not try it again with TDM.

 

Sometimes it annoys me a bit, because it is often said that the TDM ist the "only true Tarot" and all other tarot readers are unable to understand the depth of the TDM. And I just think that's not true, because I don't think it's enough to just look at the WS-Cards and draw conclusions from them without any broad knowledge. I often feel that people dismiss WST even though they achieve good results with it, but feel they are not taken seriously by other readers.

 

Maybe I'm wrong and all this is just my impression created in my own small tarot bubble.

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2022 by SunIsle

[MuninnMissinHuginn]

5 hours ago, SunIsle said:

I don't know. I wanted to hear other opinions, but I went already back to the WaiteSmith-Tarot and I think I will not try it again with TDM.

 

Sometimes it annoys me a bit, because it is often said that the TDM ist the "only true Tarot" and all other tarot readers are unable to understand the depth of the TDM. And I just think that's not true, because I don't think it's enough to just look at the WS-Cards and draw conclusions from them without any broad knowledge. I often feel that people dismiss WST even though they achieve good results with it, but feel they are not taken seriously by other readers.

 

 

Many, or I should say most, are more studied in the Tarot than I am.  But, like you, in my own bubble I have a thought.  

 

Is the Tarot card a tool to an end or are they the end itself?  Or a combination of both?  Personally I see the Tarot as a tool, and like all tools there are traditional ways of use, and untraditional ways.  Paintbrushes are not meant to be used to scrub (like petting a cat back to front) around on the canvas or watercolor paper, it jams paint in the ferrule, breaks the bristles, and ruins brushes quickly.  However one gets useful effects.  As good brushes are expensive now, and surely expensive then, as they were handmade, it makes sense that scrubbing would be traditionally frowned upon. 

This is a long way of saying if the results are good, the technique, tool, and approach are good.

 

If the Tarot cards are a ritualistic item, and imbued with a power of their own, then it would seem they should be treated as such and used as such. And therefore it is possible people who feel more inclined to the power residing in the cards are stricter in their thoughts on what is a good deck, what is a good reading, etc. 

 

I feel both views are valid, one must choose one’s self. 

 

Anyway one person’s opinion, and that of NOT an expert.