How do you deal with the cards you don't like in a deck

[Chariot]

For me it's not so much the artwork that can put me off a card.  It's more likely to be that what is pictured doesn't fit what I think the card represents.  Just as occasionally I see a card that NAILS the meaning, I think I can also see cards that seem to miss it.

One of my favourite decks to use is Ciro Marchetti's Grand Luxe Tarot, but there are a couple of cards in there that I really dislike because I don't feel the meaning.  The first one that comes to mind is Temperance.  What a silly, melodramatic card image for a concept that is all about calmly finding a balance.  The Sun image is so far from the warm, honest Sun we usually look for that I had to do a double take first time.  It looks like scary ferocity to me, with no warmth at all.  And the 5 of Coins??? What in that image deals with feeling left out, isolated, losing or living without something that is strongly needed, etc?  It's just a hand chucking money with a church window behind it.  That would be a very difficult card to read intuitively.

That being said, the rest of the cards in that deck are so fantastic, it's one of the three decks I use most often.  I just grit my teeth when one of these three cards come up, keep calm, and carry on!
 

 

[FindYourSovereignty]

On 2/27/2023 at 2:53 AM, Raggydoll said:

Yeah. I think the guidebook mentions that this Hermit is on a journey and is traveling light. I don’t think the imagery works even with her description. It doesn’t say ‘Hermit’ to me. To be honest, the first time I saw it, I thought that it either depicted a homeless individual

For me, a homeless person can be someone that is traveling light, checking out from the societal norm, walking away from one community to travel into a different one, forcing themselves to go within and live with their choices. In essence to Hermit themselves away from the demands of the world.

 

I do have decks with some images that don’t sit well with me, but I do try to watch a walk through whenever possible before buying.

 

I have a deck that cost quite a bit more than it deserves and I wasn’t able to watch a walk through. It arrived with all the court cards being exactly the same for each page, knight, queen, king but the color was changed to match the suit. That has left me never using the deck. I just need to get rid of it.  

 

Edited March 4, 2023 by FindYourSovereignty

[Raggydoll]

13 minutes ago, FindYourSovereignty said:

For me, a homeless person can be someone that is traveling light, checking out from the societal norm, walking away from one community to travel into a different one, forcing themselves to go within and live with their choices. In essence to Hermit themselves away from the demands of the world.

 

I do have decks with some images that don’t sit well with me, but I do try to watch a walk through whenever possible before buying.

 

I have a deck that cost quite a bit more than it deserves and I wasn’t able to watch a walk through. It arrived with all the court cards being exactly the same for each page, knight, queen, king but the color was changed to match the suit. That has left me never using the deck. I just need to get rid of it.  

 

Yes, but the hermit has chosen to travel light and it’s a spiritual quest. The Hermit is privileged in that sense, even if it results in very sparse living standards. There are religious undertones too; choosing a virtuous yet difficult path. But that’s just me, I don’t have an opinion of how others view this archetype 🙂

[Nemia]

Sometimes it takes the Internet to make me dislike a card - thinking about the Nixon baby in the World Spirit Tarot! I never would have noticed that similarity! But even that didn't spoil the deck for me. 

 

I don't expect an artist to keep the same level of interest or skill over the course of all 78 cards. I guess artists have their own preferences and may struggle with some cards, and that's fine with me. I'm quite tolerant because I imagine how difficult the task of making a whole deck must be. 

 

However, when certain cards differ very much from how I see them, that's difficult for me. I always look at the Hierophant and Emperor in a deck I ponder - these two masculine archetypes are viewed ambivalently nowadays, and I share these mixed feelings. A wise old woman as Hierophant is easier for me to accept than a pope. But when an artist lets out their whole disgust for traditional religion in the  HIerophant, I feel it's a missed chance. The same about the Emperor. Bring the patriarchy to account by all means, but please don't reduce the Emperor to a representative of the patriarchy. 

 

For this reason, I chose to create the Emperor for the We are One Tarot; I wanted to show the kinder and protective side of the Emperor along with authority, structure and power. That's why an Emperor penguin is on the card along with Charlemagne. 

 

Even if I like a deck - if a card is very different from my inner image of them, I feel less inclined to read with it. But if I do and such a card comes up, I read it as I usually would. I let my inner image of the card override the image I see before me. Not easy since I always take my cues from the images. But in these rare cases, I look inside and not at the card itself. 

 

 

 

[Guest]

As with most things, I simply take the bitter with the sweet. I can't say that my dislike for a particular card won't color my interpretation of it though.

[rylla]

On 2/26/2023 at 3:12 PM, DanielJUK said:

 

This is the card in question for us all to see (the original).....

 

Right.

At Raggydoll's request I am posting mine .

 

She looks a little bit slimmer (for me= closer to a deity than a fat human) and her purse is altered. Pls disregard its bluish face that wasn't necessary, it's just a personal thing (for me it means divinity) but it did not turned out OK. Still, for me, this altered card does the job better than the original.

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by rylla

[Raggydoll]

2 minutes ago, rylla said:

Right.

At Raggydoll's request I am posting mine .

 

Pls disregard its bluish face that wasn't necessary, it's just a personal thing (for me it means divinity).

 

It looks completely transformed! Thank you for sharing! 

[Jewel]

On 2/22/2023 at 8:04 AM, Bodhiseed said:

For me, sometimes acknowledging what bugs me can add meaning to the card. That underlying emotion can often be revealing.

Same here (with the exception of the Bosch one card ruined the whole deck for me).  For the most part if I like the deck overall a few cards that I dislike will not ruin the experience and in some cases the dislike passes after working with the deck and finding the readings really useful and accurate.  As @gregory said, just like in real life not everything is likeable, you just deal with it.  And as @Bodhiseed said often times you can get meaning based on your dislike of the card that is quite useful in a reading.

[Eugenie]

I really like Pagan Otherworlds but there's a card that seriously creeps me out and makes me sick. And I don't think it makes sense to buy the deck and try to disregard that card, pretending it is not there. Well, a good de-enabler. 

[Disa]

I try to look at all the cards before I purchase a  deck.  If something is completely disgusting I won't buy the deck at all.  Most of the time, if there is just one or two cards I don't like, I just look over them and move on.  I've only had to give away one deck because I just could not work with it.  That Witches Tarot by Ellen Dugan- I really wanted to love that deck, but some of the faces I just couldn't deal with- that Magician- no.  So I gave it away for free.

[Tanga]

On 2/23/2023 at 5:58 AM, PathWalker said:

Indeed, embrace the chaos!

 

MY BRAIN HAS DEFINITELY EXPLODED 🙃.

 

I've not tried making my own patchwork deck...  But, but, but...  no - they would have to at least be close to the same size...

OMGs!  🤯

 

If there's one card I don't like, I usually overlook my dislike of it.

Unless it's a real horror story (for me) then likely I won't use the deck.

I do check decks out on youtube flip throughs before I buy.

 

Edited December 24, 2023 by Tanga

[GreatDane]

I've learned the hard way that ONE card I really don't like in a deck means don't get the deck.  That's just me.  But I've gotten beautiful decks thinking I can overlook this card, um, no, no I can't.  So if a deck has even one card I really don't like, it's like a thorn everytime I look at it.

[DanielJUK]

I think I can usually disassociate with a card or two in a deck that I don't like and carry on using it, but I haven't had a deck where I feel really repelled by a card.

I am not keen on The Master card in the Osho Zen deck, it's an extra card in the deck and has a depiction of Osho on it. This hasn't aged well and some people can't stand the card today and leave it out of readings. I do read with it but see it as a sort of self-mastery card. It's not my fave card but I just carry on when using that deck.

[Misterei]

11 hours ago, Tanga said:

If there's one card I don't like, I usually overlook my dislike of it.

Unless it's a real horror story (for me) then likely I won't use the deck.

I do check decks out on youtube flip throughs before I buy.

Yes, I dislike Chariot and Wheel in RWS ... but it's a mild annoyance that I can overlook.

In Tarot Illuminati ... the Aces [or at least one of them] just looked like this disembodied amputated arm floating around. It was totally creep show.

If that card appeared in a reading I would cringe. So i gave away the deck.

I can overlook a card or two that I mildly dislike ... but if even one card makes me cringe ... it ruins the deck for me.

I become obsessed with worrying what will happen if the ICK card comes-up and it throws off my game 🙄

Edited December 25, 2023 by Misterei

[Guest]

I used to love the Tarot of Vampyres from the bottom of my shameless, goth-infested heart. I have always been the preppy type though, and one knows how deep hidden passions can run. Sadly, the deck has two cards featuring vamps with unfortunately-proportioned bods. Whenever I drew them I was always like 😞. Still managed to get great readings from it.