Pros and cons of different decks

[Xtof]

So I haven’t been able to find a good list of why people like one deck (of the core decks like Thoth vs RW) over another. Is it largely just preference? What do you like/dislike about the different decks?

[Raggydoll]

Most of my tarot readings are done with RWS based decks. Over the years, I have realized that I don’t like to take into account things like elemental dignities, astrological decans, qabalah etc. It just doesn’t add anything to my reading style. And I find the RWS deck to be more flexible, while Thoth is so very in-your-face occult. 

[Xtof]

3 minutes ago, Raggydoll said:

Most of my tarot readings are done with RWS based decks. Over the years, I have realized that I don’t like to take into account things like elemental dignities, astrological decans, qabalah etc. It just doesn’t add anything to my reading style. And I find the RWS deck to be more flexible, while Thoth is so very in-your-face occult. 

Thank you! That’s very helpful. I know next to nothing about the Thoth deck. That gives me a little inkling as to what I’d find.

[Misterei]

3 hours ago, Xtof said:

So I haven’t been able to find a good list of why people like one deck (of the core decks like Thoth vs RW) over another. Is it largely just preference? What do you like/dislike about the different decks?

I learnt on RWS ... so it will always have a place in my heart ... but as i matured over many years ... I came to love Italian Tarocchi decks and even some playing-card+tarot hybrids more or at least equally.

I want the freedom of non-scenic Pips so I can just read number and suit. Especially when reading for myself. Scenic pips can feel limiting.

 

Reading for clients ... I generally DO still use RWS b/c the scenic pips give a clear illustration to the client.

 

Thoth? @Raggydoll calls it "in your face occult" and I think that's why I never really took to reading with that deck even though I love and respect it. The occult-ness of it felt limiting.

 

Anyway ... it changed over time for me. I preferred scenic pips in the beginning [RWS style] and now I prefer non-scenic pips.

Amongst the Pip decks ... I never liked TdM because they look sloppy and primitive to me.

The Italian Tarocchis have more grace and artistry.

Edited October 16, 2023 by Misterei

[2dogs]

I just tried a few decks that appealed to me until I started to get good results. Not just tarot decks but also oracle and fact cards. I found combinations of decks most exciting, drawing a card from several different decks and looking at them for similarities and differences in what they were saying, comparing the texts in the guidebooks, details of the images and so on, using my own inspiration and background knowledge.

[DanielJUK]

It's subjective, we all have a personal artistic taste. Why does someone not like this great Picasso painting but love a Klimt?

I always say that everyone should have a RWS deck in their collection but some people really hate the artwork. It doesn't connect with them at all and other decks the same 🙂

 

As well as the artwork, the system might not appeal to them. For example Tarot de Marseille doesn't have complexly illustrated Minors (the pips), this turns many people off that system but lovers of TdM absolutely adore it and have methods with them.

[Karrma]

I finally am able to work with a classic style RWS deck but could not for years. My first deck that I used was The Rosetta Tarot, a feminine style Thoth deck, along with Mary Greer’s Tarot for Yourself. One of the first learning exercises was to lay out the majors, and pick one to study. I chose Art, which in the RWS deck is Temperance.  The symbolism was amazing and I learned so much more about Art/Temperance/finding the third way than I would have in looking at the RSW.  Same with Lust/Strength.  I needed to learn the Kabbalah and improve my astrology to understand the tarot.  Now after a few years, I find the titles or words on the Thoth and the RWS decks limiting often, and think more of a kabbalistic terms for the numbers and elements. 

[Guest]

I believe that while a deck's art, motifs, ideas, etc and how powerfully these draw in a reader may play a part in the latter deciding to keep it as part of his rotation, in the end it's still how well they read that determines whether they find a lasting place there. Like if you are greatly enthused by the powerful images of a deck but these distract you too much for you to be able to perform a nuanced reading with them. You might like it at first, but since you can't read with it much, you don't reach for them too often. After the initial thrill wears off, you might find yourself not caring about it at all. 

 

You may also have a deck that you're rather lukewarm to at first, but after finding out that they give the most on-point readings, you'll begin to take a genuine liking to them, seeing their finer points for the first time.