I'd really like to hear from you about the Mary-El...

[Whisper]

I would really love to hear from you all about the Mary-El. Everything you can tell me about this Tarot because there are cards I absolutely love, others that rattle me and some that I can't even explain how they make me feel.

 

(Love the card size, and wouldn't want to miss out on this one in case it goes OOP).

 

Thank you.  <3

[gregory]

The cards are large. Too large. They are also FAR too thick. They would make good coasters. I am lucky enough to own a second copy which an expert trimmer trimmed for me - it's much better, and doesn't have the huge borders.

 

But I can't read with it at all - it feels like reading someone else's diary. And reading the book that comes with it reinforces that feeling. I don't find the cards disturbing - not even the ones that have upset so many people - notably the Hierophant. They just feel so personal that I can't directly relate to them, if that makes sense.

 

There are cards I really like - Death, in particular, but...

[Whisper]

The cards are large. Too large. They are also FAR too thick. They would make good coasters. I am lucky enough to own a second copy which an expert trimmer trimmed for me - it's much better, and doesn't have the huge borders.

 

But I can't read with it at all - it feels like reading someone else's diary. And reading the book that comes with it reinforces that feeling. I don't find the cards disturbing - not even the ones that have upset so many people - notably the Hierophant. They just feel so personal that I can't directly relate to them, if that makes sense.

 

There are cards I really like - Death, in particular, but...

 

Makes absolute sense, gregory. Thank you. :) Interesting comment about the cards feeling too personal. Never encountered that before with any Tarot deck I've seen. Those borders, are they white, black, very wide? Looking at them online, they appear sometimes with white borders, other times with black. I like over-sized cards, but that thick a stock!

[gregory]

Black. VERY wide. Assuming you will be looking at the Schiffer edition.

 

 

This is the trimmed one I have:

 

[Whisper]

They are lovely.

 

Trimmed are just gorgeous. What a beautiful job! Wouldn't know where to get them trimmed up here.

 

Does this edition look right to you, gregory?

[AJ-ish/Sharyn]

Does this edition look right to you, gregory?

That is the real set Shivani, not bootleg if that is worrying you?

And on her website you can see the artist also trimmed hers, so it isn't sacrilege.

 

I traded my set on, I felt like I was rooting around in someone else's medicine cabinet, made me uncomfortable to use them.That is a compliment to the artist, she nailed what she felt encompassed her take, but euu, too much for me. I think on the old forum there was a deck study group, so you might get more insight there?

[Whisper]

Does this edition look right to you, gregory?

That is the real set Shivani, not bootleg if that is worrying you?

And on her website you can see the artist also trimmed hers, so it isn't sacrilege.

 

I traded my set on, I felt like I was rooting around in someone else's medicine cabinet, made me uncomfortable to use them.That is a compliment to the artist, she nailed what she felt encompassed her take, but euu, too much for me. I think on the old forum there was a deck study group, so you might get more insight there?

 

Thank you, Aj-ish.  <3 If I may ask, why is it they made you feel like you were "rooting around someone else's medicine cabinet'? Is there an excerpt of the book anywhere?

[AJ-ish/Sharyn]

 

Thank you, Aj-ish.  <3 If I may ask, why is it they made you feel like you were "rooting around someone else's medicine cabinet'?

the images were SO personal, too personal for me to be comfortable with.

You've heard of TMI?  Too much information...

[gregory]

They are lovely.

 

Trimmed are just gorgeous. What a beautiful job! Wouldn't know where to get them trimmed up here.

 

Does this edition look right to you, gregory?

That is indeed the Schiffer edition. The one with the Big Borders !

 

I think AJ-ish feels the same kind of way I do about them. I say diary; she says medicine cabinet :)

[Flaxen]

I don't have much more to add to what has already been said. The images are very large which doesn't bother me too much but makes them a challenge to shuffle.

 

The art is beautiful - some of the cards are just stunning. However they bear little resemblance to the RWS or Thoth images most are familiar with. This makes them challenging to read with - it's a hard deck to just pick up out the box and read with straight away. It is very much a tarot tied to the creator's personal vision.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Whisper]

I don't have much more to add to what has already been said. The images are very large which doesn't bother me too much but makes them a challenge to shuffle.

 

The art is beautiful - some of the cards are just stunning. However they bear little resemblance to the RWS or Thoth images most are familiar with. This makes them challenging to read with - it's a hard deck to just pick up out the box and read with straight away. It is very much a tarot tied to the creator's personal vision.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Thanks, Flaxen. How does it work in terms of intuition? Would it be possible to use it at that level, despite its accompanying book and the fact that it doesn't fit into either the Thoth or the RWS?

[gregory]

I basically only read with my intuition. And no, I can't do it. It isn't, cannot be, mine; I need a deck to be able to be "mine" while I am using it.

[Whisper]

I basically only read with my intuition. And no, I can't do it. It isn't, cannot be, mine; I need a deck to be able to be "mine" while I am using it.

 

I'm sorry if I'm being obtuse, but can you give me an example of what you mean by a deck being able to be yours? I find this an interesting idea. Never thought about it that way.

 

In a way I'm disappointed, because, among a few others, the Magician card is among the most evocative (for me, of course) of all Magician cards I've seen.

[FLizarraga]

There are three editions of the Mary-El: the mass Schiffer one, pictured in that Amazon.ca link (big black borders); a self-published sketch edition, hand-colored by the artist, (big white borders); and another limited, trumps-and-aces only edition that is pictured here: https://cowriemoon.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/img_8415.jpg. (I assume what we can see here: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/mary-el/ are images from the artist's website, taken down since.)

 

 

Both limited editions are very, VERY hard to find. I could not even trace any scans of the sketch edition anywhere (apparently Marie White also took them down). Once I was able to track a copy but decided against buying it because it was just too much money, an also because it is so heavily laminated that the cards look like pieces of glass.

 

 

I do agree with gregory and AJ-ish that her take on Tarot can be more than a little idiosyncratic at times, even uncomfortably so, but it is a very rich take, and the cards are stunning.

 

P.S. Found images of the sketch edition! They are here: https://tarotsmyth.wordpress.com/2014/06/05/pre-order-over/

[Whisper]

There are three editions of the Mary-El: the mass Schiffer one, pictured in that Amazon.ca link (big black borders); a self-published sketch edition, hand-colored by the artist, (big white borders); and another limited, trumps-and-aces only edition that is pictured here: https://cowriemoon.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/img_8415.jpg. (I assume what we can see here: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/mary-el/ are images from the artist's website, taken down since.)

 

 

Both limited editions are very, VERY hard to find. I could not even trace any scans of the B&W edition anywhere (apparently Marie White also took them down). Once I was able to track a copy but decided against buying it becauseit was just too much money, an also because it is so heavily laminated that the cards look like pieces of glass.

 

 

I do agree with gregory and AJ-ish that her take on Tarot can be more than a little idiosyncratic at times, even uncomfortably so, but it is a very rich take, and the cards are stunning.

 

I would have to go with the available mass market edition. I am attracted by the "rich take" as you call it and by the stunning art of so many of the cards. I'm going to have to think about this one...

 

Thank you for your feedback. I appreciate you all giving me such good insights.

[EmpyreanKnight]

I like the Mary-El a lot. I'm a sucker for beauty, and those images! <3

 

I agree that it's a system that's all its own tho, and if you truly wish to work well with it, you'd have to invest some time learning it. I don't find its ideas off-putting, at least those that I've read in it when I first explored it. I'd like to dive into it again some time since I haven't worked with it in quite a while.

[Whisper]

I like the Mary-El a lot. I'm a sucker for beauty, and those images! <3

 

I agree that it's a system that's all its own tho, and if you truly wish to work well with it, you'd have to invest some time learning it. I don't find its ideas off-putting, at least those that I've read in it when I first explored it. I'd like to dive into it again some time since I haven't worked with it in quite a while.

 

The art is very powerful and you know me and over-sized decks. I don't mind taking the time. Plus, I'm a lot into Buddhism myself, and I can see how the creator of this deck has been influenced by that kind of spirituality. I'm thinking about it, in spite of the sound feedback from gregory and Aj-ish, but taking yours, Flaxen's and FLizarraga's into consideration, too. Coupled with my own feelings towards the Mary-El. I'm beginning to consider it quite interesting and I think I might be willing to try and see how we would do together.

[gregory]

I basically only read with my intuition. And no, I can't do it. It isn't, cannot be, mine; I need a deck to be able to be "mine" while I am using it.

 

I'm sorry if I'm being obtuse, but can you give me an example of what you mean by a deck being able to be yours? I find this an interesting idea. Never thought about it that way.

 

In a way I'm disappointed, because, among a few others, the Magician card is among the most evocative (for me, of course) of all Magician cards I've seen.

Then probably it is being yours, in a way. Many reviewers have said it reads well for them.  But the cards make me feel I am looking at things that have nothing to do with me. They seem to tell me about the artist, not about my question.

[Whisper]

I basically only read with my intuition. And no, I can't do it. It isn't, cannot be, mine; I need a deck to be able to be "mine" while I am using it.

 

I'm sorry if I'm being obtuse, but can you give me an example of what you mean by a deck being able to be yours? I find this an interesting idea. Never thought about it that way.

 

In a way I'm disappointed, because, among a few others, the Magician card is among the most evocative (for me, of course) of all Magician cards I've seen.

Then probably it is being yours, in a way. Many reviewers have said it reads well for them.  But the cards make me feel I am looking at things that have nothing to do with me. They seem to tell me about the artist, not about my question.

 

I can see that. :)

 

I've decided to give it a try and see how I connect with it. Might even try to trim it.