Tarot (and Oracle) Decks for Different Purposes?

[Whisper]

Well, I'm wondering if others feel like I do.

 

Working, now, with different Tarots, I find that they each have their own strength and purpose.

 

Take The Tarot of the Hidden Realm, for example. Not only do I find this Tarot tells the truth in a compassionate way, but it is also very good at giving advice.

 

My Green Witch Tarot, on the other hand seems to be better at telling me exactly what is going on. Voyager is great for writing inspiration and for answering questions that need "to the point" answers.

 

So, do you also find that some of your decks are better at certain things than others? I'd love to hear what you think.

[Jewel]

I feel that way about some but not all decks.  Like you said their strengths, not that I use them exclusively for that purpose, but they are the ones I turn to when I am looking into a specific type of issue.

 

I find the Fantastic Menagerie a great deck when it comes to social type issues as well as career questions.  It provides great social commentary.  I love the Victorian Romantic for relationship readings.  Decks like Tarot of the Sweet Twilight and Deviant Moon I find excellent for exploring some emotional issues or exploring why one feels bad, or wants to explore fears.  The Joie de Vivre when you need to deliver a reading with empathy or for healing old wounds.  The Green Witch for practical down to earth advice.  The Fifth Tarot for spiritual quests (I only use this deck for myself).

[Whisper]

  The Fifth Tarot for spiritual quests (I only use this deck for myself).

 

A new Tarot to discover.  :) :)

 

The spiritual tarot? I definitely feel like that about the Osho Zen that I only use for myself.

[Siavahda]

I don't think I had any idea when I started my 'tarot journey' that each deck could be so different, but they definitely are and I absolutely use different ones for different kinds of questions. I also switch between using a tarot or oracle deck depending on the topic - in general, I'll pick a tarot deck when I want more specificity in my answer, and an oracle deck for more general, and often more emotional questions. More than once when doing readings for others, I've started with an oracle deck and then moved to a tarot deck, so the tarot can clarify or expand on the answer received from the oracle. Does anyone else do that?

 

One of the things I quickly learned to do was run each deck through a 'deck interview'. I've found a bunch of different spreads for it from different blogs and books, and it really helps me figure out quickly what a particular deck is specialised in. The Tarot of Transformation is for issues surrounding personal development, emotions, and magic, whereas the Crystal Visions, despite the artwork, is very practical and no-nonsense. Etc.

 

If you'd asked me before I got into tarot I would have assumed the 'specialisation' of each deck would be related to the style of the card art, but that often isn't the case. At least in my experience!

[Jewel]

@Shivada, I primarily use tarot but I find that sometimes when reading the tarot I am driven to go to an oracle to look deeper into some element of the tarot card.  I find this particularly when I work with the Fifth Tarot.  It might send me looking into my animal oracles, or something related to crystals or sacred geometry.

 

I have also been surprised that certain decks seems to work better for me for certain types of readings.  When I started out I thought a tarot deck is a tarot deck, but no ... lol

 

Shivani[/member] - The Fifth Tarot includes a Fith Suit, so you have 5 suits and majors.  I was fortunate to be able to attend a workshop by the creators of the deck.  I was a wonderful experience.  This is a fabulous deck for self exploration and spiritual quests.  It really has great energy, and in exploring some of the cards it has moved me to dig deeper into symbolism of animals, crystals, sacred geometry and meditating on those symbols.

[Whisper]

 

Shivani[/member] - The Fifth Tarot includes a Fith Suit, so you have 5 suits and majors.  I was fortunate to be able to attend a workshop by the creators of the deck.  I was a wonderful experience.  This is a fabulous deck for self exploration and spiritual quests.  It really has great energy, and in exploring some of the cards it has moved me to dig deeper into symbolism of animals, crystals, sacred geometry and meditating on those symbols.

 

Just took a look at it. I see what you mean exactly, Jewel. :)

[Lantana]

This is exactly how I feel about my decks, and one of the reasons why it’s nice to have an eclectic collection. They all have something different to bring to the reading table.

 

For instance, my Shadowscapes is one of the few decks I own that doesn’t read well for personal growth questions, but is great for career and relationship ones. The Thea’s Tarot is amazing at exploring interpersonal relationships. The Raven’s Prophecy is a quick read great for long, complicated spreads while the Wooden Tarot can turn a three card spread into a reading that takes hours to digest. And so on.

[Whisper]

This is exactly how I feel about my decks, and one of the reasons why it’s nice to have an eclectic collection. They all have something different to bring to the reading table.

 

You're right, Lantana. The importance of having an "eclectic collection". So depends on my purpose for reading, what I want the reading to reveal or just my mood - how a particular Tarot and I connect at a given moment.