When a deck won't comply...

[Audelia]

Hello tarot friends,

 

I'm looking for a little advice regarding a difficult tarot deck :). Last year, after much longing, I finally got my hands on a copy of the beautiful Wildwood Tarot. We had a little shuffle, I did my first draw and I got a nonsensical answer.

 

Okay, teething problems, I thought to myself. I did something I would normally never do and cleansed the deck with sage and reiki and put it away for a while.

 

I keep getting drawn to this deck and every couple of months I take it out but each time, I get the snarkiest answers! Like, I ask it how it wants to be worked with and it gives me the three of swords. This sounds ridiculous but I'm starting to think this deck hates me  ;). Yet I still feel this pull towards it. This has never happened to me before.

 

Anyone have any advice on what to do when a deck just doesn't comply?

[PathWalker]

Morning :)

Okay, so I got out my copy of the deck, and here's a few comments for you to take or leave as you please. I'm not being judgemental, just saying as I see.

(I'm assuming you mean the Three of Arrows when you talk about Swords?)

 

You described the decks answers as nonsensical, as snarky and as non-compliant. So for starters I'd have to say you've got fixed ideas before you begin about what answers you expect to get? And then you're judging the resulting cards against your own expectations?

 

Now as to the Three of Arrows as a reply to how the deck wants to work with you.

You could say the deck wants to be your 'one and only' for a while, and doesn't wish you use others decks?

 

Reading directly from the book, you could say the deck would help you "...look deeply into the nature of your own motives and responsibilities..."

 

You could have taken a more light-hearted approach to seeing that card and suggest the deck is going to "say it like it is, tough or not"

 

The deck is pieces of cardboard - with images - the power comes from the messages your mind receives when you look at it. The question may be "Are you ready to work with a deck that is going to touch you so deeply, so that sometimes it's going to make you bleed to see the truth?"

 

Perhaps a question to pose to the deck is

"How can I become ready to work with you?"

 

Anyway, what do you think?

Blessings

PathWalker

[Audelia]

Morning :)

Okay, so I got out my copy of the deck, and here's a few comments for you to take or leave as you please. I'm not being judgemental, just saying as I see.

(I'm assuming you mean the Three of Arrows when you talk about Swords?)

 

You described the decks answers as nonsensical, as snarky and as non-compliant. So for starters I'd have to say you've got fixed ideas before you begin about what answers you expect to get? And then you're judging the resulting cards against your own expectations?

 

Now as to the Three of Arrows as a reply to how the deck wants to work with you.

You could say the deck wants to be your 'one and only' for a while, and doesn't wish you use others decks?

 

Reading directly from the book, you could say the deck would help you "...look deeply into the nature of your own motives and responsibilities..."

 

You could have taken a more light-hearted approach to seeing that card and suggest the deck is going to "say it like it is, tough or not"

 

The deck is pieces of cardboard - with images - the power comes from the messages your mind receives when you look at it. The question may be "Are you ready to work with a deck that is going to touch you so deeply, so that sometimes it's going to make you bleed to see the truth?"

 

Perhaps a question to pose to the deck is

"How can I become ready to work with you?"

 

Anyway, what do you think?

Blessings

PathWalker

 

Thank you for your thoughtful response and insights PathWalker :). I must admit I did automatically jump to the conclusion that the three of arrows = the three of swords, and formed my opinions as such.

 

Perhaps the fact that I haven't been making this deck my one and only is the problem. I've been so busy fussing with other decks that I'll admit I haven't actually sat down and properly read the book. Perhaps this is a good place to start for me. I've never done an intensive deck study before focussing on a single deck, but hey, there's no time like the present :)

[PathWalker]

Some decks just cry out for a more heart to heart kind of thing - perhaps this is that one for you? Especially if you keep feeling drawn back to it?

Enjoy

PW

[Jewel]

Piggybacking on the discussion you are having, I do what I call my "deck of the month" project, where I primarily use a different deck each month.  I do the vast majority of my personal readings or exercises or whatever Tarot adventure I want to engage in with that specific deck.  I will occasionally use a different deck if I feel like it, but my priority is to get to know the selected deck.  I start reading the more general book sections (everything but card meanings), then do a "New Deck Interview" spread where I use info from the book as responses.  I then experiment with spreads that come in the book, and others.  I use my intuition first, then consult the book, then put it all together.  I keep a paper journal where I write everything down.  I just of whatever comes to mind to spend time with the deck for a month.  I have found it to be a great way to connect with decks (or determine if they are just not for me).

[Audelia]

Piggybacking on the discussion you are having, I do what I call my "deck of the month" project, where I primarily use a different deck each month.  I do the vast majority of my personal readings or exercises or whatever Tarot adventure I want to engage in with that specific deck.  I will occasionally use a different deck if I feel like it, but my priority is to get to know the selected deck.  I start reading the more general book sections (everything but card meanings), then do a "New Deck Interview" spread where I use info from the book as responses.  I then experiment with spreads that come in the book, and others.  I use my intuition first, then consult the book, then put it all together.  I keep a paper journal where I write everything down.  I just of whatever comes to mind to spend time with the deck for a month.  I have found it to be a great way to connect with decks (or determine if they are just not for me).

 

Thanks for your input Jewel! :) I will definitely try out some of your suggestions.

[Jewel]

Audelia, you are most welcome.  Some decks are easy to read out of the box others take time and commitment to get to know and understand and those decks are different for all of us.  If you like the deck do not be disheartened, just dedicate time with patience to it.  If in the end you cannot connect with it then you know you tried your best.  ;D

[DanielJUK]

I think some decks we connect with so easily and some decks take work and other decks we just can never connect with! I only have one deck where that happens, I just find it unreadable but I love the art in it!

 

I like and own the Wildwood but it can be a bit of a hard deck to read, the artwork is not consistent (in my view) and takes weird turns. It goes from real pagan / wiccan / celtic ideas to almost Disneyish symbols in the cards, the book is also not consistent with it. The deck is a bit of a jumble of I think the original intention but I do like it!  I've had a personal bad reading with it but I read for someone else on AT years ago and it was an amazing reading (with one card, it went so deep!).

 

I would definitely try to use it more, maybe do a card each day or each week to try and get used to it. But some decks just we cannot connect with! Also I have decks for different purposes and perhaps this is the deck for you for a to the point snarky answer!  ;D

[Audelia]

Thanks so much everyone :)

 

DanielJUK - I love that! Oh it's definitely a snarky one alright haha :D

[Tarotholicbill]

I saw your post was thinking about your post while laying in bed last night. I was thinking possibly the card you drew in your reading reveals something about the situation you're not seeing or don't know about. Secondly maybe think about your situation and how that one card relates or how it firs the situation.

[Court de Gébelin]

My thought would be to spend more time with that deck, not asking questions or doing readings, but just meditating on the cards themselves.  Look for symbolic connections.  Relate each card to the corresponding card of the deck with which you're most comfortable.  Search for new or expanded meanings.  See if you can coax each card into "telling" you a story.  And, be patient.

[~D~]

This is gonna sound airy fairy...

Take your deck with you when you go places...I take my decks with me in my back pack when i travel, or in my purse....(more of a connection)...Also, maybe a sun bath...put the deck in the sun to give it a cleansing at some point...

[EmpyreanKnight]

I try to engage with it more - I work with it more extensively, use it in a lot of readings, deeply study its companion book if it has any along with other resources (vids, group studies, etc) that I may gather, meditate on the images of each card, and so forth. This always works for me, even with the most recalcitrant of decks.

[Wanderer]

Ah, the Wildwood..! Based on my own experiences with this extraordinary deck, the answer is that so far you haven't given it the respect it deserves. I had the same treatment, saw the error of my ways, and now it works like a dream (sometimes a nightmare, to be fair, but that's just the Wildwood for you..!  ;))

 

Early on, I did a three card spread for my wife, of the type: 1) how you see yourself; 2) how others see you; 3) how you really are. It's a pretty potent little spread, and not for the faint-hearted. Anyhow, she drew the cards, and at first impression they didn't seem to make any sense.

 

Oh well, we thought. It obviously just didn't work. So, she drew again. This time, she got The Wanderer (the Fool in R-W), The Shaman (=RW's Magician), and something equally over-the-top. The deck, quite blatantly, was mocking us. It was absolutely unmistakable; we both felt the contempt coming off it.

 

So, we went back to the previous three cards, and really thought about them; in particular, we read the full detail in the book... and lo and behold, it did make sense after all, in a relatively subtle but rather deep way. Since then, we've dealt with awkward-looking cards trustingly, and found that when considered carefully, they really do fall into place. It might not be the answer you were expecting, but this deck doesn't deal in superficial expectations. The Wildwood is a serious deck, with an immensely deep and profound mythology behind it, but its insights may not be relinquished easily. It is the Woodwose (9 of Bows), blocking your path and demanding your respect. Work with it. Trust it. And unless you want to really annoy it, don't go doing silly things like smudging it with sage!  ;D

 

I strongly suspect that the deck doesn't hate you; it's just waiting for you to approach it correctly. An apology may possibly be in order.

 

I truly hope that you do find a way to work with this deck, although it's up to you to decide whether you want to; I have a feeling it's not for everyone! If you can connect with it, its depth is truly remarkable... but it's really, really not to be used frivolously. Good luck!  :)