Different meanings from the same card - but from different decks?

[mariannehj]

Hi guys :)

 

The last couple of days I have been using the RWS-deck - and I have been getting Nine of Pentacles sooo many times.

For me that cards means that I'm moving towards a goal. I'm not there yet - but I'm moving slow.

 

Yesterday I used Tarot of the Cat People - and got Nine of Pentacles again!

But in that card it feels like I'm at my goal - I have reached it.

 

(You can see the card on Google here: https://www.google.dk/search?q=tarot+of+the+cat+people+nine+of+pentacles&tbm=isch&imgil=kLIZGn9awOI3EM%253A%253BQourBg-iu0lcZM%253Bhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.pinterest.com%25252Fbethbillh%25252Fcats-in-tarot-tarot-of-the-cat-people%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=kLIZGn9awOI3EM%253A%252CQourBg-iu0lcZM%252C_&usg=__zLDHzQkch3Enis7JvoHubPUVqQs%3D&biw=1252&bih=604&ved=0ahUKEwiH_cvum-XVAhUDYJoKHfe1CrkQyjcIQw&ei=mTCZWcfMIYPA6QT366rICw#imgrc=kLIZGn9awOI3EM:

 

So my question is:

Do you find that the same cards - but in different decks mean the same - or can they have a slighty different meaning when they're from different decks?

 

Marianne

 

[Esk]

That's a question I asked myself when I begun. my first deck was the shadowscapes and sometimes its pictures and what is said in the guidebook is different from the traditionnal RWS meanings. Actually I thinkit's more that sometimes deck creators highlight some aspects of the card instead of others. It can be confusing. But what is important to remember in my opinion, is that every 78 cards of the deck have many meanings and not just one.

 

Personnally I've decided to stick to the RWS meanings no matter what deck I use, because its more easy to learn and it sometimes covers more aspects of the cards than the guidebook of a specific deck. But I'm not an intuitive reader so that's my own way of doing things, and it's not the absolute truth at all. However, the meaning describes in the guidebook of your Tarot of the cat people is maybe more in tune with what the card is trying to tell you at this moment. Sometimes, the meaning highlighted in a deck is the answer to your question. The picture can help too, there can be clues in it. But I think it's important to not always keep this meaning for every reading. That's something i sometimes forget and it restrict the way I read.

 

For your 9 of pentacles, for me it is more about enjoying things of life (mostly material and refinement) , and enjoying being on your own. It's card of independance, wealth and comfort. So I understand what's your feeling about having reached your goal because the woman in this card enjoys her riches, what she has acquired.

But for me what you describe about slowly moving to your goal is more the meaning of the knight of pentacles. I don't see the 9 of pentacle as the process of moving somewhere. The character in this card is happy where they are.

 

One last thing. Usually when you pull the same card over and over it's because its message is important and you don't get its meaning yet. So it may be helpful to look at other meanings or to try to do a spread about what this specific card is trying to tell you.

[Lantana]

Different meanings from different decks is exactly how I've experienced it, and is the whole reason why I buy decks in the first place. However I will say that don't think getting a different meaning is tied just to different decks, as I've had the same card give a different interpretation based on context, placement in a reading, what part of the imagery pops out at me at that time, and so on. But different decks can help with seeing a card in a different perspective easier, especially since a card never has just one meaning that will always apply.

[saintsandliars]

In my own reading practice, the same cards in different decks can lean in different directions. Different artists emphasize different things in their illustrations, and that does change how I'll read a card. I hodgepodge my LWBs into a notebook of my own, as well as making note of where different cards come up in readings, which can offer different perspectives on a card. Aces are pretty much aces, but there can be a world of different interpretations of, say, the Hierophant (one of my personally least favorite cards), that can really tilt the direction of the card's reading. I see something totally different in the Tarot of Prague's Hierophant than in the Barbara Walker, which are both different from the Wild Unknown. The Fountain's 8 Pents implies that one has achieved mastery to me, whereas in the RWS I see a work still in progress.

 

In short, this is why I like having a variety of decks!

[mariannehj]

Thank you all for your answers :)

[Trogon]

Hi guys :)

 

The last couple of days I have been using the RWS-deck - and I have been getting Nine of Pentacles sooo many times.

For me that cards means that I'm moving towards a goal. I'm not there yet - but I'm moving slow.

 

Yesterday I used Tarot of the Cat People - and got Nine of Pentacles again!

But in that card it feels like I'm at my goal - I have reached it.

 

[sniped links]

 

So my question is:

Do you find that the same cards - but in different decks mean the same - or can they have a slighty different meaning when they're from different decks?

 

Marianne

 

Hi Marianne! The short answer is that often the meanings can be slightly different to wildly different depending on the deck. As well as being different in the context of the reading as others have said. There is no doubt that the deck can make a difference in the way I interpret a card. I learned using the RWS deck, so those are the stock meanings that are the basis for my interpretations. But when I look at a deck like the Anna K (which is RWS based), I sometimes see things or feel things that wander quite a ways from the original. The Röhrig Tarot often leads me in new directions as well. Then too, I recently got The Voyager Tarot ... and although it is (loosely) based in the RWS, it's collage-style images are very different and tend to lead my intuition in new directions.

 

I do have a good foundation in the RWS system, but I usually let my Spirit Guides and my intuition lead me in the readings I do. So, if you see the 9 of Pentacles in one deck as nearing completion, and in another deck as still waiting, I'd say go with it.

 

Now, having said that ... having a card that keeps coming up in readings, I would second Esk's comment about there being a message you might be missing or perhaps ignoring? I have a friend that I've done a number of readings for who has a card that keeps coming up ... one, or both of us may be missing the meaning. So, I posted a question in the Tarot Spreads forum about spreads to help find that message - Glass Owl and TheFeeLion both posted good spreads, you can see the spreads here; https://www.thetarotforum.com/tarot-spreads/spread-for-a-why-a-card-keeps-coming-up/

 

Hope this helps.

[Onaorkal]

How I interpret a card will first depend if I'm using a RWS-inspired deck or not. Most of my decks are RWS-inspired though and I've learned the meanings by using a RWS phone app and books. But I will also take into account the actual image of the deck I'm using and so it's possible that my interpretation ends up deviating from the standard RWS meaning(s).

 

In any case, some people use their intuition only even using a deck like the RWS and they get good results, so in tarot, anything that feels right should be considered right!  ;)

[EmpyreanKnight]

As much as possible, I try to apply the creator's intended card meanings in my readings when I use his/her deck. That's why a specific card can have widely-varying meanings for me depending on the deck I'm using. I prefer decks with detailed companion books since I like to explore a deck's world through the mindset of its maker.

 

However I reserve the right to overrule them if I feel that another interpretation would serve my reading better. A few LoS decks have LWBs that have card meanings that make me go "whut?". If that's the case, I'd apply what I think is right.

[katrinka]

In my own reading practice, the same cards in different decks can lean in different directions. Different artists emphasize different things in their illustrations, and that does change how I'll read a card. I hodgepodge my LWBs into a notebook of my own, as well as making note of where different cards come up in readings, which can offer different perspectives on a card. Aces are pretty much aces, but there can be a world of different interpretations of, say, the Hierophant (one of my personally least favorite cards), that can really tilt the direction of the card's reading. I see something totally different in the Tarot of Prague's Hierophant than in the Barbara Walker, which are both different from the Wild Unknown. The Fountain's 8 Pents implies that one has achieved mastery to me, whereas in the RWS I see a work still in progress.

 

In short, this is why I like having a variety of decks!

 

This.

The meanings don't really change, but the inflections do.

That's why I like to use the Alice for questions about work (those people are cray cray) and the Bohemian Gothic for politics/world affairs (yes, we're living in a horror show - but there's a point of campy absurdity, and the cards are quick to point it out.)

 

Those are RWS based, but for those kind of questions, they go straight to the point.

[Bodhiseed]

I think of it like a many faceted diamond. Each facet is part of the same diamond, but shows a slightly different perspective.

[chongjasmine]

I think cards have different meanings, when using different decks.