Have you ever thought about using cards which are not actual tarot cards to do tarot readings?
When I started getting back into tarot again it's not something I considered. I was busily learning the cards in the decks I had bought, most of which were based on the Rider Waite or Thoth systems (both of which are based on the Golden Dawn teachings of the last century). I did also have decks based on slightly different systems but even those had similarities, for example using the four elements of air, water, fire, earth and/or numerology.
Then I saw someone using decks which were not designed for tarot or divination, and it caught my attention.
My style of reading leans heavily on interpreting imagery. It's just what I found has worked for me, through many, many readings. My favourite decks, the Zen Osho and the Legacy of the Divine, have strong images with a good amount of detail which I find I can more easily connect to than some other decks with less detailed imagery. So I knew that if I was going to try and use some cards which were not designed for tarot or oracle, the imagery would have to be right.
One of the card decks I saw being used were Dixit cards. Dixit is a board game which uses a deck of picture cards in the game play, so this was a great starting point to find out if these would suit me, or if there were other similar cards I could perhaps use. A search on YouTube turned up only a handful of people using Dixit cards like tarot, so it's not common, but was encouraging.
Some of those I saw using Dixit cards made their own 'tarot' deck by picking out cards which they felt represented a particular card in tarot. And you could buy multiple Dixit card sets and choose the ones most fitting from each deck, to make up a full tarot deck. I thought about doing this, but I didn't really see close correlations to the tarot cards, for example no card that would represent the Ace of Cups for me. Anyway, this wasn't my aim. I wanted to use the cards as they were.
So I decided to get a deck, they don't cost that much in terms of what a normal tarot deck would cost, and even if I decided I didn't want to use them after all , they are nice to look at!
There are a number of Dixit expansion decks, which is great because it gave me some choice in terms finding something that would suit me. The one that drew me most was Dixit Revelations (now I think about it it's funny, considering the name, that it's the one I liked the most). These had a good range of different images which could be used to present both positive and challenging energies, just as you do in tarot, so the deck would be balanced. I love the way they are drawn and the amount of detail in them. Some of the other expansions didn't seem to have enough in the images for me.
I used my usual process to get to know new cards i.e looking at each one, and thinking about what the imagery symbolises for me or how it makes me feel, not with the thought of an image having to mean something specific each time I use it, because this can all go right out the window when it comes to doing an actual reading! Often I will see things I hadn't originally associated with an image, which I find really insightful, revealing and fun!
This is a big advantage in using these cards , i.e. there are no fixed associations, which feels really freeing, allowing my mind to see the message there, not perhaps to be clouded by what I think it might be due to the established meaning, as can happen sometimes (one of the hurdles to get over if you find you read cards intuitively). The imagery will dictate to a certain degree what I see because of my own mental symbology, that's how I think it all works, but having no 'established' meanings seems to give me much more openness to understanding message. It has really felt quite freeing!!
I've done a number of readings with them now, as I would a tarot reading. The card stock is on the thin side and very smooth (matt, not glossy). This makes them and a bit harder to shuffle (they keep flying out of my hands). So that's the only downside, and one I can live with. The edges are already beginning to wear a bit so after a lot of use there may come a time when I'll have to get a new deck. But in terms of being able to do a reading, feel the energies being conveyed, tap into my intuition etc., they work just as well as tarot/oracle cards. In some cases, better. Probably because there is a great variety of events, states of being, objects being portrayed across the deck for my mind to be able to use to symbolise the message being conveyed.
This experience has definitely opened me up to the possibilities of using other non-tarot or oracle cards in the future. After all, any card deck, whether it's playing cards, tarot, oracle or something else is just a vehicle to interpret the answers given. You can use anything for divination. The key is finding what works for you, whether it's using an established tradition, or something more loose. I've seen Mexican Lotteria cards being used too.
I'm sure there are some tarot purists who would say well this is not tarot. I guess not, since they are not tarot cards, but I'm using it in the same way as tarot. Just call it divination I guess:)
Have you used any non-traditional cards for your tarot or oracle readings? If so I'd love to hear about your experience. Leave a comment below!:)
No comments:
Post a Comment