The Faerie Tarot: New Deck Exercise

I don't like new deck interview spreads. I find them contrived and silly. But I do like a technique I found on Aeclectic Tarot called 'Balancing the Moment.'  You go through a new deck and identify your most favourite and least favourite cards, and read the shadow meaning for your most favourite, and the upright meaning for your least favourite.

I thought I'd try this technique out on my new Faerie Tarot by Natalie Hertz, US Games 2007. The kit consists of box with slip sleeve in which nestles a tuck box containing the deck and a Little White Book. A fold out spread poster of the ubiquitous Celtic Cross is included. To be quite frank, I'd have been happier with just the tuck box. In my opinion, there is too much packaging in tarot decks. It's a waste of resources, a waste of storage space, and makes the deck more expensive than it might otherwise have been. Does anyone use those spread posters they include in these sets? Or those dreadful organza bags? I don't know.

After looking through the deck for a while, I realised the brightly coloured edges distracted my eye from the image. If you look at the cards in the picture, you'll see each card has a colourful outer border, a black line, a patterned inner border, then a sort of broken line around the shape of the card image, which comes to a peak at the top. In essence that is four borders, because there are four breaks in the continuity of the image there. The problem was heightened for me by the accent colour chosen in each image being echoed in the outer border colour. For example, the Ace of Pentacles in the photograph. There is hot pink in the image, so they picked that up and put a hot pink border around the outside of the card. This served only to pull my eye away from the middle of the card. I got out the scissors and hacked the top and sides off all the cards to get rid of the outer border, and now they work much better for me visually. Plus they are smaller and easier to handle.

Balancing the Moment:
Step One. Separate the deck. Look through the deck and create two piles: Cards I like, Cards I dislike.

Step Two. Reduce the piles. Study each pile carefully, and select 3-6 cards you like best of all, and 3-6 cards you most dislike.

Step Three. Find the balance. Choose the card you like the most. Read it for its negative aspects and associations. Reflect upon how that applies in your life right now. Then choose the card you most dislike. Read it for its positive aspects and assocations. Reflect upon how that applies to your life right now.

Separate the deck
I have 50 cards in the 'Like' pile, 28 in the 'dislike' pile. Of the dislike, 24 were put there because I don't like the visual interpretation of the card meaning, 4 because I don't like the images themselves. (Though two of those, I don't like the card meaning interpretation, either).

Reduce the piles

My Top 6 Cards, Hertz Faerie Tarot, US Games

My Worst 6 Cards, Hertz Faerie Tarot, US Games

Find the Balance
Top card--The Hermit
Shadow meaning according to LWB: 'Timidity, obstacles, regression, inertia. Mental confusion, avarice, pessimism, delay and bad luck.'

Well, that's just great. LOL Actually, these are the very things I struggle with most days.

Worst card--This is tough because I dislike all 6 of those cards, but I really particularly dislike Sun, Moon and 10 of Wands. I'm going with Moon, though. That face is hideous. Upright meaning according to LWB: 'This intriguing moon with its enigmatic smile is the symbol of msytery, sensitivity, dreas and unconsciousness.'

Yeah, I'd rather be unconscious than have to look at this card. In fact, I'm thinking of going to the shops and buying a couple of sun and moon stickers to go over those faces. Blech.

All in all, a rather inconclusive exercise. It's always fun to sort through a new deck, though. I'm thinking about blogging with this one next week. What do you think, should I?