Author Topic: Divination sets and their personalities/characteristics (Read 2849 times)

Sophia C · « **on:** August 27, 2013, 04:06:03 am »

This is a thought that spun off the 'Runes: Making vs Buying' thread. Therein, Solstice said:

Quote from: Solstice;120220

I believe that even drawing runes on Popsicle sticks with a sharpie marker is effective, as long as the intent is there. So, to me, the set shouldn't matter (unless you get a negative reaction from it), so long as you bond with it.

I don't disagree, but it started me thinking - and my search for a similar thread turned up nothing (but forgive me if my search skills have failed me).

I've seen a lot of Pagans talk about divination sets and their personalities, which often seem to be independent of things like whether the set/symbols were hewn out of a rare tree or scribbled on the back of bits of paper. I'm relatively new to divination, but I'm learning this about tarot and Ogham sets myself. My DruidCraft tarot deck likes to push me to get practical things done, while my symbols-on-the-'right'-trees Ogham set likes to be a bit ironic and 'told you so' about things, and my Wild Wood tarot seems to be deeply mystical. Some of this is based on the imagery of the set in question - the Wild Wood tarot was never going to be highly practical, with all those inner-world archetypes, for example. But some of it seems to be about the particular set - I have a set of Ogham cards that seems fairly neutral in comparison, even though they both use the same basic symbols.

So, a couple of questions come out of this:

1) Do you have a divination set with a particularly interesting 'personality'? What kinds of experiences have clued you into this?

2) Do you think the 'personality' of a set has more to do with the type of divination it's set up to do, or is it more about the character of a specific set? Is the Thoth tarot destined to be weird and dark, or could you conceive of a cheerful Thoth deck?

3) Or do you think it's not possible for a set of printed cards or factory-etched runes to have any kind of personality? In that case, would you be more willing to ascribe one to a hand-made set?

Sobekemiti · « **Reply #1 on:** August 27, 2013, 07:35:17 am »

Quote from: Naomi J;120227

So, a couple of questions come out of this:

1) Do you have a divination set with a particularly interesting 'personality'? What kinds of experiences have clued you into this?

2) Do you think the 'personality' of a set has more to do with the type of divination it's set up to do, or is it more about the character of a specific set? Is the Thoth tarot destined to be weird and dark, or could you conceive of a cheerful Thoth deck?

3) Or do you think it's not possible for a set of printed cards or factory-etched runes to have any kind of personality? In that case, would you be more willing to ascribe one to a hand-made set?

1) I have to agree with you that the Wild Wood tarot is mystical. I'm still learning how to tune into what it's trying to say to me when I'm doing readings. You learn a new language with every new deck, I think, and I'm still learning this one. I know I'll get this one eventually, because it seemed to accept me as a reader, but yeah, I really need to work with it more and delve more deeply into the cards and what they're trying to say to me.

My Clive Barrett's Egyptian Tarot, on the other hand, is quite the opposite. It's a very practical, no nonsense deck for me. It doesn't really do mystical cryptic woowoo. I sometimes get gods communicating with it through the major arcana, rather than the specific tarot meaning. It's also a jealous deck, and for a long time, it was the primary deck I used. But it's taken a back seat now that I have the Wild Wood tarot. I've found it's highly sensitive to other people touching it, so it's probably never going to be a deck I'll lend to anyone else. It complained quite pointedly after I let an ex-friend do a reading with it, and I needed to cleanse and de-traumatise it once I got it back. It usually deals me nonsense when it's not willing to read for me, and I've come to know pretty quickly when it's not behaving.

I also have the Goddesses and Sirens oracle deck, and the Gods and Titans oracle deck. I use them as a combined deck, and it's quite intuitive to read. The cards tend to get quite bossy, and sometimes, I'll rearrange the cards from the order in which they were dealt if they ask it. I only ever to a four-card deal with them, and the fourth card is a trump card, and I never know which card is the trump card until I look at the cards after I've dealt them. It's a much more direct deity communication tool.

2) I don't really know. I know I am allergic to runes, because I just do not gel with those at all, but I'm not sure if that's just any runes, or the specific set I had. I did not get on with those at all, and gave my set away. I think, in some cases, some decks have a certain personality, but I can't say why that is. I wouldn't find a cheerful Thoth deck weird, but I might suspect He was trolling me.

3) I've never held a handmade deck to know if there's any difference between handmade vs printed as to how well they exude personality.

Sophia C · « **Reply #2 on:** August 28, 2013, 06:57:53 am »

Quote from: cymrudraco;120233

1) I have to agree with you that the Wild Wood tarot is mystical. I'm still learning how to tune into what it's trying to say to me when I'm doing readings. You learn a new language with every new deck, I think, and I'm still learning this one. I know I'll get this one eventually, because it seemed to accept me as a reader, but yeah, I really need to work with it more and delve more deeply into the cards and what they're trying to say to me.

I think you're right. You can study the traditional card meanings as much as you like, but any deck that diverges from them, even if a bit, is going to start 'speaking' to you in different ways. What I love about the Wild Wood tarot is the way that archetypes and symbols return - so a character from the major arcana will be featured on some of the minor cards. I think each of those has a personality of their own, too, which affects how I read the cards where they appear.

Quote

My Clive Barrett's Egyptian Tarot, on the other hand, is quite the opposite. It's a very practical, no nonsense deck for me. It doesn't really do mystical cryptic woowoo. I sometimes get gods communicating with it through the major arcana, rather than the specific tarot meaning. It's also a jealous deck, and for a long time, it was the primary deck I used. But it's taken a back seat now that I have the Wild Wood tarot. I've found it's highly sensitive to other people touching it, so it's probably never going to be a deck I'll lend to anyone else. It complained quite pointedly after I let an ex-friend do a reading with it, and I needed to cleanse and de-traumatise it once I got it back. It usually deals me nonsense when it's not willing to read for me, and I've come to know pretty quickly when it's not behaving.

Wow. That's a deck with a serious personality. Very interesting!

I haven't had a deck deal me nonsense in protest yet, but my Ogham set will repeat the same symbols over and over if there's a week or so where I'm just not listening. It's quite funny really.

Quote

I wouldn't find a cheerful Thoth deck weird, but I might suspect He was trolling me.

Ha - there's a thought. Gods messing with us through decks/sets - or decks/sets doing that themselves...

RandallS · « **Reply #3 on:** August 28, 2013, 08:22:14 am »

Quote from: Naomi J;120227

3) Or do you think it's not possible for a set of printed cards or factory-etched runes to have any kind of personality? In that case, would you be more willing to ascribe one to a hand-made set?

I'm not sure I have much to say on the first two questions, but I think the amount of personality a factory made divination set can have depends on what it is. A Tarot deck's personality is largely determined by the images for each card, which leaves lots of room for the deck's personality, even if it is printed rather than hand painted. However, something like machine-printed runes on fake stones does not leave much room for personality.

Sobekemiti · « **Reply #4 on:** August 28, 2013, 10:50:23 am »

Quote from: Naomi J;120295

I think you're right. You can study the traditional card meanings as much as you like, but any deck that diverges from them, even if a bit, is going to start 'speaking' to you in different ways. What I love about the Wild Wood tarot is the way that archetypes and symbols return - so a character from the major arcana will be featured on some of the minor cards. I think each of those has a personality of their own, too, which affects how I read the cards where they appear.

Yeah, I love how cohesive the Wild Wood tarot is. There are so many different layers of meaning and symbols, and yeah, archetypes. There's a lot to take in, particularly when the only Tarot deck I had before I got that was my Egyptian deck, so I'm used to reading those symbols, and the Wild Wood tarot is written in a very different language. I think I might actually start doing a single daily draw with them, just to begin to get to know them a little better. Meditating on the cards might be more suited to this deck than my Egyptian one.

Quote from: Naomi J;120295

Wow. That's a deck with a serious personality. Very interesting!

I haven't had a deck deal me nonsense in protest yet, but my Ogham set will repeat the same symbols over and over if there's a week or so where I'm just not listening. It's quite funny really.

It is, yeah. It took me years to get used to how it behaves, but it's such a great deck. I really love it, particularly knowing it's out of print now. I feel lucky to have it. I've seen other Egyptian decks around, but they don't feel as right as this one does.

The nonsense readings are interesting. I mean, objectively, the cards are there, but I get a kind of instant 'noise' from them, like, I'll take one look at the spread and know that it's nonsense, rather than an answer to my question. It's a very peculiar experience.

Quote from: Naomi J;120295

Ha - there's a thought. Gods messing with us through decks/sets - or decks/sets doing that themselves...

I think it's entirely possible, depending on the deck and the gods involved.

veggiewolf · « **Reply #5 on:** August 28, 2013, 10:56:31 am »

Quote from: Naomi J;120227

...

So, a couple of questions come out of this:

1) Do you have a divination set with a particularly interesting 'personality'? What kinds of experiences have clued you into this?

Yes. I had a traditional Rider-Waite deck that absolutely would not work with me - the cards I pulled were in no way related to what I was trying to divine, it went missing on a routine basis, and on and on. I ended up giving it to a friend, and it works beautifully for her.

Quote

2) Do you think the 'personality' of a set has more to do with the type of divination it's set up to do, or is it more about the character of a specific set? Is the Thoth tarot destined to be weird and dark, or could you conceive of a cheerful Thoth deck?

3) Or do you think it's not possible for a set of printed cards or factory-etched runes to have any kind of personality? In that case, would you be more willing to ascribe one to a hand-made set?

Yes and no. My Tarot of the Sweet Twilight, which is my current favorite deck, is very intuitive and I think it is by design and character. I also don't think it matters that it is one printing of many - its personality is in tune with mine and it works.

Sophia C · « **Reply #6 on:** August 28, 2013, 11:14:54 am »

Quote from: veggiewolf;120307

My Tarot of the Sweet Twilight, which is my current favorite deck, is very intuitive and I think it is by design and character. I also don't think it matters that it is one printing of many - its personality is in tune with mine and it works.

How would you describe its personality? I looked at the pictures of that one, when you did a reading for me recently, and I found its surrealist style quite direct.

veggiewolf · « **Reply #7 on:** August 28, 2013, 11:30:40 am »

Quote from: Naomi J;120311

How would you describe its personality? I looked at the pictures of that one, when you did a reading for me recently, and I found its surrealist style quite direct.

It is as subtle or direct as it needs to be to get its point across. If you're open to what it tells you, it'll be direct and pleasant about it. If you're not, it will lead you in a way that keeps you from realizing that you're being led until you arrive where you need to be.

Does that make any sense?

Holdasown · « **Reply #8 on:** August 28, 2013, 11:33:58 am »

Quote from: Naomi J;120227

So, a couple of questions come out of this:

1) Do you have a divination set with a particularly interesting 'personality'? What kinds of experiences have clued you into this?

I have been using runes and just decided I can't use them for divination. I got myself a classic Rider/Waite set. I haven't felt drawn to any others though I miss my original Mandala Astrology set from the 80's.

Quote from: Naomi J;120227

2) Do you think the 'personality' of a set has more to do with the type of divination it's set up to do, or is it more about the character of a specific set? Is the Thoth tarot destined to be weird and dark, or could you conceive of a cheerful Thoth deck?

I would think personality would be based on images and products used. Like using a root for runes instead of a branch.

Quote from: Naomi J;120227

3) Or do you think it's not possible for a set of printed cards or factory-etched runes to have any kind of personality? In that case, would you be more willing to ascribe one to a hand-made set?

I think any set of any type can speak to someone and be powerful for them. If your not drawn to make a set then the premade or store bought will work. It's all about giving the tool energy. I felt nothing with my athame then I named it. Huge difference. So you can give a tool life or extra juice.

Sophia C · « **Reply #9 on:** August 28, 2013, 11:39:24 am »

Quote from: veggiewolf;120316

It is as subtle or direct as it needs to be to get its point across. If you're open to what it tells you, it'll be direct and pleasant about it. If you're not, it will lead you in a way that keeps you from realizing that you're being led until you arrive where you need to be.

Does that make any sense?

Yes, I can imagine how that would work. Sounds very adaptable.

Sophia C · « **Reply #10 on:** August 28, 2013, 11:46:40 am »

Quote from: Ula;120317

I would think personality would be based on images and products used. Like using a root for runes instead of a branch.

This is an interesting point. I've been pondering making my own Ogham set from wood slices - they'd all be from one branch at this point, until I can finish my 'collect all the trees!' project. Choosing the type of wood has me stumped (see what I did there?

:), though. Certain traditional Ogham trees would give one kind of effect - like using yew for a set dedicated to the ancestors. Certain other trees would have personal associations that might affect the deck - like, say, making them from a tree that's been growing in my garden for years. It's definitely something to ponder before I choose the wood.

Quote

I think any set of any type can speak to someone and be powerful for them. If your not drawn to make a set then the premade or store bought will work. It's all about giving the tool energy. I felt nothing with my athame then I named it. Huge difference. So you can give a tool life or extra juice.

I can see enchanting things afterwards, yes. I believe all kinds of things can 'pick up' personalities or, for want of a better word, spirits. My computer was made in a factory, but it has a character all its own. So I can see that there are ways of fast-tracking that, including naming decks/sets.

Darkhawk · « **Reply #11 on:** August 28, 2013, 11:52:52 am »

Quote from: Naomi J;120227

2) Do you think the 'personality' of a set has more to do with the type of divination it's set up to do, or is it more about the character of a specific set? Is the Thoth tarot destined to be weird and dark, or could you conceive of a cheerful Thoth deck?

Mu.

One of my exes and I had copies of the same Tarot deck.

When I read with it, I would get ... the sort of divination response you might expect from a particularly mystically tuned-in five-year-old? Statements of the obvious, sometimes useful in the Evil Overlord List way, sometimes just obvious, sometimes kind of just missing the point in a way that suggested a lack of sophistication or advanced knowledge.

It was his go-to deck for everything, because it gave him clear, distinct, comprehensible, and comprehensive answers.

Different energy patterns combine to produce different results. The deck plus the reader is one such combination.

Aiwelin · « **Reply #12 on:** August 28, 2013, 01:10:16 pm »

Quote from: Naomi J;120227

2) Do you think the 'personality' of a set has more to do with the type of divination it's set up to do, or is it more about the character of a specific set? Is the Thoth tarot destined to be weird and dark, or could you conceive of a cheerful Thoth deck?

3) Or do you think it's not possible for a set of printed cards or factory-etched runes to have any kind of personality? In that case, would you be more willing to ascribe one to a hand-made set?

Animist here

I think it's a mix of 'a' and 'b'. Each set (and each individual piece within that set) has its own spirit; but the way we as humans relate to that spirit is heavily influenced by the art (if any is present) and the reader's own spirit. Amusingly, I arrived at this opinion early in my life when I lost a beloved book, purchased another copy, and it never read quite the same to me again. I do feel that things like runes, ogam, and tarot cards are rather inherently different in feel - just as the art and the paper tarot cards are printed on mesh together to form one spirit, the spirit of the runes or the spirit of the ogam meshes together with the material that houses those symbols; and again, all of that is filtered through the reader's own spirit to produce the relationship each person has with their divination tools.

I have an interesting theory about handmade vs. factory/mass-produced items. Animals bred for being pets (cats, dogs, even hamsters) usually require a certain amount of handling early on in their life to make them friendly and ready for sharing in a human's life. Domesticated animals who don't have this are not quite wild exactly, but they aren't really domestic pets anymore, either. My theory is that handmaking something like a rune set requires a great deal of handling and a fair amount of attention and focus. This helps acclimate the set to working with a human, and in general helps it to be more receptive and also open to giving back to the person it ultimately ends up with. Items that are made in a factory, mostly by machine, just don't get the same amount of handling and focus; they aren't devoid of a spirit, they're just so unused to talking to or interacting with humans that it's difficult for us to access that spirit.

stephyjh · « **Reply #13 on:** August 28, 2013, 06:08:54 pm »

Quote from: Naomi J;120227

This is a thought that spun off the 'Runes: Making vs Buying' thread. Therein, Solstice said:

I don't disagree, but it started me thinking - and my search for a similar thread turned up nothing (but forgive me if my search skills have failed me).

I've seen a lot of Pagans talk about divination sets and their personalities, which often seem to be independent of things like whether the set/symbols were hewn out of a rare tree or scribbled on the back of bits of paper. I'm relatively new to divination, but I'm learning this about tarot and Ogham sets myself. My DruidCraft tarot deck likes to push me to get practical things done, while my symbols-on-the-'right'-trees Ogham set likes to be a bit ironic and 'told you so' about things, and my Wild Wood tarot seems to be deeply mystical. Some of this is based on the imagery of the set in question - the Wild Wood tarot was never going to be highly practical, with all those inner-world archetypes, for example. But some of it seems to be about the particular set - I have a set of Ogham cards that seems fairly neutral in comparison, even though they both use the same basic symbols.

So, a couple of questions come out of this:

1) Do you have a divination set with a particularly interesting 'personality'? What kinds of experiences have clued you into this?

2) Do you think the 'personality' of a set has more to do with the type of divination it's set up to do, or is it more about the character of a specific set? Is the Thoth tarot destined to be weird and dark, or could you conceive of a cheerful Thoth deck?

3) Or do you think it's not possible for a set of printed cards or factory-etched runes to have any kind of personality? In that case, would you be more willing to ascribe one to a hand-made set?

I have several decks that have very distinct personalities. The Tattooed deck is very practical and doesn't go in much for mystical or emotional questions. The Shadowscapes deck is sarcastic, and the Matt Myers Art Nouveau deck is deeply romantic and relationship-oriented.

Holdasown · « **Reply #14 on:** August 29, 2013, 09:23:01 am »

Quote from: Naomi J;120320

This is an interesting point. I've been pondering making my own Ogham set from wood slices - they'd all be from one branch at this point, until I can finish my 'collect all the trees!' project. Choosing the type of wood has me stumped (see what I did there? :), though. Certain traditional Ogham trees would give one kind of effect - like using yew for a set dedicated to the ancestors. Certain other trees would have personal associations that might affect the deck - like, say, making them from a tree that's been growing in my garden for years. It's definitely something to ponder before I choose the wood.

Can you make a set where each stave is different wood? I thought at first that was were you were going but then you didn't. Yew is a popular wood in Heathen stories. Ullr's bow is made from it.

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Author Topic: Divination sets and their personalities/characteristics (Read 2849 times)

Sophia C

Divination sets and their personalities/characteristics

Sobekemiti

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Sophia C

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RandallS

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Sophia C

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veggiewolf

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Sophia C

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Darkhawk

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