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Author Topic: Tarot: uses for a deck without Minor Arcana?  (Read 2456 times)

Eastling

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Tarot: uses for a deck without Minor Arcana?
« on: May 15, 2016, 07:26:53 pm »
Just what it says in the title. What ways would you find of using a deck that only has the Major Arcana?

For some backstory: I'm a fan of the Japanese video game series Persona, which uses Tarot cards as a game mechanic. So I bought a couple special editions of theirs which included some lovely sets of Tarot cards, and now I have a full collection of their Major Arcana. Unfortunately, they have no plans to put out the Minor Arcana.

I'd still like to use these cards, though, so does anyone have any suggestions?
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Re: Tarot: uses for a deck without Minor Arcana?
« Reply #1 on: May 15, 2016, 08:11:31 pm »
Quote from: Eastling;191099
Just what it says in the title. What ways would you find of using a deck that only has the Major Arcana?

For some backstory: I'm a fan of the Japanese video game series Persona, which uses Tarot cards as a game mechanic. So I bought a couple special editions of theirs which included some lovely sets of Tarot cards, and now I have a full collection of their Major Arcana. Unfortunately, they have no plans to put out the Minor Arcana.

I'd still like to use these cards, though, so does anyone have any suggestions?

 
I sometimes use only the Majors - there is a particular spread in Rachel Pollack's The Forest of Souls based on the Fool's Journey that I especially fond of, and it uses all of the Major Arcana in one huge reading. A quick google searched turned up several other Fools Journey based spreads as well that look a little less massive.

Aside from that, there's no reason at all why you couldn't do your favourite spreads with only Major Arcana cards.

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Re: Tarot: uses for a deck without Minor Arcana?
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2016, 03:18:35 am »
Quote from: Eastling;191099
Just what it says in the title. What ways would you find of using a deck that only has the Major Arcana?

For some backstory: I'm a fan of the Japanese video game series Persona, which uses Tarot cards as a game mechanic. So I bought a couple special editions of theirs which included some lovely sets of Tarot cards, and now I have a full collection of their Major Arcana. Unfortunately, they have no plans to put out the Minor Arcana.

I'd still like to use these cards, though, so does anyone have any suggestions?

 
I have an Escaflowne tarot that sounds similar. I don't use it often but sometimes I pull it out to accompany a second deck in a more complex layout, or I use it for very simple layouts where I don't need a lot of cards.
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Faemon

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Re: Tarot: uses for a deck without Minor Arcana?
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2016, 04:07:47 am »
Quote from: Eastling;191099
Just what it says in the title. What ways would you find of using a deck that only has the Major Arcana?

For some backstory: I'm a fan of the Japanese video game series Persona, which uses Tarot cards as a game mechanic. So I bought a couple special editions of theirs which included some lovely sets of Tarot cards, and now I have a full collection of their Major Arcana. Unfortunately, they have no plans to put out the Minor Arcana.

I'd still like to use these cards, though, so does anyone have any suggestions?


Ooh! Ooh! Designate an important person in your life to one arcanum each. Whenever you have a bonding experience, high-five them while shouting, "Social Link, Go!" Then go to the Astral plane and if anything unpleasant bothers you then shout Persona and the card you carry with you there will be a superpower! :D

Seriously though, I think it can still work for whatever divination or spellcasting correspondents thing you would use a full deck for. Meditation? Prayer cards, even? If there's an existing deck out there with a stained glass theme, with uglier majors than pips, maybe add the Atlas deck to it and swap the majors out?
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Re: Tarot: uses for a deck without Minor Arcana?
« Reply #4 on: May 16, 2016, 04:10:42 am »
Quote from: Eastling;191099
Just what it says in the title. What ways would you find of using a deck that only has the Major Arcana?


Well, if you're a BOTA member, the Majors are a huge part of your curriculum.
BOTA links them with Hebrew letters and paths on the Qabalistic Tree of Life, as well as with colors, astrological signs, musical notes, etc.  In effect the entry level teachings treat the Majors as 22 different slices of the human personality.  Quite a neat little mystery-school, imho.  
 
They do offer a 4"x7" version of the Majors-- B&W prints of the Rider deck on heavy card-stock.  Part of the coursework includes coloring your own deck, but I love the B&W ones just fine.
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Re: Tarot: uses for a deck without Minor Arcana?
« Reply #5 on: May 16, 2016, 07:46:58 am »
Quote from: Eastling;191099
Just what it says in the title. What ways would you find of using a deck that only has the Major Arcana? (...)

I'd still like to use these cards, though, so does anyone have any suggestions?


Meditation, definitely. Oswald Wirth painted a set of just the 22 trumps for meditation purposes, so 22 card decks have historical precedence.

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Re: Tarot: uses for a deck without Minor Arcana?
« Reply #6 on: May 17, 2016, 10:27:45 am »
Quote from: MadZealot;191116
Well, if you're a BOTA member, the Majors are a huge part of your curriculum.
BOTA links them with Hebrew letters and paths on the Qabalistic Tree of Life, as well as with colors, astrological signs, musical notes, etc.  In effect the entry level teachings treat the Majors as 22 different slices of the human personality.  Quite a neat little mystery-school, imho.  
 
They do offer a 4"x7" version of the Majors-- B&W prints of the Rider deck on heavy card-stock.  Part of the coursework includes coloring your own deck, but I love the B&W ones just fine.

 
I saw a copy of the colour-your-own deck in a used bookstore last year, and it is one of my deep regrets that I didn't buy it.

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Re: Tarot: uses for a deck without Minor Arcana?
« Reply #7 on: May 17, 2016, 11:00:11 am »
Quote from: Mama Fortuna;191177
I saw a copy of the colour-your-own deck in a used bookstore last year, and it is one of my deep regrets that I didn't buy it.


You can get em directly from BOTA for $8.  Not a bad price IMO.
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Re: Tarot: uses for a deck without Minor Arcana?
« Reply #8 on: May 17, 2016, 12:44:39 pm »
Quote from: Eastling;191099
Just what it says in the title. What ways would you find of using a deck that only has the Major Arcana?


I would most likely use them for small spreads. Like a three-card, past-present-future glimpse. Or sometimes when I have an issue I'm pondering, I pull just one card for some insight.

And definitely for meditation. For depth of meaning, I've always preferred the major arcana so I think they offer great meditative prompts.

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Re: Tarot: uses for a deck without Minor Arcana?
« Reply #9 on: May 17, 2016, 05:11:28 pm »
Quote from: Eastling;191099
Just what it says in the title. What ways would you find of using a deck that only has the Major Arcana?

 
I would likely use them for spreads that had to do with the bigger stuff in my life -- I tend to see Minor Arcana as dealing more with everyday, small stuff, and Major Arcana as being related to the overarching themes and way bigger stuff.

So I'd do small spreads asking about the big stuff. (What the 'big stuff' is being open to interpretation.)
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Re: Tarot: uses for a deck without Minor Arcana?
« Reply #10 on: May 18, 2016, 12:20:38 am »
Quote from: MadZealot;191178
You can get em directly from BOTA for $8.  Not a bad price IMO.

 
Holy moly, that IS cheap! Thank you!

Eastling

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Re: Tarot: uses for a deck without Minor Arcana?
« Reply #11 on: May 21, 2016, 05:59:37 pm »
Quote from: Faemon;191115
Ooh! Ooh! Designate an important person in your life to one arcanum each. Whenever you have a bonding experience, high-five them while shouting, "Social Link, Go!" Then go to the Astral plane and if anything unpleasant bothers you then shout Persona and the card you carry with you there will be a superpower! :D

Seriously though, I think it can still work for whatever divination or spellcasting correspondents thing you would use a full deck for. Meditation? Prayer cards, even? If there's an existing deck out there with a stained glass theme, with uglier majors than pips, maybe add the Atlas deck to it and swap the majors out?


I was going to cut this quote further, but I couldn't resist leaving the references. ;) I'd love for them to be superpowers. Most people could do with learning to accept their Shadow!
 
Quote from: FraterBenedict;191122
Meditation, definitely.

 
Quote from: rocquelaire;191188
I would most likely use them for small spreads. Like a three-card, past-present-future glimpse. Or sometimes when I have an issue I'm pondering, I pull just one card for some insight.

And definitely for meditation. For depth of meaning, I've always preferred the major arcana so I think they offer great meditative prompts.


I've used the three-card spread occasionally in the past when I haven't been up to doing larger spreads, so it's certainly a possibility for bringing back for this deck.
 
Quote from: Morag;191208
I would likely use them for spreads that had to do with the bigger stuff in my life -- I tend to see Minor Arcana as dealing more with everyday, small stuff, and Major Arcana as being related to the overarching themes and way bigger stuff.

So I'd do small spreads asking about the big stuff. (What the 'big stuff' is being open to interpretation.)

 
I've seen this interpretation before and it's a useful one at times: the idea that the Major Arcana signify, well, major things.

I think the various suggestions of meditation are also pretty useful--I'll probably try meditating on these cards for a while and seeing if it helps.
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Re: Tarot: uses for a deck without Minor Arcana?
« Reply #12 on: May 22, 2016, 09:20:10 pm »
Quote from: Eastling;191099
Just what it says in the title. What ways would you find of using a deck that only has the Major Arcana?

For some backstory: I'm a fan of the Japanese video game series Persona, which uses Tarot cards as a game mechanic. So I bought a couple special editions of theirs which included some lovely sets of Tarot cards, and now I have a full collection of their Major Arcana. Unfortunately, they have no plans to put out the Minor Arcana.

I'd still like to use these cards, though, so does anyone have any suggestions?

 
I have an Egyptian Major Arcana deck and I use it at times when I draw one card for a divination. It probably could also be used for a yes/no divination as well. When I need a bigger drawing, I use the complete deck that I have.
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