Questions for People Who Don't Personify Their Decks

[@januspatermagnus]

I'm one of those people who don't personify their decks and I'll try my best not to sound smug. :) I think it definitely makes sense to say that every deck has its own visual style that shapes its language. From my point of view, however, you are the reader so what you call "deck personality" resides within you. In my experience, I view these things as my projections and I think of them as hindrances to my readings, because the feelings that the images stir up in me prevent me from getting a clear and concise answer. (When people "this deck is not good for love readings" I see that as: what I project into the deck is making it hard for me to read it in this context.) I'm not an animist, but I think there surely is a difference between saying that a card possesses a soul and a full on personality. I wouldn't even say that all animals have personalities because this is a concept we humans invented to attribute only to some humans and then slowly started expanding it historically. I'm not a "secular" tarot reader, I'm a pagan but I don't necessarily think my decks are in touch with anything - I don't claim that they are not either, I'm just agnostic on the issue. I know my readings work, so I'm find not knowing why. If I evoke a spirit then I can say I believe the deck mediates between me and the spirit. What you see as "deck personality" I see as projection that makes readings less clear. And because you will (I presume) choose different decks to get different "messages", we both end up dealing with the same issue. You deal with it by changing decks, I deal with it by learning to see past my projections. But we both have to overcome the same hurdle, so we're ultimately in the same sauce. That's how I see it at least.

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

I think you might be the closest to the people I'm asking questions of in my video. That's interesting that you say you see these as projections that are hindrances to your readings. Are your readings just memorized card meanings? Or is intuition involved? Personally, I work with these "projections" as they are where I draw my intuitive sparks. What kinds of readings do you do? Do you do future predictions or are you pulling cards for self-knowledge? Humans have a long history of personifying things, I'm not sure I know where you're coming from saying that humans invented personalities and only attributed them to some humans. Most readers seem to believe that tarot taps into something, say "source" or "akashic records" or the "higher self." I'm not sure I've spoken to a reader who didn't particularly think a tarot reading channeled anything. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

[@januspatermagnus]

@@tarotreadingsfromabitch I actually don't rely on meanings almost at all. I grew up with "normal" Golden Dawn - inspired way of reading that I learned from my parents and grandparents, but years ago I switched to Marseille and other pip decks and I read without any assigned meanings these days. I studied with Camelia Elias and Enrique Enriquez for a long time and they both emphasize looking closely at images and their interaction to deduce meaning specific to the reading. Intuition comes through how you connect cards and form sentences but 100% of what you say must be justified by the visuals. It's a weird way to read for most, I know, but it blew me away when I first learned it, mostly because of its accuracy and precision. If images provoke a strange emotional reaction then my feelings dictate what I see so from my point of view, it's preventing both my intellect and my intuition from working properly. A person is a being with a sense of self/ moral agency. Something can be alive and have a soul but not be a person. It's a psychological and legal category. There was a point in relatively recent history when that definition didn't apply to all humans. Today it formally does but sometimes I wonder - I'm not very optimistic about my fellow humans. 🤣 People have a history of attributing characteristics to other beings, but a person as a category isn't that old, it's less than 2000 years old, I think. Maybe we have different definitions of a person? Don't get me wrong, there are times when I know my cards are connected to someone. Like when I evoke specific spirits. But I don't do that all the time. I am not saying my cards are unconnected to anything, just that I don't know and that I'm fine not knowing so long as my predictions come to pass. I think all we can do is speculate but it ultimately boils down to what makes sense to us. So I save myself the time and accept not knowing. 😆 But I think that's a different issue from whether a deck has a soul or a personality.

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

That's fascinating. So how would you read a minor arcana card from a Marseille deck without pre-memorized meanings? I'm not big on decks with non-illustrated minors because I tend to use them. Not to say, in any way, that I don't use prescribed card meanings as part of my readings, but they're really more of a jumping-off point. I recently read in "A Walk Through the Gorest of Souls" where Rachel Pollack said that tarot readers are like musicians, there are classical musicians (where a wrong note is simply wrong), folk musicians (there are variations and people don't always know where they came from), and jazz musicians (who use their knowledge of theory to riff off of foundations). I thought that was amazing, and I'd put myself somewhere between folk and jazz. When I'm saying personify, I don't necessarily mean personhood, if that makes sense. I'm using The definition "the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form." So I don't see decks ad an actual person, but with human-like qualities.

[@januspatermagnus]

@@tarotreadingsfromabitch Reading Marseille without meanings is exactly like jazz. :-) And now I feel even more motivated to read the book, it's on my to-read pile. To give you an actual example from a reading I did earlier today, because it is very simple. You never pull just one card with this method, you need 3 at least to form an answer because how cards interact with each other visually + the question forms meaning. My querent asked if his startup will pay off by the end of the year. I pulled 8 of Coins, 9 of Batons, 3 of Coins. So that reads: he makes a big clear investment (big becuse 8 is a high number, clear because pips are aranged forming a straight path through the middle). He works his butt off - 9 of Batons. But at the end of the year he only has 3 Coins, which is a lot less than 8 he invested. So - no, the investment doesn't pay off until the end of the year. But because 3 is depicted as a small pile growing upward, he can expect improvement after. Some of the reading hinges on the specific distribution of pips on the card. Had it been a deck with a differently depicted 3 coins, i would have to change parts of my reading. If you're talking about attributing qualities to a deck, then we're on the same page because you're not making a claim that deck is inherently anything, only that your gaze attributes human-like qualities to it and that this works for you. That point is usually very important to me because that's how I think: I'm trying to be as aware as possible that there's more than one way to see reality. I like to think of my beliefs as tools but nothing more than that. I think I can reasonably translate your idea of personality as a visual style. Except that, when it comes to readings, this means that your relationship with every deck is in some way limited, like it would be with a human. You can't talk to every human about everything either. Does that make sense to you?

[@ScholarBot]

Ayy! Secular heathen, here! 🙋🏽‍♀️😎 Lots of excellent questions. I'll have a video up for you hopefully within the next couple days. 🤖✔️

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

I can't wait!

[@aquamarine18]

This is an interesting discussion. I do not personify my decks, but I definitely do think they read differently from each other and that different styles of artwork read differently and evoke different feelings (I wouldn't go to Deviant Moon if I was deeply upset either). I think that we may actually think in somewhat similar ways about this, but just use different language to describe it. For me, my issue is ultimately that the word "personify" is dictionary defined as "to attribute human nature or character to (an inanimate object or an abstraction), as in speech or writing." I do think everything in the world puts out and & interacts with energy and that we, perhaps to varying extents, can pick up on that; therefore, I don't think describing a tree or a location or a rock as having particular energy means I'm personifying it, because I'm not describing it in (in my mind) any human-specific ways or ascribing any human-specific traits to it. I think your questions about underlying beliefs are interesting because I *do* think there are very deep ontological differences between people who personify their decks and/or see them as having energies or personalities and those who see them as "just paper" (and sometimes look down on other views). I'm going to think on this and VR.

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

I would love to hear more for your thoughts on this! I realize that I didn't do the best job of explaining what I meant by "personifying" in my video, I do give them human personalities lol. When I did deck reviews on a blog instead of here, I would always end them with, "If this deck were a person it would be that kid who sits in the back of class and always corrects the teacher" or some shit lol.

[@aquamarine18]

@@tarotreadingsfromabitch Ooooh okay! This is not something I've ever done yet it's also something that makes complete sense to me! 💜

[@ProjectRefinedLife]

Great conversation. When you started the video, my thought was exactly what you said at 15:04 the reason I have many decks is because they all speak very differently. If they (the decks) all spoke the same language, I would only have one. Personally, I don't understand how decks couldn't have different personalities. Each one is designed/created by a person or persons, their imprint is living through that creation, which is exactly why there are certain decks I just won't buy.

[@WitchyWallflower]

It is beyond me why people do this, it goes straight over my head. I know my decks for the most part, I have to many to know them all personally. But to personify them makes no sense to me, maybe I have a lot to learn or am missing something idk. It makes sense that they each have a different flavor and that they can set off a certain vibe but is that personifying them? Thanks for a great video though I did enjoy it. 😊

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

It was just natural for me, but I do it with everything lol. The vibes are what gives me the personality of them, if that makes sense? I just thought it was interesting to see people who do vs don't

[@clarelantern]

Every deck has their own personality, I feel. There is no wrong or right on this topic which I totally agree with.

[@Rizzita]

A deck is inert. It rolls off the printing press like any other paper product that is mass produced. It is the reader, their eyes, their hands, their hearts that infuse a deck with personality, voice and flavour. The artist and creator had a focus and direction, but until you hold a deck in your hand it cannot have a voice. Some decks in some hands never find a voice. Not all decks are for all people. I have Somnia tarot. It galvanizes me with awe. I handle it with reverence. It's like looking into a secret and private ritual that I should not disturb. Also have Murder of Crows. That deck is like being punched in the throat. It's the deck I reach for most. No fluff, no skirting the issue, no soft landings. Yes, decks have personalities bestowed by the reader.

[@greylady1958]

I agree. For instance if the reader doesn't have a sense of humour, a deck will never give a message filled with humour. I think each deck is a reflection of some parts of our psyche. For me they represent parts of my inner wisdom, sometimes harsh, sometimes gentle and so on.

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

Oh absolutely! I think a deck's personality is a conglomeration of the creator/artist's intention, the art itself, and the reader. And I definitely agree with the Somnia Tarot. It feels rude to pull it out in sunshine lol

[@jannertfol]

I like your point ...if you don't think your deck has personality, why bother to collect different decks? (Unless you just like looking at artwork.) I certainly have feelings about the decks I use. I don't tend to keep ones I don't use unless they have historical or research value. I've certainly given away probably three times as many decks as I actually keep and use. I started a while back doing 'deck interviews' with every new deck I acquired. That's a lot of fun, and surprisingly accurate. Some decks are playful, some are serious, some are blunt, some let the querent down easy, and some have 'ideas' of what I'm like as well. Some are too vague to be useful to me. The questions I ask are: How do you see me? What is your personality? What is your strength as a deck? What is your weakness as a deck? What type of question or topic do you prefer to deal with? What do you need from me as a reader? What is our relationship going to be like? I have got rid of some decks that I thought were gorgeous ...but they just didn't click with me. And there are a couple I almost got rid of, because I was lukewarm about them, that I have since warmed to! I have one deck that only answers political questions or questions about the world! (I got another copy of the same deck that is fine for personal readings ...go figure.) If you're the sort of person who, when planning to do a reading, chooses a particular deck because you 'feel' that deck will be most helpful today ...I reckon that's personifying your readings! It's a lot of fun. I started out reading tarot, back in the 1970s, with the standard RWS deck, which I still have and still use. It was the only deck I owned for many years, and it worked fine ...although my knowledge and experience weren't as sharp as they are now. But once I started picking up a few other decks, I did recognise that the experience I had reading with them was different. Thanks for this video!

[@merandasomnolentgamer8323]

The Deviant Moon is the first deck that really stood out to me as having a personality and that started me down the path of collecting.

[@theedeskdothcreaks3162]

Hi I just found this video and really wanted to respond. This is such an interesting question to pose. I’m personally not one to personify my decks and I don’t really work as a witch either. Tarot to me is very much a way to work through my intuition road blocks and to learn how to tell a story. I have about five tarot decks and five oracle decks, but I’ll stick to tarot. I don’t agree with the idea that people are above others just based on this topic. I’m sorry you have come across people who are smug about it. I wonder if maybe from their side, they have run into those people who say “oh no I bought a new deck and now my old deck is mad at me :(“. And it’s possible for them to think that it’s a ridiculous notion for decks to have emotions. Possibly some people confuse decks having a personality to decks having an emotion, which is an interesting thought to have. Then, if that’s the case, personification is maybe something everyone does to an extent. Like you said, if it was truly a black and white scenario, there would be no reason to collect multiple decks if we didn’t get different “personalities” from them. For me, a deck is definitely paper and ink, but I would say that it is only similar or the same vibes from the same exact copy. Like I got a deviant moon deck, but before purchasing, I borrowed the same deck from my friend first to see if I liked it. It still read similarly to how it got in my hands, and that’s because it is coming from my intuition, my knowledge of the cards. But it would not be the same if I compared the Wild Unknown and the Deviant Moon. Artists have different intentions, different meanings to their work and that’s something important to take note of when reading. To me, a lot of the feelings I get when reading different decks is what the artwork invokes in me. As for crystals, I also collect a few that I like but I don’t personify them either but that’s because they are pretty lol. That’s what my value is in them.

[@fourofcats5803]

I really loved this topic and discussion! For me personally, I definitely lean towards the animism end of the spectrum. The energy and feel of a deck goes further and deeper than the colors or particular art style in my opinion. Every deck has its own energy and I think you’ve asked some great questions- I’d love to see a response from someone (in good faith) who doesn’t believe that decks have any kind of personality or spark inherent in them

[@lilpinkbear]

I TOTALLY get what you mean about The Fountain Tarot! Really interesting discussion to be had here thank you for opening it up. x

[@reflectivetarot7612]

Hm. It's a language thing, but while my decks all have vibes of their own, (you could even say 'personalities'), I don't personify them in the animistic sense. So I don't know where I fit into this; you seem to talk about both meanings of 'personality' and I do one but not the other.

[@HauntedAcreFarm]

I'm fully an animist, so I can't really answer these questions specifically. But I think the smugness comes from people who think they know the "Truth™", I think this can go either way. Like I have ideas of how things work, and I am confident in myself with going that way, but fuck it, I could be super wrong. The specific smugness from the folks who don't personify has an "I'm the adult in the room" vibe, which I do find specifically annoying. I'm sure there are folks who don't personify who are live and let live folks, they likely don't find the need to tell people constantly that they're not like other tarot readers.

[@rifflinthemind.5793]

These are good questions, thanks for asking them, definitely not offended. Witch, not of any particular tradition. I don't personify the deck itself, (though there is nothing wrong with doing that.) When I pick up a tarot deck, the deck is a tool that I use and spirits/guides/my own mind uses to converse together. Separately, all of us exist but together that makes the reading. The spirits use the deck, but are not the deck itself, if that makes sense. The deck is an object, a pack of cards made in a factory. It's finite. I could draw 78 squiggles and that could be a deck if I had no other option. Crystals have some persobal symbolism and maybe energies but I think a lot of that is projected and mythologised over time. I don't see them as having personalities. That said, I don't see why a deck couldn't have it's own personhood and I can see why personifying a deck would be a natural and enriching approach.

[@jannertfol]

Possibly different decks attract different spirits? It's what it feels like to me, sometimes. That there is more than one 'spirit' out there, working with me. Sometimes the readings I do for myself are pragmatic, spot-on, easy to grasp and helpful-and some decks give this result more often than not. Other times the readings are more 'out there', but later on, after thinking about them, I can see what they were driving at. I have a few decks I use when I'm in the mood to meditate on an issue, rather than solve an immediate problem. I even have one I use to answer political/worldwide questions, and it never has let me down-but it is absolutely no use when I'm asking personal questions. Instead of my current relationship issues, I get Donald Trump's antics, etc. And sometimes I just have to laugh at myself, when a deck tells me to 'lighten up!'

[@steffymuze]

​@@jannertfolI do something similar and have had similar experiences so I've often wondered this as well.

[@jessreadscards]

I 100% personify my decks, but not all of them. I noticed that the decks I don’t personify are decks that I wouldn’t be mad if they left my collection. For me, the personification happens when I am developing a relationship with my decks and if I’m not willing to develop that relationship then I wouldn’t have a personification of them. Also, the Herbcrafters is totally a grandma deck!

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

Not all of mine have personalities either! I'm super interested to know now from people who DO personify their decks, if we tend to attribute personalities to the same ones?

[@jessreadscards]

@@tarotreadingsfromabitch Ooooh I would be interested in hearing that too! Like a collective personification of a single deck.

[@danielaayers3449]

I’m fairly new to tarot, about 1.5yrs, and consider myself witch curious and open to animism (after leaving pentecostal christianity for context). I have around 25+ tarot decks. I hate the artistic style of the three OG decks (RWS/Thoth/Marseille) so like to collect ones that have art style that appeals to me. If after using a deck for a while I find I can’t vibe with it I will pass it on. I don’t personify my decks, I see them as tools that I used for introspection, a mirror, a journaling prompt. Having said all that, I wouldn’t be surprised if I do start personifying them as I build a better relationship with each deck. At the moment I feel I’m still learning each card meaning and letting it be an open and organic growth of knowledge as I don’t want to be tied to a “system”. Don’t know if that answers your question. I’m a tarot noob, what do I know 😂

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

To me, decks are sort of like fun house mirrors. They're reflecting me back, but through their own perspective? I don't know. I was a kid who could be made to finish my food if my mom said the food would be sad if I didn't eat it, so idk lol

[@danielaayers3449]

⁠@@tarotreadingsfromabitchomg that wouldn’t have worked on me, I’d be upset that I’d hurt the food while biting it 😂 as for the tarot snobs that look down on personifying decks, maybe they just take things too seriously?! To each their own, but (and as much as I hate the phrase) don’t yuck on other people’s yum! [edit: I am not implying this is what you are doing, i hope that was understood amidst al my rambling]

[@mogvgb]

@@tarotreadingsfromabitch Oh I like the funhouse mirror analogy, that it an interesting perspective

[@roothemystic]

As soon as I seen the title of this video I said to myself, OH she’s talking about Deviant Moon 🌚😂 I totally agree, decks DO have a personality!

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

I love how that's the first one we both thought of

[@NYCHFAN]

I would say that to me, decks become friends. Much like the way a favorite book becomes a friend. The more I use a deck, the more it feels like a friend. If I haven't used a deck in a long while, I may have to read from it for a week or so before it feels familiar again. Is that personifying? I don't know. 😊🃏

[@fairlighttarot]

Hi! I've just found your channel thanks to a VR by Robyn's Reflections and I really enjoy it :) I totally personify my decks and I fight with some of them as if they were people lol! Loved this video, great prompt :)

[@mogvgb]

In my case: I am a practicing witch for 35 years, I have a large collection of tarot cards, I am very Autistic, and I am about as sensitive to 'energy' as a brick (yet CAN feel electricity in the walls, which the NT's don't seem to be able to do). For the most part I don't personify my decks, though I *can and have* stretched a metaphor to play along for the purpose of a survey/VR/fun convo. I will get some of those emotional vibes from individual cards or the art style, and so I might select a deck accordingly to how I feel/what I want to ask but I really don't get the feeling of a deck having any inherent personality... if I want to stretch to get the point I might say that a particular deck brings out that side of me as a reader in that context. For me reading cards is very much about metaphor and my relationship to or within the metaphor (or the querents if I am reading for someone else which I don't do much), not the deck... the deck might help set or reflect the mood, but ultimately it is coming from within me. So I don't get the whole 'it is something beyond the deck', I don't scorn that or anything, it is just not a sense or awareness that is available to me. I probably would replace metaphor for the use of 'energy', and so colours and symbols and what not still impact my interpretation. My beliefs around tarot are pretty much all along the lines of "Hey look at this metaphor, where in your life does this metaphor apply?" I don't view them as inherently spiritual at all, and if I were to stretch that I *might* give something to the art, but as for the deck - it is firmly in coloured cardboard land for me. They are just a tool, and can be used for spiritual purposes or mundane purposes. I don't use crystals in a woo way, but my dad was a lapidarist and a rock-hound so I like gems/pretty rocks etc in that sense, and sometimes have found stones that I keep that have personal meaning to me. I don't get ANY 'energy' from crystals whatsoever and I do not really understand how people experience that. Like I said, energetically as sensitive as a brick so I am not saying it is impossible for others to get that stuff, it just isn't there for me and so it isn't a factor. I have lots of decks because I like lots of art, and I like the constraint of the tarot system as a container for all the different artists, it lets me compare like to like and appreciate the differences in a way that is more difficult when not constrained by a system (so oracle cards for example are much harder to compare and contrast in this way).

[@dayofthejackyl]

What is an NT?

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

I definitely get having decks as little packs of artwork for sure. Autism is a trip, isn't it? Mine is the opposite, everything is brimming with energy (even aside from the electricity in the walls) and quite frankly, it's exhausting. 😂 I was a kid who could be made to finish food if someone said it would be sad if I didn't eat it, so it might be a me thing. For me, it's definitely the artwork and even the tone of the guidebook that lends a deck its personality.

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

@@dayofthejackyl Neuro Typical

[@TrioofWitchesTarot]

@@tarotreadingsfromabitch Same. Sooooo much energy everywhere coming off everything!

[@mogvgb]

@@dayofthejackyl Neuro-typical as opposed to neuro-divergent

[@sincerelyshannadee]

This is funny 😅 I didn't realize people DIDN'T personify their decks!

[@TrioofWitchesTarot]

I'm definitely not a DON'T. My thoughts on this are probably very different than many ppl. From a physics perspective everything is energy. Everything in the universe is energy. Our senses are tuned to some of the energy wave lengths. We can hear sounds in a certain spectrum, we can see light in a certain spectrum. The fact that we can't see or hear outside of those spectrums does not mean the energy does not exist. I believe that when I interact with a deck I exchange energy with it. The colors and artwork fire neurons. The feel of the cards fires neurons. The sound of the cards as I shuffle fires neurons. There is a symphony of neurons firing. There is an intent in the colors, brush strokes, lines, dots, etc. in the artwork. All these things add up to the "personality" of the deck. Maybe that symphony never happens, maybe it is not a symphony that delights. The artwork can speak to your subconscious, your past memories, the collective unconscious or not. When it does tho the personality comes alive. The deck speaks in a unique way that only you can experience. You can read for someone with a deck, interpret the meanings of the cards but they will add their own layers because the art will speak to them in a nuanced way. So YES decks have "personality".

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

Oh I love this!

[@caryj6562]

I wonder if people who don't personify decks have smaller collections? It would seem to me that if you don't personify, you don't really need more than a few decks, because they all read pretty much the same, surely?

[@fourofcats5803]

I would love to know the answer to that!

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

I would imagine so, but maybe not?

[@steffymuze]

​@threeofcats5803 me too! My guess is no, the art is still different even if the deck itself has no "personality" but I'm not in that camp so IDK.

[@Umurhan999]

I've felt a personality from a small minority of my decks tbh. It has got very little to do with the art and assigned meanings (though it is still there). For example, I read a lot of with Marseille decks and out of all them, I felt a a sly, darkly playful and quite intelligent tone from my reads with my Camoin-Jodorowsky. His tome of a book has a very psychological and archetypal read of the Marseille Tarot with his modifications, which I don't really get from that deck. My Mary-El feels like a therapist revealing my deepest shadows instead of the more esoteric read tge author gives, even though I do primarily use her language assigned to the deck. My Squidcake Marseille reads very materialistic, pragmatic and completely without humor or cuteness. My Deviant Moon reads with a deep shadow despite its sense of humor that my rational side pulls me to. As to your question, most of my Marseille decks and plenty of RWS inspired decks (Wild Unknown, Crow, Sidhe etc) don't feel like showing a personality at all. There is the information and I react with logic, emotion, intuition and so on and so forth to that but there is no repeated character to the answers outside of those things and assigned meanings. That personality has nothing to with the author/creator's intent for me.

[@dayofthejackyl]

It depends on what time of year it is. If it’s autumn, around Halloween and the air is absolutely *thick* with magick? Hell yeah, that deck is alive and knows my name and innermost thoughts and secrets 😂 but around now in the dog days of summer it can be hard for me to feel that spark. Idk why this is the case and it doesn’t just apply to tarot.

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

My entire practice is this way, it always feels farther away in the summer and I don't know why that is either! It's interesting that you brought up the seasons though, because not all of my decks have much "personality" but some certainly feel more alive in certain seasons.

[@teslagoth9401]

I love this! I’ve seen people be haughty about personifying decks.

[@grumpyschnauzer]

I tend to personify any inanimate object… that’s just my connection and proclivity towards focusing on “things”. My connection or relationship to things is sometimes more personal to me than my relationship with a person. I didn’t know I was doing this until a colleague/friend pointed out that I personify things 10 years ago… I was in my 20s. Different strokes for different folks. Some personalities are “people” or “identity” related and some personalities are “things” or “sensory” related/focused. For me, things tend to stick around longer than people so in my mind these things matter to me as if they take on a personhood. I wouldn’t say attributing a “thing” to a “person”. It’s more like the deck is ITS OWN person. It’s quite an interesting conversation to have!! Some people get to squeeze mommy when they are little and scared and others get to squeeze a doll or teddy bear… who’s mommy at this point? LOL 😂 Kind of silly but makes the point for me. At the end of the day we are personifying in a language of archetypes. I name my plants 😂 and I attribute plant or deck characteristics to my boyfriend. It’s interesting that you talk about the smugness of people who do not personify decks or “things”. I’ve learned that people who personify things (including me) tend to be of indigenous ancestry… it’s how stories were shared about the world around us (Greek myths) and before we had actual language to communicate (brought on by white culture). Literally, people have made fun of me for personifying things.

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

I avoided saying this in the video, but the "smug" attitude seems to come from white cis men. It reminds me of my time in atheist communities and how they were "intellectually superior" to people who believed in something else. I can't help but feel like it might have a similar source?

[@three_degrees_of_love5460]

I think the word you are looking for is humanely relatable and practical for use in everyday life??? What is the point to having a collection of them if there is no relatable practicality to it??? What is the whole point to having and using them if you aren't relating them in a practically useful way that is equally relatable energetically to its user??? Would that be a fare summary of your question??? I absolutely would agree and yes!!! The is an ABSOLUTE METHOD to my crazy collection!!! 😏😏😏🙋🏾‍♀️🙋🏾‍♀️🙋🏾‍♀️🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙈🙈🙈🫣🫣🫣😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🥰🥰🥰☺️☺️☺️💞💞💞

[@tarotreadingsfromabitch]

😂 The decks will be sad if you don't buy them!

[@moonmystic]

I think good readers will always feel the energy of a certain deck, right? It's logical that if it's playful, it's playful! If it's serious it's just serious! I mean, the Gummy Bear tarot will never be anything but gentle... to me. The one deck I have that screams personality at me is the Tarot of Prague... oh my goodness is that deck grumpy. It just acts like I'm an idiot it has to tolerate! LOL... For true! In all fairness though, it's wise!

[@jolieolieo]

Decks are literally personified when they are made. Some are made with elaborate artwork, which is a form of personification; some are made with elaborate books that are long and detailed, which is a form of personification some have both I believe when we read the energies that are intrinsic to the decks as they are born, and then we interact with them. The individual decks start to take on a different life of their own. Life always happens through interaction with other life.