One Fool’s Journey to Marseille Tarot

If you read tarot cards for others you’ve probably had the experience of receiving information that has little to do with the question being asked.  If you’ve been reading for any time at all you’ve also probably learned the wisdom of listening closely in such cases.  What you’re being shown is usually of high importance.

That which we seek is not always that which we need.

Just as the numbered pip cards in each suit range from ace (1) to ten, so the intensity of a tarot message can range from the softest whisper to the most insistent roar.  Innocuously synchronistic events can have far-reaching consequences. Tarot answers our unasked questions in the world outside of our readings.

Not long ago the tarot extended me a helping hand.  The result?  A revolution in my relationship to the cards, how I read, and in the positive help that I can provide through this centuries-old art.

It’s like the training wheels are removed, and then you realize you never needed the training wheels. Paul

Read on for the rest of the story!

My history with tarot

I’ve been reading cards since my late twenties.  During my clinical psychotherapy training¹ I came to believe that some of the people who came to me for readings were seeking a way to avoid personal responsibility for their actions.  For this and other reasons I decided to put my cards away and focus on serving clients with different tools.

Late in 2009 I had a sudden health scare.  In the weeks following, I became acutely aware of how disconnected my soul felt from our common Source.  Thinking back and reflecting over the spiritual experiences in my life, I realized that tarot has consistently been the truest and most direct path.  The scales fell away from my eyes, and for the second time in my life, I picked up the cards.

I needed a new deck

The Universal Waite tarot deck² was always my trusted companion. When I resumed reading cards, I naturally  reached for my old friend.  Like a faithful hound it happily jumped off the couch and onto the path. Yet despite its obvious enthusiasm, I felt its weariness and fatigue.  Be it projection or something more, I felt the only thing to do was to wrap it back up lovingly and let it return to rest.

A quick google search reunited me with Aeclectic Tarot (AT), still alive and well, and a source of many recommendations.  After a month or so of exploration, I found myself steadily using Morgan-Greer to read for others and Deviant Moon for myself. As much as I respected and enjoyed these decks, part of me continued hungering for something more.

Returning to the AT forum, I read a thread suggesting the Arcus Arcanum deck as underrated yet loved.  Finding a new copy at a good price on Amazon marketplace, I placed my order and waited. Within a few days a (very) small package arrived. Tearing it open I was surprised to find a tiny French tarot deck by someone called Comoin.  Through email upon learning the mistake the sender suggested I keep the deck at no charge.  Upon hearing this, I wasted no time in breaking it open.

First Marseille tarot impressions

Immediately these beautiful little cards exerted a strange fascination on me. In my early teens I was riveted by the images in an old book on Martin Luther called Here I stand.  Those medieval woodcuts held me to such a degree that I almost wouldn’t let the book out of my hands. This tiny Marseille tarot had a similar effect.

What was this? How could I even use this kind of a deck? More than half the cards seemed not even to be illustrated!³ While my mind continued to resist for some weeks following, the deeper part of me knew that the path for my feet was already set.

I’d found my deck.

Spiral Movements

It’s easy to fall into the habit of thinking of a successful life as one that moves in a straight line. A more useful model is that of a spiral. With each level of mastery, our position shifts to allow us a new apprentice beginning, at a higher level than before.

Marseille tarot reads differently than the Rider-Waite type decks most US and UK readers use. Moving to Marseille means stepping off the cliff. The more we try to hold on to old meanings and methods, the more difficult the transition.

Noblet tarot and Dodal tarot

These days I’m reading only with Flornoy’s restorations of the circa 1650 Noblet and 1701 Dodal. The awe-inspiring size of the physical Dodal cards somehow seems right for public readings.  The diminutive, elegant and no-less weighty Noblet is my first choice for study and meditation.

Readers Studio 2010

In April 2010 I’ll be attending my first Readers Studio in New York City. This is a three day long training and play session for professional tarot readers from all over the world.  Each reader is supposed to bring one or more decks to use.  For me it will be only Marseille.  Scary?  Yes!

And this fool keeps walking.

To be continued…

Originally posted 2010-03-16 16:24:56.

1. Masters of Social Work, Fordham 2005; Institute of Core Energetics, 2002 [↩]
2. There are two broad groups of tarot decks.  The Rider-Waite-Smith and Crowley decks comprise one branch.  The older Tarot de Marseille is the other. [↩]
3. The Tarot de Marseille pip cards actually are illustrated, though in a different way than in the Rider-Waite. [↩]

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Tagged as: Arcus Arcanum, Deviant Moon, Dodal, Morgan-Greer, Noblet, Readers Studio, Spiral Movements, Tarot de Marseille, Universal Waite