Decks like the Mary El, first time deck for intuition, archetypes, shadow work

[junwaka]

TLDR: Decks like the mary el?

I feel drawn to get into tarot, i am a holistic health student, and have knowledge of astrology and am interested in tarot to understand archetypes and my shadow(s) (jungian stuff)... and to work on my intuition.

I want a deck that i can read based on intuition opposed to via memory/ logic/ analytical (which i may be too heavily reliant on in my day to day... mercury in virgo). So i think marsailles would not be good for that based on the minors?

So a deck with amazing imagery symbolysm for minors as much as the majors would be great.

I am drawn much more by thoth than RWS, and am turned off by decks that are too light (airy fairy water colouring), oldschool (medieval cartoons), or make me think of fantasy board games /books.

So i thought the mary el was awesome but maybe it has like 1 or 2 many penises in it than i perfer, but besides that its nice and colourful and Rich and has great symbolysm.

The Night sun seems good except its a little bit too comic book style and the minor arcana are not as rich as the major arcana like the mary el (from my initial perspective)

any reccomendations will be greatly appreciated!

[Tomatosauce]

Maybe Tarot of the Spirit? The illustrations are a bit more color-saturated than the Mary-el, but maybe it would serve?

I also wanted to chime in and say I laughed out loud at "1 or 2 many penises than I prefer." I feel that on a spiritual level. Good luck in your deck hunt.

[stronglove]

i gave away both the mary el and the night sun, because they were a bit too dark for me, the imagery was too intrusive somehow.
my choice for a deck to use intuitively and for shadow work would be eden gallanter’s cheimonette tarot, very strong imagery and really interesting guidebook.
and i second tomatosauces mention of the tarot of the spirit, it is one of the first decks i bought. the guidebook is awesome.
if you like the thoth, then m. m. meleen’s rosetta and tabula mundi provide a wealth of symbolism, esoteric depth and great artwork
some other decks that come to mind are christine payne-towler’s tarot of the holy light and robert place’s tarot decks
for reading intuitively you might also want to check out some more abstract or surrealistic decks like the petrak, the margarete petersen, dream dust shamanic or the japaridze. sue kovacs (dream dust shamanic) hosts her own facebook group
hope you find what you are looking for, let us know if you do!
ps i recently bought carmen sorrenti’s polarchos tarot, haven’t worked a lot with it yet but it might be worth to look it up, it reminds me of the mary el somehow, (without the penises.... )

[Nemia]

I find that for shadow work, which is dark anyway, I do better with a reassuring deck. I have had very good experiences with the Silhouettes Tarot which works totally intuitive - it has the shadow aspect built-in because it's silhouettes, but it's also wimsy, warm and childhood-affine. I like it with its expressive colouring and for my childhood-work it has been wonderful.

Silhouettes Tarot


Another deck that works very very well for me is the Rosetta Tarot. It's very close to the Thoth but a new and original take by the enormous erudite and talented M.M. Meleen. This deck comes with a huge burst of positive, creative energy.

Both decks are totally non-threatening and when my shadow work could drag me down, they lift me up - and not in a cheap or cheesy way. Both decks acknowledge that there is indeed darkness but both insist that there are colours, light, wisdom and insight at all. The Silhouettes helps me discover the story because it looks like a story. And the Rosetta by connecting me to the great archetypes and esoteric secrets.

Rosetta Tarot


I'd say find the deck that reads best for you. Don't look for a dark deck if you don't feel drawn to it. You CAN do shadow work with a bright and sunny deck.

Imagine that you'd wish to talk about your shadow with a person you trust. Would you go for the frightening pessimistic type, weighed down with dark secrets, or to the warm, loving optimist who will build you up when you feel embarrassed? I'd go for the second type. Obviously, many prefer the first but check it out for yourself what makes you feel comfortable

[Amoroso]

I checked out the Mary-El and it's gorgeous. Seems like a great dark-themed autumn deck. Got my copy