When looking through lists and lists of decks to find one that attracted my attention, I found the Minchiate Etruria. The idea of 97 cards grabbed my attention.

It wasn't long before I found a few discussions about the Tarot de Marseille and of course soon had my hands on one.

My first was the Thunder Bay Press "Tarot Set" (Conver reprint). And the rest is history, I suppose.

So how did you come to the TdM?

I came to the Tarot de Marseille through the marvelous discussions at Aeclectic, and subsequently at other forums. My deck of choice now is the Flornoy 78-card pack, but my first TdM (and still a favorite) was the Grimaud.

I came to the Tarot de Marseille when I was about 12 years old. For some spooky reason, I was attracted to Tarot images in books from the moment I saw them. But, at that time, there was no Internet really and the Rider-Waite and Crowley decks dominated the US market, thanks to US Games Systems, Inc.. So, I bought my first Rider-Waite deck when I started getting an allowance, but was dissatisfied from the start. I actually didn’t like the cartoon, storybook scenes on the Minors, and I didn’t like the Golden Dawn Society enhancements in the imagery of the Majors. And, don’t get me started on the Crowley deck.

Truly, I preferred the primitive images of the Majors and the pips on the Minors. They seemed more, well...authentic.

I remember going to some Renaissance Faires and seeing the fortune-tellers use the Rider-Waite or Crowley, and thought to myself, “Oh how anachronistic!” So, I actually drew my own Marseille deck out of a book I got from the library! It was on thick cardboard and cumbersome. But, it sealed the deal on my love for the TdM. Since then, it was a quest to find a Marseille deck and then how best to read with the Marseilles Tarot. My first one was a Grimaud with English/French titles, given to me actually by an old, rich woman I met in the countryside who taught me her way to read...not kidding. She followed Papus' method with the Minors.

Later, in my twenties, I would read Tarot at some of the Faires and would attract attention from my Tarot colleagues with my TdM, “How do you read with that deck?!” they would ask desperately. I didn’t have the secret, but I had developed ways and means. I quit the Faires because, underneath the cosmetic merriness of the Renaissance Faire was politics, jealousies, territorialness, etc. amongst readers. It was, at the end of the day, a business. Also, I was tremendously insecure in many ways, and the pressure to read and meet the demands of the public was too much at the time.

So, I collected Tarot de Marseille decks, ran a smaller and more intimate reading practice and now enjoy 1 or 2 main decks for reading for friends and family.

I now follow the Camoin Method of reading, which I learned from friends in Europe and continue to learn always. My quest to learn that method was hard won, through hard research and the synchronicity of meeting teachers along the way.

Now, my non-TdM decks are in my museum, which is a box in my closet.

I found the 1JJ Swiss in my mother in laws attic in 1977. This deck isn't a true TdM, but the power of this deck...i.e. the images and the colours left a deep impression on me at the time. It started me off on the journey and i am still traveling, still learning and still loving it. In fact, my enthusiasm for the Tarot has never diminished.

Lunarsea --

I love the 1JJ Swiss Tarot!

This was the Tarot deck that the head of the US Games Systems company found in Europe that got him hooked on Tarot.

His company published the US version, anyway. Curiously, this is not at all a Rider-Waite/Crowley deck. But, it didn't take the same way that the RWS did.

It is an elegant deck indeed.

It is an elegant deck indeed.
You are right. It is elegant, but at the time...way back when, those daunting images "nearly" put me off, though their pull proved to be too strong. Mind you, i soon became aware of the RWS.

However, even now i've got a fondness for the swiss deck. I still haven't got the Noblet, something i really ought to address asap. The Jodo/Camoin is my main TdM reading deck at this moment...though this changes periodically, as is an old Grimaud (the one with the thicker then usual cardstock). The Hadar is a favourite too. The Vivielle or the Dussere are both decks i'd very much like, but that just has to wait for a little while.

About 20 years ago, my sisters used to buy teen magazines imported from Spain, a real novelty at that time, they included articles with Marseilles Tarot readings about an idol's next record, movie or girlfriend, eventually the magazine taught how to read Tarot in a series of articles, of course the lessons were very fortune "telling style" but I knew there was something deeper to be found in those cards.

That was my introduction to the deck, at that time there was so few information available except for a couple books (not that good BTW)

Living in Mexico, the most available decks and books are those in the Rider Waite Smith type, so I used the tools at hand to learn Tarot, after a couple years I needed (still need) something more challenging and that is how I got back to my "Tarot roots" and decided to study Marseilles, I'm pleasantly surprised by the number of virtual communities and information available today, so I feel on the right way to become a "fluent" Marseilles Tarot reader.

jmd at Aeclectic led me to the TdM.

I had a Morgan-Greer deck back in the 70s, and fell in love with the Visconti deck in the 80s; then had a lot of oracle decks while I studied mythology in the 90s and early 2000s. The Visconti led me to AT, and AT led me to jmd. I asked him what decks I should get to study the history of the TdM, he recommended the Flornoy (22 was all that was available) Noblet and Dodal, and the Heron Conver. I was lucky enough to add a 78 Dodal, and a Vieville, then started adding in every version I came across, including cousins like the Besançon, and Belgian.

I'm primarily interested in the history and development of the pattern. I love to compare and contrast the details in the deck, and try to follow the changes to iconography that occurred whenever the deck was copied, and especially when it traveled to new lands.

Although not a TdM, the Jacques Vieville is my favorite deck. I find it dynamic, full of secrets, and holding at least a little touch of magic.

I'm also a big fan of the Jean Noblet, and adore the new 78 card version from Flornoy.

I've come to look at all the different variants as different testaments to what once existed. I think we have copies of copies of copies of copies of the old decks; and while I don't think the iconography has changed too dramatically, I do think we would be surprised and delighted with the clarity that I suspect the pattern once contained.

I'm also a big fan of the Jean Noblet, and adore the new 78 card version from Flornoy.
As from today i am the proud owner of the Noblet (78). I must say it is everything i thought it would be and more.

Congratulations Lunarsea!!!

It's wonderful isn't it? I was so worried while they were working on it how it was going to come out. I was worried about the colors, and cardstock.. I'd been so spoiled by the handmade 22 versions. When the deck first arrived I was almost afraid to open it; but when I did... AH! I was SO delighted. Perfect, perfect, perfect... Jean-Claude Flornoy's love of detail certainly came through, even in a mass produced deck.

I hope you have a wonderful time with the Noblet. He is bawdy, funny, and (I suspect) drinks a bit on the side. On the other hand, he has much to reveal, and is good to have as a close friend and confidant.