So yesterday, I had the itch to trim the borders off my Fey Tarot (this would be the 9th deck that I have trimmed). I never really clicked with this deck, so I wondered if I cut the washed-out borders off, if the deck would speak to me more. I went through my scans and selected two random cards (The Fool and Three of Swords, above) and cropped them on my computer to see how they would look trimmed. I really liked the change. I wanted to trim them, but was having second thoughts because it takes a lot of work, and I didn't know if I wanted to invest the time in prettying up a deck that I never choose to use anyway. So I decided to do a reading about it. (I remember before trimming one of my other decks, I had asked the deck first if I should trim it, and I drew the King of Swords, which I took as a very clear sign to hack away!)
I used my Yes/No spread for this reading.
Should I trim the borders off my Fey Tarot?
Yes, if I want this outcome:
Nine of Pentacles
I often see this card as the illustration of the song "My Way" by Frank Sinatra. This is a card of independence, and getting to where you want to be by doing things your way. If I want to approach this deck the way I really want to, then yes, I should trim the borders off.
No, if I am looking for this outcome:
The Devil
Ha! And this is quite the opposite from the "My Way" theme of the Nine of Pentacles. This card is doing something someone else's way. The Devil makes you do things you don't want to do, by giving you excuses for why you can't have it your way, and tempting you with false promises. So, if this is what I want, to leave my deck untouched, like most people do, then I should not trim it.
Something to consider:
Three of Swords
Wow! Now here is a perfect example of a card's meaning having nothing to do with why it came up in a reading. This card was one of the two images that I had test-cropped on my computer. This was the card that, when cropped, made me want to trim the whole deck. So for this card to come up, out of the 78 possibilities, as what I need to consider, then I'd say that was as sure a sign as I could get!
I immediately grabbed my scissors and corner rounder, and trimmed away! And I am very happy with the results. When I first got this deck, I was disappointed that the colors on the cards weren't as vibrant as the scans show online. Adding that to the washed out border color really made it unappealing to me. Now the colors seem deeper, and I look forward to seeing if I click better with this deck now. I'll be using it for my daily draws this week.
Here are some pics of my trimmed cards... (click on them to enlarge)
Deck: Fey Tarot (by Mara Aghem and Riccardo Minetti, published by Lo Scarabeo)
~ Kiki
Tarot Dame
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11 comments:
Perfect! The 3 of Swords was right :) If you hadn't trimmed them, the deck would have been sad. Now it gets to stretch its wings and fly free!
Have fun reading together!
It really does look amazing Kiki. I was so inspired, after seeing these photos on Facebook. I have the Fey and like you, never really got much from it. Looking at your trimmed version gives it a whole new life. I don't even remember some of these pictures, but they look fantastic. If they were bigger, I think it would be a favourite of mine, where as at the moment, I have had it a few years and hardly ever used it. Thanks for inspiring me!
Hmmm. I really love your deck. But for me, I've had no trouble with the deck as is.
Very pretty trimmed though! I say, if it helps you in working with the deck and making it truly yours, then by all means!
the cards do 'pop' without the borders - I now see an oracle deck.
I do love the Fey Tarot. Cutting the borders do make them come alive even more, Kiki.
Thanks everyone! It's so bizarre... every single reading I've done with this deck since trimming it, has been so clear to me. When all the times I'd used the deck before, the cards just didn't make a whole lot of sense. I'd have to stretch my imagination to make them coherent to myself. So I guess maybe the faeries were holding back until I freed them from their constraints! :) Enjoying this deck much more now that I can read with it more smoothly!
Ooooh, beautiful!!!
I'm a big fan of trimmed decks (it completely transforms the Haindl, for instance) but for some reason I'd never considered the Fey - even though it's one of those decks I like, but somehow never use.
Thank you for the inspiration!
Bummble... Yes, it certainly gives the decks new life, doesn't it? Oftentimes it feels like an entirely different set of cards. :)
Just found your post here. Trimming truly is addictive. Your decks looks great :)
Alec
I wonder, did it affect the back of the cards at all? I have been considering purchasing this deck!
Oh, my, Kiki! They look tremendous. I was poking around for images of trimmed Dreaming Way cards, as I'm awaiting mine from Amazon and think they need to be trimmed immediately.
I'm just not sure whether to trim off the titles or leave them and just remove the white border around the other three sides.
Seeing the completely trimmed Fey is so helpful. Thanks for sharing this.
jme
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