I use different decks depending on my mood. The Afro-Brazilian Tarot is great when I want something with more earthy energy.
Other times, I go for the Dreaming Way deck; the Korean minimalist style just works when I need something cleaner.
I keep circling back to Prisma Visions as my main deck. I don’t know if I could say I have just one favorite though, I change so often and like using different decks for different types of readings.
Maybe I could pick an art style for a system like the RWS, but different Oracle decks have different systems, and I think they all have their own unique strength and weaknesses.
If I had to stick with one deck, it’d be the Thoth. No question. I recently had a client who was ready to quit their job. They pulled Adjustment, 8 of Cups, 4 of Disks, and The Aeon.
We looked at the timing with the Libra moon coming up, and I suggested they try negotiating instead of just leaving. Two weeks later, they’d set new boundaries at work, got a different title, and the 8 of Cups ended up being about dropping old work habits instead of quitting entirely.
I think people need to stop saying Thoth is too dark or edgy. Lady Frieda Harris created some incredible artwork with solid correspondences. Once you read the one-word minors as directions instead of judgments, the whole deck clicks differently.
The Wild Unknown by Kim Krans would be my only deck if I had to pick one.
The animal symbolism resonates differently in shadow work when you’re digging into the aspects you don’t want to look at. The art is mostly black and white with some rainbow bits. It has this raw vibe that doesn’t let you lie to yourself.
I keep finding new things in it, especially with how the animals show both positive and negative sides.
My current go-to is the Morgan-Greer. The Wild Unknown is close behind and ended up clicking for me.
In some Tibetan Buddhist practice, people visualize images dissolving to practice non-attachment. I use tarot a bit like that-hold the symbols lightly instead of locking into fixed meanings. That suits The Wild Unknown, since the abstract art invites looser reads.