Hate this deck...

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 Nov 2001, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Kiama	11 Nov 2001
Well, I purchased the Haindl Tarot deck yesterday, and must say that I cannot stand it. I hate the artwork, and I can't get used to all those strange and horrifying creatures that adorn the cards. I don't understand most of the cards, and don't like the Minors. But it's a classic deck, so is a must for a collector. I'm wondering though, cuz I heard that loads of you like this deck lots... How do you work it out? What do you think? Kiama

Kaz	11 Nov 2001
Well, I don't have the deck, but I looked it up here in the list, saw 6 cards. It's surrealistic, earthlike colors, I like the blending of the images with the surroundings, I like the cards I saw. Maybe it's just taste, it's a deck I would buy if I was a collector, just for the pictures (based on the 6 here on the site). Reading with it, can't tell you. I just liked what I saw....... 'Maybe it helps when you look at some other surealistic artists, Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Juan Miro. "Products" of those artists are based on: in dreams and in those moments that imagination rules above ratio, then associations and pictures will grow in the concious that are more important for/to existing than traditional subjects that are being used in art. Send it over here Kiama if you hate it... Kaz

truthsayer	11 Nov 2001
is it possible you could return the deck and exchange it for one you like better or get your money back? i did this recently w/ a deck i didn't click w/. i do a lot of business at this store and other than the outer wrapping off, the deck was totally undamaged. i returned it the day after i bought it. i had no problems getting my money back.

Major Tom	11 Nov 2001
Hurts me a bit when I hear someone I like as much as you say words like hate...but then I remember your age. :D I bought the Sacred Circle and Spiral decks in the same mad moment and 'hated' both of them. After I'd lived in the same house with them a few weeks I still hated Sacred Circle and 'fell in love with' the Sprial. Go figure! Give it a bit of time before you return it or trade it or give it away. The deck might just be a bit uncomfortable with you too. }> Give it a chance to speak.

jmd	12 Nov 2001
I concur with Major Tom!... don't hate it, just withold judgement, seek to understand it, and give it time... though I must admit that even after six odd years of owning it, it has certainly not become part of any of my favourite 20 decks! I first studied it because I had done some correlations between the minor arcana and the I Ching, and I thought it interesting to look into what somebody else had done. With regards to the various cultural overtones, I think the authors/illustrators have done a brilliant job... just not one which I find personally appealing. Unlike you, I definitely DO NOT think of it in any shape or form a 'classic' deck, just as a deck which has been around for a (relatively still short) while... as such, it may be a must for a collector as an addition. But don't feel you need to add all the ones which have been around to your collection. A beautiful deck which is definitely a must for a collector is the S. Dali deck... though it isn't one I would want to use other than as an artistic addition to my Tarot treasure chest, for its cost as well as because of its depictions...

deso	12 Nov 2001
I know your feelings, Kiama - I felt the same way when I got them ..... didn't dislike them but didn't like them either...... hmmmm...... Thankfully, I also bought the two volumes that went with them. Written by Rachel Pollack - after reading the books, okayyyyyy, after SKIMMING the books, I fell in love with the cards (and still do). Hope this helps!!!!

Kiama	12 Nov 2001
Well, I definitely am not gonna give up on it that easily, so don't worry on that count Major Tom and a couple of others... I was aiming to buy the two volumes about it by Rachel Pollock soon to see if once I knew what the cards were going on about, I could use it moreproductively. And I am certainly not returning it. I might as well keep it in my collection, after all, something made me buy it. Ah well, as with so many things in life, with Tarot it is the same: Some you win, some you lose... Kiama

Greenman	13 Nov 2001
i hope you do get the Pollack books, because i'm interested in returning to this thread in a couple of months and seeing what your opinion is then. even if you still don't like them, i think your relationship with the tarot will be stronger for having experienced something from the 'other side' of your point of view. i personally find this deck to be very powerful, and i love it!

catlin	13 Nov 2001
Hi, Haindl has a very peculiar artwork. I am no fan of surrealistic stuff but I like some of his ideas behind his decks ( I got all of him, twice the Haindl tarot cards, the rune cards and the Bach remedy cards) and of course the books by Rachel Pollack. At first I did not like his deck either but that was in the time of my R/W period so the change from R/W to Haindl was too fast. If you have another deck in mind which you prefer then try to get it for the Haindl deck.

Andryh	14 Nov 2001
I was really repelled by this deck at first...It was so strange! It sat on my shelf for quite awhile. I read with the deck finally, and had a really intense reading. After that, the deck began to "grow on me". Before you ship this one back, take it for a test drive. If you still don't like it, trade it in. It just may not be for you. If its not, there are lots and lots of decks out there. With a little perserverence, you'll find some that are your style. Here's wishing you many good readings. Andryh

Jewel	14 Nov 2001
I love the art work on this deck (although it is not my usual type) but have not used it for reading yet. I did see that Rachel Pollock has put out a 3rd book on this deck and I almost purchased it (probably will soon). I only looked at this book briefly, but it seemed to have both major and minor arcana in it. I am planning to use this one first, and see if the other two are needed or not. Just my two cents ... Hope it grown on you Kiama!

Kaz	14 Nov 2001
Can you post those 3 titles of books by Rachel Pollack you mentioned in your post above Jewel? I want to look them up.... There is a catching virus going round here, everybody is buying decks, I look what ppl buy and when I like it, as with the Haindl deck I want to have it because it's beautiful. But on the other hand I feel stupid for wanting to have more decks than the 2 I own, I won't be finished with what I have for a long time. What you do with all those decks you have? You can only use 1 at a time and I read ppl having 40 or 50..... Anyway, it's catching, and I am curious about them books. Kaz

kalendara	15 Nov 2001
I have this deck too & so did a friend of mine who read these cards for me. The reading was nothing but horrible prognostications---they all came true. The deck really doesn't appeal to me either but, as you say, it's a classic and part of most readers' collections. After my negative experience, I find it tough to go near Haindl.

Jewel	15 Nov 2001
Quote: Kaz (15 Nov, 2001 05:31): Can you post those 3 titles of books by Rachel Pollack you mentioned in your post above Jewel? I want to look them up... There is a catching virus going round here, everybody is buying decks, I look what ppl buy and when I like it, as with the Haindl deck I want to have it because it's beautiful. But on the other hand I feel stupid for wanting to have more decks than the 2 I own, I won't be finished with what I have for a long time. What you do with all those decks you have? You can only use 1 at a time and I read ppl having 40 or 50..... Anyway, it's catching, and I am curious about them books. Kaz Kaz I know that third book is called The Heindl Tarot ... the other's cannot remember all I know is one is red and one blue, one is volume 1 and the other volume 2 *LOL* ... what I can recommend however is to go to amazon.com and search by author. I find a lot of things that way. Sorry I have no more info. That catching virus that compells you to want to buy decks you were talking about ~giggles~ I am so guilty of that ... all I can do is laugh ... I am one of the people you were talking about having 50+ decks *ROFLMAO*. You may only be able to use one at a time, but you can look at any of them any time you wish ;) If you get those books please let me know what you thought of them. I think that book called The Heindl Tarot might be a good one for you to get, if you find it useful then get the other 2. Volume 1 is about the Major Arcana, Volume 2 about the Minor Arcana. Bright Blessings and Tarot Dreams,

deso	15 Nov 2001
I like to just sit and drool over all my tarot/oracle decks. I have a life filled with responsibilities (and joys, of course) - so my decks are my rewards ............ they are my toys. Pretty, pretty toys...... ahhhhhh.

Greenman	15 Nov 2001
Kalendara, don't blame the messenger! and about those three books... i have the two volume set (red and blue), and i have a suspicion that the third book is a new combined edition. they did the same thing with her "Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom" (the R-W books).

Lee	16 Nov 2001
Hi -- I have all three books. The third, newest book is not a reprint of the first two -- it's a totally new book. I think it's called "Haindl Tarot: A Reader's Handbook." In it Rachel Pollack takes a more down-to-earth, practical, reading-oriented approach, rather than the more academic approach of the first two books. If anyone has the deck but none of the books, and would like to delve further into the deck, I would recommend the latest book. -- Lee

Kaz	16 Nov 2001
If, no, I mean when I get myself the Haindl Tarot I probably want those books as well. It's on my wish-list.... Thankz for the info ! Kaz

marichan	16 Nov 2001
Quote: Kiama (12 Nov, 2001 06:55): Well, I purchased the Haindl Tarot deck yesterday, and must say that I cannot stand it. I have to admit, I can't work with the Haindl at all, and the artwork looks :P to me. Too bad we don't have raspberry awards (worst) for the tarot decks. I would nominate this one in a heartbeat.

Kaz	17 Nov 2001
My creditcard is burning in my pocket here, I want that deck. I haven't ordered it yet because I still think of myself as silly of buying it just for the "having" of it. I wonder how long I can put this urge in the fridge ....... Kaz

blumoon	19 Nov 2001
"Haindl has a very peculiar artwork. I am no fan of surrealistic stuff but I like some of his ideas behind his decks ( I got all of him, twice the Haindl tarot cards, the rune cards and the Bach remedy cards)" catlin i am considering buying the haindl rune oracle cards one day in the near future, did you just buy the deck or both the deck and book? what do u think of the deck?

cayacia	19 Nov 2001
The friend who is teaching me the tarot brought it over one day and told me to use it for a while...feed off his energy he said..since I was having some trouble getting anything with my other two decks. It JUMPS at me when I use it and I think it's great though I don't think that I'll keep it too much longer. It's probably such a good deck because his energy is on it (and he's a lot better than me o.O). Still, it's nifty. Good for anyone who's into abstract art. I also like how I show up as the moon on this deck. That's nifty too. ^_^

The Hate this deck... thread was originally posted on 11 Nov 2001 in the Tarot Decks board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Tarot Decks, or read more archived threads.