Oh no!! Not THAT deck!!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 02 Jan 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

divinerguy	02 Jan 2002
My previous post naturally leads to something Truthsayer brought up ... What are the decks that drive you crazy ... and why. Here are my contributions. Rohrig Tarot - As a child, the artist was frightened by silicone enhanced exotic dancers. Cosmic Tribe - Geez, put some pants in the Hanged Man. (T.M.I.) Any Tarot with cats, faeries or angels - Insulin shock, coma .... thud. Crowley Thoth - Lady Frieda Harris shouldn't have had the pepperoni pizza before her vision. (burp) Robin Wood - the revenge of Ken and Barbie. Art Nouveau - Invasion of the Wonderbras Okay - I had my fun. Your turn. Gary

Kiama	03 Jan 2002
Well, I LOVE the Cosmic Tribe, Robin Wood (The deck I use all the time) and Crowley Thoth. Anyway, decks I don't like: Rider Waite. Just don't like it at all. Can't read with it, and the artwork is just pants. (Oh, did I just say 'pants'? Gosh, I sound so teenage.... He he.) Um... And that's it. The Rider Waite just annoys me to the brink! Kiama

Kaz	03 Jan 2002
Only one I can think off that I have and don't like is rider waite. Artwork is a disaster, but I can read with it. I just got Robin Wood as delayed b-day pressie from my parents and I like that deck very much. Kaz

glamourbug	03 Jan 2002
Mine has to be the merlin tarot. I always look at it and think oh no its the deck with the whole new system to numbering the majors with the indepth explanation of how the cards all link to each other and yet for the minors they just bunged some smelly old fish and funny looking birds in 'patterns'. If i can bare to go near it i might just trade it one day lol. Lisa

Cocobird5	03 Jan 2002
Tarot of the Cloisters. I bought it online without actually seeing the deck. The lines made me crazy. It was supposed to look like stained glass, but all of the arbitrary lines reminded me more of a weird kind of mosaic. I finally gave it to a friend of mine who liked it a lot. Sue

DeLani	03 Jan 2002
Ha, I really like this! I actually love the Robin Wood and Thoth, but to each his own. My pet peeve decks: 1. Witches Tarot (Not the one by Ellen Cannon Reed). Made for a James Bond movie. Just awful. The worst. 2. Shining Tribe: Either drawn by a preschooler with magic markers, or inmates at a hospital for the mentally underqualified. 3. Any deck that adds suits or cards. 4. Any foo-foo deck that has no "negative" cards. Because we all know that nothing bad ever happens and everyone is happy and well-adjusted at all times, right? (insert sarcastic smile here.) 5. And *especially* any deck where the Strength card shows someone displaying brute force (e.g., beating someone up or tearing something up). The exact OPPOSITE of what that card means!!! AAAARGH! (by the way, I liked the Hanged Man in the Cosmic Tribe! And I REALLY like the Chariot and his magic mushroom! He's HOT!) DeLani

divinerguy	03 Jan 2002
Quote: [b] (by the way, I liked the Hanged Man in the Cosmic Tribe! And I REALLY like the Chariot and his magic mushroom! He's HOT!) DeLani I think I'll be wearing briefs next time I hang upside-down on the monkey bars. Gary

Kiama	04 Jan 2002
And I REALLY like the Chariot and his magic mushroom! He's HOT!) DeLani[/quote] I think he's great too. And there's another guy in that deck Ithink's really sexy, but I've forgotten which one. Damn. Kiama

Jeanette	06 Jan 2002
Since I don't have the deck with these HOT guys, does anyone know of a website where they're posted so I can check them out? Or can someone send the images to me? I'm so curious now, especially about the hanged man!

divinerguy	06 Jan 2002
Sex sex sex, that's all you women think about. I don't know why I do it, but here's the website. http://www.stevee.com/pages/t.fs.html Have at it. On the same topic, do you how hard it is looking exactly like Russell Crowe, and having women hang on you ALL DAY? Never giving you a moment's rest. Well, maybe his next movie will bomb at the box office. Geez Louise. Gary

Talisman	07 Jan 2002
'Lo all, Ah, Divinerguy, you ask, "On the same topic, do you how hard it is... and having women hang on you ALL DAY? Never giving you a moment's rest. " Yes, I do. Have to beat 'em off with a stick. Good thing I'm not wealthy and handsome, (or either one) or it might really be a problem. What a fun topic! What a commentary on human nature that savage reviews are often so much more fun to real than positive ones. The deck that most makes me what to upchuck is the Connolly. I won't really say bad things about it 'cause I don't really want to offend those of you who love it, but, good grief! Perhaps, if I too had a mail order degree in philosophy from "Learn Me Gud University" I wouldn't be so critical. But the people in the cards all look so bored. Vacant. Vacuous. Gormless. If these cards were really created based on the "108 gold plaques in a secret and undiscovered room beneath the great pyramid at Ginza," then my estimation of the Eqyptian civilization is lowered by about nineteen notches. Talisman

Jewel	07 Jan 2002
I must say that I second the vote for the Witches Tarot (the James Bond version) ... that deck is just flat out ugly. I have never even been able to muster up the courage to look through the entire thing *LOL*. Another deck I just find simply drab is the Tree of Life Tarot ... and that is that I am all into the Tarot and Qabalah association thing ~chuckles~ ... just flat out ugly!

Marion	07 Jan 2002
Quote: Talisman (08 Jan, 2002 04:04): If these cards were really created based on the "108 gold plaques in a secret and undiscovered room beneath the great pyramid at Ginza," Talisman Um, er, if the room is "undiscovered", how'd he get the plaques? Or does he explain that?

Lilliana	07 Jan 2002
One deck I really don't like is the Haindl deck. The artwork really bothers me. Plus, alot of elements seem to be inspired from the crowley thoth, and it just seems pointless to keep reinventing the wheel. Another deck I really dislike is extremely popular, so I don't really want to mention any names :p The rider-waite was one that I struggled with for 6 years before I finally bought another deck. For ages I really disliked it, but now that I don't use it other than for study purposes, I can appreciate it's serious style and recognise it's good points. Lilli

Jewel	09 Jan 2002
Quote: Lilliana (08 Jan, 2002 12:59): Another deck I really dislike is extremely popular, so I don't really want to mention any names :p The rider-waite was one that I struggled with for 6 years before I finally bought another deck. For ages I really disliked it, but now that I don't use it other than for study purposes, I can appreciate it's serious style and recognise it's good points. Lilli Ahhhhhh Lilli come on you can tell us what popular deck you don't like ~giggles~ I for one promise to be gentle *LOL* ... I am really curious please do tell. Regarding your comments on the Raider Wait I had the same experience. Now that I use it simply for studying in conjuction with my favorite decks I have gained a real appreciation of the value of it. Love & Light,

kayne	09 Jan 2002
Ewww - The Merlin Tarot was my first ever deck. I bought it on sale (really cheap...) and that's what I thought tarot was! Put me off for about 5 years... I also resently got given the Tarot Erotica. It is just gross. Not tasteful at all... Divinerguy - 'fraid I am a big fan of the Cosmic Tribe - it is worth getting over the nudity to discover the deck... One of my pet peeves - Minor Arcana that don't have decent pictures that represent their meanings in a clear way (eg. Marseilles - sorry traditionalists..., Merlin, Courteney Davis' Celtic Tarot - even though I love the art work.) K.

truthsayer	09 Jan 2002
i also agree about the witches tarot. it's ugly and feels very negative. i bought it many years ago and so disliked it that i eventually buried it--as in dirt. at the time, i had read this is what you do w/ a deck you don't like. another one is the cosmic tribe. i hate the fool card so much that it's impossible for me to give the rest of the deck a chance. it's definitely shows foolishness but to the point of being totally repulsive. i know fool cards need to look foolish or be in the process of foolishness but i like just a bit more "dignity". i'm generally not turned off by nudity in the cards but if the fool at least had a jock strap on i'd feel better. i dislike the cards with the muscle men in speedos in the tarot of the witches so much that it turns me off the deck. too bad b/c some of the other cards are really wonderful. i also wish the courts had just a tad more symbolic depth. i just can't get a fix on what these courts are saying. that's one thing i do like about the rws is that the courts have enough symbolic depth that i can read them w/o too much difficulty. i don't like the celtic dragon or the shapeshifter. the art is gorgeous but the cards just feel superficial to me. i'm not crazy about the osho zen either. the art and the definitions are great. i'm not able to get past the feeling of darkness i get from the creator's inspiration being bhagwan. i don't really like the sacred circle either but i can't pin point a reason why. i like the book. just something about the art that leaves me uninspired.

kayne	09 Jan 2002
I went to bed thinking about this thread and I came up with more pet peeves... - overly christian symbology in a deck. - an over use of Angels, Fairys, Dragons, Gnomes etc... (They are fine in a deck if they are their to advance the meaning of the card...) - Back of cards that don't match or particularly suit the front of the cards. (I am dissapoined by the back of the Thoth Deck...) - Hair styles that are out of sinc with the era or theme it is using (particulaly obvious in Medieval decks produced in the early 80's) - Star Wars, Star Trek, Babilon 5 etc related decks. In saying all of this... I am prepared to put up with some of these things for a deck that has other excellent qualities... K.

Liliana	10 Jan 2002
Quote: kayne (10 Jan, 2002 13:32): I went to bed thinking about this thread and I came up with more pet peeves... - overly christian symbology in a deck. . That shouldnt exactly be a pe peeve, plenty of Christians read too so such decks need to exist, Its like a Christian saying overly Pagan symbolism is a pet peeve (I like a balance of both myself hehe) After all, the Rider-Waite deck has a ton of Christian symbolism. Not that I particularly like Rider Waite, Universal Waite is nice tho. While im at it, lets see pet peeves 1. Decks that stray greatly away from traditonal Tarot order yet call themselves Tarot (ala Master Tarot) 2. Decks that focus too much on one or another gender, also would prefer to see more multicultural decks, most decks seem to feature all white people unless its a themed racial deck 3Focusing too much on posutive or negative (Connolly big offender) 4bad art, especially when majors are gorgeous and minors rushed (Spiral somewhat) But silly me, the decks listed here are on my want list (or have in Spiral) for other things I like about them :)

Jewel	10 Jan 2002
Okay I have now finally found my GREATEST pet peeve in a deck! I hate decks where the figures have something litterally up their butts! Yesterday I purchased the Bosch Tarot and need I say more it is up for trade for just about any deck that is not the Witches Tarot *LOL* ... if any of you want it please e-mail me. Love & Light,

divinerguy	10 Jan 2002
Well, ya got me curious. Presumably, you're not talking about sodomy, if so, I agree with you. I assume you're using a euphemism for something else that bugs you. If you are, spill it, I just gotta know. Gary

kayne	10 Jan 2002
If you are curious about what Jewel was referring to... check this out: http://www.wicce.com/boschtarotpix.html I guess you would have an abundance of wealth if you could produce it that way... You were being pretty literal then... Is there more like this Jewel? Kinda' bizare but typical of his surreal artwork I suppose... K.

truthsayer	10 Jan 2002
i checked the bosch site out. 1st let me say this is not my kind of deck. second that picture w/ the guy standing over the treasure chest reminds me of a somewhat vulgar expression which the artist may have been aiming to get across,"he's so rich he could sh** money". considering the card is the 10 of pentacles i can see where he's coming from but really did he really have to go that far? ROFL the whole idea really cracks me up!!(no pun intended) ;D

Jewel	11 Jan 2002
Oh yeah there are more cards than that one where there are things coming out (or going in ... ewwwwwww) monster butts *LOL* ... I will go through the deck and look ... and yes Kayne I was being literal *LOL*. I think there may be a couple of wands and swords .... ewwwwww .... *LOL*. Once I go through it I will post a thread called Bosch Tarot and those of you interested can read it out of morbid curiosity can read it *LOL*. Well if nothing else the deck is turning out to be a conversation piece *ROFLMAO*. Love & Light,

Madonna	14 Jan 2002
Good Topic.Nice to hear recomendations but the negative feedback is worthy of consideration when looking at new decks. I disliked the Witch's deck. Artwork was not inspiring, & I think it was the least likely to encourage others to relate to . Love your insulin comment on cutsie pie cards. My best laugh tonight. ~Madonna

Logiatrix	14 Jan 2002
it's weird...can't say i actually dislike any one deck. i'm a collector--anything tarot is worth a look, at least! i have learned something from every deck i have acquired. a deck will tell me my preferences, MORE so, if it LACKS something to fulfill my tarot requirements. for example, i prefer the major and minor arcanas to be artistically consistent with each other. i have tried to use decks where the minors have much less attention placed on them than the majors. the Goddess, Greenwood and Art Nouveau (by M. Myers) tarots are examples of this inconsistency in design. positive examples are the Robin Wood or the Daughters of the Moon decks. each does a great job of balancing the artistic attention amongst all the cards. the Daughters of the Moon even goes so far as to consider the major arcana as a fifth suit or element, rather than "greater", as in the traditional trump delegation. also, i used to avoid decks with pips; now, i appreciate the historical significance of this structure--i can even read with them! while i like them, i don't tend to stay with theme decks for long--i usually tire of the theme. i find that tarot is an excellent vehicle for learning a subject (even when it's fairies and angels). speaking of... i LIKE the connolly deck, and i use it as my personal reading deck--HA! (must admit that i am not fond of eileen connolly's books.) i ALSO use the "Healing with the Angels" and "Healing with the Fairies"--combined-- for readings...double-HA! i have drawn much from the Robin Wood Tarot, and even more from her book on the deck; i just can't connect with these cards for consistent use. it's so popular that i REALLY tried--peer pressure, even in the world of tarot! BTW, in reference to rampantly um...posterior imagery: check out the Giger Tarot. dark, disturbing. or you might just think, "now, there's a rather upset gentleman". it just had to go in the collection...

january	14 Jan 2002
7 of Wands in the Robin Wood Deck is the Patrick Swayze card. See, he's auditioning for "Braveheart" but sadly loses the gig to Mr. Gibson. Hmm.. the card must have been reversed!

purplelady	17 Jan 2002
I really dislike the "dreampower tarot". I had it years ago and gave it away because I didn't like it.The minors are unillustrated pips. One bald naked man has breasts. The book has the most confuddling and strange system of learning and reading the cards. You can tell the author Thought it was clever , but I didn't. Something like the book insists you start reading IT in the middle , then skip to the beginning , then the end. Learn the minors first , and don't look at the majors 'til you're done with the minors. I bought it because dream interpretation and symbology interests me . But this deck was a big disapointment.

Ginny	21 Jan 2002
I find anything by Crowley (aka the Beast) a bit scary. I am a witch, a solitary practicioner, but I find the images on the Robin Wood deck and the Witches Tarot by Ellen Cannon Reed a bit too "nudie" (myself and most of my clients look nothing like the perfect images on the cards, so it is just another media image put forth in a card deck instead of a magazine, or catalog.) I do some outdoor readings at fairs and I don't want to use a deck I would feel uncomfortable using with kids in view. As you can imagine, I am a solitary as I am not into the big coven ritual thing. I am just a kitchen witch who reads cards. LOL. I like the Hanson Roberts deck. It does the job well and does not offend. Also, I have found the Animal Wise Tarot to be on target. Good old Rider Waite has served me well in the past, and I keep a mini one on hand for reference, but its images are not inspiring.

DeLani	24 Feb 2002
I just thought of another pet peeve of mine... I am really turned off when artists put Native Americans in Tarot decks. I'm not racist or anything. I just know a bit about NA cultures (3 yrs. studying Anthro), and they (the NA's) don't appreciate it either. What is shown is usually a white person's idealized view of what NA's are about. Not to mention, it's a completely different culture. It just doesn't go in the Tarot, which was developed within the "Old" World, using it's cultural assumptions and symbols. It's like putting scratch n sniff stickers on an oil painting - they just don't go together. Hope I haven't offended anyone, DeLani

Thirteen	26 Feb 2002
Quote: divinerguy (07 Jan, 2002 12:05): Sex sex sex, that's all you women think about. I don't know why I do it, but here's the website. http://www.stevee.com/pages/t.fs.html Have at it. That is a well-hung deck. I can see why some folk might have a problem with it. Someone's summer project while at nudist camp?

magdalene	26 Feb 2002
Tarocchi came on the scene in 1300-1400's Europe. Using them as tools for divination probably became popular late 1700's France. Any deck that pretends differently, like an Egyptian or other special interest group really bugs me. I prefer staying as close to the origins as possible. I prefer cups to whatever, and don't give me a replacement for the devil. The original archetypes are ingenious, and those who tamper with it, I feel, narrow the tarot vocabulary of archetypes. :) magdalene

Pedeka	18 Mar 2002
The Tapestry Deck creeps me out. It was a gift from a dear friend who was "trying" but doesn't know anything about tarot. The artwork is poorly executed, to the point of distraction,even though it seems like much thought and effort went into the deck. The 3 of cups looks like nothing more to me than 3 disembodied baby doll heads painted blue, and thats not even close to the feelings I associate with that card. Pedeka

napaisti	18 Mar 2002
The Enchanted (by Zerber) is the one that I own that really bothers me. It was an impulse buy; I liked the card pictured on the box (The Moon). Unfortunately, that was one of the few cards I liked. I like the way the book is organized, but I just can't seem to use the cards. It's far enough from traditional imagery that I don't want to use it for study, and I can't connect with it enough to WANT to use it for readings.

Tarot Hermit	19 Mar 2002
I have to agree about the Witches Tarot (James Bond) deck. The hair on all of the people all come to a point and everyone looks a bit mad. Another deck which I dislike intensely is the Mother Peace. It just is a bit too feminist for me. I also prefer balanced decks when it comes to the sexes. Although I am a collector I absolutely refuse to buy the cutesy decks which have faries, movies stars or fairy tales characters. I do have one cutesy that I do like very much. It is the Granny Jones deck, I believe the artist lives in Tasmania. But my favorite and the one that I use the most is the Thoth deck. Tarot Hermit

Zhritza	02 Apr 2002
I got the Tarot of the Witches (the James Bond thing) a number of years ago, and a while back I threw out the pip cards but kept the majors. I think they are sort of neat-looking and whimsical, certainly not outright ugly. I don't know what weird twist of fate made me the only person on the planet who does not hate this deck. It reminds me a bit of Rousseau's paintings (naïf) and has that "trippy" flavor that I have a big weakness for. However, I don't think I'll ever read with them, which brings me to my biggest pet peeve: Majors-Only Decks. :mad: What the hell is the point? 22 cards is just not enough. Even the fluffiest oracle decks do not have so few cards. I agree about pseudo-American Indian elements in decks. (I say Indian because all the "Native Americans" that I have met, as well as the Indian community leaders in my city, use the term Indian, so using a different term - however PC it is - doesn't make a lot of sense to me.) The Santa Fe deck is particularly silly. The Shining Tribe Tarot, Rachel Pollack's deck, was very disappointing to look at - online, that is; thank goodness I didn't buy it. It looks almost exactly like the Rock Art Tarot... ewwww! Pollack is a demigoddess, to be sure, but she needs to not draw things. Pips are generally yucky. Dressed-up pips are okay sometimes. The next deck I'm going to buy is the Crystal Tarot (a Lo Scarabeo deck - I am so in love with those folks) and it has pip-like minors, but they're so pretty, and the majors are so yummy, that I don't mind much. I agree wholeheartedly about the importance of artistic balance between the majors and minors, and I've heard other people say that they find the Spiral Tarot disparate in this way (it has a very impassioned review to that effect on aeclectic). But I find that deck to be just fine; the style change between the arcana somehow works. I do not like photographic collage decks *at all.* The one professional reader I've gone to (I think I was 12 at the time) used the Voyager deck and I have been turned off from that style ever since. This does not include the Zerner Farber, which I like.

kayne	02 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Qolus ... my biggest pet peeve: Majors-Only Decks. :mad: What the hell is the point? 22 cards is just not enough. Even the fluffiest oracle decks do not have so few cards. I agree Qolus! There is some fantastic art work on Major only decks around but I can't imagine ever getting a major only deck... Just not practical. Is there anyone out there that does buy Major only decks?

mermaid1622	02 Apr 2002
Quote: Originally posted by kayne Is there anyone out there that does buy Major only decks? Yes, you rang for me? :-) I'm one of those people who could happily read Majors only forever. (I do have and read from full decks as well.) mermaid1622

Diana	02 Apr 2002
edited

Lee	02 Apr 2002
There are several publishers, I think mostly European, who put out 22-card Majors-only decks, I think mostly for collecting purposes. Lo Scarabeo put out a lot, and now they're releasing 78-card versions of many of those 22-card decks. -- Lee

dolphingirl	02 Apr 2002
Hi My appoligies to those who love this deck but.... World Spirit Sun card - Alfred E. Newman meets tarot in a BAD BAD way (Yikes) World Spirit Devil card - the chick on the right every time I see this card I here the words in my head (Come and get it) sung out and start laughing hysterically, not what you want to do for a client when reading from a deck. :) Samantha

Kirali	30 Aug 2002
I just had to bump this post because it made me laugh when it first appeared a few months ago and I just bumped into it doing a search and began laughing again! I had to bump it! love it.. :) and decks that make me go yuck.. well I guess the original rider-waite color scheme... yuck yuck yuck! ~Kirali

moonman	30 Aug 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Kirali and decks that make me go yuck.. well I guess the original rider-waite color scheme... yuck yuck yuck! ~Kirali [/b] This was the first deck that I bought ONLY because others was saying to me it's the best deck to start with NO WAY!!!!! I feel like kicking myself when I binned my cosmic deck........long story. + I really like the Cosmic deck. But going back to the rider-waite that was my worst tarot mistake EVER!!! I could never read them for some reason. Pooh Pooh POOOOOHH :( :( It would be good to see a poll on best and worst tarot decks. Could someone do a poll PLEASE!! :* Seb

Jewel	30 Aug 2002
*LOL* yep this thread was a good laugh ... what is even funnier is that all these months later I still feel the same way about the Bosch Tarot *LOL*. I think this has prompted me to start a new thread ... decks you traded and would NEVER want back! *LOL*

Phoenix	30 Aug 2002
One deck which annoys the hell out of me is the Hanson-Roberts. Like divinerguy, this deck makes me feel like I am about to enter into a diabetic coma. It is entirely too sweet, amd the BIG heads really annoy the pants off of me!! Infact, I much prefer the Cosmic Tribe, Thoth, and Rohrig to this one!!

Gerbear	30 Aug 2002
I mainly collect, but the One World Tarot doesn't seem to even be related to tarot. It's as if the creator had a school project to "make a tarot deck". It's an odd size, even for my big hands. The photos used seemed to be straightout of a public domain pictures catalog. Any deck with nonsense packaging, like the Elemental. Everyone doesn't use those nice bags and boxes for their decks. I like to keep them in their original packaging. Know what I mean?

Violet Gargoyle	30 Aug 2002
I only have one real peeve with any of my decks: The Chinese deck- Usually a gorgeous deck but everytime I see the Fool I want to give him shelter and a plate of food, he looks soooooo haggard.....

Strega	31 Aug 2002
Tarot of the Witches - TOO UGLY! Tarocco Erotico dei Giardini di Priapo - TOO DIRTY!

Alex	07 Dec 2002
Spiral: the "spirit of gravity" pervades. Life is though but some bit of sense of humor helps too. Not even The Fool has a happy face on. The Maggician is the saddest of all the Maggicians, and the pages look so melancholic ... A bit of Prozac here would had helped. Oh my. I love that deck, but it's a bit depressive. Quote: Originally posted by divinerguy My previous post naturally leads to something Truthsayer brought up ... What are the decks that drive you crazy ... and why. Here are my contributions. Rohrig Tarot - As a child, the artist was frightened by silicone enhanced exotic dancers. Cosmic Tribe - Geez, put some pants in the Hanged Man. (T.M.I.) Any Tarot with cats, faeries or angels - Insulin shock, coma .... thud. Crowley Thoth - Lady Frieda Harris shouldn't have had the pepperoni pizza before her vision. (burp) Robin Wood - the revenge of Ken and Barbie. Art Nouveau - Invasion of the Wonderbras Okay - I had my fun. Your turn. Gary

violinlily	07 Dec 2002
I agree w/ many people here, I strongly dislike the RW, it's just **cringing** ew. And also I don't like the witches tarot..... just stupid. and what was the one w/ the weird guy w/ no arms that was taking a flying scheisa in that chest in the 10 of pentacles?? that's just disturbing. Another disturbing deck (so **cringing again** utterely disturing, I don't advise you look at it and I regret I looked at it) is Tarot of the Cassanova.... [/b] **cringe, spasm, twitch**

Moongold	07 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Qolus The Shining Tribe Tarot, Rachel Pollack's deck, was very disappointing to look at - online, that is; thank goodness I didn't buy it. It looks almost exactly like the Rock Art Tarot... ewwww! Pollack is a demigoddess, to be sure, but she needs to not draw things. That is one of the reasons why I love it. Rock art is pretty amazing. I love the freshness of Shining Tribe in the artwork itself and the mythology underpinning the cards. I like the Mythic deck for similar reasons. There's a kind of innocence about the art work and using Greek mythology the way they have is pretty cool. Struggle with Thoth. It's a bit dark and troublesome but I'm curious about it and might go back to it a bit later. Don't really like the Sacred Circle either. And......didn't really like the Old English. It's purely a matter of aesthetics and meaning for individuals, isn't it? Thank the Gods there is so much from which to choose! Tarot for any mood or situation. My next purchase will be one of the Marseilles decks. This will be the most researched acquisition. The others have been purely spontaneous or based on feelings. Moongold

jema	07 Dec 2002
the royal (because it is ugly and feels like a deck that could come from a pack with cereals): http://www.wicce.com/royal.html winged spirit tarot (because the horribly backgrounds and all angels look too buff) http://www.wicce.com/wingedspirit.html robin wood (because i get flashbacks to the 70:ies and my abused barbiedolls and starlet magazines) http://www.wicce.com/robin.html and almost all computor generated art. bryce gives me the shivers.

Osher	07 Dec 2002
For some reason I really dislike most cards with photographs rather than drawings. I guess it's because I see the person, and not beyond that person. Saying that, I do own a Vision tarot, but I still prefer drawings. Other than that, I generally prefer well drawn, and 'busy' decks, as opposed to some decks which seem to me to be a 'Rider-lite'. One deck that I did buy that I do not like is the Garden of Penises deck. Whilst I have no problem with erotic decks, there is a limit, and this deck is not just at the limit, but way beyond it.

Teal	07 Dec 2002
Garden of Penises???? I think just the name would have been a hint to me that this might not be a serious tarot deck and I surely wouldn't have bought it. I mean, nothing against flugelhorns, but get real! ROFL

violinlily	07 Dec 2002
I won't even ask where they came up w/ that idea, and won't even look for it/ at it. I really don't want to!!! ROFLMFAO!!!

ihcoyc	07 Dec 2002
There are a number of decks that rub me the wrong way: Tavaglione Stairs of Gold. Entirely too busy. Robin Wood. It isn't the Barbie and Ken factor that bugs me, as much as it is the antlers. It's bad enough to turn the Pope into a Hierophant; but just getting rid of the images of the Devil and the Judgment seems censorious excess. Of course, there are worse. . . . Motherpeace. Liberated from the patriarchal authority of perspective and draughting. Both Witches' Tarots. The James Bond one is just icky. And having Qabalistic symbols is nice, but including them as large billiard ball shapes in each of the Majors is something I'd find rather distracting. Though actually playing billiards with the Sephiroth might be fun. Hod in the side pocket. . . I share the dislike of gnomes, cats, dragons, movie tie-ins, sports themes, and similar gimmicks. I'm still waiting for the Egyptian Cat Goddess Tarot of the Celtic Feminist Gypsies from Atlantis. . . .

kreleia	10 Dec 2002
WHOA!! Okay, now that I've looked through the Cosmic Tribe card images (that divinerguy so graciously linked to), I've decided that I probably won't be owning such a... erm... phallic deck. **cough** good grief! :D Not to say that it doesn't have it's nice cards and some really cool imagery, but wow. Naked men and phallic symbols *everywhere*! sheesh!! **laughing**

tarotbear	23 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by divinerguy I think I'll be wearing briefs next time I hang upside-down on the monkey bars. Gary Even wearing briefs, hanging upside down on monkey bars - they are not going to hold your package in place! Try a jock.

tarotbear	23 Dec 2002
Motherpeace - deck was created by male-haters and drips of anti-male sentiment. They even put breasts on the Hierophant.

Teal	23 Dec 2002
Feminists are not necessarily male haters. I think Motherpeace would be considered a feminist deck. I don't have the deck because I don't think I'd connect with the art on it, but I don't think we could jump to the conclusion the author was a male hater, even so. Even though feminists are often lesbian, that doesn't mean they hate men. It just means they don't prefer a heterosexual lifestyle. My youngest daughter is lesbian and she doesn't hate men at all, nor do any of her friends.

tarotbear	23 Dec 2002
I'm a gay man- I don't hate women - I just don't have sex with women! However, the Motherpeace tarot is anti-male. "Men create war; women create peace." Gotta go puke now...... It's like Diane Stein- who has to shove the fact that she's a lesbian down your throat twice in every sentence. I had to give up reading one of her books it got so ridiculous. You're a lesbian? That's fine. Now be an author. Write about your subject, not about you.

ihcoyc	23 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by tarotbear "Men create war; women create peace." Gotta go puke now...... You mean you haven't started yours yet? I did mine about three years ago. With Belgium. Unfortunately it was over in about fifteen minutes, so it didn't even make the Fox News Channel. Now, my friend Rick, he managed to occupy the island of Miquelon for almost two hours. A real he-man.

Shade	23 Dec 2002
Ya know I just don't understand why if it's a naked man it's gratuitous but naked women are artistic. I didn't mind decks where everybody's naked or where they are nude in cards for specific reasons tied to the interpretation of the card. But I am bugged when the ladies are standing there naked as a jay bird and the guys get a branch or sash discreetly placed in front of them. I've always thought that the Hanged Man being nude would add to the card in the same way that it can add to certain versions of the Star card.

RedWood	23 Dec 2002
Johnny Voodoo..Go to tarot decks..and tarot of the four worlds...There is a deck a 2 people are creating..and the hanged man is naked..I think you might like it.

Aerin	24 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by glamourbug Mine has to be the merlin tarot. I always look at it and think oh no its the deck with the whole new system to numbering the majors with the indepth explanation of how the cards all link to each other and yet for the minors they just bunged some smelly old fish and funny looking birds in 'patterns'. If i can bare to go near it i might just trade it one day lol. Lisa Hear hear. The deck looks at me reproachfully, but I still don't like it. And I feel perhaps I should. Same with the Thoth. I know, I know but it just doesn't do it for me. Beautiful artwork but for me there is something very cold and hard about it which I can't get past. The Legend Arthurian. Nice pictures, shame about the coherence. It's sort of Disneyfied Arthur tra la la pretty dresses and soft focus. I expect all the characters to have fake UK accents and break into a song and dance routine. Aerin

Ophiel	24 Dec 2002
He's not really hung. That's the forces of gravity in action.

Macavity	24 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Ophiel He's not really hung. That's the forces of gravity in action. Yeah, I think too many people have been studying reversals here }) "Don't look Ethel" :D (Ray Stevens - The Streak)

tarotbear	24 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Ophiel He's not really hung. That's the forces of gravity in action. I'm not even gonna comment on the puns on 'hung'. Going back to JohnnyVoodoo's question - I've always myself wondered why full frontal female nudity was always acceptable, but a naked male is not. I believe it has to do with what one considers 'sexy, sexual, or erotic.' Many people in other threads seem to be upset over the abundant nudity in The Cosmic tribe tarot. COME ON- it's only flesh for goddess sake! Nudity is nudity...copulation is another matter. Decks with couples engaged in graphic 'insertive sex' - yes, I can see where that would make you uncomfortable reading for your grandmother. Decks with sadomasochistic overtones or dipictions that are degrading to women- I agree that they could make you uncomfortable...but mere nudity? I would say you have a distorted picture or are unhappy with your own body image or type.

Khatruman	24 Dec 2002
Couldn't get through this thread without defending faeries (as opposed to fairies). Not the tinkerbell cutsie things but the real denizens of faerie land, as depicted by Froud in his Faerie Oracle or Franklin and Mason's Fairy Ring, which are the true faeries, which can be beautiful or helpful, but just as capriciously can slip you into dancing shoes which will dance you to death or be as horribly ugly as anything you would want to see I guess then I am not against any fairy decks you folks may tallk about, since the two decks mentioned are not tarot anyway. Well, my pet peeves are cutsie decks...the cutsie fairy, angel, Hello Kitty, Halloween (with trick or treat Draculas and Frankensteins) or anything without some real intensity. Peace!

juice	01 Jan 2003
I am niether male nor dislike males and the motherpeace deck has always been the anti-male deck to me. I have seen other decks that are male expunged or are heavily female centered and those seem to have a more balanced feel to me. I've always objected to full frontal nudity being unexceptable while females wasn't supposed to be as bad. I've wondered if the difference was the homophobic tendencies being hidden under another label. I had objections to removing all "bad" from a deck but figure you should think of their reversals as even worse. What bugs me most are decks that are a collection for collection of art sake that don't seem to match tarot meanings or at least have some internal structure and then sold at extra high prices because tarot collectors are addicted. Hey its a good way for an artist to get a start in the world.

Marie	01 Jan 2003
I know with me, whe I show my card paintings to friends and family it is the paintings with male nudity that get the biggest response. Sometimes its embarassment, giggles, and sometimes its really a negative reaction. Sometimes women laugh and men seem to cringe, you can actually see them physically do it when they are looking at a painting and then notice a real penis there lol. A lot of people seem disturbed by hermaphroditism, with more than one genders parts shown. Its also funny that while you can see breasts anywhere and everywhere, womens genitalia are almost unmentionable. Hey, I just noticed a pattern here like the court cards at least in the standards of modesty we have in the US..... Kings - Mens chests -perfectly acceptable. Queens - Womens breasts- acceptable but a little taboo. Knights- penises- not acceptable in art or polite conversation. Pages- Vulvas and all included - not acceptable at all, dont talk about it, dont look at it. Ok, maybe I have gone too far? Maybe not? Hee hee Happy New Years! Marie

divinerguy	02 Jul 2003
Quote: Originally posted by tarotbear Going back to JohnnyVoodoo's question - I've always myself wondered why full frontal female nudity was always acceptable, but a naked male is not. Its not so much that male nudity is unacceptable, its the way that the Cosmic Tribe does it. Its a "look at me" type of nudity that I disdain; nudity for nudity's sake. Here's another way to look at it. If female nudity is acceptable, why do so many people have a problem with the Rohrig Tarot's portrayal of female nudity? Is nudity the problem, or is it the pouting lips, lace teddies and silicone breasts? Answer: Its the prurient (cool word, huh?) or salacious nature of nudity's portrayal that ruffles the feathers of the reader. Artfully portrayed nudity is socially acceptable, while sexually suggestive nudity is a social taboo.

Marie	02 Jul 2003
but the female vulva is the most taboo of all. There isn't a single one in the Cosmic tribe even. It's that genitalia thing, penises and vulvas....next to them breasts aren't that big a deal. :) Marie

Phoenix_Down	02 Jul 2003
Divinerguy: After taking a second look at the cosmic tribe, the nudity doesn't seem so bad. It all looks like a surreal astral landscape, where the artist tries to strip down the ideas of the card to thier bare bones, and strip away all the trappings. The nudity is very honest, and not very sexual at all. Only two cards I can see that are really vulgar... First is The Devil, who is pictured as he is in several mideval woodcuts, with a strangely shaped erect penis, while he dances above a phallus. Second is the Knight of Wands, who uses a wand to serve as a rather vulgar phallus, while he covers himself. Like The Devil, this card seems to speak about an obsession with the sexual and physical, in an attempt to keep from being honest about one's self. even still, i'm not a big fan of the cosmic tribe... the color patterns and rather aritificial look of the computer graphics placed side-by-side with the nude figures just doesnt do it for me...

nina	07 Jul 2003
Hello, I'm new to this thread but must ask, if the RWS is so widely disliked, why is it the only one I seem to find represented in tarot books??? I myself find it a little too cartoonish although I can read with it. To throw my two (or three) cents into the discussion, don't like Cosmic Tribe, don't like Osho Zen, can't stand the Native American stuff (I'm part Cree, and it just doesn't work, sorry). Everyone in the Morgan Greer deck looks like they're about to burst into tears. I really can't stand the Cagliostro. What was he thinking? Did he WANT to make his images less resonant and more obscure? And, I gotta be honest, my number one pet peeve is what RWS did to the order of the trumps- Justice should be eight and Strength should be eleven and that's just that. Some deck's I really like use the new order and every time one of those cards comes up I suffer a little inward groan. -nina

Le_Corsair	08 Jul 2003
Do tarot writers use the RWS in their books because the RWS is so readily available, or is the RWS so readily available because so many tarot writers use it in their books? At this point I think it is the former. Much better decks exist, and have existed for a long while; I myself use David Palladini's two decks, the Aquarian and the New Palladini, and the Universal Tarot by de Angelis. As to the ordering of the trumps: to me, it has no cosmic significance. But I use the cards for entertainment only, I am a confirmed skeptic. Your opinion is obviously different. The one thing I have found with tarot is that most rules are infinitely flexible. Bob :THERM :CL :OL :SL :WL

Jewel	08 Jul 2003
I believe that the RWS is so widely used because it has been around so long (early 1900s). In addition it has very good symbolism. I am not a fan of the deck but in doing comparitive study using the Universal Waite (same as RWS just nicer colors *LOL*) I have gained a true appreciation of the value of this deck in relation to symbolism. As for the Cosmic Tribe, I must jump to its defense. There are one or two threads in the CT study group that talk about this issue that you might find interesting. The author of the book for the CT notes that the nudity is a design element of the deck. The deck is not a sensual or erotic deck. The concept is that we are all from one tribe, the cosmic tribe. We all come into the world the say way and it is our own social norms that teach us that nudity is "dirty". In the deck the nude people have nothing to hide ... those that are clothed do. There are some "in-your-face" cards, but the Emperor for instance is one that sits in the traditional Emperor maner when compared to Rachel Pollacks 78 Degrees of Wisdom. The 10 of swords was another card I had issues with and a memeber of the study group helped me make a lot of sense of that in the study group thread about cards one dislikes. If I recall it was about being painfully exposed. I do not expect this change anyones mind about the CT, but wanted to share a little of what I have learned about it through use.

Cerulean	09 Jul 2003
I'm really interested in your reaction to this deck I like-- the "glad to to be gloomy" med-evilistically unclad, pants-down and coldly Scientific American meets Smithsonian Leonardo Tarot. You aren't poking fun at the master, the deck majors poke fun at the master Da Vinci in their own way. By the way, the Renaissance oh-so-short shirts for some of the courtly crowd seems to show a fashion where the younger male legs were to be admired. Whereas a woman's ankle then seemed to be quite a scandelous thing. Mari H.

soiitaire	11 Jul 2003
Ok, I love the Cosmic Tribe just as much as the next person. It's one of my favorite decks. My only problem with the nudity is that why are there fat women and no fat men. :) soiitaire aka brig..

The Oh no!! Not THAT deck!! thread was originally posted on 02 Jan 2002 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.