A deck with Dolphins???

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 07 Sep 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

lunalafey	07 Sep 2002
A friend wants a deck. She's giving me the job of finding one that she will like. Her big thing is dolphins mostly, but an ocean type deck may work. I thought about an Aquarian deck (her sign) but I don't know much about it. Is this deck a deck for a REALLY green reader? Ultimately what I'm looking for are dophins and something good for a beginner.

Lee	07 Sep 2002
Hi lunalafey, do you mean the Aquarian deck by David Palladini? That's basically a R-W-S clone, in an art deco style. There's really nothing aquatic about it, I think "Aquarian" probably refers to the Aquarian Age which was a popular topic in the late '60s, when this deck was published. There's no dolphins on it. -- Lee

fairyhedgehog	07 Sep 2002
I did a search using google. All I could find was the Animal Wise Tarot, where the Empress is a dolphin: http://www.astroamerica.com/t-anima.html, and some Dolphin Divination Cards: http://www.bluedolphinpublishing.com/dolphin.htm I don't think that the dolphin cards have pictures, though. There is also a deck called Samantha's deck that has a lovely dolphin on the Star card: http://home.attbi.com/~dolphin-daze/ Sorry I can't be more help. I hope someone else can think of some good decks :) PS, the Australian Animal Tarot has a dolphin for the Ace of Water. http://www.angelfire.com/az2/animaltarot/ and click on the 'Water' link :)

MeeWah	07 Sep 2002
Lunalafey: Check out Aeclectic's DophinGirl's website & the Major Arcana deck she designed. The Star card is the only card with a dolphin on it. Based on the Majors, it would be a good deck for a beginner, but no minor arcana is currently available though a full deck is in the works. http://www.dolphin-daze.com

Liliana	07 Sep 2002
The Tarot Nova has the Knight of Cups riding a dolphin, it might be a good beginners deck, symblic enough to be meaningful but not loaded down with symbolism http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/nova/index.html Note: this deck comes in a TINY minature edition with a pockey book, and a larger edition you have to buy with a pocket book on palmistry in a large box. The larger edition is the same size as one of the pocket books alone, very good for smaller hands. Make sure the deck has al the cards when you get it, if it doesnt contact the publisher and they'll send you a whole deck free. :THP

dolphingirl	09 Sep 2002
Hi Everyone I am just finishing up the minors on Samantha's tarot and can say that there are dolphins in three of the minors :) Right now we are in the final titling and editing phase as well as writting a LWB :) I should have some shots of the minors up within the next few weeks. The only other deck I can think of is the Tarot of the Moongarden has some dolphins in it although it is a pretty different deck :) DolphinGirl Maybe I will do a all dolphin deck next :)

Strega	09 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by dolphingirl Maybe I will do a all dolphin deck next :) That would be great! I (too) love dolphins! :)

Jewel	09 Sep 2002
As a sea lover myself I can understand her wanting dolphins :) ... I would like to suggest the Robin Wood. I believe there is a dolphin in there on one of the court cards, and the ace has a mermaid engraved on the cup. Just an idea ...

Rhiannon	09 Sep 2002
The World Spirit has at least one dolphin that I can think of.. in the Queen of Cups card. The Queen is also a mermaid. The dolphin is pretty cool, it has cheetah spots! R :)

purplelady	09 Sep 2002
I felt disapointed when I learned that the "dolphin divination cards" don't even have dolphin pictures on them. I Love Dolphins! I think a dolphin tarot deck would be great! Or maybe someone will create a tarot deck of all ocean motif.

lunalafey	09 Sep 2002
no dolphin deck....hmm and no OCEAN? deck?.....Hmm Seems like a doplphin deck would be popular. Or ocean theme, I had thought about this a few times when I'd think about making a deck....ran into one small problem. Suits. Who I am, could not go with the traditional. I had Pearls (coins) Shells (cups) trident; would that be swords or wands? and if so...WHAT? would be the other. Hmmm.... Wasn't there some mermaid deck?

Liliana	09 Sep 2002
Driftwood for wands? Mermaid Tarot will be released sometime next year. heres a preview of some cards http://www.tarotpassages.com/LSpreview2.htm :THP

fairyhedgehog	10 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by dolphingirl I am just finishing up the minors on Samantha's tarot I hadn't realised that 'Samantha's deck' is yours, dolphingirl. It's a pretty cool deck :)

Jewel	10 Sep 2002
There is a thread somewhere in this forum about the upcoming mermaid deck. Being the mermaid fanatic that I am, I must say that I would make some major changes to some of the cards I have already seen for the deck ... the Tower in particular. Mermaid lore is quite rich when studied and, I am keeping my "fins" crossed that the artist studied the lore and has not done the same thing with the Mermaid deck that the creator of the Unicorn deck did to it! Personally I would love some day to create a deck that uses ocean creatures (specially mermaids and dolphins), but strongly feel the need to balance the elements. So it would be some sort of the fairie deck using elementals. If I had talent drawing or painting I probably would have already created this deck! *LOL*

Cerulean	10 Sep 2002
Lo Scarabeo's Enchanted deck has the gnome riding the dolphin and one lovely mermaid. I have to admit the illustrations are beautifully done. At first I just didn't like the misproportioning for the fairylike huminoids, but then I realized you could do anything with imaginative critters. Usually one queen in Rider-Smith-Waite workalikes have a fish and water in one of the scenes and the Page of Cups has a fish appearing out of a cup. Good luck! Mari H.

lunalafey	11 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Jewel Personally I would love some day to create a deck that uses ocean creatures (specially mermaids and dolphins), but strongly feel the need to balance the elements. So it would be some sort of the fairie deck using elementals. If I had talent drawing or painting I probably would have already created this deck! *LOL* gimme an image of the first card you would do... paints are already on the table, left over from the last time... I painted a mermaid swimming for the surface, large shell in her hands, strands of pearls wrapped around her body. A dolphin accompanies her. The sun is setting above and something dark is hidden in the rocks below.....what card could that be?

Liliana	11 Sep 2002
Moon card? :THP

lunalafey	11 Sep 2002
Hmm..the moon, well there is no moon in the painting. The Sun is setting, yes.....but only because I figured so since I am a west coast resident....to some, it might feel like it's rising.....Hmm....the sun is just a small part of the image, but it rises? as does the maiden and her familiar....maybe the Ace of cups??? I like the driftwood wands. I sort of recall stumbling over that idea.

Jewel	11 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by lunalafey gimme an image of the first card you would do... paints are already on the table, left over from the last time... I painted a mermaid swimming for the surface, large shell in her hands, strands of pearls wrapped around her body. A dolphin accompanies her. The sun is setting above and something dark is hidden in the rocks below.....what card could that be? 8 of cups ... can you scan your pic? One of the images that sticks in my mind is related to the Tower. Mainly because I really do not like the card in the upcoming mermaid deck. Although very fantasy oriented the tower I would envision is an underwater volcano starting to erup beneath a mer-city (the palace of course). I see multiple mer-folk and other sea creatures trying to desperately flee before the water boils them. The tremors of the earth unseteling the sand on the ocean floor and the city and palace beggining to collapse. Make sense?

Cerulean	11 Sep 2002
I just remembered a maritime historical tarot--the Tarot of Columbus by Amerigo Folchi. There's a few sea creatures, mostly mythical. Wicce.com and Mark Filpas of Pasteboard Masquerade have a few scans. Online, the Tarot of the Autumn Wind has a few seashore and alchemy scenes. I can only think of a tarot in a thematic way, not card by card alone. So here's a few suggestions: 0-Fool-krill/plankton 1-Magician-Dolphin 2-HP-Porpoise 3-Empress-kelp/sea forest 4-Emperor-sperm whale/artic 5-Pope-sea of cortez 6-Gli Amanti (lovers)-merpeople 7-Chariot-Posidon's trumpet 8-Justice--Pearl? 9-Hermit-Old man and the sea 10-Wheel of Fortune-Compass 11-Strength-Kontiki/Kayak paddlers 12-Hanged Man-Two Years Before the Mast/Crow's Nest 13-Death-Transformation-Coral Reef 14-Temperance 15-Devil and the Deep Blue Sea 16-Tower-Aurora Borealis 17-Star-North Star and Seven Sisters 18-Moon-Southern Cross 19-Sun 20-Judgement-Shipwreck recovered 21-Rainbow, after the deluge.

rostie	12 Sep 2002
i've just seen that the merryday tarot has a card with dolphins: the king of autumn: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/merryday/index.html here some other links to the deck: http://www.wicce.com/merrydaypix.html http://www.tarotpassages.com/bursten10.htm http://www.tarotpassages.com/merrydayset.htm quite beautifull deck, never noticed this one before, has some really beautifull cards, hmm, would like to have it for my own, lol ;) with love, sara.

juice	13 Sep 2002
I suggest coral for the wands. Another variant would trident for wands and ships for swords. For the undersea card that so many liked the moon. I suggest world to be considered.

lunalafey	13 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Jewel 8 of cups ... can you scan your pic? >>>gonna run it over to the neighbors...we'll see what happens, I don't have a scanner myself..:( quote: One of the images that sticks in my mind is related to the Tower. I would envision is an underwater volcano starting to erup beneath a mer-city (the palace of course). I see multiple mer-folk and other sea creatures trying to desperately flee before the water boils them. The tremors of the earth unseteling the sand on the ocean floor and the city and palace beggining to collapse. Make sense? Now is this solely a ocean deck or the elemental as you mentioned? I had the volcano as a thought for the tower in other situations....hey, maybe Atlantis?? and Yes, it does make sense.... what of a tsunami???

Cerulean	13 Sep 2002
1....tower card discussion... What was posted makes great sence. If I were to picture this, I remember seeing an underwater show with all the blind sealife and bottom-dwellers that survive near volcanic geysers at about 6,000 feet under (???). I think it was about 2,000 feet deeper than the sperm whale could dive with all that pressure at that depth. The jet streams from the geysers could be absurdly hot, and yet sealife also survive the extreme cold of the undersea temperature just a foot or so from the volcanic geysers. 2. the devil in the deep blue sea card... http://www.dal.ca/~ceph/TCP/vampy.html By the way, one of my favorite undersea aquariums, the Monterey Bay, had a ocean film about recently discovered sea life. One of the creatures is called (I kid you not) "The vampire squid (used to read octopus) from Hell." The picture just showed a floppy black flap that was turning it's underside up to the camera---and the underside was blood red. You actually might picture a piece of fluffy material ruffling black and red, but it's actually a squid that no one really knows much about... If anyone has heard about this and wants to use it in their underwater tarot...wouldn't it make a great devil? Starting from a dolphin to an oceanic tarot... Mari H.

Sally Gardens	15 Sep 2002
Hey, I just ran across this oracle deck on Aeclectic's list: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/wisdom-four-winds/index.html Nice artwork, very dreamy. The card in the upper left, "Joy," depicts dolphins.

lunalafey	16 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Mari_Hoshizaki 2. the devil in the deep blue sea card... "The vampire octopus from Hell." The picture just showed a floppy black octopus that was turning it's underside up to the camera---and the underside was blood red. You actually might picture a piece of fluffy material ruffling black and red, but it's actually an octopus that no one really knows much about... If anyone has heard about this and wants to use it in their underwater tarot...wouldn't it make a great devil? . OH OH OH....I like that........ verymuch.... and the scanner was not working....grrr

juice	18 Sep 2002
Sorry if these have been listed. Mythic in the eight of wands Medicine Woman in the six, seven, and totem of bowls.

Jewel	18 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by lunalafey Now is this solely a ocean deck or the elemental as you mentioned? I had the volcano as a thought for the tower in other situations....hey, maybe Atlantis?? and Yes, it does make sense.... what of a tsunami??? My envisioned tower would probably work better for an ocean only deck I believe ... it came to mind when I saw the scan of the tower in the upcoming mermaid deck by LoScarabeo. Atlantis is sort of what I had in mind :). I just had issues with mermaids falling out of dry land towers ... unless someone was throwing them out the windows *LOL* ... which of course could be the case, but for me I thought the under water volcano approach was more fitting of the mermaid theme. A Tsunami would also work really well ... those things can wipe out entire cities! How would you fully envision the card? I would love to see a picture of that vampire octupuss from hell *LOL* ... sounds fascinating.

Cerulean	18 Sep 2002
color pic: http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues96/may96/squid.html other links: http://www.dal.ca/~ceph/TCP/vampy.html Hope the info helps when someone does their oceanic tarot Mari H.

The A deck with Dolphins??? thread was originally posted on 07 Sep 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.