syrupy decks?

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

emily2otters	07 Sep 2002
in your opinion, which decks are the most syrupy, the most saccharine, the most cloyingly sweet of all? which tarot decks lack guts and a dark side? which tarot decks are, in fact, so unflinchingly positive that they are impossible for you to work with? :)

Phoenix	07 Sep 2002
Well I don't actually own this one, but everytime I see scans of the Hanson-Roberts Tarot, I want to slip into a diabetic coma. Sorry to any HR fans out there.

Sally Gardens	07 Sep 2002
Well, just by looking at it online, I can say that the Tarot of a Moon Garden definitely qualifies as "sugary sweet." I don't dislike it, necessarily, and the artwork is a nice fluffy escape into youthful dreams of pink-and-purple fairylands, but it's just entirely too cute for me to take seriously as a reading deck. However, this and other "syrupy" decks are probably just right for elementary-school age children, so I do think they have their place in the scheme of things. ;)

Violet Gargoyle	07 Sep 2002
I want to say either "Deck of the LIttle People" or "Deck of the Gnomes", I can't remember the actual name of it at the moment, but it is put out by Lo Scarbeo's company. I like fairy tale based decks, but I want there to still be a bit of an edge to them....

truthsayer	08 Sep 2002
i like syrupy sweet decks so i feel like i'm selling out my fav decks to say any deck is like that. i do have a sweet tooth! ;) but then i've seen few decks i didn't like. i like the hard ones, too. when you say syrupy, i think of decks that i would consider rated "G" that i could read to kids and generally anyone. i don't think syrupy is a bad thing no more than the opposite is. i consider them what we've called gentle decks or ones a child could use in past threads. i consider these gentle decks: hanson roberts, universal, whimsical, moon garden, art nouveau by matt myers, halloween, and connolly. the only one i could not work w/ would be the connolly b/c of no balance b/t light and dark at all. i can see a dark side to all the others. perhaps the dark side is milder than say the rohrig but it's there.

Kaz	08 Sep 2002
those are what i call the nauseating sweet syrupy decks (random order): hanson roberts whimsical connolly there are probably more, but for starters these qualify :P kaz

jema	08 Sep 2002
with the definition of syrup deck that it lacks an edge or some darkness - i think the hanson-roberts don't really fit in. sure the images are cute. but there is a lot of darkness in that deck too. the devil is scary enough, many of the swords are very harsh. i find it to be a well-balanced deck myself. but as i said - cute. i don't really understand why the hanson-roberts are always brought up as an example of a unbalanced, too sweet deck when the same could be said for decks like robin wood. i have more of a problem working with decks that are too dark and negative. while i do like the barbara walker a lot - it is NOT a very easy deck. one has to be brave to choose it for a reading. but ok, sweet decks was the subject. *thinking hard* i don't own the whimsical but i imagine it very "nice" and light. but i might be wrong there. no, i can't really find any deck that is all joy and no heartache. the closest thing is probably the fairy tarots (lo scarabeo)

WolfSpirit	08 Sep 2002
I don't own this deck, but from what I've seen of it the Unicorn tarot has all sweet pictures without a strong meaning. I also don't like the tarot of a moongarden much. I do like gentle decks in general, and especially if there's something humourous in them like the halloween, tarot for cats and hello kitty (probably the sweetest deck around, but I think it's really cute)

Pollux	08 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by Kaz those are what i call the nauseating sweet syrupy decks (random order): hanson roberts whimsical connolly there are probably more, but for starters these qualify :P kaz Well, agree with CONNOLLY (on TOP of the list *LOL*), and Hanson Roberts (following close). But Whimsical is almost like Halloween. In my opinion they can't be considered syrupy: they are themed decks, with a less... "dramatic" theme, and artwork. I find them both very well thought and done. I want to add some more... Mh... Maybe Goddess... :P })

Liliana	08 Sep 2002
Connolly, I love the colors but can not work with it, there is not a single negative card in it, even the 10 of swords is "nice". Cant stand it, I need a more balanced, or even sometimes leaning a bit more to the darker side. deck. Also my little Pocketable deck is fairly positive, tho theres some darkness at least, and Tarot Nova for the most part is fairly positive :THP

Maan	08 Sep 2002
I agree with the connoly..could not read with that one. But the hanson roberts and the whimsical are not too sweet in my opinion. Its more the style of drawing 'couse the images in the Hanson Roberts are directly taken from the RW only drawn in the style of Mary Hanson Roberts... There are negative cards..the ten of swords is just as dead looking and in the three of swords the swords are painfully cutting thu the hart etc Oke can you tell i like the hanson roberts ;)

fairyhedgehog	08 Sep 2002
I'm with Maan and truthsayer on this one. Hanson Roberts is my main deck and I don't find it syrupy, just 'fairytale-ish'. As Maan pointed out, the ten of swords has a very dead-looking guy on it, and it isn't the only strong card. My 'too sweet deck' is the Inner Child - although maybe it is the interpretations in the book that I find too resolutely spiritual for my taste. I found it hard to distinguish some of the cards from each other. The Whimsical is pretty positive all the way through (I love the tower card with the three little pigs) but I find a depth in it because of the fairy tales. I like fairytales (in case you hadn't guessed :) )

Kitty	08 Sep 2002
Yes, I agree, Connolly. I have this deck and I am currently trying to trade it - I cannot read with such a deck. All that pink drives me mad :) Anyone want it??????????????????

Liliana	08 Sep 2002
I want to trade my Connolley too, no one seems to want it lol :THP

truthsayer	08 Sep 2002
i know this probably belongs in the trade section but i'll trade either one of you for the connally if you'll take my enochian!!!! ;) LOL

divinerguy	08 Sep 2002
Any deck with cats as the theme (unless they happen to be ripping something to shreds with razor sharp claws, I think that's pretty cool). Any deck that waters down the Devil card or puts clothes on the Star.

Strega	09 Sep 2002
Tarot of the Children All the figures in the major arcana are happy children. Cute. BUT... uhm even Death is smiling. :D

catlin	09 Sep 2002
The Connolly deck is definitely on top of my list (too sweetish, the colouring reminds me of a pack of marshmellows), closely followed by "Ken & Barbie" Art Nouveau by M. Myers.

Trogon	09 Sep 2002
If we allow unpublished decks.... I've been going through all the decks pictured here on Aeclectic Tarot and found the unpublished "Ursidae Tarot" to be waaaaayyyy "too syrupy" for my tastes (apologies to Mark Wogan if he's reading this ;) ). I mean, I like teddy bears, but not on my Tarot decks... There are some other decks which were a little too sweet as well when I was looking through the AT deck listings, but can't recall them all right now. Though the "Little Ted Psychic Fortune Telling Deck" (perhaps not really a Tarot deck after all - only 40 cards) really sticks in my mind. Still, I'll probably end up getting one of these more sweet decks one of these days. I can see myself using them for kids or for someone who might be easily offended by some of the images on some of the decks. Great thread Emily... BTW, if you haven't found it yet, the list of Tarot decks is at: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/list.html Liliana and Kitty... If either of you would like to trade your Conolly deck for one of my home-made pendulums (I currently have one made of pipe stone and another made from a green marble) I'd be very willing to go that route - but I have no decks worth trading. You can E-mail me at the link on my profile page. Trogon

The syrupy decks? 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.