experts, please help me find this?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 30 Oct 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

nina	30 Oct 2002
Hello, I am looking for a deck with certain qualities and it seems on this forum some experts might help me. I'm looking for a deck that has pictoral pip cards, but honors the old order of 8=Justice/11=Strength, and whose art isn't too abstract. I know the Marseilles and other classic decks have the Trumps in the order I prefer, but the pips are not pictoral. I have two decks like this (Barbara Walker, which I like a lot, and The Thoth deck which I just haven't felt like using yet) but Walker's not the one I always want to use and I can't believe it's the only one that fits the bill. If anybody can think of another, please help, I am in constant need of an excuse to spend more on cards. -Nina

Cerulean	31 Oct 2002
Have you decided on an art theme to browse? Photomontage, watercolor, bright, pastels...stories? Italian and French decks---browse TarotGarden.com. For fun reviews, TarotPassages.com Some celtic ones have different systems, but Justice/Strength can still be in the Marseilles way. The systems tend to differ from deck to deck, so I'm reading the Celtic Theme Decks essay on Tarot Passages. Aeclectic's list is also an interesting browse. Mari H.

Jeannette	31 Oct 2002
Nina: Believe it or not, most Lo Scarabeo decks use the 8 = Justice / 11 = Strength attribution. In fact, in a recent interview with Riccardo Minetti at LS (posted on the Tarot Garden website and mentioned in a previous thread; you can read the interview if you like by clicking here), Mr. Minetti illustrated the difference in expectations between North American buyers and European ones by noting that they've received complaints (from the North Americans) about how their decks were printed "wrong" in this regard, and requesting copies that were printed "right" -- LOL. :D In any case, the pip cards of all of the 78-card, non-historical-reproduction decks published by Lo Scarabeo are illustrated, to the best of my recollection. There are certainly other decks, particularly from European publishers, that use the Marseilles, rather than the Rider-Waite, ordering for the Strength and Justice cards. But with over two dozen non-historical, 78-card decks in print, four more being released within 30 days, and a whole slew of new titles scheduled for release next year, I expect that it will take you some time just to review Lo Scarabeo's offerings to see if any of them might appeal to you enough to be what you're looking for. -- Jeannette http://www.tarotgarden.com

Keslynn	31 Oct 2002
The Tarot de Paris has the original order of Strength and Justice and also has pictorial minors. I love this deck. I believe that there are pictures up on Aeclectic and reviews and pics on Tarot Passages. That's the only one I can think of off the top of my head. :) Kes

Melvis	31 Oct 2002
The Medieval Scapini deck by Luigi Scapini has Justice as 8 and "Force" as 11, it has illustrated minors, and it has an 'old-world' feel to it as well. It was my second deck and my only reading deck for quite some time. Peace, Melvis :TSTRE

MattDouglas	31 Oct 2002
Well, Nina Have you tried Cosmic Tarot (which just so happened to be my first deck)? It fits both your criteria and the artwork is gorgeous! Check it out! Matt

Maan	31 Oct 2002
Maybe the lo scarabeo's secret tarot...it has the original 8/11 and ist a littly dark like the barbara walker that you have! And a big plus for me is that the cars are small..not as small as the barbara walker but easy to shuffle!

Jewel	31 Oct 2002
I believe the Rhorig also fits the bill of what you are looking for. It is an oversized deck and the art is beautiful.

Myrrha	31 Oct 2002
The Nigel Jackson deck also has the traditional 11=strength ordering. The pip cards are illustrated but also have a design made up of the actual pips to make a clear visual difference between them and the majors. Myrrha

nina	31 Oct 2002
Hello, Thank you everyone for taking the time! It's hard when you're shopping because the boxes are usually shrink-wrapped (or worse, locked behind the counter) and there's no way to tell without buying. I'll check out those sites! -Nina

Jewel	31 Oct 2002
Nina, another deck that follows these correspondents is the Cosmic Tribe. Personally this is my all time favorite deck (and primary deck), but if you are offended by nudity you don't want this deck. It is a combination of photgraphic collage and computer graphics but excellently executed. The deck is also the first deck to have 3 lovers cards to choose from (male/female, male/male, female/female). The nudity in the deck is one of its design elements and not used in a sexual context. The colors are bright. People usually love or hate this deck ... not much in between. For me this deck basically reads itself ... an amazing experience for me every time I use it.

The experts, please help me find this? thread was originally posted on 30 Oct 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.