Got the Decameron Tarot - Oh my goodness!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 23 Apr 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

divinerguy	23 Apr 2003
I saw the Lo Scarabeo's Decameron Tarot today at Border's Books. Having not seen it before, I took a chance and bought the deck. If you are a fancier of silicone enhanced women in male fantasy scenarios, then this deck is for you. http://www.alidastore.com/indexen.html It is 78 different depictions of sex, and uh, they also happen to have the word "Tarot" on the box. Now, while none of the illustrations has anything to do with Tarot, the pictures are, uh, . . . . . . . . . . . . oh my Gawd. They actually printed THAT? Anyway, it reinforced some of my opinions about Lo Scarabeo. They market lots of theme decks that are simply difficult to use. Don't get me wrong, the artwork, even on the porno decks, is very good. However, they can't seem to tie the artwork to any mainstream system of correspondences. I get the impression they hire comic book and fantasy artists, many of whom are weak on reading the Tarot. They just don't get it. On the other hand, we have other decks with great ideas, but the artwork is lacking. The Gill Tarot has great majors, but the pips are the pits. Cloisters is a good idea, except for the shattered glass appearance. The Shining Tribe/Woman and the Motherpeace are other examples that come to mind. It would be nice to combine Lo Scarabeo's artists, with truly talented Tarot authors. I can only imagine the result. Anyway, in the meantime, I'm going to have a glass of wine and spend some quality time with my new, uh, "Tarot" deck.

cjtarot	23 Apr 2003
divinerguy, My only reaction to your post is to giggle...and smile..because I also own the "Deck"... The great thing to do is bring them to a party..give the person your reading for a glass of wine, have them shuffle the regular tarot, then without them knowing..switch the decks.. Makes for a fun OMGosh night.. Blessings, CJ

Astraea	23 Apr 2003
LOL, divinerguy, I read on a thread about erotic decks that Khatruman has this one, and I'll be interested in seeing what he has to say about it! Regarding Lo Scarabeo decks -- some of them are just wonderful, like The Secret Tarots, Tarot of the Imagination and the Fey, and some of them are much less meritorious, like the Avalon deck. I agree that it would be wonderful if LS produced more widely readable decks, because their artists are so talented.

Cerulean	23 Apr 2003
The artist Gaudanzi really does have a unique take on humanity. His Decameron and Durer do have impressive illustrations...but the one tarot that I liked best, his original 22 line drawings of brown ink on a cream-colored fine card stock--that Lo Scarabeo Durer is on tarotpassages.com. If you ever get to browse the Visconti Gold or Fey books with deck, by Lo Scarabeo, I'd enjoy hearing your reaction. I like using the decks, but I like different style decks. The ComparativeTarot is unique, has a multipage booklet, and I look at it now and again, but I'm among those who do not use it regularly. It is funny when one thinks of some of the slants and markets of tarot publishers. Lo Scarabeo started with comics, did some 22 card editions and then expanded (www.Tarotgarden.com---the Riccardo Minetti interview). I haven't read much about AGM Mueller, but they seem to market pop and self-help psychology booklets with theme decks. I don't know how to categorize U.S. Games...perhaps a millionaire with a collector's passion. How would you categorize Llewellyn or other publishers in the tarot market that you would know? Maybe I should start another thread...hope you get good rest after your Decameron exercises.

divinerguy	23 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Mari_Hoshizaki How would you categorize Llewellyn or other publishers in the tarot market that you would know? Maybe I should start another thread...hope you get good rest after your Decameron exercises. I only have a few Llewellyn decks. From that limited viewpoint, they seem to have struck a reasonable balance. I enjoy their pagan and metaphysical books, which makes me think that they're spiritually minded folks. As to the Decameron exercises, if I tried only 10% of the sexual acts he depicts, I'd end up in the emergency room with a severely hyperextended fleugelhorn.

Astraea	23 Apr 2003
Mari, I like your characterizations of various card companies, especially US Games! I would say that Llewellyn is an opportunist (which is not necessarily a bad thing, in business -- but they publish decks in rapid succession, some with poorly printed cards and books suffering from multiple typos and other examples of poor editing).

Cerulean	23 Apr 2003
I will start another thread on collector choices and publishers. Divinerguy, while you are resting from the 5 percent of the exercises, I hope you get a chance to have the translation of the original Decameron book to compare notes. The volume, taken in small doses, should equate to a long Spring nap, allowing you to obtain sorely needed rest. Not all the stories in the book are bawdy, but they can be somewhat or downright rude, even medieval in retribution or oversentimental in areas. At one point, I tried to make some sense of the deck, but I know that I am limited. I believe Diane Wilkes at Tarotpassages.com has a stronger opinion of the deck...actually, Divinerguy, thank you for starting this thread. It's got me thinking along lines of decks that I think are rather beautiful and work for me in different ways...and why others do not. Best wishes, Mari H.

divinerguy	23 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Mari_Hoshizaki It's got me thinking along lines of decks that I think are rather beautiful and work for me in different ways...and why others do not Mari - you make a very good point, and one that is sometimes lost by publishers. Here are two examples from my personal experience. Tarot of the Origins is a deck that would seem to echo the book, "Clan of the Cave Bear." Ancient human society appears on the deck. The artwork is very good, but because the theme is so strange to us, it would take some time to be able to effectively read with the deck. The Kalevala is a beautiful set, which is named for the Finnish epic poem. It is a quality endeavour is every respect. However, in order to use the deck, you would either need a knowledge of the epic, or would need to study the materials for some time. These decks, while well conceived, are unusable in a practical sense for 90% of the readers in the world.

darwinia	23 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by divinerguy As to the Decameron exercises, if I tried only 10% of the sexual acts he depicts, I'd end up in the emergency room with a severely hyperextended fleugelhorn. I just about fellatio my chair. Sorry, a little play on words. I merely wanted to say that the Secret Tarot by Nizzoli is a wonderful deck, I agree with Astraea on that. I also enjoy the Fey. I like my Giotto even though it's fairly unreadable. The majors from the Tarot of the III Millennium are wonderful. Lo Scarabeo does such lovely quality and artwork though I find it hard to fault them. I do think they are moving in a newer direction and trying for greater readability. My husband is quite interested in The Decameron. ;-0)))))))) but as yet I haven't bought it.

Alissa	01 May 2003
OMG RedWood brought this deck up in chat yesterday and I bought it immediately! What timing. Umm.... there's nothing ... *bestial* depicted, is there? I ordered the book as well. Can't wait for either to arrive ....:D

Cerulean	01 May 2003
Gaudanzi as a painter doesn't do animals until Durer, but the Durer only has animals as in the suits in fable-like scenarios by themselves. The Decameron only has human animals, as I recall. It is gone in a trade, so I cannot confirm any detail. Best wishes, Mari H.

divinerguy	01 May 2003
The Knight of Cups depicts a nude woman riding a horse, while looking back at a serpent, which is entwined around a chalice. There are a few other cards which are similar in tone. There are some cards suggestive of rape and forced sex, one with gay men, and a few female dominant depictions. However, in the spirit of the middle ages, men seem to be the dominant sexual partner. Overall, the deck is sexually explicit, but not beastial.

jema	01 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by divinerguy On the other hand, we have other decks with great ideas, but the artwork is lacking. The Gill Tarot has great majors, but the pips are the pits. Cloisters is a good idea, except for the shattered glass appearance. The Shining Tribe/Woman and the Motherpeace are other examples that come to mind. there is of course NOTHING lacking in the Gill (just had to say that) I read the Decamerone while i was in grade 8 or 9 (14 years old) and thought it was a great book. i don't really recall it as being so pornographic though. perhaps my innocent mind simple filtered that out. Perhaps i shold re-read the book.

RedWood	01 May 2003
I am now the Proud? owner of a decameron deck..I think that they could of made the men a bit more attractive! atleast! Other then that..I find it an amusing deck. Exactly as divinerguy said..nothing beasty. A few scenes where you have to wonder about. I think the king with the little person ya know..Kind of amusing.. He looks freaked out. but intriguied. Cant say exactly which card. My son is running around and frankly i dont want him to see the deck!

Alissa	01 May 2003
As long as no one is boinking dogs or horses, I'm cool. And naked women riding around *on* horses only reminds me of Prince Valiant comics ;).

Khatruman	01 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by RedWood I think that they could have made the men a bit more attractive! atleast! Other then that..I find it an amusing deck. To me, that is one of the attractions of the deck, that it is not all sex among the beautiful people (and there are a few less than model-status females in there too). In so many sex-based arts, we are given the gorgeous people having sex, which then carries the underlying message that wonderful sex is only among those who are beautiful. I think we folks who are not the model of beauty (a model, I might add, that changes from culture to culture and era to era, there are plenty of older artworks with what we would call now overweight women) are also capable of having fun, raucous, wonderful sex! I agree that there is a suggestion of forced sex in some of the depictions, and that can be distastful, but again real. If the deck merely showed force, I would say it is promoting it. But should decks not depict it if they want to show that this happens? Maybe the message is that it IS violence and not good sex. I don't necessarily see this deck PROMOTING violence, and I would have to research the Decameron itself to see if it is a depiction of a certain story. Also, anticipating a counter question: If there were more less than beautiful women depicted in the art, would I complain? My answer is No. The act of love making is a beautiful thing, and any two beings enraptured in its delights are mighty sexy to me. :D

Khatruman	01 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Alissa As long as no one is boinking dogs or horses, I'm cool. ROTFL... boinking just makes me laugh... and bestial sex is very distasteful to me also. Someone had better be making a strong argument to be sending a message of disgust to consciously suggest bestiality in art.

Alissa	01 May 2003
Khat, I know what you're saying here. I've yet to read the book, so my question came from an ignorance on the deck's source material. Certain sexual boundaries are being tested, certainly, in the deck's art. Some boundaries are more transparent than others, and each person has their own comfort levels. Some, IMO, there are some (animals, children) that just shouldn't be crossed, ever. I wanted to be sure this deck didn't chose to test those boundaries as well. That crosses my comfort level, big time, and wouldn't necessary even want to own the deck as a collector if it did. But since I'm still WAITING for my lovely DECK to GET TO ME .... big sighs ... I'm mostly just still wondering what the entire decks looks like. :)

divinerguy	01 May 2003
Quote: Originally posted by RedWood I am now the Proud? owner of a decameron deck..I think that they could of made the men a bit more attractive! atleast! Other then that..I find it an amusing deck.... Redwood, I think its funny too. If a person wants porn or sexually explicit comics, it would seem that a Tarot deck is a silly and expensive way to get it. Maybe I'm being a dullard, but I just don't get it. Maybe its a collector thing, who knows.

The Got the Decameron Tarot - Oh my goodness! thread was originally posted on 23 Apr 2003 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.