What would make you buy a deck?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 16 Apr 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

spunch	16 Apr 2003
Hi everybody. I saw similar post on Yahoo Groups Comparative Tarot so I wanted to conduct a little poll in here with regard to the same topic: When you want to buy a new deck, what criteria do you use to do so? Are there any special cards you have to like in a deck in order to buy it? I apologize in advance if this question has already been posted on this forum. Love. spunch

divinerguy	16 Apr 2003
The deck must have decent artwork. If I use it for readings, it must balance artistic freedom with enough symbology for me to read with it. Many decks sacrifice symbology for art. Many decks try to make themselves into a new system of divination. I don't wan't that for a reading deck. (Although its okay for a deck I acquire as a collection piece).

spunch	16 Apr 2003
I'm enclosing one post from Yahoo Group. I wonder if you have similar viewpoint and experience: "Generally speaking: Star: If this card doesn't affect me, the deck won't read well. Emperor/Heirophant: let's me know the deck's take on power and masculinity. It's strange, but I find it more often the case that the feminine Majors are drawn positively, but the masculine ones are a crapshoot. I prefer seeing the most positive form of a Major with symbolic "windows" to indicate the downside. And then there's that dern Tower where the most positive aspect _is_ the downside! ) 5 swords, 7 swords: difficult cards for me, if I can read these cards easily, it says something about the whole deck Hermit: I'm a Hermit, I gotta like him to use the deck regularly. Moon: My hidden teacher. After these, I look through the deck to see if there are any interesting or unusual takes on other cards. -Yvonne"

Astraea	16 Apr 2003
Hi, Spunch! I collect decks, so some of them are not necessarily intended for reading (though I always hope to be surprised in that regard); if cards are interesting, beautiful, unusual and/or historically significant, I am drawn to them. For personal use, I like cards that are beautifully rendered and which "speak" to me through how the artist/author has used and illustrated symbols; I prefer fully illustrated pips, but that is not a requirement; card stock should be sturdy, but not stiff, and surfaces slippery enough to shuffle without clumping. Style of illustration, design elements and colors appeal according to how coherently they convey the theme of a deck. The choice of interesting or particularly appropriate or unusual figures for illustrations is important to me, too; sometimes I am drawn to a deck because of just one card that is especially striking. Like many people, I am very attracted by the inherently mysterious/dramatic cards within a deck, such as the High Priestess, Death, Moon, Tower, Devil, Hanged Man and Hermit.

azuremariposa	16 Apr 2003
symbology first...if i can "see" it, i can read w/it, if it "speaks" to me, it will get put at the top of my list... art second...if it's beautiful, i'm more than halfway there size third...i've got small-ish hands and prefer to shuffle a particular way, so if i can't shuffle 'em, i get peeved...so far the dimensions of the Victoria Regina are my "max"...anything bigger than that would not do... almost forgot, as for cards that will draw me in to a deck: the Moon; the Sun; Queen of Cups; Ace of Cups; High Priestess; Empress (can ya see a theme there? hehe) i have revised my "lusting after" list just recently to reflect this...decks i looked at a few weeks ago and WANTED, do not speak to me as much...decks i couldn't "see" using now seem quite attractive...my eyes were opened by some recent purchases, so now i'm looking more for decks that SPEAK to me, versus decks that are just clones of my RW or decks that look pretty, but don't have that "special something"...don't know how else to describe it... many blessings to all! ~azure

Diana	16 Apr 2003
Must have Justice VIII and Strength XI. I won't buy a deck ever again that does the contrary. I like my Moon to have a lobster somewhere. I prefer my Lovers card to have three people on it. And I prefer so-called unillustrated minors (but there's no such thing as an unillustrated minor - it would have to be a blank card for that and that would be really really hard to read! :D ). If the Tower only shows doom as if some Chemical Weapon of Mass Destruction has just landed on it, I won't buy it either. A little bit of optimism is always a good thing. You know, looking at the Sunny Side Of Life. If the 10 of Swords has anything faintly resembling a B-Series melodrama being enacted on a deserted beach by some new-age film director, the shop can keep it.

spunch	16 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Diana If the 10 of Swords has anything faintly resembling a B-Series melodrama being enacted on a deserted beach by some new-age film director, the shop can keep it. HILLARIOUS!!! :D

spunch	16 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Diana Must have Justice VIII and Strength XI. I won't buy a deck ever again that does the contrary. Can you tell me why is that so?

felicityk	16 Apr 2003
1. I have to like the artwork. I am a collector, not a reader, so this is most important. I don't necessarily look at any particular cards. 2. The majors should not be renamed or re-ordered (variations in the placement of Justice and Strength are OK). 3. I don't collect majors-only decks, so there must be minors. They should be illustrated or at the very least varied in style or background. Also, the suits should be the standard ones; I don't go in for renaming of suits to fit a theme. Felicity

Khatruman	16 Apr 2003
Hmmm, what would make me buy a deck???? THESE people here do!!!! These devilishly clever tarotholics who tell me that I need to buy all these decks, force me into places like Amazon, tarotgarden, ebay, half.com, Borders during teacher appreciation sales, and pull my credit card right out of my wallet, all the while whispering suggestions in my ear as I sleep.... }) Actually, it is the suggestions of those I have come to know in these forums that spark an interest in a deck. I read what people are talking about, do a search for it here, or tarotgarden, or tarotpassages, etc to get images of the cards. See what is available at Amazon and stick it on my wish list. Then I ignore it for a week or two, come back to my wish list and see if it still interests me. Then I shop around. As far as what I am looking for a deck to do, primarily it must spark my inner creativity and intuitive senses first. Tarot is for me primarily a tool into my inner consciousness. It is also an inspiration for my life as a writer. And in some ways it is a learning tool for my understanding of the world, the universe, or whatever you want to call that card XXI. Ohh, by the way, Diana, if Major XXI is called universe, does that take it off your interest list? :D ~Hmm, lets see, Justice/Strength as in Marseilles, lobster on Moon card, as in Marseilles (personally, I like my lobster served with drawn butter), unillustrated minors, as in Marseilles,~ Ummm, ya think Diana is trying to tell us something??? :P

Kiama	16 Apr 2003
Well, when I was still searching for 'my perfect deck', I would look at the artwork, whether it was more or less traditional, if it kept to traditional meanings for the cards (I can't cope with decks that have 'Love, fluffy bunnies, and happiness' as the 10 of Swords interpretation!) and if it came from a background that I could understand, eg- Is it Pagan, Christian, Buddhist, feminist, etc? Some backgrounds I do not get on with, such as radical feminism, so if thre was a deck which ignored the Emperor card totally, then it's no thankyou! Now however, I have found my 'perfect deck(s)', so when I am choosing a deck to buy, I usually ask myself: - Is it a collector's deck (Is it rare, oop, hard to find?) - Would it be interesting to study, would I gain new insights from it, or is it just another art deck? - Is it weird, wacky, and wonderful? If so, I WANT IT! - Sometimes I just ask myself, does it have 78 cards? If so, I WANT IT! Kiama

Aerin	16 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Kiama - Sometimes I just ask myself, does it have 78 cards? If so, I WANT IT! Kiama, I love that :D I buy a deck if it connects with me at an emotional level. That is usually through the artwork: I look at a deck if the theme seems interesting or if it seems I may have something to learn from it. But it is the artwork that swings it if I'm dithering. Oh, and if I have some pennies to spare. Aerin

Centaur	16 Apr 2003
Cute pics ;) Powerful imagery ;) Depth of meaning ;) Oh, and whether it was being sold by a sexy salesman... HEHEHE

Pollux	16 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by spunch I'm enclosing one post from Yahoo Group. I wonder if you have similar viewpoint and experience: "Generally speaking: Star: If this card doesn't affect me, the deck won't read well. Emperor/Heirophant: let's me know the deck's take on power and masculinity. It's strange, but I find it more often the case that the feminine Majors are drawn positively, but the masculine ones are a crapshoot. I prefer seeing the most positive form of a Major with symbolic "windows" to indicate the downside. And then there's that dern Tower where the most positive aspect _is_ the downside! ) 5 swords, 7 swords: difficult cards for me, if I can read these cards easily, it says something about the whole deck Hermit: I'm a Hermit, I gotta like him to use the deck regularly. Moon: My hidden teacher. After these, I look through the deck to see if there are any interesting or unusual takes on other cards. -Yvonne" Copying and posting from another source - be it a mailing list, a message board or a forum - might well represent copyright infringement. Also, the original author, who has the copyright of the message, does not seem to be aware of this quotation. Your post breaks a simple copyright rule. Please refrain from quoting messages from other forums/boards/lists. I might find it necessary to apply different measures consequently. POLLUX - moderator in Tarot Decks

Sea Sprite	16 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Khatruman Hmmm, what would make me buy a deck???? THESE people here do!!!! These devilishly clever tarotholics who tell me that I need to buy all these decks, force me into places like Amazon, tarotgarden, ebay, half.com, Borders during teacher appreciation sales, and pull my credit card right out of my wallet, all the while whispering suggestions in my ear as I sleep.... }) Hilarious stuff! ROFL :D For me, the artwork has to be appealing plus the price has to be better than right. ;)

Gerbear	16 Apr 2003
I'm satisfied with the Tarot of the Spirit for reading. The collector side of me, looks at the artwork mainly. I like to see how the deck handles the traditional symbolism of Tarot. I like pips with pics, and 78 cards. Recently, I've noticed that many of the most intriguing art is found on majors only decks, so I've expanded my want list. Other than that, if I like it, I buy it.

spunch	16 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Pollux Copying and posting from another source - be it a mailing list, a message board or a forum - might well represent copyright infringement. Also, the original author, who has the copyright of the message, does not seem to be aware of this quotation. Your post breaks a simple copyright rule. Please refrain from quoting messages from other forums/boards/lists. I might find it necessary to apply different measures consequently. POLLUX - moderator in Tarot Decks OK, what I've done just now, I wrote to Yvonne at Comparative Tarot sending her the link with my thread, explaining what had happened, and sent her my deepest apologies. The same I did to Pollux in my private message, and now I'm doing the same to you all who are reading this thread. I did not know that I'm breaking any copyright rules/laws here. i merely wanted to start a discussion. I put quotation marks on the post and signed the author below. I deeply and honestly apologize if I did anything to make anybody feel cheated or uncomfortable. I'll never do it again (Jesus, I feel like a nasty schoolboy!) spunch

Diana	16 Apr 2003
For spunch: Hey Kiama, have you got any of your cyber-cookies for spunch? I'll provide the hot chocolate. He's in need of some sustenance. ;) P.S. Perhaps thanks to you, Yvonne will pop over to Aeclectic and we'll be gaining a member who has a lot of interesting things to tell us. Hey Yvonne: have you signed up yet? :D P.P.S. Your question about why I prefer Justice VIII and Strength XI will be too off-topic here, but I would be only too happy to start up a new thread (there have been old ones but they are buried god-knows-where in the forums) and discuss one of my favourite topics (although I normally end up exhausted! :laugh: ). And Khatruman: Honest, I swear on my favourite Marseilles deck that I was not plugging any kind of deck. There are other decks out there that have those kind of details that I appreciate. (Although they will never quite compare...... - lol - )

Trogon	16 Apr 2003
Howdy spunch... I must commiserate with you about your little faux pax. Live & learn... eh? Some general comments: As I started learning Tarot, I got onto the Rider Waite and thought that was THE deck for me. But as soon as I got involved with all these A.T. - Tarotholic enablers, I found (as Khatruman, and others, have found) that I needed other decks! LOL I did actually find that as I started looking at, then buying, other decks - I started finding that there were other things that appealed to me. The artwork on the Röhrig Tarot appealed to me. The Femininity of The Goddess Tarot also appealed to me. Basically, in general, I'm finding that I have a much wider range of what appeals to me than I thought... and this has a tendency to change on a whim. ;) Also early on I was thinking that I preferred to have Strength at VIII and Justice at XI... But one of my favorite decks is The Goddess Tarot which has Justice VIII and Strength XI. Go figure... As far as more specific cards that appeal to me... you might check an earlier thread of mine; http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12192

Khatruman	16 Apr 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Diana Your question about why I prefer Justice VIII and Strength XI will be too off-topic here, but I would be only too happy to start up a new thread Looks like HudsonGrey has started a new thread specifically on that topic in this forum. Quote: And Khatruman: Honest, I swear on my favourite Marseilles deck that I was not plugging any kind of deck. There are other decks out there that have those kind of details that I appreciate. (Although they will never quite compare...... - lol - ) Awww, you know I just like to tease ya... ;)

RedWood	16 Apr 2003
If I can use the deck or not...And if I get it and cant..I trade it.

truthsayer	16 Apr 2003
i'll probably get hate mail for this but it's the truth! }) this is how i decide to buy a deck. do i like the art? do i like the creator's philosphy of tarot? is it a marseille deck? the first 2 answers must be yes and the 3rd NO. the only time i invested much in a marseille style deck is when cats were featured prominately. never been much for history or antiques even though i do highly respect it.

aqua9air	17 Apr 2003
For me, it's very simple, artwork and price the deck has 78 cards. no more or less :)

raeanne	17 Apr 2003
Hi all, Well, let’s see…..It has to have cards. But stones would work OK too, like runes. Or coins, like I Ching. It could also have sticks, like Ogham. Or the rubber beetles that come with the Egyptian Scarab Oracle. But, cards, yes, or at least something like cards or anything else that could be shuffled, randomized or tossed. But there would have to be a structure to it like a major arcane/minor arcane set up. Or perhaps some other organization structure like just numbering the cards from 1 to 78. Or the deck could also be more open or structureless and that would be OK too. But, yes, 78 cards. Or 79 if the extra card made sense. Or even more extra cards could work if it was necessary. I don’t know if I could work with less cards than 78, unless I was asking a Yes/No type question and then I would only need two cards, or maybe only one with upright and reversed meanings. I would want a deck with pictures or pips on the minor arcane. I don’t think I could work with a deck that didn’t have one or the other. So, you see, before I buy a deck it has to pass my test. Bottom line….is it for sale?

HeidiAussie	18 Apr 2003
As I'm a beginner tarot reader I am currently primarily influenced by - artwork, how the artwork is used & price/availability. To elaborate - Artwork: I went looking for my first deck and did not want to get a straight RWS. So after abit I found Aeclectic ;-))) Looked through some decks and loved the Ukiyoe (my favourite deck) for its artwork. Ditto the LS Art Nouveau. My third deck, Universal Waite, because I wanted a RWS deck, but less harsh. Fourth deck, Matt Meyers Art Nouveau, 'cause it was AN and cheap (ebay, mmmmm). How The Artwork Is Used: This tends to come into play after I've bought the deck *s*. Eg. the LS AN deck is visually lovely and has some really stunning cards, the majors are superb. BUT there is not much action or variety in the deck minors (mostly sitting figures, a certain 'sameness' in some cards). The Ukiyoe OTOH has variety and is effective. It does not have 'fully illustrated' pips, yeah suuuuurrrrrre, but the illustrations of the suits, which of course can't be illustrations >;-) are very nice indeed. Finally, sloppy/poorly executed art, is a real turn off. If the cards look 'rough', it had better be a damn good design feature! Poor artistic finish on a deck is VERY UNATTRACTIVE! Price/Availability: I live in Australia, tarot decks are imported, they cost $$$$$$$$$! The Wicca/Fairy/Pagan shops in W.A. and the major chain bookstores are the only stockists. They have a limited selection and many decks must be ordered in from NSW/Victoria. A basic RWS (with that horrible cross-hatched back) costs $32.00. The Ukiyoe, $48. The LS Art Nouveau, $50, special order to W.A. Universal, $35 (I got mine on Ebay -love 'em- for ~$10). MM Art Nouveau, $35. (all worship ebay.com.au , cards $8!) Robin Wood, $49. Robin Wood + book, $68!!!! I would love this deck, even just to look through then stea.....errr, give back! :+), but at that price.... Doubtless as I learn other factors will come into play. Cheers, Heidi Aussie

The What would make you buy a deck? thread was originally posted on 16 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.