A Deck built JUST FOR YOU!!!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 22 Jun 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Khatruman	22 Jun 2003
I just had an idea the other day, and rather than let it fade into obscurity, I thought I would voice it so that there is the microscopic chance that someone may bring it to fruition. The idea came when I was browsing through my new iTunes update, with songs you can download and buy.. I know downloading songs is certainly not a new idea, but I had never gotten into the Napster thing. Anyway, the whole idea of buying songs and compiling your own CD, which is what I do for listening anyway, got me to thinking about tarot. Looking at threads about favorite cards and annoying cards, and someone saying how even her favorite has a card she just doesn't like. What if it were possible to create a tarot database of decks where a person could choose amongst several decks and create a custom deck of cards with the best of what that person likes in different decks? Use the Thoth court cards, the Fey Star Card, Haindl's Hanged Man, Pips from Marseilles... etc., etc. The deck would be printed with a common back, and same-sized cards. Ideally, this deck database would include decks from everything you could imagine. However, pragmatically, I see how inconceivable this would take. Logistically, many publishers, deck creators, etc., would have to be brought in on it. And even if tarot was as popular as pop music, it would be horribly difficult to actually run this. But one could dream... so in the spirit of dream, what would put together for this ideal deck? "You may say I'm a dreamer, But I'm not the only one" John Lennon.. :D

Mimers	22 Jun 2003
OK Mr Dreamer, this is your conscious speaking, if you created a deck from your heart and soul, and someone said, well I want your deck, but with so and so's PIP cards, how would that make you feel? But it would be wonderful wouldn't it? ;) Keep dreaming!

Khatruman	22 Jun 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Mimers OK Mr Dreamer, this is your conscious speaking, if you created a deck from your heart and soul, and someone said, well I want your deck, but with so and so's PIP cards, how would that make you feel? Ahhh, but anyone with any creative strength who puts his heart and soul out in creative endeavors for sale, must steel himself to such not-totally-embracing love for his product. Just like in a novel, would never expect someone to love ALL of my characters!! :D

Mimers	22 Jun 2003
Quote: Ahhh, but anyone with any creative strength who puts his heart and soul out in creative endeavors for sale, must steel himself to such not-totally-embracing love for his product. Just like in a novel, would never expect someone to love ALL of my characters!! Sale, shmale. If it were my deck, heads would role. that's the queen of swords in me}) on the other hand, I suppose if it brought in the green stuff, I would be ok with it that's the king of Pentacles in me :D

LittleWing	22 Jun 2003
well i had an idea that perhaps would be more realistic. line drawing tarot cards - that are ready to be coloured in, in whatever style that the individual likes. - colours etc. blank spaces could be left for the persons symbols of choice etc. i think that could work?

SingingTarot	22 Jun 2003
I would looooove to be able to chose each card of my deck. Like many, there's always ay least one card in each deck that just doesn't work for me. Not that the artist didn't do a good job (who buys a deck not liking the art work in the beginning), but just that I personally, would have liked this card more like this and less like that. I would pay big bucks for a deck like this, and I know I am sure I would not be the only one! The deck would feel so special to me.... So nice to dream..... Alice

Myrrha	22 Jun 2003
Great idea, I would want such a deck but only in addition to the original decks as they were concieved by the artist. It would be a great way to get to use cards from decks where I can't use the whole deck because of one or two or many cards that don't work for me. I want the Oswald Wirth Papess, the Hermit from the Fantastikal... Strength from the Vertigo, Ace of Cups from Vertigo...Queen of Wands from Navigators of Mystic Sea, Queen of Cups from Thoth.... The Devil from the Marseilles, Justice from the Mary-El (the only Justice card in any deck I've ever had any liking for) The Moon from the Greenwood. The Fool from the Particle Tarot. Myrrha

Khatruman	22 Jun 2003
Quote: Originally posted by LittleWing well i had an idea that perhaps would be more realistic. line drawing tarot cards - that are ready to be coloured in, in whatever style that the individual likes. - colours etc. blank spaces could be left for the persons symbols of choice etc. what a wonderful idea!!! My lack of artistic skills rules out any drawing on my part.. I pathetically tried to draw my faery guide for my Froud deck and it just turned into a mess!!!

BoomVoom	22 Jun 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Khatruman Just like in a novel, would never expect someone to love ALL of my characters!! :D but one would never think of chainging the characters in a novel, they'r essential for the story, weather good or bad. but then again one could argue that some times a character in a novel is redundent or there characteristics don't go with the novel very well hence makeing for a story that's not so good... hmmm... i guess i'm just rambling. but now i'm realising how good your metafor realy was... just thaught i'd post any way.

BoomVoom	22 Jun 2003
but actualy, choosing from diferent decks would make a realy strainge looking final deck don't you think?

Logiatrix	22 Jun 2003
I like the idea, Khatruman! We can call it "DECKster", or something like that... That's "we", 'cuz of course, I'll be your agent, right? That's the Queen of Wands in me! :D

Khatruman	22 Jun 2003
Wooo hooo..yeah, sure Tauni, you can be my agent. I would rather try a more enlightening inception of our project than did Napster by contacting deck creators and giving them recompense for their creations.. :D

Khatruman	22 Jun 2003
Quote: Originally posted by BoomVoom but one would never think of chainging the characters in a novel, they'r essential for the story, weather good or bad. but then again one could argue that some times a character in a novel is redundent or there characteristics don't go with the novel very well hence makeing for a story that's not so good... hmmm... i guess i'm just rambling. but now i'm realising how good your metafor realy was... No, in a way, you are hitting on something good!!! As a fiction writer, I feel the characters in a work I create are as much yours as they are mine. Wouldn't you perhaps "eliminate," so to speak, a character by the very fact that you consider the character redundant, thus assigning no value to him? Whereas I might read the novel and find the character an essential mirror to the other... isn't Laertes in a way redundant to Hamlet? A son who's father is killed and seeks revenge. Or isn't Fortinbras redundant to Hamlet? A young prince who seeks to regain land lost to him from the previous generation. Or Ophelia redundant to Hamlet? A character whose father's death sends her into madness... but I would argue them to be mirror characters, essential to the message that Shakespeare was sending about Hamlet's primary flaw, his lack of passionate action. To continue the metaphor, if tarot is a book, and I like to think of it as being one, then it is a non-linear book, the shuffle changes the story and the reader is given an even larger responsibility in making it meaningful. Isn't it then more essential that each character, each element, speak more clearly to the reader? And if elements don't work for that reader, though they are part of the creator's vision, don't they weaken the reader's vision? I happen to like inconsistency. I happen to realize that, as a creator, I have weaknesses, and to attempt something as archetypal and inclusive as the tarot, I would come to less than total success in certain areas. Should a reader find that certain weakness, and request a change. To me that is fine. It is funny, but one of the reasons that I haven't sent many works out for publication is that I never feel "finished." Once published, the work is set in stone. So many works I have wanted to change. I still wonder why many artists so readily accept that something under copyright is unchangeable. I have written things which I felt were right for when I wrote them, given my understanding of life. but my understanding has changed. Can I change that work to reflect my new understanding? Actually, I think the "set in stone" aspect of writing is a product of the 20th century commercial world. I know for sure that Whitman continued rewriting his "Song of Myself" throughout his life time, and I am quite sure other writers felt no qualms about revising an already published work. Ok, now I am rambling...I hope you don't take anything I said as criticism of you. I really like the points you make. I think I was just expanding on them.. *s*

Violet Gargoyle	22 Jun 2003
It is Logical, Captian. I like the create a deck premise. Remember those- create your own adventure books that were out when we were kids? Different cards change the Tarot story to each persons taste. A couple of things to ponder (sorry if this comes out as an appearance from the Regulator, I have been reviewing contracts and Terms of Service agreements all week at my job): Copyrights. Its probably easier and a whole lot less frustrating (via permissions and royalties) to use material not regulated by publishers copyright. Its means using unsigned artists, or cards created especially for the project. For instance, the FACT and SACT project artists could volunteer their cards already in use there. Get a few more choices for each card and you would be set to go. Heck, if you get choices of colors schemes to use for the cards, all the better. With unregistered material you can then customize the deck with less hassle, and it actually works better to assure the same size and back-of-card art. New artists get the portfolio experience and instant feedback of their work by knowing who has been including their cards. You can still take measures to protect the work contributed for use in later decks too. Besides all the on-the-spot printing requirements that a customizable deck would need. Which is easier to find with the internet these days. Site design and domain hosting are REALLY easy these days. And I like Tauni's mention of the name Deckster, kinda like Dexter...

Cerulean	22 Jun 2003
I misspelled the name, I think...but the idea is you can feed in the software a deck of your choice. If you get about 10 plus art/authors or designers who contribute about eight cards each in different styles and the customer can also contribute their own, it might work for the individual customer. The understanding though is like the Dover Books of clipart collections...the customer may use it privately up to about nine times for gifts, etc., but they shouldn't sell the mixed decks as their own products. It's hard to do, but if someone can get a clipart book and CD-rom set of tarot images, it can work. I've thought of doing take-offs of Egyptian, Grecian, Roman and Italian backgrounds suitable for tarot collages, but it became my storyboard. I also dropped the Egyptian motifs for my own reasons, but kept Greek and Roman to eventually work in astrology. Hope your ideas get some play for you, at the very least. Mari H.

Little Baron	23 Jun 2003
This is an interesting idea; you mean as a 'dream' deck, yes? In the same way as 'if you could have the perfect six famous dinner guests, who would they be?'. As a lot of people in other threads have mentioned and I suppose that anybody who buys a lot of decks (thats most of us on here), will nearly always find one card that they wish had been done better. There is that time when you look through and your heart just sinks as you turn over that one card that you just don't think was painted as well as it could have been or doesn't seem as strong as the others or doesn't express it's energy in the way that you would have liked. Occasionally, this can destroy the whole deck for you because you can never look at the collective in the same way, just because of that small handful or cards that don't fit in the way that you would have liked them too. As I have mentioned a hundred times before in this forum, there are few 'tasteless' cards in the Rohrig that I don't like. This spoilt the deck for me. Without them, this would have been 'the deck' and I probably would have never needed search again. The Matt Myers Art Neauveau holds some really beautiful imagery and art. The majors in some cases are really captivating - I love the Tower, the Priest. However, the minors, even though they are illustrated have less sophisticated art and I do not like the way that each suit is based around some story with two central characters. It may have some relevance to the original meanings but there is little to no symbolism in them for me and disappointed me greatly. I bought the Pagan 2000 deck at the weekend; my purchase was provoked by what I think are amazing majors, once again. The pips, however pretty, were pretty much identical - another disappointment. A lot of people knock the Rider Waite, but in comparison to these decks and a lot of others out there, the art is always consistant. This can be said of The Thoth and also The Cosmic Tribe. So, I think I have understood this thead. My dream deck would consist of some essentials - The Rohrig Devil and Prince of Wands, The Fantastical Lovers and Justice, The King of Staves and The Chariot from Njunski's tarot deck, The Empress from The Gill, Pamela Coleman Smith's Aces, Thoth's Adjustment, The Star, The Wheel, The Moon and The Fool from The Pagan 2000, The Cosmic Tribe's Hanged Man. I am sure I have forgotten other favourites. There would definitely be something in there from The Vertigo tarot as well. I imagine that in reality, this would seem a bit of clumsy deck but for the individual that chose it, it would be an amazing power, depicting all that they had learnt from their tarot studies and a wealth of cultural and artistic symbolism. Nice idea - look forward to hearing others perfect visions too. Yaboot

memily2000	23 Jun 2003
That would be sooo great! And the money that people would be willing to pay for a deck like that would probably make it profitable. Hey, they have those "Create a teddy bear" shops, why not "create a tarot"! I want one made of my favorite mythological people. I bet readings from your own tarot would be more accurate than ever.

The A Deck built JUST FOR YOU!!! thread was originally posted on 22 Jun 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.