I would like to buy two special decks for two special friends

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 03 Aug 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Frequency	03 Aug 2003
Hey, I haven't been around for a long while... I'm still using my precious Osho Zen that The Hermit gave me. It's brought me through some tough times. Made me realize a few things. Enhanced my magical ability... It's done alot for me. I want my two closest friends to get the pleasure from tarot that I had. I was wondering if I am making the right choice. My friend is a big fan of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter so I thought I should get him the Arthurian Legend tarot. My other friend is a young girl who is going through a goth phase of shorts, gets in lots of trouble... She likes evil dark things. So I looked at the Haindl and decided that might just be the one for her. I think the Giger would be a good choice too but the Haindl is very pretty imo. I think both decks (Haindl & Arthurian) are very beautiful. I was just wondering what you guys and girls thought of these two decks before I went to buy them. They are new to tarot. I might just get them both Oshos but I don't think it speaks to them the way it speaks to me. I was wondering espescialy on your thoughts on the books, are they easy to learn? I'm sure they'll study the basics here on this site on their own too I suggested they did that. I should get the decks in a couple weeks.

Tallarico	03 Aug 2003
She might like the Sacred Rose Tarot. Even tho it's colorful, they have no eyes. I am a bit goth and I love this deck!

Cerulean	03 Aug 2003
...and if Arthurian legends with soft watercolors are what your friend likes, the deck is very pretty. I think the book is well-done and Ann Marie Ferguson has won awards and recognition based on her work on the Legend tarot. I believe there is an interview with her posted somewhere...and she said that many young men (teenage boys) thought her High Priestess/Lady of the Lake was quite eye-appealing to them. (I think of the deck as pretty, not sensual, but I'm not a teenage boy.) Great book. I think the Haindl also has many depths and actually is a strong deck artwise--the books are quite good as well. Compared to many modern paintings, I don't think of it that dark--just quiet and sometimes somber, but well-done. I can see you don't want to get them fluffy bunny decks. Mari H.

lawguy51	03 Aug 2003
I think your friend might find the Haindl deck a tad difficult if she is just getting into Tarot. I would suggest the Thoth. I have both. The Haindl is a 'Thoth'-based deck but for me, the original Thoth is far more accessable. You can check it out for yourself at: http://www.angelfire.com/celeb/Crowley/thoth/thoth.html Lawguy51

Keslynn	03 Aug 2003
I wish my friends would buy me a tarot deck! That's very thoughtful of you. I agree with lawguy that the Haindl might be a bit much for anyone to start out with. I've been reading for a year now (yay!) and I still don't think I'll be ready for it in quite a while. If you're going to go for the Thoth, you can check out the Tarot Books and Media forum to find a good companion book to recommend or buy for your friend. The Legend I just never clicked with, but I think it might have been different had I gotten the companion book. I did read a lot of Arthurian legends when I was in high school, but not in enough depth to pick up on what was on all the cards. If you're buying that deck for a friend, then I recommend getting him the book too. :) Kes

jog1118	03 Aug 2003
for your friend who likes the lord of the rings, perhaps a faery theme deck (i have the tarot of the hidden folk, its good; the fey tarot may also be a better option) for your goth friend, thoth definitely...especially if he/she hears about crowley's reputation ;) :smoker:

Emily	04 Aug 2003
Your Goth friend may also like The Tarot of the Spirit, its a Thoth clone and you can get a companion book for it by Pamela Eakins that could be used with other decks too not just this one. You can see all the cards of this deck at tarot.com because some of the Majors are a slight shock to the system but they grow on you lol :D

Trogon	04 Aug 2003
Hi Frequency... Here's a couple of my thoughts... Personally, I haven't been particularly drawn to the Legend deck. I've looked it over and thought it was "nice", but haven't been really "wowed" by it, so I can't really help you there. The Haindl deck, as others have mentioned might not be a great one to start with. On the other hand, if you were to get the deck along with the expanded books, your goth friend might just get into them. I am anticipating that the Thoth might be my next purchase, so I would think it'd be a good one for her as well... (hmm... my doesn't that sound a little self-centered... "I like it, so she should." :rolleyes: ) Anyway... for your friend who likes the Lord of the Rings & so forth... another consideration might be the Lord of the Rings Tarot. Again, this is one I haven't examined closely, though I believe it is based, more or less, on the RWS. Then again, maybe it isn't a great deck for a beginner. So... anyway... I am wondering... do you feel you need to really "surprise" your friends by handing them their decks, such as for a birthday or something? If this isn't necessary, perhaps you could take each of them to the shop where you buy your Tarot decks... have them browse through the decks with you, perhaps to help you, giving you "input" on what decks they think are really special. Then buy the deck they picked out... then hand it to them. "Here you go... there is a deck which really spoke to you... it's now yours." I'd bet they'd still be pretty surprised...

Storm	04 Aug 2003
Hi, I just recently got the Legend set and it is very beautiful. I was amazed at just how little I knew about Arthur and because of this have put the cards away...I'm used to Universal and do well with them,,but Arthur will be quite a challenge..unless one is fully versed in the Legend, the cards are so different.. Just thought I'd give you another beginners view.. Storm

Little Baron	04 Aug 2003
What about the Fantastical or is that too obvious?

Bacchus	04 Aug 2003
I am going under the assumption that your friends are new to the art of Tarot, so this is what I'm basing part of my recommendations on. Please forgive if the assumption is incorrect. For you friend that likes LOTR, the LOTR Tarot. It seems to be a little simplistic for experienced readers, but for a beginner, perhaps the associations would be helpful. As for a Goth deck, I have been looking at/drooling over the Gothic Tarot by Monolith Graphics. It's dark, and the pictures are beautiful. An added bonus, for a beginner, is that it is based upon the RWS and, as such, most of the literature available would be applicable. Scans are available at http://www.tarotgarden.com/boutique/onlinecatalog.php?view_title=The+Gothic+Tarot&pageenter=0 Just my two cents worth. If you require change back, let me know. :-D

Little Baron	04 Aug 2003
The 4 of swords in the Gothic deck is interesting, Bacchus. Thanks for the link. Yaboot

Frequency	14 Aug 2003
Wow I found the perfect one! The Black Tarot... First of all she's lesbian and I'm sure she'll get a kick out of the beautiful women. Secondly some of the cards I read about in the review seem to be extremely well conceived (artisticly) and really show the meaning of the card well. I always loved that aspect of the Osho. You can look at an Osho card and it's in your face you don't have to read the book to understand what it's talking about.

The I would like to buy two special decks for two special friends thread was originally posted on 03 Aug 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.