Dali Universal Tarot
Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 02 Nov 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.
| lawguy51 |
02 Nov 2003 |
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My wife just gave me the Dali deck for our anniversary yesterday (ok, I ordered it a while ago and told her to put it away for the 'right' occasion!). I know this deck has mixed reviews but looking through it late last night, I was quite taken with it. The thing is, with the golden edges, and given the price tag, I'm afraid to even shuffle it, let alone use it. I feel like just putting it on display. Do any of you actually use this deck for readings? Is it anybody's favourite?
Lawguy51
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| bangbang |
02 Nov 2003 |
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I bought this deck maybe 20 years ago, and I was even afraid
to open it, I looked at the book. Then maybe a year ago
I offered it as a trade and nobody took it.(Luckily) I just began
to put attention to it and I love it regardless of what people say,
and it´s great for readings, It´s one of my favorites right now,
It's so easy to shuffle and many cards are just Superb.
I don´t use it very often to keep it in mint condition but
It's very friendly.
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| Astraea |
02 Nov 2003 |
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Hi, Lawguy. I love this deck, but hardly ever use it, for precisely the reason you mention. Those gilded edges make a bridge shuffle out of the question, and even simple handling worries me! In fact, there is a current thread in which Baba-Prague asks whether anyone else has feelings of trepidation about handling certain decks, lest they be damaged -- the Universal Dali was one that I mentioned in reply.
I have read the reviews of this deck and agree with you that response has been mixed. It seems to me that the images are clearly RWS-based, but individualistic and creative enough to offer new twists on those themes; and I like the artwork very, very much. I would read with this deck a lot if it came in a less dauntingly-priced, materials-rich format.
Happy anniversary!
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| Rusty Neon |
02 Nov 2003 |
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At a psychic fair I walked through, I noticed that one of the readers used the Dali Universal Tarot (DUT) as his one and only deck. He had worn out one deck and that worn deck was on the display at his counter. Very worn; you could barely make out the cards.
In a similar vein, I was suprised at the city fair to see a card reader using the _Grand Tarot Belline_, a deck that is also gild-edged and expensive like the DUT.
By the way, if you want to play with the Dali tarot cards and not worry about ruining it, why not also get the Dali poker card deck published by Piatnik; it has 52 cards, so I realize it's not a tarot deck. However, it has all the pips and 12 of the 16 court cards from the DUT, and the cards are plastic coated, non-gilded. I believe that, in addition, this poker deck includes a Joker card, which is the Fool card from the DUT.
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| catlin |
03 Nov 2003 |
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There is a German edition without gilded edges coming out soon. It is with book in a velvet box and costs "only" 49,95 €. I am waiting until this is available (maybe before Xmas/Yule).
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| SongDeva |
09 Mar 2004 |
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Has Dali for $53.99 for anyone who wants it, or perhaps needs a cheap(er) backup copy.
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| Scorpion |
10 Mar 2004 |
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It's up on the UK ebay at the moment for a fairy respectable £30 starting bid (already met but no other movement that I can see), end date 15 March at 18.14.
edited to remove -ebay link by moderator
I must admit I've thought about this one before and have been very tempted, but looking again at the artwork here I decided against. Maybe I'll be kicking myself later if it does slip through for that amount!
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| dolphingirl |
11 Mar 2004 |
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I was just thinking about this deck and although I just can't justify it at the moment it really draws me in to see the pics online. As a side story I was at a book fair last october and a dealer had the book for $70 and it was just lovely with full page color prints of each card on one side and the info on the other. Does anyone have the book? Is it good? I was really tempted by it but just couldn't justify spending that much for just the book when it is the deck I want the most. Sigh. I wish that I could find more and large pictures of it online.
Congrats on getting it for your anniversary, sounds like a great deck for relationship spreads.
One thing I do if I get a deck that I am afraid to shuffle is I shuffle one of my regular decks while keeping in mind that It is just doing it by proxy for that rare deck. Then I just pull the cards that came up out of the rare/fragil deck and that way I am not wearing out the deck I love :)
Samantha
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| contrascarpe |
29 Mar 2004 |
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Wow -
Just got a surprise early birthday gift from my brother today - the Dali! I had not seen all the cards on this deck and was leery of it (I am not a big fan of Dali's works), but I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised!
The artwork seems to be drawn from different sources. Although I haven't had time to really delve into the deck, a couple of images were familiar to me.
What a great present (what a great brother)!
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| SongDeva |
30 Mar 2004 |
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Originally posted by contrascarpe96
Wow -
Just got a surprise early birthday gift from my brother today - the Dali!
What a great present (what a great brother)!
You know it! Ron really came through. hehehe
And you were running low on tarot decks, so it came just in time. ;)
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| heksje |
02 Jun 2004 |
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Has anybody of you already bougth the cheaper dali deck& book set for 49 euro's (the edition for his 100 birthbay)? I'm thinking of getting it, but I was wondering if any of you could tell me if the book has a description of the minors as well?
I looked at de cards in the deck and found that a lot of the symbols in the minors are complete different from the usual. For instance de 9 of coins doesn't seem to have the same meaning as the ' usual' decks have. Are a lot of the cards different in meaning? And how do you cope, I mean, is it readable?
thanks in advance for replies!
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| Luna-Lee |
03 Jun 2004 |
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Hallo Heksje,
I bought the jubileumset, just for the book.
I have also the original deck, but I thought I had not enough information.
It is in fact a great book, with lots of information, with a description for each card of the deck ( also the Minor Arcana!).
The book also gives information about where the art in the cards come from.
And I like to read the information in Dutch!
I mainly read whith the Rider Waite, so I don't know how it reads... But I am going to try (and let you know)!
Luna-Lee.
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| laura_borealis |
03 Jun 2004 |
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The Dali is the deck of my wishlist -- I have wanted it for so long. I love his art. I've seen a lot of it in person -- prints do no justice to Dali, in person it is so stunning. If any of you ever get the chance to see the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida you should definitely go there.
When I get the Dali I will definitely read with it. I like the idea that the deck will show wear... but then, I like things to look weathered and used. :)
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| Willow_tree |
03 Jun 2004 |
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Salvador Dali is one of my favorite artists, so the Dali deck is a must!!!!
I didn't know the deck was being released without the gilded edges. Is the art work different from the original deck?
The thing about Dali is his art reflects his personality. So his cards dont mean the same thing as a normal deck would. He didn't see things as most people do.
Also does anyone know where I could get the Dali Poker Card deck/see images of it?
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| heksje |
06 Jun 2004 |
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Hi Luna lee,
Thank you for your comment on the book. And I'm certainly interested in your reading experiences, so do let me know once you have tried. Probably by that time i have bought them myself though, because of your enthousiasm I'm even more tempted to buy them!
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| Cerulean |
09 Nov 2004 |
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All the minors are described, many interesting bits of information from someone who not only enjoys Dali, but has good suggestions for reading tarot.
The description of the Blue Flower motif in the Four of Wands was lovely to me.
I found that the author has also read Rachel Pollack's book published twenty years ago. I prefer this softcover book and also using the non-gilded cards from the Jubilee edition.
I seem to be getting an impression from the book that Dali had a deep romantic partnership with Gala. Perhaps it is just me picking up a bit of sentimental information. How odd, but I'm enjoying both humor and romance from this unlikely source...
This thread has all the ISBN information if you only want to buy selected items from the Jubilee set:
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=33058&highlight=jubilee+dali
Best wishes
Cerulean
P.S. Lawguy, it was nice that you received this for your anniversary. I like that I received the Jubilee for my anniversary, as well!
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| laura_borealis |
21 Dec 2004 |
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*bump*
It peeves me a bit that the description for the Dali tarot here on AT says this:
"Salavador Dali created a few of the cards in the Dali Universal Tarot, which features collage-type paintings, made up of what looks like clip art coated with liberal amounts of gold ink."
1. Salvador is misspelled.
2. Yes, Dali used other artists' work in creating his tarot. That doesn't warrant the phrase, "created a few of the cards." Surrealists (and others) used assemblage and collage extensively. Collage is an accepted and respected art form. (And it is *not* clip art.)
This isn't understood by several of the reviewers of this deck. Michele Jackson, for instance, says, "It seems he took many shortcuts in creating it, using other art pieces, photos and simple line drawings, rather than draw an original deck card by card." And Mark Filipias writes, "Given Dali’s own talents, it is surprising that this deck consists of collage compositions which incorporate the works of other artists." (from reviews here: http://www.tarotpassages.com/deckrev.html)
A little art history education could have gone a long way to better-informed reviews.
Okay, I'm done. :)
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| Cerulean |
21 Dec 2004 |
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I was so intrigued with the Dali Tarot, when I started reading more about Dali, I found that he was brilliant and prolific in a way that I admire...
...Spanish painter, writer, and member of the surrealist movement. He was born in Figueras, Catalonia, and educated at the School of Fine Arts, Madrid. After 1929 he espoused surrealism, although the leaders of the movement later denounced Dalí as overly commercial. Dalí's paintings from this period depict dream imagery and everyday objects in unexpected forms, such as the famous limp watches in The Persistence of Memory. Dalí moved to the United States in 1940, where he remained until 1948. His later paintings, often on religious themes, are more classical in style. They include Crucifixion and The Sacrament of the Last Supper.
Dalí's paintings are characterized by meticulous draftsmanship and realistic detail, with brilliant colors heightened by transparent glazes. Dalí designed and produced surrealist films, illustrated books, handcrafted jewelry, and created theatrical sets and costumes. Among his writings are ballet scenarios and several books, including The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí (1942) and Diary of a Genius (1965).
http://www.mcs.csuhayward.edu/~malek/Dali.html
I was thinking that a contemporary of Dali's, the commercial painter, Maxfield Parrish, painted his mistress over and over in various lovely settings--but he was more understandable to a mainstream audience as well as being prolific. Dali was more 'out there' and so his deck and work take me more time to absorb and appreciate...I've taken out the deck several times over the past few years and than put it away for awhile... and after awhile, I think my mind returns to it with a new 'aha'....the Jubilee edition works as a travel set for me!
Regards,
Cerulean
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The Dali Universal Tarot thread was originally posted on 02 Nov 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.
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