Decks that choose you

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 28 Mar 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

tabbycat	28 Mar 2004
Ever been shopping for a deck and bought one on impulse that you'd never considered getting at all? It happened to me yesterday - I found myself in front of a whole shelf of decks, spoilt for choice, chanting the usual mantra ('got it, got it, don't want it, hmm... maybe...') and the Crystal Tarot (Elisabetta Trevisan) just jumped out at me. I've never looked at it before, never thought about buying it, don't even like the LS decks very much, but it just spoke to me and I bought it, without even looking through at cards. Got it home - it's gorgeous! Love the colours, the Morris style trees, the court cards... it's a little gem. I like it much more than the Quest, which I've been planning to buy for months and finally received this week. So, has anyone else been surprised by a deck they've stumbled on almost by mistake? Is it better to plan purchases or run with your instinct? I also bought the Sola Busca, out of historical curiosity, and another Tarot of Prague (just the deck, and I did buy it because I know it's sold out and they had a couple left). I was also tempted by a book and majors deck called the Tarot reVisioned, which I hadn't seen before and was very pretty. It was also very pricey, so I left it on the shelf! Jilly

diane drizzy	28 Mar 2004
Yes! Bought The Spiral Tarot sight unseen and they have lived happily ever after with my Faeries Oracle.

WolfyJames	28 Mar 2004
It's like that that I saw my first deck. I was in a bookstore, looking for a Rilke's book (that I've never bought) when I saw the Enchanted Tarot (Zerner-Farber) on a shelve. I fell in love with it instantly, even thought all I saw was the Moon card on the cover. It was way too expensive thought and I couldn't afford it. I cried over it for months till I saw it again... and bought it (I had money that day ;)).

lunakasha	28 Mar 2004
Hi tabbycat! I also have the Crystal Tarot, and it is BEAUTIFUL!!! I haven't started reading with it yet because I am not comfortable with the unillustrated pips...but have started learning more about it, and will soon have my first Marseille deck (Fournier) to practice with! :) I had a similar experience of being chosen by a deck.... I went to Border's with friends, and it is about an hour's drive from my house. I looked at several decks and bought three that had been on my wishlist for awhile...but there was one that caught my eye, one I hadn't noticed yet online: The Mantegna (another LoS deck, BTW). The metallic details on the box caught my eye, but I was unable to look inside at the cards so I left it there. And I could not get it out of my mind! When I did some research online and saw pictures of the cards--described as having silver foil on the cards!!!!--I knew I had to have them! Within a couple of days, I was on the road to Border's and luckily they were still there. Absolutely GORGEOUS!!! All I can tell you is that it was definitely worth the trip! :D These cards will always be very special to me because I feel that they did call out to me...and I listened! :) Luna

laura_borealis	28 Mar 2004
I saw the Moon from the Cosmic Tribe on livejournal (it was used with one of those "what tarot card are you?" kind of quizzes). I couldn't get it out of my mind, googled the creator's website, and then couldn't get the deck out of my mind. I'd just bought a new deck so I told myself to wait, but within a couple of days I ordered it. If anyone had said I would fall for a garish, trippy, photoshopped deck with heaps of nakey people I would have said "Ha! in your dreams." But it's really helping me see my life and choices through a new set of lenses. I think it came along at just the right time. Serendipitous and all that. :D

Centaur	28 Mar 2004
I was like that with my Thoth. I had never considered purchasing it, until I saw it in a store I used to frequent. I had seem the images before but never close-up and in my hands. Well, when I finally saw them, I knew I had to have them. I left the store that day feeling as though I were 'swimming' in the imagery. I returned the next day, and looked again. And then I caved... I bought them. Great purchase! :)

contrascarpe	28 Mar 2004
There have been many decks that came to me sight unseen. Among the most notable have the Medieval Scapini and the Tarot of the Journey to the Orient. Most recently the Templar Tarot came into my possession that way. I treasure them all. Of course, some decks have come into my possession which I wish had stayed on the store shelf, the Mythic being one of those. But overall my batting average has been very good. Dan

CreativeFire	29 Mar 2004
Like Centaur, for me it was the Thoth! This only happened very recently, when making one of my regular visits to my favourite store. I had heard about the Thoth but had never really been drawn to it - more curious than anything as have heard varying opinions of it. Well I was cruising the deck cabinet, as usual, checking out any different decks that may have come in (as you do ;) ) and I was suddenly just staring at it - The Thoth! There and then I just knew I had to have it - had to see it for myself, how scary could it be! Took it straight next door to the coffee shop and opened it and started looking through the cards - I LOVE the artwork! It is amazing (guess it is a personal taste thing) - and now I think the bug has bitten. LOL I think it is a deck though that will take a little time but just love having it in my hands and looking through it! CreativeFire

Ravenswing	29 Mar 2004
oh yes... this has happened to me twice. I'd go out, not even expecting to lok at (much less BUY) a deck. But somehow I'd come across a display and there'd be a deck screaming for attention. both times a deck I'd never even heard of. Both times a remarkable deck. The first was the tarot of the sephiroth, the second the via tarot. fly well raven

Cerulean	18 Apr 2004
I've been trying to remember how I kept a certain small deck. I was reading online reviews and my favorite and curious reading in 1998 was Pasteboard Masquerade. I found there was a 1996 Giorgio Trevisan deck that had 78 majors and it's colors and different art was very appealing to me. Alidastore.com stocked it and sent it to me. It is as small as the Minchiate Etruria that I had found at an overstock bookstore that was going out of business and the publishers were new to me, Lo Scarabeo. I bought the Elisabetta Trevisan Crystals Tarot as well, but both decks' art as a reading tarot eluded me--the Lo Scarabeo decks that I got from San Marino at that time didn't have English instructions like they do now. The one exception was the Secrets Tarot, which had a great storyline and I settled on using that one for awhile. I grew to like decks without pip scenes and I did artwork with the old Crystals deck and bought replacement decks that had English instructions...but the old small Giorgio Trevisan's Tarot of the Renaissance was pretty and so I kept it. I thought some of the pictures were like cartoons, I didn't know if I'd like them for reading. I had through trades acquired a small 22 card Romantici and thought it was the best, especially if I can wrestle with the small booklet in Italian. Now after quite a few years, I periodically pull out the smaller 1996 Renaissance in preference for the darker colors compared to the 2001 edition. Both are pretty, but the smaller one matches my small Romantici better in size--and now, I seem to find most of the illustrations of the Renaissance to be close to fine paintings. Whenever I get stuck in a reading, now the sweet humor seems to choose to come out in this deck. It took awhile for the iconography to seem clear, but now the deck seems to be pretty clear to me. If I ever find the Renaissance iby Trevisan in the new smaller mini-deck format, I'll check out the colors. If the colors look darker and richer to me, than I think it's a clear case of me choosing the deck that finally choose to reveal it's humor and cheer to me over time. Cerulean Mari

Jewel-ry	18 Apr 2004
This happened to me with I Tarocchi classici, which is a soprafino deck. I was in a metaphysical shop that I had never been in before and there were so many decks but this one just jumped right out and said 'buy me' and I have never regretted it. I have a book by Jonathon Dee which is illustrated by a Soprafino deck and I always had a mind to buy one if I saw one but at the time I had no idea what I was buying (only having the box to go on). I was so pleased when I got out of the shop, now I have three soprafino decks!! J :)

closrapexa	18 Apr 2004
Without a doubt it was the Thoth. Really it was practically a case of posession. I saw the pictures of the whole deck in a book and I saw that I HAD to have it, even though I too was put off by the deck "reputation" and that of its maker. Now I understand everything negative I had heard of it was supersticion. Great deck, though!

Solty Dog	18 Apr 2004
I was at my local Waldenbooks, not even looking for anything. I was just there because my friend needed to stop to pick up a book on Greek Mythology. While I was there I just glanced at the sample cards they have on display and I found the Fradella Adventure Tarot. Never saw the deck before, didnt read any reviews, I never even knew it existed till right then. Its become one of my main decks. B.S. Dog

Gerbear	18 Apr 2004
I saw the Masquerade Tarot on ebay at a reasonable price, about two years ago when I had only around fifty decks. I got the deck and it was just terrible. The artwork was plain, and there was the minimum of symbolism. Since then, I do my reasearch and find out ahead of time what a deck consists of, so I haven't been surprised since, one way or the other.

Ruby7	18 Apr 2004
A deck has just chosen me!! Too bad really, because I don't think that I want this one, but it made me bid for it on E-Bay and nobody else placed a bid and so soon it will be arriving in my mailbox. The Parrott tarot has intrigued me for a while, especially because of the music notes, but I think the artwork is repelling and yet somehow this deck made me bid for it!! Ruby7

galadrial	18 Apr 2004
There is a small, local store called "Coyote Corner" that caters to the climbers/hikers that frequent the Joshua Tree National Park. They sell showers, climbing gear, T-Shirts etc. I was looking for some white sage and was told they sold it, so in I went. They had a small shelf with about 10 tarot decks on it and one of them was Tarot of the Spirit AND book. I had looked at scans of this deck many times, but was put off since understanding the imagery seems to really require the thick, rather pricey book. So here I could actually evaluate the book at my leisure. I decided it was well worth the cost, and low and behold, I had just enough money to buy it (he doesn't take checks- there is a sign on the cash register, "No checks, No whining"); and the proprietor threw in the white sage for free!

Emily	18 Apr 2004
I think with me it was the Morgan Greer. I'd seen this deck 15 months before I actually bought it - couldn't get it at that time so forgot all about it. I bought quite a few decks mainly Rider Waite clone decks, but none seemed to be just right. I knew what I was looking for, just never seemed to find the right deck. Then I saw the Morgan Greer again on a tv programme, right away I knew. I recognised the deck right off and ordered it within the hour. The first card out of the deck was my special card The Empress. I could read with this deck right out of the box, even now I can't believe I forgot about it or let 15 months go by before trying to get it again. I do use other decks, but the Morgan Greer is a comfort deck, one I know I can read with nomatter what kind of day I've had. I know this isn't a very popular deck, and I know its got its faults but I do believe its my 'special' deck.

Marion	18 Apr 2004
I would say the Rider Waite chose me, but that is not as against other decks, but more just to enter tarot. Then the Robin Wood chose me and got me much more deeply involved. Than a few key and almost surprising decks chose me: The Fey, Tarot of Prague and lately the International Icon. Oh, right, and Tarot for Cats. I practically bonded with that deck when I took it with me for a weekend visit a few summers ago. (the visit was not going terribly well, never go to a big family party for someone else's family at a remote cottage).

Hedera	18 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Ruby7 A deck has just chosen me!! Too bad really, because I don't think that I want this one, but it made me bid for it on E-Bay and nobody else placed a bid and so soon it will be arriving in my mailbox. The Parrott tarot has intrigued me for a while, especially because of the music notes, but I think the artwork is repelling and yet somehow this deck made me bid for it!! Ruby7 The Parrott might surprise you - some of the pictures are really charming and funny. I like it a lot! My favourite is probably the Ace of Disks, where you can practically *see* the tail of the little dog wag..... A very gentle and upbeat Thoth clone!

Ruby7	18 Apr 2004
Thanks Hedera, I am curious about this deck, I will let you know how I get along with it, Ruby7

ncefafn	18 Apr 2004
I'd never wanted the Tarot de Marseilles, but a recent "What Card Am I" game sent me searching through an online Marseilles deck and I fell in love with the colors. Took me a while to figure out which deck I was looking but I finally figured out it was the Fournier and I just ordered it from Alida. I'm on pins and needles to see how we'll get along. Kim

lunakasha	18 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by ncefafn I'd never wanted the Tarot de Marseilles, but a recent "What Card Am I" game sent me searching through an online Marseilles deck and I fell in love with the colors. Took me a while to figure out which deck I was looking but I finally figured out it was the Fournier and I just ordered it from Alida. I'm on pins and needles to see how we'll get along. Kim You will not be disappointed, Kim....I just acquired the Fournier Marseille and it has become my new best friend....comes with me wherever I go!!! They are so beautiful....they chose me because I had resisted the Marseille up to that point.... But when I first laid eyes on the Fournier cards.....it was love at first sight! :P Enjoy! :D :) Luna

Diana	18 Apr 2004
Quote: Originally posted by ncefafn I'd never wanted the Tarot de Marseilles, but a recent "What Card Am I" game sent me searching through an online Marseilles deck and I fell in love with the colors. I never read these threads due to lack of time. But I suppose when the word "Marseilles" is written somewhere, the tarot gods lead me to it. Glad to see you're going to get a Tarot of Marseilles, ncefafn!! I really think that any serious Tarot student needs a copy of a RWCS (Rider Waite); a Thoth; and a Tarot of Marseille. Hope you will join us in the History forum! You will be most welcome. :)

ncefafn	18 Apr 2004
Thanks for the encouragement, Luna and Diana. (What an appropriate pairing!) There must be something about the Fournier that makes it so enticing -- I saw and I wanted. I don't have a Thoth yet. I've been resisting that one. And my go-to deck is a pocket-sized RWCS that I traded for here on AT. Kim

The Decks that choose you thread was originally posted on 28 Mar 2004 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.