Hello Kitty- They just don't get it.

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 08 Aug 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

SongDeva	08 Aug 2004
The Hello Kitty Tarot (or, officially, the Hello, Tarot) is often the subject of scorn around here. In fact recently, I've seen several snide comments about it. Now, the Hello is not my personal favorite, and I'm not its personal champion or anything, but I do feel honor-bound to point out that I think alot of people seem not to "get" the deck. If you're gonna' hate it, you go right ahead and hate it - that is your birthright as a tarotist, and I would never hope to begrudge you of this right. But it seems lately that those who loathe this self-published deck have NO idea that it is meant to be (and Joe Rosales correct me if I'm wrong) completely and utterly tongue-in-cheek! Right down to its subtitle "The Cutest Tarot Deck You Will Ever Own." It's like, a joke, get it!? The artist is actually an artist and comic book illustrator and writer, and has some pretty edgy stuff displayed on his site. I seriously doubt he has a Hello, Kitty memorabilia collection displayed on his walls, and that he decided to do this deck as an homage. Then again, I may be completely and utterly wrong. I'm not his analyst, after all. But I find that once I consider the deck in this way, the images, especially on the "scary" cards, are utterly (WARNING: APPROACHING WORD USAGE LIMIT FOR WORD "utterly"!), utterly hilarious. Maybe it's worth another peek for this reason? If you were a Hello, Tarot hater and look at it again from this point of view and have new thoughts to share, I'd love to hear them. Of course you are welcome to post if you find you still loathe it. I just couldn't rest until I attempted to correct this perceived injustice. (Zzzzzzzzzzz)

MuffinTops	08 Aug 2004
I am a Hello Tarot (Hello Kitty) Lover. I had Joe sign it too! I love anything with a kitty on it.

laura_borealis	08 Aug 2004
I just smile when I see people dissing Kitty. Her charms are not for everyone! :D

Jeannette	08 Aug 2004
SongDeva, I couldn't help jumping in on this thread. I know exactly what you're talking about. The Gummibear Tarot also falls into this category -- although in both artistic style and humorous content, I think the Hello Tarot still retains the edge. I think it's quite funny to note as well that for all the scorn the deck generates, it's always been in the top-5 Tarot Garden bestsellers since we started carrying the thing. Of course, a lot of folks who buy it are "Hello Kitty" fans and not tarotists -- but if it takes a "Hello Kitty" deck to get them familiarized with the "softer" side of tarot, and maybe even begin to fuel a real interest in the subject, so much the better, eh? We can laugh, and they can learn... -- Jeannette The Tarot Garden

HudsonGray	08 Aug 2004
I talked to the artist once, he said the cards were done singly for friends, just for fun, and people kept begging him to do the entire deck--so he did. It wasn't a project where he sat down & said "I'm making a tarot deck of that cute Kitty from Japan", more like an art project that expanded & became a full blown deck. It IS too cute for most people, but on the plus side like Jeannette said, the Hello Kitty collectors may just get into tarot because of it, you know?

skh	09 Aug 2004
As I'm one of those who "bashed" the gummibear tarot in another thread, I'd like to comment. I also thought it was cute and a nice, light, humouros look at tarot from a different angle and tongue-in-cheek, that's why I bought it in the first place. I thought it would be a nice deck to always carry around in case I'm in the mood for some tarot practice (I'm still learning). But when I looked through the cards and tried a simple spread with them, I had a very negative gut reaction to them, like listening to a very bad and mean joke. They seem done carelessly, by someone who doesn't have a connection with tarot at all. Without love, if you want. Maybe I really just don't get it, but it is a rather strong emotional reaction I didn't expect. And maybe I would like the Hello Tarot better, haven't seen it yet. cheers, Sonja

Centaur	09 Aug 2004
Quote: Originally posted by SongDeva Now, the Hello is not my personal favorite, and I'm not its personal champion or anything, but I do feel honor-bound to point out that I think alot of people seem not to "get" the deck. Every deck has those who like it and those who do not. Could the above quote not be relevant to each and every one of those decks? I have bashed the Hello Kitty Tarot on numerous different occasions. However, I hasten to add that my bashing of this deck is purely from my own personal perspective. I just do not like it. Whether it was meant to be tongue in cheek or not is irrelevant to me. Again, I just do not like it. I think it is merely a matter of personal taste. ;)

SongDeva	09 Aug 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Centaur Every deck has those who like it and those who do not. Could the above quote not be relevant to each and every one of those decks? Centaur, I'm not exactly sure what this means. At any rate, one of the first things I did was to acknowledge the right of the tarotist to loathe any deck, and you certainly are not excluded from this privledge. Happy Loathing. :)

Kiama	09 Aug 2004
Some decks are designed for reading. Some decks just... aren't. The Hello Kitty Tarot wasn't. It's there for fun. It's there to lighten us up. As is the Gummibear Tarot. They're not supposed to be reading decks, which is why many people find it so difficult to read with them... But guys... Laughter gooooood. If we can't laugh at ourselves and our hobbies, who and what can we laugh at??!!! Kiama

skh	09 Aug 2004
Kiama, I think you are right ;) I was just surprised of my own reaction. I loved the sweet'n'low reading story, and thought that the deck wouldn't matter at all as long as I recognize the pictures. Sonja

Centaur	09 Aug 2004
Quote: Originally posted by SongDeva Centaur, I'm not exactly sure what this means. At any rate, one of the first things I did was to acknowledge the right of the tarotist to loathe any deck, and you certainly are not excluded from this privledge. Hey SD, The original quote was: Quote: Originally posted by SongDeva Now, the Hello is not my personal favorite, and I'm not its personal champion or anything, but I do feel honor-bound to point out that I think alot of people seem not to "get" the deck. What I meant by my above post is that I think we could take any deck and argue that those who dislike it just do not 'get' it. What I meant by this, is that this is the way of tarot decks... some you like, some you don't. I was not arguing against your point that we each have the right to dislike a tarot deck. I agree with that. I am just saying that I could have used your above comment in connection with every deck that I dislike; that people just do not 'get it'. I agree that the Hello Tarot has appeal for some people, and I am not dissing that. For me, it doesn't gel. :D

SongDeva	09 Aug 2004
Thank you, Centaurio, As I had no idea which decks you were referring to. That clears it right up. And you're still wrong to hate Hello Kitty. hehehehehe Just kidding. Yes, you do have a point, that we don't "get" what we hate. How many times have you read someone describing how they end up buying decks they once loathed, or how they traded them away only to fall in love with them and scramble to get them back? If I recall correctly, at first I thought Hello Kitty tarot? Huh? And I didn't pay much attention. Then I saw the deck and learned a little about it's artist....and I chuckled all the way through the deck. The Queen of Swords...almost wet myself. She is SO funny. And she's a kick-ass bitch too! Shall I scan her? Say the word. :)

ferrous	09 Aug 2004
Quote: Originally posted by SongDeva If I recall correctly, at first I thought Hello Kitty tarot? Huh? And I didn't pay much attention. Then I saw the deck and learned a little about it's artist....and I chuckled all the way through the deck. The Queen of Swords...almost wet myself. She is SO funny. And she's a kick-ass bitch too! Shall I scan her? Say the word. :) I, for one, have become interested in this deck since the thread was started. I'd go for seeing the Queen of Swords. I'm not saying I'm about to run out & buy myself a copy of Hello, Tarot, but it does look cute. :)

Shalott	10 Aug 2004
It's still on my wishlist. I am THE biggest sucker for anything cute, as my 3 cats and thousands of stuffed animals will attest to. Imagine my shock to discover that some ppl don't like "cute." I still can't wrap my brain around the concept, but whatever. As long as I can be knee-deep in cute, I'm happy. I'd love to see the Queen of Swords! :D

contrascarpe	10 Aug 2004
My dear SongDeva - I, perhaps, was one of those who bashed the deck ..... in person!!!!! However, I agree with you - you have to understand the deck in order to appreciate it. It was not meant to be taken seriously (much like the Halloween, which I keep in my tarot bag to use for people who may be threatened by Tarot). Oh, by the way, congrats on your 1000 posts! You slipped that one by us. Dan

laura_borealis	10 Aug 2004
Quote: Originally posted by SongDeva The Queen of Swords...almost wet myself. She is SO funny. And she's a kick-ass bitch too! Shall I scan her? Say the word. :) Yes! Yes! :D

The Hello Kitty- They just don't get it. thread was originally posted on 08 Aug 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.