finding my mystery deck

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 25 Oct 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

annette	25 Oct 2004
I have a mental picture of the "right deck" but cannot find it anywhere. I am beginning to wonder if it exists. I am hoping that someone can help me. The cards are slightly oversized with a plain crimson back. The front of the cards has a small border with the name of the card at the bottom. The images are slightly dark, very similar to Haindl Tarot, and are very literal to the card (man and woman embrassing for lovers, grim reaper for death, etc.). The only lead I have had so far is that someone said they thought they had seen a similar deck in an episode of charmed. If anyone can help me find my mysterious deck please let me know. Thanks!!!

Fulgour	25 Oct 2004
Juliet Sharman-Burke The Beginner's Tarot Deck & Book Set by St. Martins Griffin isbn 0-312-28482-9 $19.95 with Artwork by Giovanni Caselli and the cards have a crimson back...

Cerulean	25 Oct 2004
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/gothic-vampires/index.shtml I know there's another deck with a red back and if I seem to recall, dragons? I don't remember the fronts though...was that the New Palladini? http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.angelfire.com/la2/tarotdeevah/tarot/np.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.angelfire.com/la2/tarotdeevah/tarot/np.html&h=302&w=318&sz=30&tbnid=U8k55a23xnEJ:&tbnh=107&tbnw=112&start=20&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnew%2Bpalladini%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN Sorry if the commentary below is unclear or doesn't help... No one has ever seemed to be able to locate the deck on the Charmed television show and I've never seen the episode, unfortunately. Please someone, correct me if I'm wrong.... Oops, turns out it was a Pierpont Morgan Visconti: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/visconti-sforza/index.shtml There was a "Treasure Hunter" series show with a few flashes of a Visconti deck in front and they put a fake map with Chinese style pagodas on it, a vacant castle and had a silly story of the King of the Gypsies...there's a fantasy element of tarot that seems to bring out unusual storylines. Regards, Cerulean

annette	26 Oct 2004
thanks for your help. The images are much darker than those in Juliet Sharman-Burke's. I checked out the other suggestions also and none of those were what I am looking for. I have been able to find out which episode of charmed the deck was on. I was told it was on the episode where Phoebe and Cole get married and that the deck was a bridemades gift to Paige. I do not know if that might help anyone or not. Thanks for the help and I will keep searching. Annette

Kath	26 Oct 2004
I don't like your chances Annette :( There have been a few threads about the Charmed deck on Aeclectic, but they don't seem to have turned anything up. http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22372&highlight=charmed+tarot http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11070&perpage=10&highlight=charmed%20tarot&pagenumber=2 Still, I wish you luck. You may not find the Charmed deck, but I hope you find one that is your dream deck :)

ferrous	27 Oct 2004
Quote: Originally posted by Cerulean No one has ever seemed to be able to locate the deck on the Charmed television show and I've never seen the episode, unfortunately. Please someone, correct me if I'm wrong.... Oops, turns out it was a Pierpont Morgan Visconti: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/visconti-sforza/index.shtml There was a "Treasure Hunter" series show with a few flashes of a Visconti deck in front and they put a fake map with Chinese style pagodas on it, a vacant castle and had a silly story of the King of the Gypsies...there's a fantasy element of tarot that seems to bring out unusual storylines. Slightly off-topic .. I don't think that Charmed ever had any trouble bringing out the unusual story lines, appearance of tarot cards or not. lol! :D Mind you, I watched it religiously for a while there. Silly or not, it was good entertainment. Good luck in finding the deck, annette. Perhaps you could try a free online reading at one of the many sites available for that sort of thing to give you a clue as to the location? Or perhaps someone in the reading exchange could do a 'finding lost objects' spread for you?

ferrous	27 Oct 2004
Quote: Originally posted by ferrous Good luck in finding the deck, annette. Perhaps you could try a free online reading at one of the many sites available for that sort of thing to give you a clue as to the location? Or perhaps someone in the reading exchange could do a 'finding lost objects' spread for you? To clarify .. I know you haven't lost an actual copy of the deck, but it is lost in a manner of speaking, if you know what I mean.

annette	29 Oct 2004
Thanks for the tips. I have had this picture of the perfect deck for a couple of years. It is to the point now that I cannot seem to connect with any other deck and am almost obsessed with finding it. I seem to compare every other deck I see to this picture I have in my head. I am going to try to let go of this image and focus on finding a deck that speaks to me. Thanks for all the advice and help. Annette

annette	08 Nov 2004
Okay, to anyone who may be interested in the "charmed deck". After read everyone's replies to my original post I became more intregued. I am still not sure if this is the deck I am looking for but I have gotten some more information on the deck that was used on "Charmed". It was in episode #81 called Marry-Go-Round. The cards were Tarot not Oracle cards. The back of the cards appeared to be dark red and plain (no design). The cards that were shown were Death (grim reaper), lovers (man and woman embrassing) and Despair (not sure about info on this one - man laid back with swords in chest - maybe a card from swords suit but I was told that the card read despair). The identification of the card was on the bottom in english. I also came across something that said this deck may have been created just for this seen and may not be in existence. If this description rings a bell with anyone I would love to get the name of the deck because I am dying to see if this is the one that I am looking for. Thanks, Annette

Sulis	08 Nov 2004
Have you tried looking through the cards on Joan Bunnings' site? The backs of the cards are shown. http://www.learntarot.com/decks1.htm Love Sulis xx

Diana	09 Nov 2004
Of course, there is a Tarot deck with the Charmed theme (but if it's the one they actually used in the series, I cannot say at all.) I think it's called the "Charmed Tarot". I saw a lot of copies up in town today (not in a esoteric shop - in a toy-shop - but in the teenagers' section.) But perhaps this is old news for all of you Tarot deck enthuasiasts. (For me it was new news.)

Lurea	09 Nov 2004
Have you tried sorting through the decks listed on the thread "Sites that show the whole deck"? There is a huge variety of decks available--some are quite dark. Maybe one of those is your dream deck. Do you picture the minors as being illustrated or unillustrated?

annette	09 Nov 2004
I will try to sit down and draw one of the images from the card so I can post it. Thanks for all the help. Annette

Cerulean	09 Nov 2004
http://www.thewiccabox.co.uk/charmed/charmed_trading_cards.htm Just in case one runs into this--not a tarot deck. Regards, Cerulean

Little Baron	09 Nov 2004
Hi Annette Just thinking about the plain dark red backs and came up with this. Probably not what you are looking for but is worth a try ... http://www.learntarot.com/vsdesc.htm Yabs Edited to add: just noticed that Cerulean already gave a link for this one. This one does show the back though.

Tarot Sparrow	09 Nov 2004
I just did a search--someone asked the same question on a WB message board and one person replied that the deck was made specifically for that episode by the show's props dept. Unfortunately the show has no official website or I would suggest e-mailing the producers...

WolfSpirit	11 Nov 2004
If they only showed a few cards on the show and they had to be made specifically for that show, I think it most probable that they did not make a complete deck, but only the cards they needed.

annette	11 Nov 2004
I tend to agree. It would not have made sense to made an entire deck if they only needed a few cards. I am guessing that the cards were created for the show since the information I have gotten states that apparently the 3 of swords was the "despair" card on the show. Thanks, Annette

Diana	11 Nov 2004
I dunno. Maybe they used these cards in the Charmed deck that has been published. After all, the creators got permission to do this deck and why would they not have used the cards that had been made for the show? It would make very good commercial sense to do it. The Charmed deck I saw was a real Tarot deck. Not a toy at all, even though it was being sold in a toy-shop. (This is Europe, remember. We do odd things - like selling some Tarot decks in toy-shops.) The cards shown on the box were small, but I recognised them and am pretty sure that they will be snapped up by all Charmed fans interested in Tarot. They were no better and no worse than about 80% of the decks being sold in esoteric shops today. They had a lot of copies of this deck in the shop, if anyone is interested in buying one. I could send it. They were not too expensive either.

annette	15 Nov 2004
I am in US but would be interested in knowing a little more about the cards you saw at toy store. If it is a store that has a US affiliate maybe I could find one here?? Do you remember how much the cards were (cost of cards) and anything about them (images, backs, size, etc.)? Thanks, Annette

Diana	15 Nov 2004
Annette: I am in town tomorrow, and will be going past the shop. I will go in and get all the details for you. I remember that the cards look a normal Tarot size, and that the pictures were quite pretty (although they were very small as their were about four reproduced on the box.) The price was about 30 US dollars (equivalent). I'll check the name, the publisher and the ISBN. I could even buy a copy (I know the guy who owns the toyshop well) for you, and if you don't want it, he would exchange it with me for something else, but I would then not be able to open the plastic-wrap to give you more information. (If I sent it to you by airmail postage, it would cost you an extra 16 or 17 US dollars for the postage. Unfortunately, postage to the US is horrendous from here.)

Diana	16 Nov 2004
Annette: I'm sorry. I have given you false hopes. Certainly doesn't look like your mystery deck. It's produced by a French game company called Tilsit (they make very good strategic and board games). The link to it is here, but it's not what you are looking for: http://www.tilsit.fr/index.php?id=jds&rub=produits&inf=detail&ref=195

annette	18 Nov 2004
Diane, Thanks for the effort. In my search for my mystery deck I have come across one that I like - DruidCraft. I love it and maybe that is what this whole journey has been about. I cannot wait to get the deck. Just wanted to let you know that your effort were greatly appreciated. Thanks Again, Annette

NightWing	19 Nov 2004
I'm new here, so I hesitate to intrude. I read through the thread, and noticed how materially everyone took the initial question and description. I'm wondering if this is really about Annette envisioning her own ideal deck, in the way so many of us do from time to time. My own tarot collection is largely built upon my own search for the "perfect deck". It hasn't been found yet, but increasingly fuels an overall concept of a deck I would like to have...and may eventually have to create myself. My suggestion would be to explore the idea of this deck being one that is meant to be created. Keep notes, make diagrams, one by one imagine each card in the deck. There may be a new deck within you, Annette, that is struggling to come into being. Let's remember that all existing tarot decks began in the mind of someone! All the best!

Tarot Sparrow	19 Nov 2004
I agree. There's nothing wrong with wanting a specific deck (although I doubt if this one is even available, sadly). But I think it's more important to consider other decks, because there is such a wonderful world of tarot out there to experience and enjoy, and there is at least one great deck for everyone. I don't think there is such thing as "the perfect deck" though. That's just unrealistic :) Nothing is perfect, but I think all that matters is that you can love a deck for what it is. Anyway, good luck with everything Annette, and the Druidcraft!

The finding my mystery deck thread was originally posted on 25 Oct 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.