Which Deck has the best (Worst!) "Death" & "Devil" cards?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 07 Oct 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

IDN	07 Oct 2004
Which decks do you consider have the best (or worst- depends how you look at it) "Death" and "Devil" cards? ..As in, the most scary / chilling / emotive / etc. Not really interested in the cartoon-like images of the RWS / Greer / etc. Hope I have explained myself. So: Which Death & Devil sends shivers down your spine when you turn the cards over????? Regards, Ian

Astraea	07 Oct 2004
Can't think of a favorite Devil right now, though it's one of the cards that will sell me on a deck. My favorite Death card is in the Hudes deck -- it doesn't send shivers down my spine, but to me it evokes the most well-rounded conception of death because it features a skeleton whose pelvis is a butterfly.

wildchilde	07 Oct 2004
So far I have not seen any Death cards that send shivers down my spine...I am not afraid of Death, and also understand the transformative change meaning so it's never been an issue. Now, the 10 of Swords...that might get my attention! My favorite Devil card is from the Wheel of Change deck. Not because it frightens me, but because it makes me laugh so hard it can almost bring tears. The archetypal elements of the card are hilarious and so truthful it is side splitting in its blatant Truth! Example: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/_img/wheelofchange-00998.jpg It is hard to see in this pic, but on the ram's back right in front of the devil's pelvis sits a bowl that holds an apple and a cucumber. This cracks me up every time I see it :) Don't guess this is what you were hoping to hear, but thought I would share it anyways.

Sulis	07 Oct 2004
Hi Ian, In my opinion one of the best Death cards is from the World Spirit Tarot. Here's a link to a review which has a picture of the card http://www.overtheedgetarot.com/world_spirit_tarot_review.htm I love this card - the colour is so vibrant and I really like the use of the phoenix imagery, emphasising the rebirth aspect of this card. One of the best Devil cards I've seen is the one in The Spiral tarot by Kay Steventon. I don't have this deck anymore but I remember being very impressed by The Devil card - The Devil is holding a mirror to the viewer and in that mirror we can see our true self / our shaddow or dark side. I like that. One of my favorite decks is Morgan Greer and this deck probably has one of the wierdest Devil cards around: Not much symbolism. When I first got this deck I hated this card but now I quite like it - I think it emphasises the Shaddow aspect. Here's a link http://www.angelpaths.com/decks/morgangreer/majors/Image8.html Edited to add: Another Devil I don't like is the New Palladini Devil - he's just too scary. Here he is http://www.gambler.ru/sukhty/decks02/d00746/d0074615.jpg Love Sulis xx

IDN	07 Oct 2004
In my VERY modest collection, I have both the Spiral and M Greer. I agree with your comments on both- Love the Devil (with his mirror) in the Spiral. MG's Devil hasn't grown on me as of yet. I think the Spiral will be a favourite of mine- although I haven't given the deck much time since buying it. I am concentrating on using the MG while I am learning. Regards, Ian

spoonbender	07 Oct 2004
I don't think I've seen any that actually scare me, but the Dürer Death and Devil cards freaked me out at first. And my favorite Death and Devil cards are the ones from the Tarot de Marseille. Spoon

WolfSpirit	07 Oct 2004
Death Favourite: Eclectic tarot - it has the grim reaper and dark sky, but also light shining through and a rainbow http://www.spiritone.com/~filipas/Masquerade/Reviews/eclectic.html Least favourite: from the hallowquest arthurian. It's called Washer at the Ford and it is a crone standing in the water. I think it is not meant to be scary, but she just has a scary face - like a monkey (couldn't find a picture on line, and don't have a scanner...) Devil Hard to name a favourite, but I like the devil in the Sakki-sakki a lot: http://www.tarotpassages.com/ Can't think of a devil card I hate. I both love and hate the devil in the Robin Wood. It is a very original take, but it does limit the meaning too much: http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/robin-wood/

Kissa	07 Oct 2004
Same as Astrae, the Death card in the Hudes deck is absolutely remarkable. My other favourite is the Death in the Ancestral path tarot. AS for the one that made me chilled, it is the Gaian Tarot Death card... I recall the Morgan Greer's Devil was freaking me out. Kissa

Nevada	07 Oct 2004
I love the Morgan-Greer Devil. I only began using that deck a few months ago, and it's one of my favorite cards in the pack. I find that I can interpret it seriously or as earthy (fun) devilment, depending on the rest of the reading and its subject. Sometimes I want to reach out (cautiously) and pet that gorgeous black goat. :) I've also always liked the Voyager Tarot's Devil for many of the same reasons. Thoth's Devil shocked me when I first used that deck, with all it's sexual symbolism and energy, but I've grown to like it as well. Nevada

annik	07 Oct 2004
For my favorite death card, it would be the one from the Baroque Bohemian Cat and the one from the gothic tarot by Vargo ex aequo. The one from the BBC, it's pretty theatrical and very charming. The one done by Vargo, it's because the death is looking alike with a tree. There is even a raven on his arm. For the Devil card, it would be the one in the Halloween tarot. There is a kinky style to it. And I like to see one of the little children ready to liberate himself from the leash. On the worst side, I strongly dislike the devil and death of the tarot of the spirit. It's leaving me totally cold.

Cerulean	07 Oct 2004
Clive Barrett's unpublished deck has a great devil card http://www.mythographica.fsnet.co.uk/t/avalon/devil.htm I like this TarotdeParis.com one as well -- it's Dante before the Gates of Hell: http://www.tarotdeparis.com/thumbs/major/15.htm I noticed I liked cards with good stories attached to them. I'll have to think of the Death card. Thanks for the thread, Cerulean

xviiirkna	08 Oct 2004
Some favorite Death cards: Gill Tarot: http://www.tarotpassages.com/g913.jpg Mary-El Tarot: http://www.mary-el.com/majors.html Quest Tarot: http://69.36.166.22/site_fldr/cards/cards_major.html Vertigo Tarot: http://www.spiritone.com/~filipas/Masquerade/Reviews/vertigo.html And a few Devils I really like: Moonprincess Himiko Tarot: http://www.tarotpassages.com/himiko.htm Margarete Petersen Tarot: http://www.tarotgarden.com/database/images/p-decks/petersenenglishcards.gif I'm also pretty fond of the Devil in my own deck: http://www.angelfire.com/in2/moonmagic/tarot/deck/15.html Blessings, Sally Anne

Emily	08 Oct 2004
I know its been mentioned here in earlier posts but the best Devil card I have seen is still in the Morgan Greer. I would love to know why they decided to go with what most people would associate with the typical occult Devil - An evil looking goats head, complete with horns, candle on top of the head and fly. Its not what the Tarot Devil is about and if someone who was having a reading for the first time got this Devil in their reading they'd never sleep again and no amount of trying to explain what the Devil means would work lol

VGimlet	08 Oct 2004
One of my favorite Death cards is in the Gaian Tarot - the image haunts me. But I don't think that's what you're looking for. :D I also like the Thoth's gleeful, capering Death. The Death and Devil in the Vargo are nice and eerie. :) And even though I can't dig them out at the moment, I seem to recall thinking the Templar had a pretty disturbing Devil and Death (although I could be wrong, and thinking of another deck with similar art....)

Leleii	08 Oct 2004
My favorite death card is from the Celtic Dragon. A dragon is dying and being reborn into a white dragon. My favorite devil card is from the Gilded Tarot. A beautiful masked man. It shows the seductive quality of the devil and he is blinded to his own faults.

blackroseivy	08 Oct 2004
I love both cards in the Magic (Kluev) deck; however, the WORST ones I've seen are, *no question*, those in the Cary-Yale deck. Whoever did those & the rest of the reconstructions paints like a child; my worst efforts from art-school are better. Couldn't help but share!! :D

Macavity	08 Oct 2004
I think for imaginative (and unobtrusive) modernity, the Losche Cosmic Tarot's take on Death and the Devil are fun! Also the (Strange) Devil and the amusingly clever Skeletal CAT of the Tarot of the Cat People. I also like some of the Egyptian deck's (Barrett AE, Nefertari Tarot etc.) deity ideas for these cards - An alternative to traditional imagery. :) Macavity

genna	09 Oct 2004
Best Death cards;Gendron Tarot, Fey Tarot,Tarot of the Mermaids(beautiful but sad),and The Inner Child Cards. Best Devil cards;Robin Wood Tarot,Spiral Tarot,Inner Child Cards,Gendron Tarot,Zerner Farber/Enchanted Tarot,Jolanda(Swedish Witch) Tarot,and Fey Tarot. Sorry I couldn´t choose one of each... Worst Death Cards;Victoria Regina(pity on one of my favourite decks...but I love it anyway).Jolanda (Swedish Witch) Tarot (another of my favourite decks BTW) Worst Devil Card;Morgan Greer Tarot,Winged Spirit Tarot

RedMaple	10 Oct 2004
I was shocked by the World Spirit Devil initially, but then I thought of Mick Jagger's sympathy for the Devil, and the whole rock star trip as sort of devilish, and it made sense. Especially because I see it as a bondage card, an addiction card, things we are tied to in a pathological way. The Hanson-Waite devil is pretty scary -- the two people have become sub-human, which shows the effects of the bondage. I like this card a lot. I find the Nigel Jackson Devil very creepy. I actually find the Morgan Greer Devil scary, though very Christia, but I've had accurate readings with it. One of my favorite Death cards is the Hudes, where the pelvis is a butterfly. Unfortunately, the Hudes Devil is my least favorite because it is the only face of color in the deck - a bad choice, in my opinion.

tmgrl2	10 Oct 2004
Of the decks I have, I favor the Morgan-Greer and the Bruegel. I scanned them in to add to post:

tmgrl2	10 Oct 2004
Then, I also like the Bruegel: The Death figure here is ready to lop off the head of a "penitant" human (the human holds a cross but wears the horns of his "evil." The Devil in this one, looks like "chaos" as if the Devil is a force that travels through the Universe sucking up anything it can "attract" on its path. terri

Little Baron	10 Nov 2004
I actually get a real warm feeling from the devil in the 'Soprafino' and 'Ancient Italian', making him my favourite devel and one of my favourite cards in the pack. He seems kind of real. Then again, I wonder if the main figure is the devil or whether it is the green bloke. Are the greenies all just part of this guy? Still my fave. Yabs

fairyhedgehog	11 Nov 2004
xviiirkna wrote: I'm also pretty fond of the Devil in my own deck: http://www.angelfire.com/in2/moonmagic/tarot/deck/15.html That is an amazing Devil card - I really like it.

Gerbear	11 Nov 2004
I'm partial to the Devil in the ShadowFire Tarot.

Huck	11 Nov 2004
200 Death cards: http://trionfi.com/0/i/c/13/

SunChariot	11 Nov 2004
There is one deck in progress that I am considering getting, but the Death card for me is putting me off. I'm not sure if I will get it... It is the Gaian Tarot. Bar

Sulis	11 Nov 2004
Here's a link to the Death card in the Gaian tarot. Why is it putting you off the deck Bar? I really like this card. Love Sulis xx

SunChariot	11 Nov 2004
Can't say I am particularly fond of death at the best of times. It always gives me the creeps. LOL I love this deck, but that card is too graphic for me with the bugs crawling all over it. (ugh) just the thought of that happening to me one day. I don't want to think of it. Maybe it doesn't show in the photo cause the card is small, but the card's expalnation tells you about it. Although, the water is stunning in the photo. Sorry for whoever I just grossed out. Bar

Chubby Mummy	11 Nov 2004
My vote goes for the Sakki Sakki devil card...hes so cute!!!

Shade	11 Nov 2004
Best Death: World Spirit Secret Tarot Rhorig Winged Spirit Fey Worst Death Connoly Best Devil Rhorig Phantasmagoric Theater Waking the Wild Spirit Worst Devil Connoly Robin Wood

rachelcat	12 Nov 2004
Thanks to the great link to 200 Death cards (cool!) I am reminded of a very good one--Motherpeace. It's one of the most effective and attactive Motherpeace cards, I think. The Gaian Death is disturbing because it is so REAL. This IS death, as in, a dead animal. And when I'm dead, I'll just be a dead animal, too. But once we get past that stark realization, it's comforting to know we belong to the earth, and when we're done with our bodies, we'll return them to the earth. I guess that's one kind of recycling we can't avoid!

truelighth	12 Nov 2004
IDN wrote: So: Which Death & Devil sends shivers down your spine when you turn the cards over????? Two Death cards that I can remember literally send shivers down my spine when I saw them the first time. Death from the Stained Glass Tarot (Tarocco della Vetrate, I even sold the deck because of that) and the Death card from the Romeo and Juliet tarot. I received both decks on the same day and I definately was not pleased with them. I can look at the Romeo and Juliet one now without the shivers, but the Stained Glass remains creepy. Best death cards in my opinion: Death from the Animal Tarot by Paula Gibby and Death from the Servants of the Light. Love them!

SunChariot	12 Nov 2004
Thanks Rachelcat, I think your explanation made a lot of sense for me (of the Gaian Death card). I think I will get that deck anyway and just try to get past it. Hope it doesn't take too long. Cause I really realy love all the other cards. Maybe if I see it enough I will get desensitized to it:-) Oh well..... I really like the deck, so it's worth a try.:-) Bar

bodhran	12 Nov 2004
My favorite death card is the one from the Tarot of Northern Shadows. It shows the skeleton of a bird, a infant still in the womb, and a woman. It reminds me of the endless cycle of life, death and rebirth. The Connolly deck has a the Devil card renamed "Materialism". It shows a woman chained to a wand, cup, sword and pentacle. It reminds me of how our thoughts, the material/physical, our emotions/relationships and our actions can take control of our lives. Bodhran

April	12 Nov 2004
I was just flipping through my Hanson-Roberts and I remembered this thread. The Devil is really creepin' me out, man. He's ugly and a sadist. Much scarier than RWS, which I'm unimpressed with now that I know the history behind it. I also like the Robin Wood. Though I don't own this one, I saw this card on line and thought it was cool. But my absolute favorite Devil is in the Halloween Tarot. She is the "devil in a blue dress" and it cracks me up. My favorite Death card is from the Goddess Tarot, even if it's not called "Death". Peace, April

NightWing	19 Nov 2004
Alright, I guess I'll add my two cents worth here. I have quite a few different decks, but certain images have become dominant in my mind, usually one or two versions for each card. I really like the DEATH card in the Robin Wood tarot; its something about the red cloak, rather than black for example. Another favourite is in Vargo's Gothic Tarot, and oddly, the dominant colour here too is red. So I guess I tend to associate red with death/transition/etc. The Tarot of Death has a most amusing version of the Death card. I tend not to care for the Death card design in most traditional Marseille-style decks. Robert Place has a rather interesting take on both Death and the Devil in his Alchemical Tarot. The DEVIL in the World Spirit tarot is pretty special, and I also mentally return time and again to the Devil image in DeAngelis' Universal Waite deck, probably because it is both "traditional" in the RW sense, but also somehow "creepier", which I think is because of the grin. I believe that various versions of the cards "speak" to us more clearly at different times, depending upon age, experience, recent events, mood, and so on. What appeals to me right now may not in a few years. Or even next month. Thankfully there is a huge variety of decks to choose from! Deathly yours, -NightWing

Lurea	27 Nov 2004
The Death in the Quest Tarot has creeped me out a few times. Something about the way he seems to be grinning out of the card at you--like he sees right through you. *shiver* Most of the time, it doesn't bother me, but I've done a couple of readings where I got a much stronger 'vibe' from him. The meditative, rather melancholy Death of the Enchanted Tarot is one of my faves.

kslibra1959	28 Nov 2004
First, for the person who only has the Spiral deck and another, I only have 3 and includes the Spiral. It quickly became my favorite - I'm a Libra and the colors and sensitivity of the deck truly appeal to me. However (always!), I've recently been reading more with my UW, mostly because I have gotten away from readings of a more sensitive nature and I find the simple images and bright colors more straight-forward. As for Death and Devil... I'm putting together a Majors deck for a friend and am having the devil of a time () concocting these images. The problem is I'm using a theme character - a jolly good character - and I can't seem to figure out a way to portray these two cards. So, if anyone knows of a deck that also moves away from the traditional images (which may give me a direction), I would greatly appreciate any input. Merci, Still loving the Spiral... LT

The Which Deck has the best (Worst!) "Death" & "Devil" cards? thread was originally posted on 07 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.