Decks that represent different elements

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 11 Mar 2005, and now archived in the Forum Library.

bassetized	11 Mar 2005
While discussing Jeannette's "Rosetta Stone Method" spread, she and I started talking about decks that seem "watery" or related to the element water. (The thread and Jeannette's wonderful list of "watery" decks can be found here: [thread]37988[/thread].) It seems there are some decks that are mostly one element, some a mix of two, and some that seem to be more related to the fifth element of "spirit" or "ether." I also think some decks, like the Thoth and the RWS, are pretty well balanced among all elements (maybe this is one reason they have long life-spans?). We were wondering if other folks have decks they would classify as more related to earth, air, fire, or water? I know the classification would be up for lots of debate, but it would be interesting to see other people's choices. It really helped me to see Jeannette's water list--water is the element I relate to least, and I noticed I tend to buy decks that aren't particularly "watery," so this will be a help in choosing a couple of decks that fit that classification. I'll go through my collection and make a list--would love to see yours. --bassetized

rosyelf	11 Mar 2005
What an interesting thread. When I think of Earth decks, I immediately think of the Greenwood and the Druidcraft.Though the Greenwood has a fair splash of water in it too. :) The Margarete Petersen deck feels very fiery, though I agree the illustrative style is quite fluid. Having seen the scans for the Archeon (Stygian Darkness) Tarot, I'd say that that is definitely a fiery deck. Air-I'll have to think more about this one. It's my least favourite element-the one I relate to least-so maybe I don't have airy decks in my collection. I agree that some decks, e.g. Thoth, seem to have the elements pretty much in balance. For quite other reasons, though, the Thoth gives me the creeps.;) love rosyelf

Emily	11 Mar 2005
I hadn't thought of this before either but when I think about 'watery' decks my mind went straight to the Quest Tarot. Many of the figures are drawn like liquid and there is one card that keeps coming to mind that has dolphins that seem to jump right out of the card at you - I'm going to have to get this deck down now and check lol :)

temperlyne	11 Mar 2005
I always think of my Haindl deck as earthy, maybe due to the "muddy" colors, but also in his use of stones instead of pentacles. The deck just seems very grouded and I sometimes feel it lacks in fiery temparement.

souljourney	11 Mar 2005
Great idea... I saw the discussion in the Rosetta Stone thread. I'm not even sure how I'd classify some of my decks... The Fey - Water or maybe even Spirit The Gilded - Air? Goddess - Water World Spirit - Fire? Hanson-Roberts - sort of all... Housewives - sort of all... Gothic - Spirit? Gothic Tarot of Vampires - sort of all... Sacred Circle - Earth? but sort of all... That's a harder exercise than it seems... if you start thinking you can see most decks seem to have several qualities. SJ

MercyMe	11 Mar 2005
Hudes -- watery, very watery...might be the watercolors, huh? :) Haindl -- I agree, earthy, and yeah, I think it's because of the muted pigments, they're natural and earthy. Palladini -- airy...mainly because of the nighttime background of many of the cards with the moon in different phases, even though the colors are rather earthy and solid. ~Mercy

Cerulean	11 Mar 2005
Earth - Kessia Beverley-Smith's Forest Folklore; Druidcraft Air - Celestial by Kay Steventon; Ananda by Kurt Pilz Water - Mermaids Fire - M. Petersen's; Haindl Crowley & Harris Thoth really seems to combine them all. Maybe Tarot of Paris by J.P. Thomas... I'm thinking of my period tarots and somehow, I don't quite know about their elemental attributions... Regards, Cerulean

bassetized	11 Mar 2005
This was pretty hard for me... I agree with Cerulean that the period decks don't lend themselves to this sort of classification. Seems like the Thoth, RWS (and its clone the Halloween), and Golden Dawn Magical have all the elements pretty well balanced. Like souljourney, I put the Sacred Circle in Earth but can see how it has all. I did the same for the World Spirit. Fire: Cosmic Tribe seems very fiery to me. The Ironwing is a Fire/Earth mix--the woman who designed the deck is an artist who works iron with a forge. The Voyager also seems like a Fire/Earth mix, but Earth in the money/business sense. Vikings, maybe?? Water: I agree with Jeannette about the Stone Tarot and Tarot of the Trance. The Gothic Tarot of Vampires is a Blood deck, so maybe since blood is the water of life (might put it in spirit, though). Air: Alchemical, Mythic, Tarot of the III Millennium, Universal Tarockkarten. Earth: I definitely agree with rosyelf about the Greenwood. Also, the Animal Lords, Tarot of the Four Elements, Motherpeace (which also has some fire to me), and Waking the Wild Spirit. Spirit: Tarot of the Crone, Shining Tribe, Crow's Magick, and maybe the Gothic Tarot of the Vampires.

Jeannette	12 Mar 2005
I would want to classify the Gothic Tarot of Vampires as a "Qlipoth" deck -- the shadow side of the Qabalistic "tree of life." So, maybe sort of a Spirit deck, or perhaps more appropriately, an anti-spirit deck ("anti" as in "opposite" rather than "against"). (More info on the Qlipoth here, for those seeking additional details:) http://www.zaalberg.freeserve.co.uk/qelipot.htm -- Jeannette The Tarot Garden

Fudugazi	12 Mar 2005
I think of the Thoth as airy, though the other elements are given some space - but air carries them all. And the fifth element - very strong there. The Mythic is fairly balanced, but I see it leaning towards the water. The Prague too, I think of as watery - one reason I get on so well with it - but it has some strong earth feel to it too, from the art - and above all, it has the fifth element - "the Quintessence" - the ether - that runs right through it. In fact, I cannot think of another modern deck, apart perhaps from the Thoth, where the Quintessence is quite so strongly imprinted. And I agree that the Druidcraft feels quite earthy, as does the Robin Wood. Some decks are not easy to classify, the elemental plays less of a role - El Gran Tarot Esoterico is that way. The Crystal Tarot is strange, and its elemental leaning seems to shift - it is well balanced, I think, though its attributions are different from the RWS. Like Cerulean, I don't think the ancient decks are as easy to classify, though the elements played a far greater practical and philosophical role in our ancestors' lives than they do in ours. Perhaps that is why they feel to me completely integrated in the decks: there was no need to make them obvious.

bassetized	12 Mar 2005
Jeannette wrote: I would want to classify the Gothic Tarot of Vampires as a "Qlipoth" deck -- the shadow side of the Qabalistic "tree of life." So, maybe sort of a Spirit deck, or perhaps more appropriately, an anti-spirit deck ("anti" as in "opposite" rather than "against"). Thank for the information on the "Qlipoth"; that's really helpful. I had been calling some decks--like the Gothic Tarot of the Vampires--Underworld decks. --bassetized

RedMaple	12 Mar 2005
I agreed with many of the decks mentioned as watery. But for me, the Buddha Tarot is a Spirit deck, not watery at all. The Hudes is a mix of water and earth for me. The Nigel Jackson is an airy deck. I agree that the World Spirit is a fiery deck. The Gilded is also fiery -- even the earth cards have golden sparks. Morgan Greer also is a fire deck, I think, though more of a banked fire. I would add the Spiral to the watery deck category. Maybe also the Hanson-Roberts. Both the Golden and Jane Lyle's Secret Tarot seem earth decks to me, although the Golden seems pretty integrated at the same time. Still, those Golden borders seem to ground everything in earth. The Prague seems electric to me. Also air.

ncefafn	12 Mar 2005
These are just my associations with my decks, not intended for household consumption: Fey - air Druidcraft - earth Hanson-Roberts - water Roots of Asia - water Ator - air Gendron - water/air Gilded - air Robin Wood - earth Mythic - fire Whimsical - water Goddess - water Animal Lords - earth (my new one! - thanks Myrrha!) Art Nouveau (Castelli) - water Housewives - air Pagan - earth Gnomes - earth Mermaids - water Ferret - fire Celtic Dragon - earth/fire Fairy - air Hmm. I seem to have quite a bit of air associations there. Kim

The Decks that represent different elements thread was originally posted on 11 Mar 2005 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.