Changing tastes in decks

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 09 Sep 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Kyrielle	09 Sep 2002
When I first began with tarot, I was attracted to the prettiest decks -- Shapeshifter, Cannon-Reed Witches (only scans I found were of the prettiest cards)...the ones with beautiful and polished artwork. Now I find myself looking again and again at the decks that may look rougher, but have a lot of thought behind them and a lot of power to them -- Motherpeace, Songs for the Journey Home, Shining Tribe. I still like beautiful decks, but my criteria are deeper now. I also had quite a few decks before I bought the Universal Waite. So my taste went from pretty art, to tradition, to genuine innovation. How has your taste changed, for those of you who have been at it for a while? -- Kyrielle

Laurel	09 Sep 2002
I fell in love with the Voyager deck when I started. I thought it was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. That was back in the mid 80s. Now... there are a lot more photo collage decks and when I look at Voyager these days, it seems so "busy" to me... and I realize I could probably make a collage deck myself that was on par. I'm also becoming more and more enamored with decks that have breath-taking artwork, an even arrangement of darkness and light but that stick to the traditional suits and Major Arcana. I want there to be 78 cards, in Swords/Cups/Wands/Pentacles-Disks with Majors that follow either the RW or Thoth attributions. Laurel

DarkElectric	09 Sep 2002
My first deck ever was the Connolly deck. I got it because I didn't know anything about reading tarot at all, and I thought it was really pretty. I also found it impossible to read with. So the next one was a Universal Waite, which I liked a lot better than the traditional R/W with what I considered harsh colours. I learned to read with it, but still was looking for something that would really make me say, "WOW!" This occurred when I met the Spiral deck, and saw the major arcanna. I found it easy for me to read, I related to the images well. And even though the minor arcanna was a lot less detailed, I love the deck a lot. Then I tried experimenting with "Interesting" decks. Tarot of the Cat People was cute, but also an impossible read for me. And I went all out for as many decks as caught my fancy, with some major disappointment on my part, because, silly me, I thought that the longer I read, I would be able to read with ANY deck at all! Time and experience proved that theory to be untrue. So, I am now in possession of a collection, which I don't read with, and a few "working decks" with which I do. And for me, Voyager is still the greatest invention since soy milk, because I grok the images well, and have no talent for creating collage art of my own at all. I also love my Cosmic Tribe, and my Rohrig. So I have gone from being sort of a traditionalist, to a preference for the colourful and slightly avant garde. But my spiral is still the all time favourite.

Liliana	09 Sep 2002
I started with the Spiral, but I started not liking the Majors as much as I once did because I wasnt really into all the different Gods and Goddesses portrayed in the majors anymore. And for some reason I never could read it quite as intuitively as I liked, except for the courts, which i still feel are the best around So I started a search for something I could read more intuitively, and also something more Christian. Got the Master Tarot in a trade and found out its not really tarot but I still like it. Tried Connolley but its too all positive and I hate what she did to the Majors Also tried Cloisters but it didnt have enough symbolism So I stopped trying so hard and decided to fins a deck that spoke to me, Christian or not. I started with World Spirit which worked but still not quite as qwell as I was hoping for. Finally Rohrig spke to me like nothing else and is my primary. So basically Ive gone from Celtic, to Christian, to Ulta Modern.. My collection is maily comprised of Christian and Ultramodern decks, most of which are for study and meditation only. :THP.

Jewel	10 Sep 2002
Over the last 8 years my tastes have changed quite a bit. I started out with absolute love for RWS clones (Robin Wood and Tarot of the Old Path at the top of my list) ... just HAD TO HAVE illustrated minors. I had (and still have) a preference for air/swords fire/wands association. And I liked Justice at XI and Strength at VIII ... in sum Raider Waite based decks. Never have been too fond of the RWS or its clones, although I do use the Universal for study. Then in January I received my copy of the Cosmic Tribe. I LOVE this deck. The experience with it is hard to put into to words, the deck just tells all! Requires no real effort on my part. It is just wonderful. Of course this increased my iterest in my Thoth and so on and so forth. The bottom line is that now I prefer decks with "moody" minors vs. fully illustrated, I find that I am more comfortable with Justice at VIII and Strength at XI, still retain my elemental prefernces. I have always had an interest in non-traditional decks such as the Osho Zen, and just love anything with bright colors *LOL*. So for collecting I am pretty open as long as it has color. But for working ... nothing beats my Cosmic Tribe.

Violet Gargoyle	10 Sep 2002
I think my tastes change according to the culture that I am studying at the moment. Right now I felt that I was lacking in Egyptian Mythology knowledge and Art appreciation, so I feel my tastes being drawn to getting more egyptian based decks and things like the Dante deck or the Tarot de Paris (both in my cart begging for me to click that checkout button) Last year I had picked up some eastern folklore books (Japan and China) and so I picked up a couple of decks to go with them. I think it helps me understand the thought process better somehow....

truthsayer	11 Sep 2002
i used the same 2 decks(rws & thoth) for around 25 years. never occured to me to collect decks until i discovered the internet. reading about all the wonderful decks "out there" that i'd never seen or tried encouraged me to pick up decks here and there. i picked up the celtic dragon, shapeshifter, osho zen, and sacred circle basically on the recommendations of others. nothing major until the past 6 monthes that i've been trading and buying really hot and heavy. i changed from a tarot conservative to a tarot liberal. there seems to be few decks that don't interest me. in the past, i looked for decks that i could relate to in some way. now i want the hard to find, unique, and beautiful. hard to find--jung. unique--vertigo, and beautiful--ananda and neferteri. since i started reading tarot, i've developed a strong interest in the arts. i think my interests in art is the driving force behind my collection now. the other driving force is my interest in archetypal psychology and mythology which tarot is full. one of the reason i wanted the inner child cards. this deck is so DEEP if you really get into it. using tarot for self discovery is also a guiding force. when i first started i only studied meanings and symbols in order to do divination. i was fairly pragmatic about it. not anymore!!!!!! }) at last count, i have 101 tarot decks now with some oracles on the side. i never meant to collect this many but every deck has a special meaning to me. those that don't get traded.

Jewel	11 Sep 2002
Quote: Originally posted by truthsayer using tarot for self discovery is also a guiding force. I agree with that! When I first started with Tarot I wanted to learn how to use them for divination ... now that is what I use the cards for the least. Tarot is an amazing tool for self-discovery and spiritual development. It is also just fabulous to study ... so much there ... 101 decks? have you been getting some decks you did not tell me about? *LOL*

ihcoyc	11 Sep 2002
I have found that as time went by, I found it harder to relate to the RWS deck. My basic issue is that I am a :SL Swords kind of guy --- verbal, (pseudo)intellectual, reads a lot --- and I found my take on the Swords was becoming much less dark and negative than the Waite tradition. I began to use my old Swiss 1JJ pips deck more and more, and as such my RWS deck tends to stay in its box more of the time. I still use the Swiss 1JJ, but most often now the Ancient Tarot of Lombardy.

Emily	11 Sep 2002
My first deck was the Original Rider Waite, I had R/W interpretation books, and so my taste has never wandered far from R/W clones, I have the Thoth deck and one other that used pips on the Minors instead of scenes but I don't use them regularly. My most used deck is the Spiral which is a R/W clone but much prettier and also very easy to read with. The only deck I have that is not really a clone is the Victoria Regina and I find that hard to read with, I've not had it that long though. :)

Maan	13 Sep 2002
My taste seemed to change some weeks ago when i got the Phantasmagoric theater tarot. Its a weird deck and i did not expect to read with it on a regular basis but i find myself using it every day! I still use the spiral and the robin wood and some other decks but i suddenly have a "weird" one as my number one:) Maybe my taste is going to change soon. I always use about three decks at the same time but some i use a now and then and some regularly and this decks is certainly a stayer :) ( thanks Rostie :* )

VGimlet	13 Sep 2002
I started out with the Aquarian, a RWS clone, and right now I am using the Universal RWS as my primary deck. However, lately I have found myself increasingly interested in getting to know my Thoth deck a bit better. I still like my "pretty" decks, but I'm also lately drawn to darker decks, like the Templar. I'm also finding that decks I wasn't interested in when I first started, like the Voyager, have jumped up the "wanted" list considerably.

The Changing tastes in decks thread was originally posted on 09 Sep 2002 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.