Tarot Deck Fan Sites

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 24 Jan 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Ophiel	24 Jan 2003
One thing I rarely see is websites devoted to a particular deck. You know, sort of a fan site about the one deck. If such sites existed for different decks, possibly such obscure information would be known, assuming the page developer went to the trouble of really researching every aspect of a deck. That would be neat, too. However, I think Tarot readers/collectors tend to have eyes for many different decks, and settling on just one would be difficult. I have seen a few decent sites for a few of the Marseilles version decks, though. Why don't you grab some free website space and create a page for your favorite deck? Yahoo's Geocities are pretty open about things like that, and surely there are many others. An idea: Perhaps we could take some of the left-over energy from deck creations and other such activities, and use it to share our love of a particular deck?

Liliana	24 Jan 2003
The problem is copyright im sure. Old decks like Marseilles and Rider Waite are fairly easy to get permission for, but you can only post a certain number of cards from newer decks. Also most good info about decks comes from books, and you cant ciopy stuff from books either. You could do a site on your own thoughts and interpretations of a certain deck, but unfortunately it would probably only be useful for those who already own the deck since you wouldnrt be able to post a pic of what you were talking about for all the cards. Some decks this is a good idea for, decks that are based on a story or stories that dont have a big book, you could post the related stories. It would be good for Golden Tarot of the Tsar, going into more detail about the Bible stories and Saints pictured. I may do that when I get the Tsar deck. :THP

rota	24 Jan 2003
"Tarot readers/collectors tend to have eyes for many different decks, and settling on just one would be difficult. I have seen a few decent sites for a few of the Marseilles version decks, though." The Rider/Waite/Smith clones would be a good choice. I've seen very little material on them, yet there are so many of them out there. Most decks, in fact, build on or consciously vary from the RWS. (I think of the Waite deck as being more or less American, while the Marseilles and Visconti-style decks as more specifically European.) It would be very interesting to compare and contrast the many styles that have grown out of RWS. Not just the recolored Smith artwork, either, but the many decks that use, for instance, illustrated Minors. Or, the many decks that re-present the RWS material in a different form, such as (ahem) my own.

tarotbear	24 Jan 2003
For newer decks, your choice might be to contact the publisher AND the artist directly and ask THEM to create such a site.

Liliana	24 Jan 2003
There is already an interesting one on the Waite deck here http://home.attbi.com/~vilex/ :THP

Pollux	24 Jan 2003
I'm moving this to TALKING TAROT since it deals with no specific deck. I hope we won't start playing ping-pong, OK Umbrae? *LOL*

Cerulean	24 Jan 2003
Without permissions, about six scans from one publisher are allowed...although I've seen more. Some people are in contact with U.S. Games or Lo Scarabeo or the publisher/artist/author and are allowed to have more detail on their site. I've talked to my Making of the Western Mind (www.motwm.com) teacher, and he's doing payment or scholarly permission uses for the educational classes to allow for images. He was even able to get posters made with the permission from the publisher of the art print and for $10, students were able to buy the beautiful Raphael print (the School of Athens). I was thinking about the Cloisters, because the scans available really make it look more jagged and ugly. Actually my favorite funny-but classic to me is the Romeo and Juliet deck, but I'm still really thoroughly learning this deck. Anyway, I'm a newbie with scanning, so what image rights would be available are still a learning curve. I've not posted any one-source image directly until I get how to post correct accreditation down.

Ophiel	24 Jan 2003
Yes, copyrights! As for novice amateurs, I guess you are right about most people getting information from books. Unfortunately there just isn't enough original thought here! LOL. I used to be involved in the philatelic field, writing descriptions for an international auction firm. In that field, collectors picked their own little niche and study that area to the point of becoming an actual 'amateur' expert. These researchers then published books. These books were published in small runs and were quite valuable. Thanks Tarotbear, but I don't really think many publishers would be interested in creating websites. As I noted in another post earlier this week, they can't even keep their sites updated with the latest additions! LOL.

Major Tom	24 Jan 2003
Anyone wishing to create a fan site for Major Tom's Tarot is more than welcome to do so. })

firemaiden	02 Feb 2003
Major Tom, we are all your fans!! Your fan website is right here!:D And I like your new avatar. But I have to confess I miss the old one..:P

faunabay	02 Feb 2003
There's a huge site for the Thoth deck. I can't remember the addie right now, but I'll post it when I dig it up.

The Tarot Deck Fan Sites thread was originally posted on 24 Jan 2003 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.