Dark Grimoire

Nachtigall

It's a great deck, although I don't use it much today. Very suitable for shadow work readings, especially since so much of it is about dreams, nightmares and hidden monsters from the subconsciousness.

I'd say, that a knowledge of Lovecraft mythology is helpful. Besides that, many card images don't resemble the traditional RWS meanings, so they have to be read intuitively.
 

rwcarter

Dark Deck Truths Exchange - September sign-up thread.I've used the Dark Grimoire for those exchanges (used to be called DEC - Dark Exchange Circle) with good results.
 

Le Fanu

Grizabella said:
I've never read any of Lovecraft's work. I guess I lived my life under a toadstool because I scarcely heard of him till this called my attention to his work.
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Me too!

This deck is just fabulous. It needs to be stated - quickly - that it's fabulous, before others come along and insist you must read XYZ story, and that card number XV is etc etc.

It's worth reiterating that the deck stands up very well on its own. Not being able to identify monsters here adds to the eeriness. There's an oddness pervading the cards that you can't quite put your finger on and if you haven't read Lovecraft, that's where you have an advantage.

I love this deck and come back to it again and again and again. After the Bohemian Gothic it is my dark deck of choice and reads (for me) like a dream, or rather nightmare. I have since read some Lovecraft, selected stories. I have enjoyed them and enjoyed matching up cards but I like to control myself, stop myself before it gets to the stage of ticking boxes and playing "spot the monster". The whole deck captures the weird atmosphere of Lovecraft and I honestly think that is enough. It's great to read his stories and get goosebumps but the deck really does stand up on its own.
 

swedishfish612

Le Fanu said:
Me too!

This deck is just fabulous. It needs to be stated - quickly - that it's fabulous, before others come along and insist you must read XYZ story, and that card number XV is etc etc.

It's worth reiterating that the deck stands up very well on its own. Not being able to identify monsters here adds to the eeriness. There's an oddness pervading the cards that you can't quite put your finger on and if you haven't read Lovecraft, that's where you have an advantage.

I love this deck and come back to it again and again and again. After the Bohemian Gothic it is my dark deck of choice and reads (for me) like a dream, or rather nightmare. I have since read some Lovecraft, selected stories. I have enjoyed them and enjoyed matching up cards but I like to control myself, stop myself before it gets to the stage of ticking boxes and playing "spot the monster". The whole deck captures the weird atmosphere of Lovecraft and I honestly think that is enough. It's great to read his stories and get goosebumps but the deck really does stand up on its own.
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Oooh, this is fantastic to hear. One thing I worried about with this deck, and the main reason I didn't actually acquire it sooner, is because I was afraid I'd be lost since I've never read any Lovecraft. I'm currently trying to understand another deck where I'm unfamiliar with the backstory and I'm really fumbling my way through it.

Sounds like that won't be a problem with Dark Grimoire!
 

Le Fanu

advice; just dwell on the oddness of the scenes. :)
 

direwolf336

swedishfish612 said:
Oooh, this is fantastic to hear. One thing I worried about with this deck, and the main reason I didn't actually acquire it sooner, is because I was afraid I'd be lost since I've never read any Lovecraft. I'm currently trying to understand another deck where I'm unfamiliar with the backstory and I'm really fumbling my way through it.

Sounds like that won't be a problem with Dark Grimoire!
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Le Fanu is right. Just let your mind absorb the images. You don't need to know Lovecraft to enjoy this deck!!!
 

toj

It has been so long since I have read Lovecraft that the deck would have been a new experience no matter how I looked at it. Some images brought a flicker of recognition but I originally read Lovecraft in the 80's, so my recall is hazy at best. When Borders Bookstore was going out of Business last year I got a collection of his work but haven't read it yet. Have not tried to read the cards yet but find them to be all over the place- beautiful yet eery with the coloring and others just weird. Definitely unique among my decks.
 

Grizabella

Every time I lay out a spread with this deck, I'm amazed all over again at how beautiful the art work is. It would seem that with such a limited pallette, maybe it would be just kind of bland all the way through but instead it's just gorgeous, rich and not at all bland, by any means. The use of light and shadow, the subtle changes in hue and contrast----it's really fantastically beautiful.
 
happy tarot? Sharman-Caselli Tarot without pink card backs