Advice/Opinion on your Favorite Tarot Decks!

Hello Everyone!

I was curious if people could tell me what their favorite parts of decks are? I have been creating my own deck for a while now, and we are beginning the printing process soon. So please comment on how big or small you like your cards to be, perhaps the paper size, or even the packaging! Obviously if there are any other things you really enjoy about Tarot, feel free to comment! Thanks guys!

Welcome to AT. Oh yes we are full of opinions!

There is a forum for deck creators
http://www.tarotforum.net/forumdisplay.php?f=33
where you can share some of your art. Knowing what you were going for would help us fine tune a bit... and of course we always want to see progress.

Honest, we are pretty nice, show us your stuff!

Most answers you get are going to vary widely, since things like size, cardstock and packaging are very personal preferences. Keep in mind that you won't be able to please everyone! As long as it's a deck that you're proud of and would use on a regular basis, the rest shouldn't matter a whole lot.

For my own two cents, I like cardstock that is sturdy. I don't mind if they don't bend easily because I am so clumsy, and I'd rather my cards stay in good shape for years to come. I also like a bit of gloss, as I don't mind the sliding so much.
Size-wise, I have tiny hands so the standard size (like the Rider Waite) is perfect. Bigger cards are ok but the aforementioned clumsiness always makes me paranoid.

Packaging is mostly irrelevant. I'm one of those weird people who like the tiny boxes that come with the LWB, because it's so easy to wrap in a scarf or sit it inside a jewelry box, whereas a bigger box (like the Shadowscapes), while beautiful, is hard to actually take the cards out of; even then, one can usually find a pretty bag to wrap them in and they're sufficiently protected and store-able.

Good luck with your deck, and I look forward to seeing some samples of your project!

natural world tarot said:

Hello Everyone!

I was curious if people could tell me what their favorite parts of decks are? I have been creating my own deck for a while now, and we are beginning the printing process soon. So please comment on how big or small you like your cards to be, perhaps the paper size, or even the packaging! Obviously if there are any other things you really enjoy about Tarot, feel free to comment! Thanks guys!

Click to expand...

I really like the feel of cards printed in Belgium such as the Original Rider, the Square and Compasses Tarot (my favourite deck for feel and the best size as far as smaller cards go).

I'm not bothered by size so much as long as the size is appropriate for the detail of the cards - e.g., a pocket size Thoth isn't so good.

In terms of packaging, the box should be tight enough that the cards don't rattle around but not so tight that it is difficult to get the cards in. I quite like boxes where the top flap bends back a bit e.g., Robert Place's Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery. I also like boxes where the bottom flap is glued down firmly and reliably so I won't have the annoying problem where putting the cards in squashes the flap down and the cards don't go in.

I prefer as little text on cards as possible. Usually just the Major title, and the Minor number and suit are fine.

I love Lo Scarabeo's new style of using Roman numerals for the Majors, Arabic numbers and suit icons for the Minors, and different headgear icons for the Court card titles. It's a neat, tidy system, no text, and the small size leaves a lot of open space for a large image.

I don't appreciate printed keywords that attempt to bind me to the creator's personal perspective of the image.