Oh dear, I had never thought of it like that, but now I can't NOT! :\
I’m so sorry
Perhaps I am misreading this card….perhaps this magician does not have control over the usual elements we associate with magic, perhaps the lesson is “look what powers I have with just a van, 70’s sofa, an open robe and a tattooed chest”?
The other cards I don’t like at all, in order of annoyance:
The Fool – this guy looks like an actual fool rather than the symbolic tarot fool. In this image I see the kind of person that remains an irresponsible idiot his whole life, never learning, never growing up, always putting himself and others in danger, leaving elements turned on, not closing wood-stove doors, leaving candles unattended in rooms full of cats and toddlers, creating chaos always and everywhere because yet another shiny or pretty thing distracted his attention. His village is tired of having to monitor his every move and all agree not to rescue him the next time he takes a step off a cliff.
King of Wands - Looks too much like a snooty British boyband member to me. I have never envisioned a faery back-teasing his hair or using hairspray. Even if he moussed it up with Marshmallow root mucilage to get that look, I still find it atrocious.
Nine of Wands – I see a bad, overly dramatic, high school interpretative dance routine by an angsty middle class teen who thinks he has it rough, but has everything he could ever want. The boy doesn’t even look like he was painted by the same artist as the others, with a stiff, flat pose and expression.
There are other cards that are a bit distracting because they remind me strongly of celebrities, though I don’t necessarily dislike them, :
King of Swords – Kevin Sorbo
Eight of Wands – Keira Knightley
Queen of Wands – Claire Danes
Six of Cups – Kate Blanchette
King of Cups – one of the Hanson brothers
There also seem to be a few faces that were used over and over for various cards. I would rather there was less model repetition.
Out of 78 cards, this really isn’t a lot compared to the many that enchant me to great depths. Perhaps I need to spend more time with them to get past the less appealing ones. Perhaps this just isn’t and will never be a deck for me.
