Reflection of society...

blackairplane said:

For an American a "real representational deck " might be called "The Saturday Afternoon At Wal- Mart Tarot".

Click to expand...

I don't know if I'd be first in line to buy that deck or if I'd run screaming in the opposite direction!

Rodney

214red said:

why are the majority of the decks not a true reflection of society? most decks seem to only depict people with european features (not sure how to say that without affending anyone).

Click to expand...

The Tarot tradition seems to have developed mostly in Europe before people (other than the wealthy, military, or seafarers) traveled very much, so that might explain some lack of ethnic diversity in the more historical decks, and I suspect the early Tarot decks were in some ways poking fun at the European aristocracy and church.

More recently I think a lot of modern decks are probably modeled on those older ones, and perhaps by people who are also of European descent -- just my guess.

Of course it's possible that some of our modern Tarot designers need to open their eyes and look around them more often. Look beyond their own front doors, so to speak. Or hopefully come from more varying backgrounds themselves.

Other than that I think the reason the figures in Tarot don't seem realistic, even to many people of European descent, is that they're archetypes. They represent human processes, experiences, and transitions, not real people.

I for one, though, would love to see more decks that are diverse in their depiction of people of various ethnicities, genders, ages, and culturally perceived standards of beauty.

But I don't think any one deck can possibly please everyone.

I've been getting frustrated with this issue myself, but from an artistic point of view. My high priestess and my hermit are both native american, as they appeared to me, but even though I've been mixing paints, and using a photograph as a guide, I've found that the only skin tone that I've been able to get is a "white" skin tone, and it's driving me nuts, as I know that it's the wrong skin tone for these two images. Likewise, I know that my King of Swords is an Arabic man, in a turban, and I'm dreading coming round to getting that skin tone right. :/

blackairplane said:

If you really want a deck that represents society, youare going to have to consider much more than different skin colors.

Click to expand...

Exactly.

Another suggestion

If you like the photo collage style of art, the Voyager Tarot is a very multi-cultural deck. James Wanless, the creator, changed the court cards into Man, Woman, Child and Sage and changed the suits to Hands, Crystals, Worlds and Cups. The deck contains images with people of various ages and shapes and skin tones. He made these changes to address some of those image problems mentioned, both of race and the medieval imagery.