I'm delurking after a very, very long time away from the cards and from AT. I've been lurkerising in the Thoth forum for a couple of weeks now, and reading all your conversations and remembering old faces and getting to "know" new ones. (Aeon, could it be?? Are you...softening? LOL)
First time when I saw the Thoth Tarot deck, I felt strange which was mixed bag of emotions - strange, beautiful and revolt feeling. I couldn't quite tell exactly what they were.
As more I see and use them, I still cannot tell what I feel about the art of Thoth deck i.e. the feeling from the art of Thoth changes all the time.
I wanted to respond to these comments as they describe how I felt about the deck and how I continue to feel even now. I've got rather an extensive collection of Tarot and oracle decks and the Thoth is unique among them in that when I saddle up to it, I'm deadly serious. There's no overall "feeling" from the deck; it's all business. Even individual cards don't elicit feelings so much as the intellectual or perhaps psycho-spiritual echo or telling of the appropriate feeling.
A suitable analogy might be that other decks are like television shows - this one a child's cartoon, this a cooking and homemaking show, that a soap opera, the other a period drama. But the Thoth is life itself, with no aesthetic theme or pretence, and most especially no simplification. It is what it is and perhaps, artistically and visually it's a bit whiplash-inducing but at the end of the day, it is exactly what it needed to be. That uncompromising truth is a testament to the faith the creators had in their vision and in each other, I think.
A few thoughts on individual cards: I agree with the poster who said that the Disks courts are particularly strong - they're astonishing. That Knight is so overwhelmingly evocative, and the Princess...doesn't she just steal the whole show? But I think the Swords Courts are getting short shrift here - the Princess is leaping upwards, straining away from gravity (she is, after all, Air of Earth), reckless and unthinking and instinctive. The Prince is savage and destructive, and the greatest casualty of his death wish is himself...and perhaps his ego. He teaches us a lesson in courage. The Queen - I don't see a severed head! I see a severed mask, as she combines the intuitive power of Water with the truth-seeking excision of Air. And the Knight, speeding arrow of directed passionate thought, knowing exactly where he is going...who could be but thrilled to go along for that ride?
The Hermit is possibly my favourite card in the deck and I suspect its strength derives from the creators' strong identification with its symbolism, themes and message. Art is deeply fascinating and, distinct from other decks, visceral, approachable and very sensual. And Death...what a fabulous piece of artwork. So much mythology, collective unconscious, and science all bound up in what is ultimately a fantastic painting in its own right.
The 3 and 4 of Disks, the 6 of Swords, the Ace, 7 and 8 of Cups and the Ace of Wands are also particularly strong. All evoke their names and messages clearly but also meet the viewer halfway, not making you do all the work like some of the other Minors do.
Yes, it is definitely the best deck I've used. I barely ever use any other now, no matter how I love them for their art or tactility or sentimental value. It's all about the Thoth.