Pros and Cons Thread Enabling+De-enabling
frac_ture
Hi, Essjay -- I just got this deck very recently (maybe two weeks ago now or so...?). I haven't used it too much yet, but my early impressions are that it's a fantastic deck! As Nina* said, the cards do a really excellent job conveying the general meanings that a reader versed in RWS symbolism can easily recognize, but they also add layers of additional imagery that can allow for plenty of intuitive and personal/subjective ideas to leap out.
I don't want to seem too positively biased here, but I don't really have any "cons" to list for you. I personally don't mind the LoS multilingual borders at all, and I think the size and cardstock are excellent. The backs of the cards are attractive, they shuffle fluidly, and the artwork is amazing: extremely skillful, and I guess a possible "con" is that the images tend to suck me in and keep me engaged for a lot longer than just doing the reading in question should normally require... Oh, and if you have a fear of heights, this deck might push those buttons in a bad way -- a good number of the scenes involve high altitude!
Overall, this is just my opinion, but if the artwork drew you in from what you saw online, I'd say to give the deck a try. It only looks better up close and personal, and it offers a ton of phenomenal imagery for a reader to work with and ponder!
herself
Universal Fantasy pros & cons
I traded mine away some time ago - so I'll balance out the chorus of "love it"s
Pros: most cards quite readable, world/theme/system clearly established, many love the otherworldly feel. I liked the Death card
Cons: After using it a bit I found it too...sweet. Bright pink animals, pastel skies. With lots of decks this works, for me it felt sickly sweet here. A fair few cards departed from the usual RWS; if you are looking for a faithful clone (hehe, "faithful clone") this may not work for you. In my hands I didn't enjoy the artwork at all; people seemed strangely stretched; characters don't have much expression.
I traded mine away some time ago - so I'll balance out the chorus of "love it"s
Pros: most cards quite readable, world/theme/system clearly established, many love the otherworldly feel. I liked the Death card
Cons: After using it a bit I found it too...sweet. Bright pink animals, pastel skies. With lots of decks this works, for me it felt sickly sweet here. A fair few cards departed from the usual RWS; if you are looking for a faithful clone (hehe, "faithful clone") this may not work for you. In my hands I didn't enjoy the artwork at all; people seemed strangely stretched; characters don't have much expression.
Essjay
Thanks frac_ture and herself - I appreciate your thoughts
I think I'll give it a go. I think the only card I'm not mad on is the one with the squirrel for some reason but you can't have everything. I don't mind the LS multilingual titles at all but am interested to see if I do find it a bit too sweet as the scans make it seem quite distant. Maybe it is their expressions or lack of.
I think I'll give it a go. I think the only card I'm not mad on is the one with the squirrel for some reason but you can't have everything. I don't mind the LS multilingual titles at all but am interested to see if I do find it a bit too sweet as the scans make it seem quite distant. Maybe it is their expressions or lack of.
VampTarot23
Morgan Greer deck. I do not know what to think any more about it.
I saw a youtube review of the Morgan Greer deck and was attracted.
The pic of the cards do not came across the same way. If you could
help me ?
I saw a youtube review of the Morgan Greer deck and was attracted.
The pic of the cards do not came across the same way. If you could
help me ?
Carla
Morgan Greer
About the Morgan Greer. It is one of my all time favourite reading decks.
Pros:
* It is borderless and a comfortable size for shuffling.
* The card stock is inoffensive--not too thick or thin, light lamination, riffles like a dream.
* The artwork is people-focused and vibrant.
* Very little nudity, if that is a concern.
* Follows the RWS system very closely indeed.
* Has a strong retro 70s vibe. (A pro for me).
* It's cheap and easy to find.
Here's what I wrote about it on my blog some months ago: 'This deck was first published in 1979 by Morgan Press, by artist Bill Greer and Lloyd Morgan. It is distinct in being one of the earliest borderless decks, and is noted for both its vivid coloring and its 70s-tastic sensibility. Predominately of mustardy yellows, oranges, blues and greens, the deck could be made up of paint chips your mother used to decorate the lounge in 1973. Using the deck makes me want to put on a pair of flair-leg trousers and play a Joni Mitchell LP (vinyl of course!) Most of the characters are shown in close-up, with limpid-eyed women and luxuriantly mustachioed men. Flowers and vegetation abound--roses, lilies, oak leaves, acorns, lotus blossoms, grapevines, sunflowers, even the occasional palm tree. The deck is a straight talker, imminently readable and forthright. It is very popular and widely available.'
Cons:
* The cards are often in extreme close up on the subject, so the scope for viewing the full scene as on original RWS is limited.
* The 'Joy of Sex' mustaches and 70s-style elements are off-putting to some people.
* The card backs, being a vibrant blue with white stars, don't really seem to match the deck well, and they are not reversible. (There's a little star out of alignment on one end, meaning you can tell when a card is reversed. Not a con for me as I don't really look at card backs and don't use reversals.)
* What nudity there is is of the squeamish, indistinct kind. Particularly odd on the Lovers card, where the artist shows the woman completely nude, but smudges over the vital bits. Why not just paint the surrounded shrubbery to cover, if you're not going full on. But that might not be a problem, who knows.
* If you sit and stare at the deck, you start to see celebrities in the faces of the cards. The Magician looks like 70s illusionist Doug Henning. The Page of Cups looks like Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet. There are loads of them in there.
I love this deck and use it often. It is in the Top Ten Decks of All Time here at AT.
About the Morgan Greer. It is one of my all time favourite reading decks.
Pros:
* It is borderless and a comfortable size for shuffling.
* The card stock is inoffensive--not too thick or thin, light lamination, riffles like a dream.
* The artwork is people-focused and vibrant.
* Very little nudity, if that is a concern.
* Follows the RWS system very closely indeed.
* Has a strong retro 70s vibe. (A pro for me).
* It's cheap and easy to find.
Here's what I wrote about it on my blog some months ago: 'This deck was first published in 1979 by Morgan Press, by artist Bill Greer and Lloyd Morgan. It is distinct in being one of the earliest borderless decks, and is noted for both its vivid coloring and its 70s-tastic sensibility. Predominately of mustardy yellows, oranges, blues and greens, the deck could be made up of paint chips your mother used to decorate the lounge in 1973. Using the deck makes me want to put on a pair of flair-leg trousers and play a Joni Mitchell LP (vinyl of course!) Most of the characters are shown in close-up, with limpid-eyed women and luxuriantly mustachioed men. Flowers and vegetation abound--roses, lilies, oak leaves, acorns, lotus blossoms, grapevines, sunflowers, even the occasional palm tree. The deck is a straight talker, imminently readable and forthright. It is very popular and widely available.'
Cons:
* The cards are often in extreme close up on the subject, so the scope for viewing the full scene as on original RWS is limited.
* The 'Joy of Sex' mustaches and 70s-style elements are off-putting to some people.
* The card backs, being a vibrant blue with white stars, don't really seem to match the deck well, and they are not reversible. (There's a little star out of alignment on one end, meaning you can tell when a card is reversed. Not a con for me as I don't really look at card backs and don't use reversals.)
* What nudity there is is of the squeamish, indistinct kind. Particularly odd on the Lovers card, where the artist shows the woman completely nude, but smudges over the vital bits. Why not just paint the surrounded shrubbery to cover, if you're not going full on. But that might not be a problem, who knows.
* If you sit and stare at the deck, you start to see celebrities in the faces of the cards. The Magician looks like 70s illusionist Doug Henning. The Page of Cups looks like Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet. There are loads of them in there.
I love this deck and use it often. It is in the Top Ten Decks of All Time here at AT.
Carla
Cosmic Tarot
Please give me the pros and cons of the Cosmic Tarot by Losche. I like the look of it very much.
Please give me the pros and cons of the Cosmic Tarot by Losche. I like the look of it very much.
Le Fanu
Cosmic
Pros; some of the most fabulous tarot imagery of all time. Like the Star and The Moon and the Magician. Stuning imagery. Rich colouring, very ornate and exquisitely drawn. Breathtaking backs. the deck has a lovely dark blue-ish wash about it with pale greens. The colouring is very beautifully done, it really does feel coherent. Totally RWS (I?m guessing that's a pro). It is published by AG Muller so you don't need to worry about any glossy/cardstock issues.
Cons; distracting celeb-spotting courts. And there are loads of them! You just can't miss Charles Bronson and Greta. Some say Tom Cruise, Vivian Leigh. I find the courts unreadable because of this.
Very 80s. I don't mind that. Follows on nicely with your Morgan Greer, but some of the images (The Devil) topple over into 80s naffness.
Pros; some of the most fabulous tarot imagery of all time. Like the Star and The Moon and the Magician. Stuning imagery. Rich colouring, very ornate and exquisitely drawn. Breathtaking backs. the deck has a lovely dark blue-ish wash about it with pale greens. The colouring is very beautifully done, it really does feel coherent. Totally RWS (I?m guessing that's a pro). It is published by AG Muller so you don't need to worry about any glossy/cardstock issues.
Cons; distracting celeb-spotting courts. And there are loads of them! You just can't miss Charles Bronson and Greta. Some say Tom Cruise, Vivian Leigh. I find the courts unreadable because of this.
Very 80s. I don't mind that. Follows on nicely with your Morgan Greer, but some of the images (The Devil) topple over into 80s naffness.
sapienza
I feel a bit nervous because I'm actually going to disagree with Le Fanu
, but I wouldn't say this deck is totally RWS at all. It's actually based on the Golden Dawn meanings and although the RWS is too, there are differences. To me, the minors in this deck are more Thothy, in that if you know the Thoth keywords then the images make perfect sense. If you are trying to compare them to the RWS you can be left shaking your head. Cards like the 8 and 10 of Cups, 4 and 6 or Swords and 4 and 8 of Pentacles are good examples. Not sure how relevant this is....I guess if you like your decks to be totally RWS then it's a con, if not, a pro.
Great deck though, despite its shortcomings.Sulis
Cosmic
I agree with Sapienza; I'd say it was more general Golden Dawn with RWS and Thoth influences... Some of the cards are definitely more Thoth that RWS - look at that 7 of Cups for example and the 7 of Disks too.
I used this deck exclusively for quite a long time and it will always have a special place in my heart.
There are 2 editions too - the FX Schmidt edition has different typeface on the titles to the US Games edition - both are nice, in my opinion the older FX Schmidt edition is nicer.
Pros:
The artwork is lovely. It looks as if it's been done with fine point pens - very detailed, very nice with some absolutely gorgeous cards: Temperance, The Star, The Hermit, The Magican (I could go on and on).
The cards are familiar but are far from RWS clones - lots to see in those images.
Justice is at number VIII
There are glimpses of some cards in the background of others which makes for really interesting readings. For example, the happy couple in the 6 of Cups is shown in the background of the 7 of Cups.
The cardstock is nice, not too glossy.
Cons:
Difficult as I don't think there are many cons if you like the deck (and I do) so take these with a large pinch of salt.
Some of the cards are a bit samey - the 4 of Wands and the 6 of Swords show very similar dancers for example.
The celebrities / actors can be off-putting - this is the biggest downer for me but it's not a deal breaker.
There is a sort of colour wash over each suit matching it's element.
I feel a bit nervous because I'm actually going to disagree with Le Fanu
Not sure how relevant this is....I guess if you like your decks to be totally RWS then it's a con, if not, a pro.
I agree with Sapienza; I'd say it was more general Golden Dawn with RWS and Thoth influences... Some of the cards are definitely more Thoth that RWS - look at that 7 of Cups for example and the 7 of Disks too.
I used this deck exclusively for quite a long time and it will always have a special place in my heart.
There are 2 editions too - the FX Schmidt edition has different typeface on the titles to the US Games edition - both are nice, in my opinion the older FX Schmidt edition is nicer.
Pros:
The artwork is lovely. It looks as if it's been done with fine point pens - very detailed, very nice with some absolutely gorgeous cards: Temperance, The Star, The Hermit, The Magican (I could go on and on).
The cards are familiar but are far from RWS clones - lots to see in those images.
Justice is at number VIII
There are glimpses of some cards in the background of others which makes for really interesting readings. For example, the happy couple in the 6 of Cups is shown in the background of the 7 of Cups.
The cardstock is nice, not too glossy.
Cons:
Difficult as I don't think there are many cons if you like the deck (and I do) so take these with a large pinch of salt.
Some of the cards are a bit samey - the 4 of Wands and the 6 of Swords show very similar dancers for example.
The celebrities / actors can be off-putting - this is the biggest downer for me but it's not a deal breaker.
There is a sort of colour wash over each suit matching it's element.
