Golden Luxury
le pendu said:
well.. I've heard rumours of "betrayal"... that Rhodes/Sanchez were students of Camoin-Jodorowski... and then "ran off with the secrets and created their own deck". I'm not sure how true that is, but it's clear the Rhodes/Sanchez went beyond the Camoin-Jodorowski deck, and researched several early decks to come up with some of their iconography.
I personally enjoy and prefer the Rhodes/Sanchez iconography.. but really dislike the backgrounds. I'd love it if they published a version of their deck on white backgrounds.
I’m with you, Le Pendu—I find the backgrounds annoying. I believe Ródes/Sánchez were attempting to restore a golden luxury to the TdM; as well, it appears that they were inspired by the Oswald-Wirth deck (like Wirth, they add a Sphinx underneath La Papesse’s throne).
I really enjoy R/S’s clarity of images, their “score lines” are subtler than Camoin’s, which I find almost obnoxiously obtrusive on his deck. But, the designs and colors are almost exactly the same. Definitely, R/S add some deliberate symbols not on the Camoin, which I believe they culled from studying numerous decks/deck styles.
I have corresponded with Mr. Ródes, who sounds like a very kind man. We haven’t spoken much of the deck, per se, but he has described that his method of reading the TdM has definitive differences from Camoin’s. (I find them almost identical.) As for his deck, he has mentioned that the R/S deck has symbols embedded in it that are not on the Camoin. He has also remarked that his imagery is clearer than Camoin’s. Quite frankly, I agree.
I have heard of the split, as well, between Camoin and R/S. All I can perceive is that Ródes/Sánchez were shrewder marketers and distributed their knowledge more quickly and openly. But, I truly have no business judging this matter-- I am just making observations; perhaps "shrewd" is synonymous with presumptuous in some folks' minds. Beauty (or ugliness) in the matter is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.
Mr. Ródes and Ms. Sánchez discuss their deck and reading method in their new edition of El Libro de Oro, published by Palmyra. The book is only in Spanish, to my knowledge.
