The problem with many decks...

I don't think it's tiredness...

Yes, it definitely happens a lot. Rare are the decks where you feel the energy being sustained, pulled taut (and the artists in cases that don't do this probably think we're stupid and won't notice).

I think the problem can be explained in two ways;

If they have a superficial understanding of the tarot images - blah blah traditional, i.e RWS - then they will work to a prescription; 3 of Cups, 3 ladies interacting. It isn't going to make for much depth or subtlety. I think it's much better to go your own way -like LoS do so many times, and decks like the Thoth, Ironwing, Greenwood, - and create a whole new consistent sequence rather than trying to be RWS and working to a prescription and ticking boxes.

That and the fact that - for me -they're often just not very good artists. They simply don't have the ability and imagination to sustain it. As in any field, the really exceptional ones are few and far between and yet deck publishing (you could argue) is getting easier. Most of what inspires people are the Majors. Ask people what their favourite card is and most will choose a Major. Or a Court card. Very few people will say the 3 of wands or 5 of Pentacles. So they get inspired and then fizzle out. I think you can spot it a mile away. You have to love and understand all 78 cards to do it well and how many of us can claim that? I can't, so I don't create a deck.

This also explains the glut of Lenormands. A key is much easier to draw. And there are only 36 to do. Bliss compared to the 78 cards of the tarot.

Le Fanu said:

Bliss compared to the 78 cards of the tarot.

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78 cards can be daunting! However, I do feel sometimes that someone had a little tarot knowledge and had a great idea, but that idea could not be sustained throughout the deck.

Likewise also where all the court cards are exactly the same - they just change the color of the robes and the suit symbol being held ....wow - that is SO exciting! NOT!

For me - it was the challenge of not being an artist to start - just being outraged at what I was going to be charged to use copyrighted images and deciding I had no choice but to create my own designs ... somehow. The second challenge was making a male-centric deck (yes, there are still women in it) and having a single male 'type' be in every card of their suit. My deck is still an RWS clone at heart, but it took more than merely drawing a male instead of a female to create my deck.

Goddess help the artist with no knowledge of Tarot trying to pass off a Tarot deck onto Tarotists thinking they 'won't notice'!

two deck come to mind when reading this thread:

the Llewelyn

and the Spiral Tarot

Both artists are talented and have other decks in which they "kept up" the imagery beautifully throughout the decks, the Arthurian by Anna Marie Ferguson and the Celestial by Kay Steventon

so I wonder, especially in the case of the Llewelyn (which broke my heart with those minors) if it is a case of the artist having to meet publisher deadlines? Being rushed or just "burning out"

I think in the case of the Spiral, which I do like, the artist intentionally created the minors to be artistically different, which I can live with even if I wish they matched the majors,

but in the case of the Llewelyn, the minors just seemed like early sketches of what the card "could" have been, like they were rushed out just to complete the deck. I tried hard to overlook it, but they just were so "unfinished" looking to me that I would get distracted.

delizt said:

two deck come to mind when reading this thread:

the Llewelyn

and the Spiral Tarot

Both artists are talented and have other decks in which they "kept up" the imagery beautifully throughout the decks, the Arthurian by Anna Marie Ferguson and the Celestial by Kay Steventon

so I wonder, especially in the case of the Llewelyn (which broke my heart with those minors) if it is a case of the artist having to meet publisher deadlines? Being rushed or just "burning out"

I think in the case of the Spiral, which I do like, the artist intentionally created the minors to be artistically different, which I can live with even if I wish they matched the majors,

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I really agree about the Spiral Tarot! I think the majors and courts are beautiful, but the rest of the minors look almost amateur in style in comparison. It ruins the deck for me. I had no idea that it was intentional.

I don't buy decks like that unless it is just for the purpose of expanding my collection. I do feel that some artists do not understand the importance minors, especially when they do not read tarot...they are just doing this for the aspect to make money. I have no respect for these people, I show them that by not buying their crap.

Kgirl said:

I think Liz Dean's Golden Tarot fits your descripton. The majors are beautiful but the pips are just plain lazy. When I bought the deck, all I could see were the majors on the box which seduced me to buy this deck. When I took the deck out of the box I was so disappointed.

I echo the comments on the Bonefire deck. Each and every card has been given individual attention and love. Stunning stunning deck.

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I agree completely, and I've almost bought this deck a number of times...knowing there are "plain pips"....see I love TdM, and read pips, and enjoy them, so I don't think doing pips in the minors is a "comedown". BUT...there's a difference between pips and pips. If you just slap the pips on a background, that's like playing cards...the reader is left to number and suit and memorized meanings...there's no visual storymaking going on. But if, in the pip cards you surround the pips with lovely patterns, then there's something there to get your imagination going. TdM is a perfect example of this...and it's different enough, card to card, to be useful. But if all the swords, say are on the same background, (or theres two or three backgrounds, as in the Truth Seekers or the Crystal Tarots...well, that's not fooling anyone, and it's like you ar trying to do that...just fill the space. I find all three of these decks (Golden/Dean, Truth Seekers, Crystal) to be disappointing because of that same reason...and there are so few good modern pip decks. They all have beautiful art but the work falls short because of this.

Do image searches on the Jasniak Tarot...there's a beautiful pip deck that doesn't seem to do this...been on my wish list for awhile!

kalliope said:

I really agree about the Spiral Tarot! I think the majors and courts are beautiful, but the rest of the minors look almost amateur in style in comparison. It ruins the deck for me. I had no idea that it was intentional.

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I LOVE the spiral and difference between it's majors and minors....yes, it's a "quicker" style of painting, but it shows up the difference between the majors and minors, and in a spread you can tell where the major stresses are falling. I've got no problem with the majors and minors being stylistically different...in fact I prefer it. I've got some issues with the Spiral for other reasons...the cards are small...that's not an issue in itself; I prefer small cards, i think (my deck will be small when it comes out...) but the majors are just packed with imagery that doesn't translate well in the small format...they deserve more room! Further, there's lots of sigils and glyphs...tree of life, astrological, etc, that are ALSO slapped over top of the major arcana, and I feel it detracts from the already deep artistic style of the majors. But I really love the spiral.

I do like the Spiral as well, despite the business and the borders and the difference in the majors/minors..it fits into the category "ugly-ish decks that read well for me" (I think that's another thread!

...in the companion book the artist says that she wanted to pay homage to her grandmother by choosing the late 1800s as the period depicted in the minors, so that made sense, and while the art is different, it doesn't seem "rushed" to me like the Llewellyn and somehow didn't turn me off the deck..

the Llewellyn on the other hand, made me weep, lol

I was very impressed with the Rosetta tarot in general, for its vibrancy and detail of all the cards. It is on my short list of decks I'd like to purchase in the next year. Like others have mentioned I get very disappointed with both decks and books that have so much to show and say regarding the Major Arcana and then seem to fizzle on or after the Aces.

Mallah said:

......Further, there's lots of sigils and glyphs...tree of life, astrological, etc, that are ALSO slapped over top of the major arcana, and I feel it detracts from the already deep artistic style of the majors......

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I hate that sort of thing. It is a distraction. For most people it adds absolutely nothing to their understanding of the cards, and if one is really into esoteric Tarot, it is almost an insult.