The more I see it, the less I like it.

Teheuti

A lot of modern decks are certainly more attractive than RWS or their themes are intriguing, and a few provide good jumping off places for study of the theme or culture, but there are not too many late 20th/early 21st century decks that prove themselves worthy of a life-long study of the details of the imagery. Unfortunately quite a few modern decks feel like they are more a depiction of the psyche of the creator(s) rather than being truly archetypal or conveying Western Esoteric symbolism.
 

Barleywine

A lot of modern decks are certainly more attractive than RWS or their themes are intriguing, and a few provide good jumping off places for study of the theme or culture, but there are not too many late 20th/early 21st century decks that prove themselves worthy of a life-long study of the details of the imagery. Unfortunately quite a few modern decks feel like they are more a depiction of the psyche of the creator(s) rather than truly archetypal or even Western Esoteric symbolism.

This is why the stack of decks that has held my attention for over four decades is very small, and the stack of cast-off "curiosities" and outright "grotesques" is much (well, frankly, MUCH) bigger. The Thoth and the RWS have become lifetime studies. I keep buying decks occasionally, not because I need them but hoping that lightning will strike at least once more. I will soon have my first full-on TdM in hand (my wife's ancient Tarot Classic doesn't really count), mainly to see if I'm up to the challenge. Lenormand is calling me too, but I haven't stuck my toe in those uncharted waters just yet.
 

Teheuti

If I'm struggling with a particular card in another deck I can just do an image search for its corresponding RW card and gain some insight.
So true. The internet and now iPhone/Pad apps have taken Tarot study and deck collecting (or not) to a whole new level.
 

Eremita90

I have to say that, even though I come from the "non illustrated pips" tradition in general, I've learned to love the RWS deck. It was the first deck I bought and after a couple of months I had already gotten rid of it in favor of another deck (can't remember which), because the images felt so coarse and unrefined. Well, two or three years ago I felt that I absolutely had to buy a standard RWS that I'd seen on a shelf in a bookstore, and since then it has really grown on me.

I know it's hard to try to use a deck you find repulsive, so just leave it there, let some time pass. Maybe one day you will feel the need to investigate through the thousands of details of your Waite deck... Or maybe not :) I just want to say that preferences and taste are not set in stone, and they evolve with time. For instance, I used to hate the colors, and now they are one of my favorite things of the deck.
 

rwcarter

I know it's hard to try to use a deck you find repulsive, so just leave it there, let some time pass. Maybe one day you will feel the need to investigate through the thousands of details of your Waite deck... Or maybe not :) I just want to say that preferences and taste are not set in stone, and they evolve with time. For instance, I used to hate the colors, and now they are one of my favorite things of the deck.
Most of this is what I was trying to say in my earlier post. I still don't like the colors on the USG yellow-box Rider Waite, especially after having compared it to the Pam A (a friend's), B and D. But I don't loathe them as much as I used to. And having pimped my own copy of the deck, I find that the yellows in the USG version are what bother me the most. I got rid of a lot of yellow when I pimped my deck....

For readings outside of Aeclectic exchanges, the yellow box RWS (actually the mini) is my go-to deck of late because the images are so familiar even to those who aren't readers.

But I do agree - put that deck you don't like off to the side and one day it may call to you....

Rodney
 

PAMUYA

I came from reading with playing cards, the first time I picked up a RWS deck it blew me away, not just the pips, but the Majors are wonderful(no majors in playing cards). It works for me, its been 10 years since I started reading with Tarot and I am still enjoying them. I do own a couple of the RWS clones and a thoth deck, but I find myself always grabbing the RWS when heading out the door for a reading.
 

Sassenach

When I first started out, I bought the RWS and a few books and couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. I love symbolism, but this deck wasn't any pleasure at all to look at, let alone learn about. I all was just a little scary and weird for me.

So.....I stuck them on a shelf and forgot about the Tarot for years. Then I came here, and found other decks that I found much more appealing work with. The meanings were the same to learn, but the concept and artwork were different.

Now that I have had some time with the other cards, I have grown to appreciate the RWS. I still don't necessarily like the art work, but I do enjoy the symbolism.

May Your Day Be Blessed,
Sassenach
 

ann823

I could live with the art work, but after listening to an episode of Donnaleigh's show where Robert Place talked about Pamela Coleman Smith I don't know if the symbolism is actually there. He basically said she did it very quickly with little input from Waite. I'm not sure how much symbolism she knew herself but she did copy older decks so maybe that helped with content.
 

Teheuti

I could live with the art work, but after listening to an episode of Donnaleigh's show where Robert Place talked about Pamela Coleman Smith I don't know if the symbolism is actually there. He basically said she did it very quickly with little input from Waite. I'm not sure how much symbolism she knew herself but she did copy older decks so maybe that helped with content.
I agree that Waite probably did not work with her, item-by-item, on the pip cards. However, there's some very specific Masonic symbolism and other esoteric images and Golden Dawn references that could only have come from Waite, so he did set some parameters. My theory is that he gave her several meanings for each card that came from Etteilla, the Golden Dawn, and Robert Chambers' Book of Days, plus, I believe he told her a story that went with each suit (from materials he was also working on at that time). She was a trained book illustrator and through her synesthesia she had trained herself to record exactly the images that psychically came to her. I believe this all came together in a way that may have almost seemed channeled.
 

Alianne

My thoughts are this: if you find a deck ugly and dread working with it, no matter how good the symbolism is or what everyone else says is good about the deck, I think your intuition will be stifled and you may not get the right answers. You may even avoid reading altogether.

Personally, I get a lot more out of other decks that may not adhere completely to the RWS archetypes or may have less or different symbolism. But those other decks speak to my intuition in a way that RWS just does not. I have a deck and am familiar enough with it to be able to compare my other decks to it, but it does not make me happy in the least to use it. And I want to enjoy reading tarot.