Decks that surprise you

There's probably a thread for this already but since I can't find it, let's start a new one. Is there a deck that you were on the fence for a long time and hesitated awhile before buying it, even not hitting it off with it at first, then shortly afterward, the deck becomes your trusty pal?

For me, the deck is Joie de Vivre. I like something whimsical but still easy to read, colorful but not too much details. So Joie de Vivre fit what I was looking for but I kept hesitating buying it because the cat faces looked a bit mean and creepy to me. I gave in after 3 years and bought it. I struggled to have fun or read with it smoothly for the first 2-3 readings. I put it away then come back one month later and bam, hello, so warm and fun and great to read with.

Tell me about yours

the Fey Tarot, was super leery about it as I tend not to do whimsical decks at all. yet that one kept calling to me. beautiful quirky, but will kick my butt in a heart beat if i'm not paying attention

The Wooden Tarot. I had heard a lot of people say they couldn't get anything out of it since it has such different imagery and no guidebook, but I was interested in the Earthbound Oracle and thought I might as well get the bundle with both decks. It ended up being my second-favorite deck! I absolutely love reading with it, though I'm grateful for the online discussions that I can turn to when a card really trips me up.

Light and Shadow Tarot. I like colorful decks and was hesitant to buy it from a seller here on the forum. I'm so glad I did. It is currently my go to deck. Despite being only black and white there is so much movement in the cards that make up for the color in fact are complimented and enhanced by the black and white. Love this deck. Definitely a surprise.


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Out of all decks, the RWS might be the one that surprised me the most. I have so many decks in that tradition but I was always super indecisive about if I wanted the one that started it all and if so which version, but then I saw the Original Rider Waite in a local bookshop. I haven't really seen any tarot decks in normal bookshops here before so after some days of pondering I thought I should get it, even if the centennial version was at the top of my list. I did a really amazing interview with it where I felt the message was I should just stick to that one deck for a while and it really is lovely. Love the artwork, love the colours, love the long history and tradition of it.

The Voyager Tarot. Its colorful but at first blush not-very-nuanced collage art seemed impenetrable (I likened it to "fruit salad"), but the more I use it the more it resembles a continuously-unfolding flower.

There have been so many. The most recent is the Distant Past Tarot. I thought I was over collaged artwork decks, and hesitated for a long time.

I eventually saw it in Instagram - laid out for a reading - and I thought it was stunning and very different from what I had expected, bought it and fell in love

The Illuminati. I looked at it for a long time, and didn't feel that it was quite my style -- too busy. But my daughter bought it for me, and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I used it regularly for a while, and enjoyed it.

Cocobird55 said:

The Illuminati. I looked at it for a long time, and didn't feel that it was quite my style -- too busy. But my daughter bought it for me, and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I used it regularly for a while, and enjoyed it.

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I occasionally pull it out to look at, but I'm not quite there with it yet. I've been gravitating toward more "earthy" decks lately.

blackmoonbee said:

Light and Shadow Tarot. I like colorful decks and was hesitant to buy it from a seller here on the forum. I'm so glad I did. It is currently my go to deck. Despite being only black and white there is so much movement in the cards that make up for the color in fact are complimented and enhanced by the black and white. Love this deck. Definitely a surprise.


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This is a great deck

My Phantasmagorical Theater..I bought it just because I had to have and quickly put it to the side. One day it just started calling me and it really help me when I needed it.

Tarot De Paris
I got this through a trade and this deck is an in your face Imma tell you exactly how I feel.. it gives you a loud and clear message