The One Card You Check...

...when buying a deck is .....what? I remember taking a class from Rachel Pollack and Mary Greer and they had this inside joke where they always pull the Queen of ummmm...I think it's Wands, when they buy or check out a new deck. And their reaction to that card affects their reaction to the rest of the deck. So, do you have a bell weather card that can make or break a deck for you? I can't say that I do. It's usually the other way around. One card can ruin a deck for me. But if I had to pick one, I'd say it was The Devil. You just have got to have a good Devil card to shake things up, dontcha think? .

Lawguy51

There's no single card that I always like to check before buying a deck. But when possible, I really like to take a look at the Strength and the Wheel of Fortune cards before purchasing . . . because if either of those cards depicts cruelty - such as the lion having its head bashed in, or someone being broken under the wheel - then I'm probably going to have a hard time with the whole deck. Also, I like to have a look at a random minor arcana card, to see if the minors are as well illustrated as the majors.

I don't like a sappy Devil card at all .
(Nice avatar , by the way. I wonder how many people here remember what that is ? -ancient birth control device? alien implant ? - crop circle? ) The card I have started checking is The World . If they have stuck in a man instead of the lady , just keep it.

Dark Inquisitor said:

I don't like a sappy Devil card at all .
(Nice avatar , by the way. I wonder how many people here remember what that is ? -ancient birth control device? alien implant ? - crop circle? ) The card I have started checking is The World . If they have stuck in a man instead of the lady , just keep it.

Click to expand...

*raises hand bouncing in chair*

I Know!! I Know!! I Know!! I Know!! I Know!!

lol

i'll leave it at that and see if anyone else stumbles in to see it -- i miss those (maybe we should start a poll to see what raw number knows what it is and then 'reveal' the answer after the poll has been completed )

btw as to the subject of this thread, i never thought of drawing a particular card but i imagine using your birth card might be a good thing and perhaps use that to gauge your reaction -- and yes, no sappy devils -- make him the devil, a true deterent to temptation

Temperance, the Star, Queen of Swords...

I really like my Temperance, whether a woman or man, to have a larger than life look, and winged, if possible.

The Star sometimes is the most beautiful card in the decks. So I would like to see their ideal.

Sometimes the Queen of Swords is expressed as feeling sad and so how the art or writing works with this is quite interesting to me...

I enjoyed thinking about this.

Regards,

Cerulean

An uninspiring Death can ruin a deck for me. The only exception to this has been the Vargo Gothic because the *rest* of the deck has the dark beauty I usually look for in Death.

So, Death is the first card I check. Next are Judgement and the Devil -- my first deck was Robin Wood, so those have somehow gotten keyed as "uniqueness factor" cards for me. The Empress is another card I like to see beforehand. Ever since reading Understanding the Tarot Courts (Mary Greer / Tom Little), I also check Kings and Queens. And, of course, a statistically significant sample of minors. Basically, I want to check as many cards as possible!

Interesting question. My favorite cards -- Hanged Man, Hermit, High Priestess, etc. -- aren't necessarily the ones that make or break a deck for me. Maybe it's because I can see past a lousy Hanged Man picture into "my" Hanged Man, whereas I get hung up on an irritating depiction of the Empress, having less connection with the essence of the card.

I check The Devil and Death for sappiness (I can't stand either of those cards being watered down), and if there isn't any I look at The Moon and the High Priestess cards, as I usually find those two cards the most aesthetically pleasing.

Belinda

I agree. I usually check the Death card, for some special inspiration, and some of the other Majors. I look at some of the Minors to see if they are as good as the Majors. However, all this I do not do at the store, I usually chack the pictures online. And then you can sometimes see the whole ceck, so that rules out only a glimpse of a few cards.

I need a good Hermit, Star and Moon, then I check the Queen of Pents, 'cos that's me, and if it's pants I don't buy the deck. I also check the Page of Wands and a deck gets special bonus points if it's a Princess instead of a Page - that card represents the heroine in the novels I'm writing and I like a deck that gives me a fresh insight into her character. I had to chuckle over the Spirit of Flowers deck which I bought recently, as the PoW was represented by Amaranth, which just happens to be one of my heroine's aliases!

Jilly

I feel exactly like Lawguy51; one card can ruin the whole deck for me too.
But if that doesn't happen then I need to really really like: The High Priestess and The Moon.


Nina