Hello !
Here I come to chat a little about my chosen decks for this week. It is actually the first time I really get to work with both of them !
The Fairytale tarot :
I only recently acquired this one. When it was available on Baba store, I eyed it often on their website, and I kept telling myself I was going to get it, but kept pushing it back in time. Maybe I was more reasonable with money at the time, and did not want to splurge on fancy decks without really thinking of it long and hard first ? MMm. The result, in any case, is that once it went OOP, I started reagreting not getting it when it was available.
I did not want to buy it second hand (I am a little skimmish about getting second hand tarot decks. I never have a problem with second-hand books, furniture, clothes..... but for divination tools it is different. But, that is subject for another thread !)
I did not want to spend a fortune on it either. So I had resolved myself that I would never get it, and that it was one of these decks that I admire from afar but that I do not own. I got the companion book in place of the deck itself, and it is a good read ! Full of tales that I knew and tales that I did not know.
Several years passed, I kept visiting it on Baba store (if, by chance, the deck had gotten in print again !) and I kept searching Google for it from time to time, just in case...... really, I waited YEARS ! I inquired with Baba Studio about a possible reprint in the coming years, but they told me not for this deck.
When last month I came accross a brand new copy for sale on Tarot Garden, I first did not believe my luck. It was expensive, so I hesitated for a long time... So long that I was even more astonished that it had not been grabbed by someone else when I eventually made up my mind. What happened is that I realised that if I did not get this one, it could be ten more years before I found another new copy... and also, I had a coupon with this shop, so all in all it made the deck almost the same price as the new decks sold at Baba store now. Still expensive, but I decided it was worth it.
And I am SO glad I finaly have it. I was even a little impressed with it at first (what if I damage it while shuffling ? What - horror - if I lost a card ?) but I am into working with all decks, not letting them sleep in a drawer because they are too good to be used.
I wish the cardstock would be as scrumptious as Baba's Bohemian Gothic second edition, but it is not. It is rather plain cardstock actually. Not flimsy, just very "normal".
I am very glad that I have the companion book.
I am usually not into companion books, but with very themed decks it helps (like the Alice tarot, or the Liza Hunt farytale tarot, of the Mythic tarot - I am glad I can read the cards both ways : either by intuition only, or with the help of the book to give the card context)
I love fairytales in general, I like how they call for archetypes and our shared culture representations, and how thei can relate to psychology - and I have always thought that they pair well with tarot.
So far this Fairytale tarot has met all my expectations, and I consider myself very lucky that it finaly found its way to my hands
The Oracle of the Innocent Heart :
When I got it last year I thought it was about fairytales, actually. That is why I got it. It was a quick buy ; I did not think of it long and search several images, before I clicked on "buy".
I like it, but I was a little bit disapointed to find out that it is not really about fairytales (though it is about childhood imagery, and fairytales have their place in that !). Also, I do not like this glossy cardstock. Big glossy cardstock.... I do not know why so many oracle decks are made in that type of cardstock that is impratical and does not shuffle well. Why is it that mass produced oracle cards are often made like that, why do they not get the same attention than tarot cards ? That is why I only played with it a little before putting it in the back of my box.... with the idea to come back to it later, but to my shame, it has taken me all these months to dig it up. I think it deserves a little attention, wich is why I chose it this week !
Once again that was a long post ! You dont have to read it ! It is just me happily chatting about my decks !
after reading a good chunk of Yoav Ben Dov's wonderful book - the Open Reading - and deciding to ignore pips for now and concentrate on the Trumps. Really like the Fournier too. The colours may be wacky and totally untraditional. But it's a very warm deck and the faces are appealing. 