Reactions to Deviant Moon Tarot?

[Golden Moon]

I simply have have nothing to be fearful of this that cards. I find them artistic and I really don't know how to explain the rest.

[Morgane_49]

Thank you for the info on requesting the companion book! I will certainly do that! I would love to get more insight from Patrick on this deck.

I absolutely love it, and I'm not one at all for a 'dark' deck. (for lack of a better phrase to use)

The imagery is amazing to me, I find something new everytime I look at the cards. It is by far one of my favourites, but I also like 'softer' decks like Legacy of the Divine and Crystal Tarot.

I don't find the characters in the DM flat or without human qualities at all!

It's a good thing they make both chocolate and vanilla, huh?

[Libra8ca]

Originally Posted by magenta

I am intrigued by the ones that can actually work with this deck, so interesting to see how different we can be about what "talks' to us...like all the "Vampire" decks....what on Earth is so attractive about that?

I don't get the craze about the "Vampire" decks either; I don't like them although I wouldn't say that I could not read with them. I guess we all have different tolerance levels and different life experiences so our reactions are unique. When I see a surgery on TV I have to switch the channel as it would make me sick but I am sure there are other viewers watching it with fascination.... To everyone their own I guess.
I don't find the Deviant Moon Tarot creepy, I find it fascinating in a strange kind of way. I remember as I child I was totally fascinated with the Grimm Fairy Tale of "The story of the youth who went forth to learn what fear was" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sto..._What_Fear_Was
Somehow the DM reminds me of this story. Some of these fairy tales are acutally quite creepy; and some today might say not even suitable for children I remember someone on the radio once mentioning that one of Grimm's Fairy Tales alludes to incest; but don't remember which one it was. I guess my point is people have always been fascinated with the "Dark" and used it in art and stories.

[magenta]

Originally Posted by Libra8ca

I don't get the craze about the "Vampire" decks either; I don't like them although I wouldn't say that I could not read with them. I guess we all have different tolerance levels and different life experiences so our reactions are unique.

they are...imagery is very powerful, and the way we react to it has also a cultural component....if someone would come up with the Pilatus Tarot( the guy that allowed Jesus to be sentenced to death by the populace back then)
with lots of Romans and scenes from that time, maybe with the Death card as Jesus on the cross,it could be offensive and seen as irreverent to Catholics that take their faith seriously ( this is just an example) and could be perceived as "exotic" and fun by some that grew up with a different background....and buy it because the art work is fabulous and keep it as a collectible, no big deal.
The artist could go on and on defending his/her work and asserting his/her freedom to explore any theme or story he/she wanted but the reality would still be that it has elicit an emotional response to the imagery, which is very powerful....and some would really be repelled by such work.

Symbols and images are very important, they carry messages and meaning and they vary among human groups....( In China the color white is associated with death, it is used for funerals, red is used for weddings...for us in the West it is associated with weddings....it is still the traditional color for such ceremony)
...there is a whole industry that exploits that fact about humans, the advertising one.....they know very well how to use that to get what they want....and it is also used by the Tarot publishing companies, some decks come out in big pomp and they become the "Number One" and you wonder...why, how, when? who has created those numbers and statistics?
there is lot of "fad" in the Tarot world too...I have seen, in the last years, many Tarots be the Number One, be On Top Of The List, and then fade into oblivion...because we were too busy buying the next one and then the next one...what will be the next Number One after the DM?
will be still talking about it in a year? hey, maybe yes, who knows...

When I see a surgery on TV I have to switch the channel as it would make me sick but I am sure there are other viewers watching it with fascination.... To everyone their own I guess.

yes I know....thank God for it, we would not have any surgeons if we all reacted the same way.

I don't find the Deviant Moon Tarot creepy, I find it fascinating in a strange kind of way. I remember as I child I was totally fascinated with the Grimm Fairy Tale of "The story of the youth who went forth to learn what fear was" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sto..._What_Fear_Was
Somehow the DM reminds me of this story. Some of these fairy tales are acutally quite creepy; and some today might say not even suitable for children I remember someone on the radio once mentioning that one of Grimm's Fairy Tales alludes to incest; but don't remember which one it was. I guess my point is people have always been fascinated with the "Dark" and used it in art and stories.

yes, true...years ago, I took a class in college that was exactly all about what you mention...we studied all the children's fairy tales...they are a very important part in the child's development, as they assist him/her to face fears( the fear of darkness, the fear of being abandoned etc..)

We all have to face the dark side of life,and the inborn one we carry with us....we all have tales and stories in our cultures that are meant to assist us handle that.... a while ago some also were saying that Disney was creepy and "dark"....(yes, let me think...Disney or the reality shows ...hummm....what should we let children watch...a reality show or a classic Disney movie....hummm....)
I can see how you can compare the imagery in the Deviant Moon to some of those fairy tales...I guess it could be a good deck to explore the dark side of our psyche, and it was intended that way as I understand....but it is ALL about it, there is no respite and in my opinion, there has to be balance.

Personally, the imagery in the Deviant Moon does not work for me...I could look at it in a museum, as art, and learn about it, but I would not use it for reading with it....the feelings and reactions it causes on me are not conductive to a good, honest reading....
I think a deck should be balanced in "Dark" and Light" and I don't see that balance in it, as there is no balance in the Vampire ones...
the Sun card or the Empress card with a Vampire on it...hummm....a beautiful 3 of cups with 3 Vampires drinking from cups full of human blood, how joyful!

There are energies they were meant to be archetypal...and it is ok to play with it but I tell you a High Priestess with a baseball cap and a bat won't inspire in me, at least, that sense of depth, secrecy and inner knowledge of sacred secrets...

The Tarot was a very well devised tool, that contained , in symbols, all the energies that form life and who we are as human beings....as we are not all Light, we are not all Dark either, and there are many nuances in between...
and yes, ok, personally...I will always tend to choose the one with "positive" imagery, as I believe that we are what we allow in and what we choose to think. so between a deck full of nightmares, I will choose one that makes me feel relaxed and serene....as I have said before, I don't have to look very far to find "darkness"...

cheers

[Spoon Bender]

Magenta, for a deck that scares you, you sure do talk about it alot.

I see nothing but fun, mischievious humor in the Deviant Moon. Maybe you are just too sensitive. I mean, if vampire movies give you psychological troubles, I don't know what else to say. Dont watch them?

There are many of us who like this kind of stuff, and there are too many fluffy decks out there. The Deviant Moon has a huge following for a reason. It will be around alot longer than you or I.

It is a DEVIANT and twisted fairytale. As happy as you want it to be, as dark as you want it to be. It is all about what is inside of you ALREADY.

[magenta]

Originally Posted by Spoon Bender

Magenta, for a deck that scares you, you sure do talk about it alot.

ha ha!
that is an encouraging response...why, I should just not talk about it?
Are you the "talk keeper", measuring how much we talk on the threads?

I find the topic fascinating, interesting....as it is a deck that causes such opposite reactions in people, and the most diverse....why some imagery works for some and why it doesn't for others...?

This goes beyond my own personal take, Spoonbender, I am not the only one that feels this way about it....don't make this personal, as it isn't.

I see nothing but fun, mischievious humor in the Deviant Moon. Maybe you are just too sensitive. I mean, if vampire movies give you psychological troubles, I don't know what else to say. Dont watch them?

good, great, I am glad you see the humor....and you have missed the point about the Vampires, as it was just an example.Read the posts with more attention.

you seem to be bothered by the fact that I am willing to discuss this, why?
would you feel better if I stop posting ? my response was not even directed at you....

There are many of us who like this kind of stuff, and there are too many fluffy decks out there. The Deviant Moon has a huge following for a reason. It will be around alot longer than you or I.

I recall saying, several times that I do understand that we are all different and we respond differently to imagery ...

It is a DEVIANT and twisted fairytale. As happy as you want it to be, as dark as you want it to be. It is all about what is inside of you ALREADY.

I was talking about "balance"...does that ring a bell in you?

You are making this a personal issue, when it was a discussion about a deck.

cheers

[jupitergreenmoone]

Well I think it's a fantastic conversation. I am simultaneously a little creeped out by the deck and drawn to buy it. A few months ago my husband and I went and had our cards read and the woman allowed us to pick our decks. I picked the White Cat (yeah, I know, I'm so fluffy) and he picked the Deviant Moon. I was almost weirded out that he picked it. But that reaction got me to look at it every time I went to B&N and since I've become sort of attached to it. I plan on buying it and exploring it a little more. Just like when I use my Rider-Waite, I find that some cards bother me. I tend to pay attention to them though because maybe I'm bothered by them for a reason and there's a lesson to be learned. Maybe it will be the same with Deviant Moon.

[garydzeb]

I personally love the Deviant Moon deck, the artwork is great and I don't find it nearly as dark as some other decks. Most of the characters are actually quite clever and whimsical. It gives me very good and intuitive readings as well. I don't understand how anyone could find it disturbing or scary.

[Katherynne]

I love, love, love this deck. I find my readings with it seem to reach a deeper intuitive level. The imagery is, to me, very evocative and beautiful. I don't find it scary or disturbing at all. I consistently see something new in these cards whenever I look at them.

[DaisyDragonfly]

I received this deck just the other day: I got one of the specials offered directly by Patrick on his site. The deck came signed, with a little illustration drawn on the inside flap of the box, and wrapped in a hand-drawn wrapper. Lovely! There's also a big 'Thank You' scrawled across the envelope... it's the little touches that make things special

I wasn't expecting much from this deck: it came the same day as my Victoria Regina (VR), which I thought I'd be blown away by. I fully anticipated that I'd be using the VR on a daily basis and that the Deviant Moon would go on the pile of 'decks I like and will use intermittently when the mood strikes me and I want a distinct sort of a voice'.

It's not worked out that way. I did a new deck interview, and found the deck's voice to be insistent and direct. It doesn't mess about. There's no mystical silvery symbolism when it talks to you; it's not fuzzy possibilities and gentle romanticism. It's clever and it's perceptive and it wants you to know what it knows. The images seem uncluttered and simple... and then you look closer. There's so much going on! Just little things, but they add depth to a reading.

And, oddly, this deck is the first deck I've interviewed that insisted it should be used exclusively. I've always thought that was a bit of a tarot myth, one of those fancies we tarot readers indulge in. But this deck said it was best used by itself and it explained why when I asked. It made sense.

See, this is why this deck has surprised me. When I have time to do a proper daily draw, I like to have a tarot conversation. You know, you start with a question, draw a card, respond and move on. It looks like a script dialogue in my journal. I don't do it with every deck; indeed, up to now, the only deck I've been able to hold a proper conversation with was the Bohemian Gothic, and we both tired each other it last time I tried.

Well, I doubt anybody reading this epic post will be surprised when I say that I held a very successful conversation with the Deviant Moon. It kept going until I understood its message. It was revealing and it was rewarding. After telling myself that I'm fine with not sticking with just one deck for everything, I'm seriously considering sticking with the DM for a while. I might even venture back into IDS territory.

It's an astonishing deck. I'm pleased as punch that I took the leap and added it to my collection. And I'll enable it to anybody that asks!