Does Anyone Know Why Tarot Decks are...?

[The crowned one]

Detail, yes.

To this day I prefer the large to extra large decks for reading. Small decks are for poker and card tricks

 

[bogiesan]

The few TdM decks that have passed through my hands over the decade were anything but standard playing card size. Heck, my very first TdM was tall, narrow and thick, incredibly thick.

Since the Rider pack's earliest extant smaples are about the same size as the current versions, we need to consider what camer before the Waite-Smith and why the size of , say, the TdM was more or less standardized. Since the TdM was originally created by hand-carving woodblocks, there is a certain limitation, as much economic as technical, to the detail that can reduced in the medium. One must also consider what the carriage and plate capacities were on the earilest tarot and gaming card presses. Also, weirdly, one must consider the size of the paper stock that was used on these presses.

As much as we'd like to think the designer and artist may have controlled the size of the cards, it's more likely based on the limitations of the available tools and apparatus.

It's an interesting subject for historical research, I don't know if anyone has ever pondered those questions.

 

[DownUnderNZer]

DownUnderNZer, do you shuffle the cards end on? Hold the deck sideways, and shuffle them through their ends, rather than through their sides. That way it's as though the cards are only as high as their width for shuffling.

I have small hands too, so I learnt this early with my Visconti-Sforza deck, and I never have a problem shuffling large cards.

Tarot cards weren't all traditionally large - although often longer and thinner than playing cards, as my Tarot de Marseille Noblet/Flornoy cards are really small.

I've thought the same way as Sulis, that the larger format is so one can see all the artwork clearly.

Spare a thought for all those elderly Tarot readers, before spectacles became generally available, trying to decipher those tiny details in the images!

I shuffle long ways and side ways...still ackward.

 

[DownUnderNZer]

Thanks for everyones input.

My Thoth is really big and is the biggest out of all my decks, like a small phone tablet, and I have had that about 10 years, but not one of my faves. Also, my RW is large, not as big as the Thoth, but still enough to be uncomfortable when shuffling and laying out. My Voyageur and Love Tarot are also bigger than normal playing cards and again ackward to shuffle as there are 78 cards. Even the Quester deck is big...as most tarot decks I have. Only the Lenormand is small and easy for me to deal with for shuffling and laying out.

If it is for Illustrations and detail then maybe those decks should be on display and the smaller versions for reading which is what I need to get my hands on. So over trying to handle cards that are ackward to shuffle....

 

[Chiriku]

Does anyone know why traditional tarot decks like the THOTH and RIDER WAITE are so BIG and BULKY therefore difficult for smallish or even medium sized hands to shuffle and lay out??? Sorry if this has been asked before, but I couldnt find anything here on AT about it.

I know there is a long history with certain tarot decks and lots of structure and many depths and layers etc etc etc, but does anyone know the answer as to why these old traditional (not so much modern although some are big too) decks are soooooooooo huge.

Unless ancient readers were giants or people with 16 inch wide finger spans (

Thoth and Rider Waite are 20th century decks. I don't consider that anywhere close to "ancient."

The reason these two particular decks are available in a wider variety of sizes--ranging from pocket and mini on the one hand, to large or "professional" sized on the other--than most decks is because they are seminal decks that had a massive influence on the discipline of tarot for the years after their publication, up through the present. Many people have devoted lifetimes to studying each of these on their own, or both.

As such, people make them a part of their lives in a number of ways, and that calls for different sizes; for instance, a large printing is useful for meditation or close study of the symbology, while a small one is more portable for use on the go.

Personally, I wish all decks were available in a variety of sizes. I'm with the Crowned One in that I always want my decks to be large, for the benefit of the imagery, which is of paramount importance to me. My hands are large, granted, but I tolerate even uncomfortably large (or stiff, or sharp-cornered, or any other negative physical attribute) cards in order to work with the images, which is the whole point of everything for me.

 

[MissJo]

Yeah, not all of them are massive. My RWS fits perfectly fine in my small hands.

 

[Yineth]

The largest deck (and the most trouble I have shuffling with) would be my Touchstone Tarot. I love the visibility and the art details, but holy mother did I nearly want to chuck it out the window for my incompetency in shuffling it. I still can't shuffle it in the way I feel is acceptable, so it has been unused for some time now

 

[WalesWoman]

Does anyone know why traditional tarot decks like the THOTH and RIDER WAITE are so BIG and BULKY therefore difficult for smallish or even medium sized hands to shuffle and lay out??? Sorry if this has been asked before, but I couldnt find anything here on AT about it.

I know there is a long history with certain tarot decks and lots of structure and many depths and layers etc etc etc, but does anyone know the answer as to why these old traditional (not so much modern although some are big too) decks are soooooooooo huge.

Unless ancient readers were giants or people with 16 inch wide finger spans like Chopin I do not see a logical reason at all...

Anyones insight or knowledge of this topic would be most appreciated as I am so tired of fumbling with my cards and forever dropping them as I shuffle.

So that you can actually see the details in the artwork.

Beat me to it... was going to say larger decks are easier to see details and using magnifying glasses are much more troublesome. There is an easy solution to shuffling large decks... a big paper bag. Shake 'em up and pull cards out of the bag.

 

[DownUnderNZer]

Beat me to it... was going to say larger decks are easier to see details and using magnifying glasses are much more troublesome. There is an easy solution to shuffling large decks... a big paper bag. Shake 'em up and pull cards out of the bag.

OMG...do you really shuffle your cards this way????

I would give anything a go not to keep dropping cards.....

 

[Bhavana]

Actually, it's the opposite - ancient peoples, and even up till a century ago - were much smaller.

I have small hands but long fingers. But I don't do the kind of shuffling where large hands are necessary. Have you tried holding the cards vertically when riffling? Or just doing hand over hand shuffling? Also, there are so many mini decks out there today - I love the smaller sizes just for a change. But sometimes I like to use bigger cards. Just depends on my mood.

As for the reason for bigger cards, I think it's a lot of things - one of the main ones being the showmanship angle - they are more impressive looking.