Libra8ca said:
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_Story_of_the_Youth_Who_Went_Forth_to_Learn_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