Re: Sirian Starseed
Let's face it: CGI/digital art, by its intrinsically android nature, is predisposed to looking "off," vacant, soulless, and "wrong." Not-quite-human, for many, is far more disturbing than "totally different monster species" (in the same way that not-quite-Judeo-Christian is more disturbing to many fundamentalist Christians than "totally different religion/belief system").
It is a testament to Ciro Marchetti's skill as a digital artist that so many people get over this natural aversion to android art and even enjoy the imagery presented to them. (On the other hand, this does not account for the popularity of far less adept computer-generated decks such as the Wizards' Tarot--there's my theory shot to hell).
The other thing about Sirian Starseed: any enterprise about which the creators state, "our co-creative journey was guided, at the outset, by the blessed Sirian High Council," will set off alarm bells ringing in many people's subconscious. I think people are naturally wary of "high councils," especially ones that guide or govern creative or spiritual enterprises. We can't help but connect the dots to "unwholesome authority," which, when combined with a child's haunting vacant-eyed gaze on a card like "Indigo," makes the mental leap into "cult" territory.
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