pleasant surprises...

so i went on a little tarot buying spree last week and ended up with four new decks to show for it. (i know...such restraint! ) while each deck is unique, one in particular caught me TOTALLY off guard. i am utterly delighted with the mystic meg tarot - http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/mystic-meg/ like, there's not even an AT review and yet i'm totally and completely enamored...and i was so not expecting it!!! after much thought, i think i'm super drawn to it because it reminds me of my childhood in new orleans, louisiana. the colors are very peter max - he was HUGE then... http://www.petermax.com/ plus, there's something that totally reminds me of the 1984 world's fair which i LOVED going to when i was little. check out the architecture here, especially the "wonder wall" - http://www.worldsfairphotos.com/neworleans84/index-tour.htm

has anyone else had a similar experience with a less than popular deck? i mean, liking the tarot of prague is more universal than my new little mystic meg...but i'm just so pleased, so at peace with it and was right outta the box.

anyone else have a secret, unknown favorite...and why?

I did mention a few...Celestial and Hudes...a few days ago

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=104413

But my thread was never answered!

Since then, I've searched the forum and found threads on the 'unknown' decks I like and a few others...and posted my notes to threads already started. That way at least my observations would be there for interested people as they look for information on different decks.

I remember when I first posted about the New Century Tarot at Barnes and Noble, I was really pleased--still am--but it took awhile for only one or two other interested people to unearth the threads related to the New Century...so what you are saying isn't really lost--but you might want to add your information to another deck thread on Mystic Meg, just in case!

I sometimes think my deck choices/topics and timing on the forum isn't during prime time...or since there's so many questions popping up, threads asking for general deck observations tend to get lost.

Here's my notes on New Century:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=88089

and sometimes reviving and adding to the thread "Best Bargains" is fun:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=17657&highlight=bargains

Hope that helps. I enjoyed reading your notes on Mystic Meg, although it's not a deck I kept.

Best wishes,

Cerulean

Caroline Smith's Elemental Tarot

I found out about the Mystic Meg after I bought Caroline Smith's Elemental Tarot. I was so taken by her Elemental Tarot that I went on a search for other tarots that featured her art work. The Mystic Meg was the next one I bought. She's done some others since, but these two remain my favorites.

Another deck I like that's sort of unusual and untalked about is the Experimental Tarot, made some years ago out of clip art, mostly. That doesn't like promising source material, but the deck turned out to be clever, expressive and ingenious. It's described as a deck more for meditation than for reading, but I haven't found it to be so. That said, I'll admit that it does help to be somewhat liberated from the Rider Waite Smith formulation if you use the Experimental for reading.

hi cerulean and greycats...

thanks for the responses! i think i will search the mystic meg a little more thoroughly. my first look through wasn't very detailed and i only found a few mentions. i may have to really dig around...

i'll be sure to check out the new century and the experimental. it's been kinda neat to find a deck that you really love that's not part of the "big ten" so to speak. so many people are fans of the thoth, victorian romantic, etc. (and for good reason, of course) it's just nice to have one that's a little less well known.

research time...

ETA: i just clicked over to the "cards" page and the first little card pic/link was, of course, the mystic meg. i laughed and was like, i know i know...you're adorable...

The Whispering Tarot

There is a much less known deck that just was self-published this summer. It's The Whispering Tarot by Elizabeth Hazel!! This is one of those very pleasant and warm surprises for me this year. From the few photos of the cards I'd seen I knew I wanted it right off and I got it right away! But I had no idea I would respond so strongly to the deck instantly like I have.

I've had it only 8 days so far, but I keep pondering why I connect with it so well and the images speak to me so clearly, creatively and constantly! The 3 C's . I can't seem to figuire out why and though it shouldn't matter, it's bugging me! It's also the only deck I've felt compelled to sleep with under my pillow.

Perhaps it's all the animals, mythical creatures and storybook feel to it. It has fairies, dragons, harpies and wind creatures! How often do you find that all in a deck? The courts are all phenomenal So there is my pleasant surprise for me, I am completely enchanted

Mary Greer did a wonderful review and mini interview with Liz on her Blog! Liz shares some fascinating info on her creation and inspiration. You can also see more pictures of different cards.

Erzebet said:

There is a much less known deck that just was self-published this summer. It's The Whispering Tarot by Elizabeth Hazel!! This is one of those very pleasant and warm surprises for me this year. From the few photos of the cards I'd seen I knew I wanted it right off and I got it right away! But I had no idea I would respond so strongly to the deck instantly like I have.

I've had it only 8 days so far, but I keep pondering why I connect with it so well and the images speak to me so clearly, creatively and constantly! The 3 C's . I can't seem to figuire out why and though it shouldn't matter, it's bugging me! It's also the only deck I've felt compelled to sleep with under my pillow.

Perhaps it's all the animals, mythical creatures and storybook feel to it. It has fairies, dragons, harpies and wind creatures! How often do you find that all in a deck? The courts are all phenomenal So there is my pleasant surprise for me, I am completely enchanted

Mary Greer did a wonderful review and mini interview with Liz on her Blog! Liz shares some fascinating info on her creation and inspiration. You can also see more pictures of different cards.

Click to expand...

Oh i understand your enthusiasm completely, Erzebet!
i adore this deck so much---it is a"little gem", as Sulis says. You and i must have received ours on the same day, as i have had mine for 8 days also.
i had this deck on my wish list for a long time as "the Vala Tarot". i was starting to loose hope that it would EVER be published, so i was absolutely ecstatic when i found out that it had just been self published and renamed "The Whispering Tarot". i just love it!
Brightest Blessings of Peace and Light,
MGxxx

P.S. Liz's artwork reminds me a little bit of Hans Arnold's who did the art for the Swedish Witch/Jolanda Tarot

neat! another special find...

i wonder if there's anything to the fact that Erzebet's mentioning a storybook feel and my connecting the mystic meg and my childhood...i mean, this is the first time a deck has touched on a sort of sweet nostalgia with me. my favorite deck is tarot of the old path and i'm neither wiccan nor renaissance-crazy. i love it...but it does lack this gentle, yearning feeling the MM gives me.

ah. i know how to explain it...the mystic meg is my six of cups.

tarotberry said:

neat! another special find...

i wonder if there's anything to the fact that Erzebet's mentioning a storybook feel and my connecting the mystic meg and my childhood...i mean, this is the first time a deck has touched on a sort of sweet nostalgia with me. my favorite deck is tarot of the old path and i'm neither wiccan nor renaissance-crazy. i love it...but it does lack this gentle, yearning feeling the MM gives me.

ah. i know how to explain it...the mystic meg is my six of cups.

Click to expand...

That's IT!!! Sweet (bitter?) nostalgia! You've hit the nail on the head! The Whispering gives me bursts of warm longing and yearing like you describe. Thanks so much for explaining your connection to the Mystic Meg, seems I was too overwhelmed with my emotion to clearly see what it was.

When I used the term storybook it should have given me a clue! Also now that see it, when I mentioned it was the only deck I've felt compelled to sleep with is a big red flag! I haven't took an object to bed to sleep with since my stuffed doggie

We all know how things that elicit memories and emotions from our childhoods can be extremely powerful and moving. Thanks again Tarotberry, you've solved the mystery for me and now I have a firm jumping off point to more deeply explore this deck!

Erzebet said:

That's IT!!! Sweet (bitter?) nostalgia! You've hit the nail on the head! The Whispering gives me bursts of warm longing and yearing like you describe. Thanks so much for explaining your connection to the Mystic Meg, seems I was too overwhelmed with my emotion to clearly see what it was.

When I used the term storybook it should have given me a clue! Also now that see it, when I mentioned it was the only deck I've felt compelled to sleep with is a big red flag! I haven't took an object to bed to sleep with since my stuffed doggie

We all know how things that elicit memories and emotions from our childhoods can be extremely powerful and moving. Thanks again Tarotberry, you've solved the mystery for me and now I have a firm jumping off point to more deeply explore this deck!

Click to expand...

yay US!!! Erzebet, it was with your help that i was finally able to put into words - into a card, really - how i was feeling. good teamwork and VERY neat that you're experiencing the same thing i am.

i really like and resonate with what Mary Greer just answered in her blog on the Whispering Tarot, too!

"Erzebet & MoonGypsy -
I don’t know if it’s the size or the ’sweet’ quality or the sense of beings waiting to tell you their secrets - but this deck does kinda slip into your heart and want to be carried around everywhere."

Yes! i have been carrying it around with me everywhere!!! Ya know, i'm beginning to realize that it DOES whisper and giggle! And it makes ME giggle, too!