Certain cards from decks that don't feel right

[Zephyros]

My personal pet peeve: the decks (and there are more than a couple, I think) that have a great, big, close-up, humanoid goat's head for the Devil, with no other symbolism present. I mean, how obvious can you get? It always seemed like taking the easy way out.

Just say Morgan-Greer and be done with it. That card is so over the top, so horror flick, so Christopher Lee, that I can't not adore its audacity, even though I have "official" problems with its depiction. Apart from that, though, I agree that some decks do it badly.

and I am not neglecting your answer to my question in the Thoth forum, just that it deserves a better answer than a quick jotting!

 

[DeToX]

No tarot deck will ever be 'perfect' and I don't think such a thing is possible anyway even by one's own subjective terms as everything is a compromise of various elements. Also I think if one is looking at a tarot deck in that way, it may well bring out psychologically unhealthy mindset that may well affect one's readings and life in general. If there are only a couple of cards in a deck that you are neutral about, then that's pretty good (good enough IMO). If one is to really be a pedant about it then one should make one's own deck.

 

[Barleywine]

and I am not neglecting your answer to my question in the Thoth forum, just that it deserves a better answer than a quick jotting!

Thanks, I was wondering . . . There are a couple of "ETA"s on that as my thoughts evolved. I'd be interested in having a dialogue on it.

 

[Barleywine]

If one is to really be a pedant about it then one should make one's own deck.

You are absolutely correct about this.

 

[DeToX]

I would add that I am able to be this personal because I've sensed it in myself. ;-)

 

[DeToX]

You are absolutely correct about this.

With a keen eye for what's good and bad in tarot decks (from your viewpoint), you may potentially have a great talent for creating a certain kind of deck. However, I know from experience that it is easier to find faults in things around us (be it music, art etc.) than to create something from scratch ourselves - which may well have a lot of flaws that we can't see. But you won't know until you try.

 

[Froggy13]

Oh DeToX, I hope you are meaning that you would want to create your own deck. I am NOT creating one, I still learning to interpret the cards in my own words from the feelings of the pictures. My complaint is minor and I'm sucking it up.

However if you did make one, I would love to see it!

 

[DeToX]

Oh DeToX, I hope you are meaning that you would want to create your own deck. I am NOT creating one, I still learning to interpret the cards in my own words from the feelings of the pictures. My complaint is minor and I'm sucking it up.

However if you did make one, I would love to see it!

lol oh ok I think I was getting my froggies and barlies mixed up! ;-D Oops, how embarrassing. Well, never say never. I have said for the past year that I would one day create my own tarot deck, or possibly commission someone else to make one. I don't think the latter option is realistic as I would just criticise it incessantly lol...I get the feeling that when people have historically commissioned an artist to make a deck having provided designs for cards, the artist goes away and a few months later comes back with a complete deck and says 'here it is!' - to the delight or horror of the director. I have a talent at art although heavily underdeveloped, so it would take a rather long time to come up to speed and for a deck to come to fruition. I must admit my tastes in decks have evolved (matured or become more specialised?) since I started taking an interest in tarot decks. I'm really just learning the basics myself, so I'm in a similar boat to you.

 

[seeker76]

I relate to you Nisaba. I live in south africa and when I decided to start tarot it became a mission. When I was lucky enough after weeksa of looking to finally find a shop that sold cards, there were only two choices. Both sealed in white cardboard boxes with the name printed on them. So I could not even see what they looked like. I wish I had choices like you guts do.

 

[nisaba]

Well, you do, if you buy online. There are all sorts of sites: the book depository, the Tarot Garden ...