Chatting about my chosen decks
I hope it is here in this thread that we chat about our decks (if not - sorry, and please point me to the right place !)
The Alice Tarot :
This is a very recent aquisition for me. For years I eyed it on Baba Studio website. I always found it very beautiful (the imagery, the crazy imaginations even in small details, the colours etc) but I thought it would be difficult to read. Some of the images I was seeing on the net did not make sense at first. And, also, the deck is very pricy.
So, for several years I just looked at it and told myself that I would pass on this one.
The reason I finally gave in is that I now realise that I have done that with many Baba Studio decks (eyeing them for years and never buying them because I thought I was not that "into them"), and each single time, I have regreted it once the deck went OOP.
It was the case for most of their decks : I eyed them a lot when they were in stock, but never bought because I thought I did not need them.... until they were out of print, which is when I started thinking I could not live without them (well, I have to live without them, as a ressult).
I only managed to buy the Bohemian Gothic tarot second and the third edition (I missed the first for the above reasons), and the Bohemian cats mini deck.
So, for fear of making the same mistakes all over again, I last year bought the Tarot of Prague, and this year the Alice one with Xmas money.
Anyway. Back to the Alice tarot :
I am so glad I got this one, even if I had to fork out an enormous amont of cash to get it (the highest amount of money I ever paid for a deck to this date, actually).
It IS beautiful, really. And smart. And full of humour. And, the metalic overlay on the cards is really something ! It is really and eyecandy of a deck.
Alice in Wonderland is not as famous in France as it is in english speaking countries, but it is still a cultural reference that most french people know about. Though, we do not automatically have all read the book, like it seems to be the case in english speaking countries.
But I majored in english at university, and Alice was part of the litterature programm (between Chaucer Pilgrim progress, and Faulkner Sound and the Fury). I admit that, back then, I thought the Alice books were pretty dry reads, but you have to remember that english is not my first language.
As a result, I have a vague notion that Alice encounters strange characters in dreamland (the rabbit with its waistcoat, the Cheshire cat in the tree) but that's all.
I think that is why, at first, the images on the cards did not make sense to me. The deck is advertized as a RWS style deck, but I could not see that at first, because I did not understand the references right away.
For that reason, I also got the companion book, and I grabbed copies of the original Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass books.
I have not finished reading those yet, but already, the cards make much more sense !
I am glad I bought the deck, if only to take me back down memory lane, to my days at university (blessed days, thought I probably did not realise it fully at the time)
It is a very beautiful deck, and I am eager to take the plunge with it, down the rabbit hole.
The White Rabbit Oracle :
I found this on Etsy, and the artist (Arianna Siege), has made several oracle and lenormand decks which are all beautiful.
The White Rabbit Oracle is a collage deck made with a combination of what seems like drawings and old photographs. It gives a mix of vintage and very modern feelings. Vintage because many photographs are from the first half ot the 20th century, and there is a treatment to the lines in the drawings that makes them appear aged with time. Modern because the colors used are jewel-like, and because the choice of images and their juxtaposition is very edgy.
Depending on the cards, the imagery is sometimes soft, sometimes funny, and sometimes downright creepy. A french tarotist placed this deck into her Halloween selection, because some if the images are definitively dark ; and I can relate to that. Though, I would not put it right away in the "dark decks", because it is much more than that. Most of the cards are surrealist, and all have a "vivid dream" quality ; and I get a very wide variety of feelings depending on the cards.
I have had this little deck for a while, and I love it very much ; but I have not used it enough in recent weeks (because I have too many decks, that is why !)
I thought giving it a chance to be my main deck for a week is a good idea, and also The White Rabbit theme pairs well with the Alice tarot I also chose this week.
And, last but not least : this White Rabbit deck is one of a few of my decks that are still waiting to have their own little pouches - it is still living in its rather flimsy tuckbox for now (I rarely leave my decks in their tuckboxes - I only leave them in their box if it is a nice sturdy one ; otherwise I make them a pouch). So, having it out for a full week will likely force me to knit or sew a pouch for it. That is good.
Ok, that was a very long post, and I am not even sure it is in the right thread. If you have read this far, bravo to you and thank you ! If not, I totally understand - this post is too long. Sorry !
wishing you all well this week.