Sacred Rose deck
Manda said:
I'll tell you what deck really gives me the shivers -
Sacred Rose! But sometimes, I need to get the creeps and be shaken up out of my comfy little spot, so I still use it.
I was really interested and also relieved to see your post , Manda.
Because Sacred Rose tarot has been in its time a very popular deck, and is considered by many to be really beautiful. It was on that basis that I bought the deck many years ago.
Sacred Rose is beautiful in its imagery, and the symbolism is intellectually well thought out and applied.
But I find the faces of most of the people on the cards ugly and very disturbing. Usually the eyes are plain white, and/or the faces are distorted sideways. The Sacred Rose 'The World' card in particular gives and has always given me the creeps every time I see it.
Yours and my reactions to this deck are echoed by only one of the S-R reviewers on Amazon - some reviewers give Sacred Rose a really top review.
Must be something to do with our perception - perhaps we see the faces first ahead of everything else, whereas maybe most other people see the card surface as a whole and may not even notice the disturbing facial characteristics.
You didn't mention that it was the faces on the S-R that bothered you, so maybe I'm wide of the mark there?
My response to this deck has been consistent for many years. I owned it before one could check a deck out online before buying, and I was so disturbed every time I handled it that I eventually got rid of the deck about 10 years ago.
I'm not generally an avoider of dark cards, and have just ordered the Dark Grimoire Tarot, after viewing all the cards several times to be sure I could handle it, and wanted to. The Dark Grimoire cards seem to echo all the nightmares I've ever had, which is why I want it, and I feel able to handle the Dark Grimoire, but not the Sacred Rose.
I feel that you, and that one reviewer on Amazon, have validated my until now seemingly ridiculous response to the S-R deck, so thank you!
*Z*