Debra
She already did it, Tex. Check her web site.
Wow- never have I had such a slating! Thread around jk's review of the Transparent
Sidhe-Ra
Texas Tarot said:
Hi Brad!
Yes, it was VERY tricky. I got through a lot of tracing paper when designing it! Sure, some combinations work better than others, this was always going to have to be the case. However, I've used this quirk of design to emphasize cards which should complement each other in a reading. Certain cards are designed specifically to combine favourably, such as the Empress and Emperor, the Sun, Moon and the World for an example. The whole deck is very simple, with one evocative symbol, (as opposed to a collection of symbols which you have in a normal Tarot image), to represent the core meaning of the cards of the Major Arcana. There is a not-quite central circle around which all these images are designed to interrelate, (Most obvious in the Sun, Moon, World and Devil which feature it blatantly). The Minor arcana are very simplified sillouettes based roughly on the rider-waite situations. In this way we can see the Major Arcana as being the Landscape on which the minors arcana play out their lives.
The minor arcana posed the greatest challenge when designing the deck, so again I had to choose which cards should combine favourably, and which would be awkward. This way, if you have heads overlapping, or someone apparently stepping on another card, this adds greater depth to the interpretation.
When choosing example combinations for the book, I was sure to make a random choice of cards, (except for one or two cases where a combination was just to perfect to pass up!), in order to get a better idea myself of how the images would actually interact within a real reading.
In order that you don't have to plough though the whole thread, (http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=73226&page=1&pp=10) I have attached some examples here.
To take the three card combo that features Death-
In this combination, the mournful Five of Cups sits amongst the wheat as the scythe of Death brings its transformative power. Behind the scythe, the Three of Cups celebrate their friendship. The Five of Cups seems a very lonely figure, absorbed in the loss of the two cups before him, which seem to have been knocked over by the scythe. These cups may well symbolize elements of the querent’s life which, though missed, are better left behind. This may be an old relationship, friendship or other emotional attachment, as cups are the rulers of emotion. However, behind the figure are three intact cups, either forgotten, or yet to be discovered. Once the wheat is cleared and the loss of the first two cups is processed, the querent will be free to become the central rejoicing figure, as the three previously neglected cups are raised in a toast to companionship. Perhaps the previous relationship shown in the two fallen cups was suffocating and dependent, and now the querent has been freed of it by the forces of the Death card, he is free to explore previously hidden or suppressed expressions of his true self, which leads to greater happiness and popularity.
Hope that answers some questions,
Many Blessings,
Em x
Attachments
Nina*
Oh.. but that is also his main focus; to make all of us seem like idiots. The bashing of the deck is only a tiny bit of it.baba-prague said:
He really is very very sick. Poor guy.
(((((((Em))))))) Like others say; don't pay any more attention to him.
Alta
Moderator note:
Not a huge jk fan either, but Solandia, very rightly in my opinion, does not want anyone using AT to 'bash' other Forums or other people, regardless. And yes, am well aware that jk 'bashes' AT, and even me personally, but that still stands.
So, no further personal or derogatory comments vis à vis jk or the Tarotica site.
And yes, I did remove one that was rather heavy duty.
Thank you,
Alta
Moderator, Tarot Deck Creation
Not a huge jk fan either, but Solandia, very rightly in my opinion, does not want anyone using AT to 'bash' other Forums or other people, regardless. And yes, am well aware that jk 'bashes' AT, and even me personally, but that still stands.
So, no further personal or derogatory comments vis à vis jk or the Tarotica site.
And yes, I did remove one that was rather heavy duty.
Thank you,
Alta
Moderator, Tarot Deck Creation
Debra
Was it the bit about the penis that did it, she wondered innocently.... 
Kiama
Any writer that uses the phrase "Or, you know - NOT!" isn't worth the time to read. It shows an amateur approach, and this amateur approach continues throughout the review by entirely missing a great many points both about Tarot and the Transparent Tarot deck.
What does the reviewer want from a new deck? To create a whole new world system like the Crowley Thoth?!
To be a great deck the Transparent Tarot doesn't have to do this, it simply has to add something new and good to the Tarot world - which I believe it does.
I have no doubt this writer's other reviews of decks would be just as childish and missing the point as this review is. Perhaps he should just stick to the Thoth deck and ignore everything else - writing reviews, in particular.
What does the reviewer want from a new deck? To create a whole new world system like the Crowley Thoth?!
To be a great deck the Transparent Tarot doesn't have to do this, it simply has to add something new and good to the Tarot world - which I believe it does.
I have no doubt this writer's other reviews of decks would be just as childish and missing the point as this review is. Perhaps he should just stick to the Thoth deck and ignore everything else - writing reviews, in particular.
Kiama
I replied to the post constructively, giving the good points about the deck for the author's consideration. Here's what I wrote:
"I had the priveledge of seeing the prototype of this deck as it was about to go to print with the publishers - I bumped into Emily in Glastonbury back in May, and I had a play with the deck in a café.
I can understand some of your criticism, and that the deck's choice of the essential symbols for some of the cards are not for everybody. But isn't that the case with every deck? I'll use the Thoth deck as an example, because you seem to hold it in high esteem (as do I) - the Thoth deck contains a great many symbols that aim to conceptualize a vast array of meanings and concepts in the cards, but as you probably already know from discussing it with others, the Thoth deck is the best deck for some whilst others don't like it - the symbolism doesn't connect with them. Perhaps the symbolism of the Greenwood Tarot does instead, or the symbolism of the Golden Dawn Magickal. A person's reaction to the symbols chosen (arbitarily) for a deck are entirely personal, as are the choices.
You complain that the deck is pointless, and you seem to demand a lot from a new deck. What is it, exactly, that you think qualifies a newly created deck for greatness or usefulness? You fail to state that in your review, leaving me a little confused as to what you want to see in a Tarot deck. Obviously, not every deck that is released can be the complex muddle of symbols that you feel (and I disagree with to some extent) construe a "deep" and "meaningful" Tarot. For every deck to do this would be like flogging a dead horse, and quite frankly, sometimes we need a break from all that esoteric muck.
Now, personally I LOVE as many esoteric symbols crammed into a deck as possible, but after a while of using those kinds of decks I really want something a little simpler - something where I don't need to understand Crowley's entire creation of Thelema, or the Tree of Life's many facets, or how the astrological houses subtly affect each other, to read.
In your review you compared the Empress from the Transparent Tarot and the Rider Waite Tarot, and said that you would be hard-pressed to see the Empress or recognize it in the Transparent Tarot's version. Surely, it is not to recognize the card as the Empress that gives a reader the card interpretation, but instead the image on the card that does so? And here we return to the point of subjectivity in relation to symbolism that I made above: whilst you may prefer the seated woman clothed with the sun and crowned with stars, another person (presumably Emily Carding!) prefers the breast of Mother Nature and the flower of life growing from her very being.
The Transparent Tarot doesn't have to include in it every symbol under the sun, nor does it have to contain within it an entire cosmology or map of the universe like the Thoth deck does. My opinion is that as long as a deck brings something new and interesting to the Tarot world, it is a good deck (as for great decks, that's an entirely different discussion!). Emily Carding's Transparent Tarot does just that. You said that nobody had actually said what was good about the deck but instead had attacked you. Well, for me the "good thing" about the deck is that it reminds us of a very important approach to Tarot: more is not always more. Sometimes, less is more. Sometimes, all those symbols just serve to clutter our mind and confuse us, but a single symbol can allow our minds the freedom to make an in-depth interpretation.
I also think this deck highlights another very important factor that readers (especially new ones) sometimes miss: that each card has a relation with other cards, and the meanings of a Tarot spread are changed by which cards are next to each other. The way the Transparent Tarot clearly demonstrates these links - with a picture created from the joined cards - really highlights this fact and enables a connected story to form from the separate cards.
Regards,
Kim Huggens"
I hope he approves the comment for his blog. I think it entirely unfair that he calls the deck "presumptuous" and detrimental and degrading to the Tarot world and the creator of the deck.
"I had the priveledge of seeing the prototype of this deck as it was about to go to print with the publishers - I bumped into Emily in Glastonbury back in May, and I had a play with the deck in a café.
I can understand some of your criticism, and that the deck's choice of the essential symbols for some of the cards are not for everybody. But isn't that the case with every deck? I'll use the Thoth deck as an example, because you seem to hold it in high esteem (as do I) - the Thoth deck contains a great many symbols that aim to conceptualize a vast array of meanings and concepts in the cards, but as you probably already know from discussing it with others, the Thoth deck is the best deck for some whilst others don't like it - the symbolism doesn't connect with them. Perhaps the symbolism of the Greenwood Tarot does instead, or the symbolism of the Golden Dawn Magickal. A person's reaction to the symbols chosen (arbitarily) for a deck are entirely personal, as are the choices.
You complain that the deck is pointless, and you seem to demand a lot from a new deck. What is it, exactly, that you think qualifies a newly created deck for greatness or usefulness? You fail to state that in your review, leaving me a little confused as to what you want to see in a Tarot deck. Obviously, not every deck that is released can be the complex muddle of symbols that you feel (and I disagree with to some extent) construe a "deep" and "meaningful" Tarot. For every deck to do this would be like flogging a dead horse, and quite frankly, sometimes we need a break from all that esoteric muck.
Now, personally I LOVE as many esoteric symbols crammed into a deck as possible, but after a while of using those kinds of decks I really want something a little simpler - something where I don't need to understand Crowley's entire creation of Thelema, or the Tree of Life's many facets, or how the astrological houses subtly affect each other, to read.
In your review you compared the Empress from the Transparent Tarot and the Rider Waite Tarot, and said that you would be hard-pressed to see the Empress or recognize it in the Transparent Tarot's version. Surely, it is not to recognize the card as the Empress that gives a reader the card interpretation, but instead the image on the card that does so? And here we return to the point of subjectivity in relation to symbolism that I made above: whilst you may prefer the seated woman clothed with the sun and crowned with stars, another person (presumably Emily Carding!) prefers the breast of Mother Nature and the flower of life growing from her very being.
The Transparent Tarot doesn't have to include in it every symbol under the sun, nor does it have to contain within it an entire cosmology or map of the universe like the Thoth deck does. My opinion is that as long as a deck brings something new and interesting to the Tarot world, it is a good deck (as for great decks, that's an entirely different discussion!). Emily Carding's Transparent Tarot does just that. You said that nobody had actually said what was good about the deck but instead had attacked you. Well, for me the "good thing" about the deck is that it reminds us of a very important approach to Tarot: more is not always more. Sometimes, less is more. Sometimes, all those symbols just serve to clutter our mind and confuse us, but a single symbol can allow our minds the freedom to make an in-depth interpretation.
I also think this deck highlights another very important factor that readers (especially new ones) sometimes miss: that each card has a relation with other cards, and the meanings of a Tarot spread are changed by which cards are next to each other. The way the Transparent Tarot clearly demonstrates these links - with a picture created from the joined cards - really highlights this fact and enables a connected story to form from the separate cards.
Regards,
Kim Huggens"
I hope he approves the comment for his blog. I think it entirely unfair that he calls the deck "presumptuous" and detrimental and degrading to the Tarot world and the creator of the deck.
Sidhe-Ra
Alta said:
Absolutely!
Just to note-His website is Tarotica- I think taroteca is someone else...
Ta x
gregory
Yes - taroteca is that site where they have gazillions of whole decks on viewSidhe-Ra said:
WalesWoman
oops I hadn't read Alta's post....
do not respond to flames, they will burn out of their own accord for lack of fuel
do not respond to flames, they will burn out of their own accord for lack of fuel
