I have enjoyed reading this thread very much. I consider it to be one of my best Christmas presents to learn that Ciro is creating a new deck - a gift that was completely unexpected, as the best gifts often are.
One of the things I really liked about this thread is the honesty and enthusiasm of everyone who has contributed. Each person in their own way seems to have contributed to wanting the best for the new deck, and I would like to add my own voice to the rest of the well-wishers who have gathered here.
In a variety of media, including anime, video games, and other forms of entertainment, there seem to be a prevailing wisdom that darker, edgier works somehow have more to offer or allow us a greater insight into things. I can appreciate the difference in style and content, just as I can appreciate how milk chocolate is different from dark chocolate, but I have to disagree that darker works of art inherently "push the envelope" more than lighter works. In my mind, the mark of a mature artist is someone who can blend light and dark to produce a masterpiece that affords a given community a glimpse of something previously inaccessible or under-appreciated. Shakespeare's "The Tempest" comes to mind in this context. It certainly wasn't his darkest work, but I would argue that it was one of his most realized creations.
Like others, I very much would like to see Ciro produce a work that is significantly evolved from his previous decks. But my concern is less with referencing the past and more with how this new instrument will allow me to access my own truths and those of whom I read for. Producing something darker simply to vary the breadth of one’s portfolio seems as disingenuous as simply reproducing what has been done before.
I, too, am not classically-trained or academically-steeped in the traditions of the Tarot, but I do trust in my own ability to resonant with something of value. Given the passion and authenticity with which Ciro is approaching this new work, I have no doubt that this new creation will be something worthy of him... and of us.