Tarot of Mermaids: least favourite cards

Hedera

Unfortunately, this deck also has some cards I'm not crazy about....

On the other hand, if it didn't, it would mean I would have found the perfect deck, and had to stop buying more!

Apart from the 2 cards with the missing arms, which I've already discussed in another thread, these are my least favourite:

- 5 of Swords. Her expression is sad, which doesn't tie in with my idea of the card. Also, the hair of the mermaid in front is blown to the left, the hair on one of the leaving ones to the right, and that of the third one is hanging straight down, as if there's no wind at all. Not very noticable, but it's odd.
- 7 of Swords. Too similar in expression and composition to the 5 of Swords.

- 9 of Pentacles. Not a bad card in itself, but it's hard to find a meaning in it that differs from that in the 7 of Pentacles. Also, it feels like a missed opportunity: instead of this mermaid with a box full of pearls, imagine the wonderful, colourful underwater garden the artist could have drawn!
- 10 of Pentacles. Yes, yes, the pearls are arranged in the shape of the Tree of Life; No need to point that out by actually drawing the paths between the pearls! Makes no sense to draw them in the water like that. And the interaction between the mermaids is a little off.

- The Hermit. I just have a hard time imagining a mermaid with a walking stick.

The Lovers seemed a bit odd to me because at first glance, like the reviewer on Tarotpassages, I thought it was a threesome. When I looked closer, I noticed the little wings on the first figure, and the fact that the other two only had their arms around each other, not around the first (top) mermaid. So I came to the conclusion that it's just a male/female couple, being blessed by a winged female mermaid.
Who, unfortunately, also seems to be lacking a left arm....

The 5 of Pentacles is rather unusual too, I think: it shows a mermaid leading another, blindfolded mermaid delibirately astray, so that she won't find the pearls.
At least, that's what it looks like to me.

Feel free to 'correct' me on all of these cards: sometimes it just takes someone else's input to really appreciate a card.

catti

Hedera said:
- 5 of Swords. Her expression is sad, which doesn't tie in with my idea of the card. Also, the hair of the mermaid in front is blown to the left, the hair on one of the leaving ones to the right, and that of the third one is hanging straight down, as if there's no wind at all. Not very noticable, but it's odd.
- 7 of Swords. Too similar in expression and composition to the 5 of Swords.

Im going to take these two together because i feel you are missing the story to take them one by one (IMHO of course) the tritins is broken up into 2 stories of 2 mermaids the 2 of tritons is both of them faced with the decision; they will make different choices; cards 3456 are the blonde mermaids tale... card 3 she is lonely suffering card 4 she retreats prays looks for inner guidance card 5 she knows what she must do and is making her preparations but still the feelings from card 3 are not erasedher haert is heavy but she now knows she cant sit by that pool miserable anymore, card 6 the journey to the light ,on one side she is moving forward and pushing herself and still the wistfullnes of what has been left behind is not gone, is she about to look over her shoulder?
the other mermaid with dark hair is seen collecting tritons in card 7, but she is not feeling good about this and sadly presses her hand over her heart, her guilt her anxiety now surround her in card 8, she is blindfolded and in a shallow pool ( probably not the best for a creature of the sea?) by card 9 she has worsened, unable to come to terms with herself( maybe her shadow side the part we ahve within we dont like about ourselves or is it her guilty conscience?) she is stranded on the shore with tritons blocking her return to the sea, card 10 she has returned to the depths of the ocean but still carries the the weight of her guilt with her. it pins her down , it disables her, have you ever been so depressed you didnt want to get out of bed? that is what our poor mermaid in card 10 feels like , her negative thoughts have her immobilized. but all is not lost ; a ray of light falls over her

and the thing about the hair, when i am at the beach the wind blows my hair all over the place

- 9 of Pentacles. Not a bad card in itself, but it's hard to find a meaning in it that differs from that in the 7 of Pentacles. Also, it feels like a missed opportunity: instead of this mermaid with a box full of pearls, imagine the wonderful, colourful underwater garden the artist could have drawn!

well said about the garden, i would have liked a sea falcon too ( a manta ray perhaps?) but ....it is a different box. in card 7 she is discovering the pearls ( after much searching )and in card 9 they are being put in her box for safe-keeping for the final obre of card 10 ( no comment on the tree of life)

- The Hermit. I just have a hard time imagining a mermaid with a walking stick.

its not a walking stick , it is a staff. Our girl in card 7 of pearls has one, too. You see, there are plenty of things underwater that you might not want to touch at first, and just think how it might come in handy for dueling a giant squid or sticking it in the gaping maw of a shark ( bet the knoght of pentacles wishes she had followed the hermits example)

The Lovers seemed a bit odd to me because at first glance, like the reviewer on Tarotpassages, I thought it was a threesome. When I looked closer, I noticed the little wings on the first figure, and the fact that the other two only had their arms around each other, not around the first (top) mermaid. So I came to the conclusion that it's just a male/female couple, being blessed by a winged female mermaid.
Who, unfortunately, also seems to be lacking a left arm....

upon detailed scrutiny of the "armless"angel/mermaid i have decided that if I can live with fish horses then i can see that clearly her arm is behind the flowing peices of cloth that go off to the right of the card...actually the cloth bothers me more than the arms....i just keep thinking these are italian mermaids, they are into a michealagelo look

The 5 of Pentacles is rather unusual too, I think: it shows a mermaid leading another, blindfolded mermaid delibirately astray, so that she won't find the pearls.
At least, that's what it looks like to me.

we agree , it needs a different meaning because i see deciet perhaps but no miseryor ostracism ...
and speaking of pearls the armless knoght bothers me not so much by her disability but by the pose on the watersnake/horse
to me it is the ugliest card in the deck only rivaled by Justice whose split tail does nothing for me ( doesnt bother me with the devil or the star) and i dont like her self satisfied look, she is biased i am sure of it.
and the 6 of wands bugs me because i dont like how she is mounted... i wish they had used walruses of dolphins or even the weird fish /horses but these are four legged horses how did they get up there? and she doesnt even have a split tail....oh well
the perfect deck , nope , but it isnt reading for a perfect world and i am really happy with it
hope you take all my comments in a good way, i didnt mean any personal offence , just happy to babble on about the new deck in my life....
catti