Best rated-G decks for use with seniors?

And that would so be your right, Chanah

I agree with anyone who says we shouldn't stereotype, but did all read Donnalee's post?

She knows her querents. I would be the FIRST person to say never think ALL in one group likes or dislikes...well, anything...but if you KNOW your querents and their taste, that is something different. And for the record, I'm in my sixties and my tastes vary. I have decks from the Pamela Commemorative to Place's Vampire Tarot. WE ALL have our tastes. There are older sitters I know who would prefer something more...out there...and there are young sitters who like more vintage, staid decks. We can't generalize. We CAN get to know our sitters and what they may like or not. Some decks are good to play it down the middle because you may be reading for a mix of tastes even in a small group.

I still say kudos to Donnalee for being sensitive and thoughtful to HER querents, HER senior group she reads for.

BUT AGAIN, I will say without question, I don't believe in stereotyping and agree with ALL of you who said we shouldn't do that and I believe that about ANYTHING, not just decks and not just seniors.

donnalee said:

Many are much older, very traditional, and religiously Jewish or Catholic, and I see that a lot of my decks have either lots of bare bosoms etc. (Lo Scarabeo, Pagan Tarot, Druidcraft) or are oriented as pagan (big overlap with nudity and paganism), or are simply too freaky in look and feel (Universal Fantasy, Dark Angel) for the mild tastes of someone innocent just trying it out because they like me and know me from around and want to see and hear something amusing.

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As DonnaLee has described this segment of her clientele, it seems clear that she's not trying to push her own tastes on them, and brava for her! One of my favorite reading decks is the Cosmic Tribe (aka the Nekkid Hippies deck) but I would never offer it to my Aunt Mary--not because she would get the vapors at the sight of a swinging dick (she was the "bad girl" of the family ;-) but because she believes there's a time and a place for that, and it ain't in an entertaining tarot reading.

I think the Connolly http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/connolly/ would be a fine choice for a Catholic audience. I don't subscribe to its worldview myself, but the art is fine and the colors gorgeous. (May I say here that I am turned off by poor drawing more than by someone else's belief system?)

Another deck I would propose is Lo Scarabeo's Tarot of the Master http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/tarot-of-the-master/ --a minimum of tasteful nudity, and it is SUCH a jolly, fun deck to read with. I think it would be just the ticket for the kind of readings we're talking about here.

donnalee said:

I read with several decks for others online and for email lately, but as I start to see people for in-person readings again, it strikes me that many decks I use are simply not suitable for the very-sheltered senior citizens I deal with around here. Many are much older, very traditional, and religiously Jewish or Catholic, and I see that a lot of my decks have either lots of bare bosoms etc. (Lo Scarabeo, Pagan Tarot, Druidcraft) or are oriented as pagan (big overlap with nudity and paganism), or are simply too freaky in look and feel (Universal Fantasy, Dark Angel) for the mild tastes of someone innocent just trying it out because they like me and know me from around and want to see and hear something amusing.......[bold font mine]

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The very title of the thread as well as the original post emphasize the fact that the prospective clients are elderly, as if this were in any way relevant. Likewise, many of the responses are attempts to characterize certain age groups as having this or that degree of prudery and naïveté. It may be legitimate for a reader to take into consideration the backgrounds of their clients, but I utterly fail to see what this has to do with age, unless it be a reference to certain unfortunate but well-known stereotypes of the elderly.

LRichard said:

The very title of the thread as well as the original post emphasize the fact that the prospective clients are elderly, as if this were in any way relevant. Likewise, many of the responses are attempts to characterize certain age groups as having this or that degree of prudery and naïveté. It may be legitimate for a reader to take into consideration the backgrounds of their clients, but I utterly fail to see what this has to do with age, unless it be a reference to certain unfortunate but well-known stereotypes of the elderly.

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Exactly. It has absolutely nothing to do with age. Only with upbringing and culture.

LRichard

I do understand about the title, but reading the post Donnalee mentions how some are traditional etc. I am the LAST person who wishes to stereotype, but I zeroed in on Donnalee's wish to cater to her specific group, not elderly or seniors in general. To some, at 63, I am considered senior, maybe elderly, I am just me though. I have my particular tastes and style and neither fits in with many my age, but I'm sure with some. We ARE ALL individuals and I so agree with you. As far as upbringing and culture, those brought up at certain times are often exposed to different upbringing and social culture. That's just the way it is. We're all still individuals, but those brought up in the forties, were exposed to things those brought up in the sixties or eighties may not have been. Social culture changes and how the individual responds to it can vary, but it IS a factor.

Perhaps if the opening post said G Rated decks for the particular GROUP I work with, would that have seemed more palatable? I HONESTLY get your point, I just didn't take the question quite the same way. I saw it as Donnalee trying to please, to not offend these PARTICULAR people who HAPPEN to be seniors and more conservative ones.
I know we can say we don't wish to generalize, and I believe on taking everyone as individuals, and that, to me, was the point. Donnalee was trying to take THESE individuals and their taste in account. Although I don't wish to speak for Donnalee, this is how I understood her post.

This seems to have gone way of topic, as l read in the opening post that Donnalee was asking for recommendations for certain decks for certain people she reads for. Give the girl a break. l understand her concerns and l do not think she was being sexist, ageist or anything in between. It was an innocent question to ask for recommendations nothing more. Her clients may have never seen a tarot deck before, we have, so its not new to us. l still feel that Donnalee is showing tact, there are so many deck in circulation why can't she choose a non-threatening deck without everybody jumping on the age thing.
l would if l read for young children probably ask the same question as in what would be suitable for young people, which deck would you recommend.
Phew!

I'd say gilded. Also radiant rider waite is pleasant.

Quite right, greatdane!
You only need to read the first post of the thread to know people are intended that are (besides advanced in age) : very sheltered, traditional, religiously Jewish or Catholic.

If you are going to read for people you don't know, I think it is always a good idea to offer several decks (if you have more than one), and to take at least one deck that is 'safe' enough to read for (almost) everyone.
Of the decks I own, I think the Vision Quest, Deirdre of the Sorrows, Celtic by deBurgh, Herbal, MerryDay, MoonGarden, Steele Wizard, Paulina, Old English, Wild Unknown, Victorian Romantic, plus my animal decks, are inoffensive in imagery and ideology.
An oracle deck like the Druid Plant Oracle would work well too, it has beautiful imagery that will appeal to nature lovers, also if they are not into druidry.

WolfSpirit said:

You only need to read the first post of the thread to know people are intended that are (besides advanced in age) : very sheltered, traditional, religiously Jewish or Catholic.
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Yet they want tarot readings? Getting someone to accept tarot as serious fun is the only obstacle I've ever ran across in the public.

Get a RWS and call it good, but it is the reader's sensibilities and generalizations that seem to be at issue here.

Thoughtful said:

This seems to have gone way of topic, as l read in the opening post that Donnalee was asking for recommendations for certain decks for certain people she reads for. Give the girl a break. l understand her concerns and l do not think she was being sexist, ageist or anything in between. It was an innocent question to ask for recommendations nothing more. Her clients may have never seen a tarot deck before, we have, so its not new to us. l still feel that Donnalee is showing tact, there are so many deck in circulation why can't she choose a non-threatening deck without everybody jumping on the age thing.
l would if l read for young children probably ask the same question as in what would be suitable for young people, which deck would you recommend.
Phew!

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I have to agree. It seems like people are jumping on it to air their own anger at religion or their feelings about ageism or their dislike of "gentle" decks. none of which are the topic of the thread. Very unpleasant level of vitriol.