Decks that chose you that you wouldn't have chosen

The Legacy of the Divine, for sure!

I was among the small but vocal crowd that loathed the Gilded. I did not expect to like the Legacy of the Divine. I bought it only because I'm a collector, and I thought it looked eh, okay.

And . . . it's become my primary reading deck. It's the one deck I always have at hand. It doesn't just speak to me; it sings. There's just something so expressive, so deep about the colors and faces and details.

Let's talk comic book decks...

The Fradella Adventure shouldn't be so easy to read...but it's like a freak in' dream...the characters aren't even real comic characters, and I'm not that big a superhero fan, but I get this deck, it's symbols, and archetypes...and it reads so perfectly every time.


on the reversal of that coin...The Vertigo. I love vertigo comics...have them all. That deck is at it's best...a surly challenge, and at it's worst...useless paper.

The Motherpeace Tarot. I'm past that stage in my spiritual life where I was into "Mother Goddess matriarchy" stuff and wasn't intending to get a round deck but this deck practically grabbed me, shook me, and shouted TAKE ME HOME WITH YOU!!! in the store.

I've never had such a strong reaction to a deck before.

The Anna K and the Light and Shadow. I found them so UGLY. But both were highly recommended, and dirt cheap, so I thought 'why not...'

Little did I know that they would become BIG favorites of mine.

the Cosmic Tribe tarot. It's so ugly, everything I hate in a deck. Bad collage, photographs, garish colors, even the name... but it's important in the Radical Fairy community so I know quite a few people who read with it. I don't actually own it but I wish I did! Every time someone uses it to read for me the figures come out singing and dancing. The Devil gets me every time - practically leaps out of the deck, inviting me to play.

Yes! I had no interest in Tarot, or desire to try it. A dear and highly intuitive friend gifted me with the Cosmic Tribe Tarot. Honestly, at first I was horrified. Lots of naked people with piercings, over the top colors. The first time, I pulled the 10 of swords as a one card draw. That is a particularly harsh ten of swords image in that deck. I looked up the meaning and it was exactly what I needed to hear. Out of respect for my friends intuition that the deck was "for me" I continued with it. It is vibrant, sings, speaks. It has a joyous sense of humor and is surprisingly gentle and kind in tone. Still, I went on Aeclectic to learn about other decks, and over the past year bought three others that have beautiful art and wonderful reviews. Nothing comes close. Now I know how fortunate I was, to have " the" deck gifted to me at the very beginning.

Two decks mentioned here are on my list. Liber T and the Cosmic Tribe. Both are unique in how they read. I think that there is something a bit shocking in the decks that pushed at my conventions and meant that I was more open to hearing the message. I use the Liber T routinely but not the Cosmic Tribe.

The one that jumped out at me here is the World Spirit Tarot. So much to not like about the deck. Weird square shape, so dark in color and I am not a huge fan of the wood-block art style. But Heck if the thing doesn't just read really well. There is a strong sense that the cards connect together in the reading. Shame it is now out of print.

Onyx.

I didn't choose the Deviant Moon, the Deviant Moon chose me...

I still haven't gotten used to this deck, but it reads so well for me now, I can't seem to say no to it.

I felt disconnected from it for awhile, even to the point of getting migraines or nausea around it, but now that has passed, and it reads eerily well overall.

I spent months deciding whether to get it, and went back and forth between sort of liking the art, and feeling repulsed by it. When I went to Barnes and Noble, I didn't even want to pick it up, instead, my husband brought it over to me and said "Here, didn't you say you wanted to buy this deck?"... Once he brought it to me, I couldn't put it down, even though the artwork fairly hummed with energy that scared me.

After bringing it home, I tried to use the deck, only to have every reading be insulting, incomprehensible, or just weird. So I put the deck away for months, and tried to find a new home for it.

That didn't really work though, despite posting about it on my Tumblr blog looking or a home for it, posting about it in a Facebook group I am a member of, and creating an entry in a swap thread...

And got nothing in reply. Zilch. Nada. No takers at all.

Ever since I have been actively trying to give it away or swap it, the deck has changed completely, and works like a charm. Weird.

Now I can't imagine trying to get rid of it, even with all the weirdness of how it affects me.

The Bonefire is not really the art style i'm attracted to; i have a problem reading really brightly colored, busy decks; that said i have a v. weird relationship w/ it, but i think it's a keeper even though i have to do small readings, well spaced out-- i can't really have, for instance, a bonefire week. That said, the 4 and 9 of swords from it are a couple of my all time favorite depictions. It's got unusual and highly readable courts, and there can be an eerie quality about alot of the cards that i love, but it's almost like i have to isolate certain aspects to play that vibe out. Actually, since i've been recently more into my marseille's and also playing cards, i've had good luck interspersing a third of the bonefire deck w/ these other more spare pip-styled ones. There's still something extremely pleasing about the bonefire small squat size and high quality cardstock that makes it a joy to hold it. Not to mention the handmade and devotional quality of the bag and companion book, and level of care that the artist took all the way around.

Anna K (hate the art but it reads like magic)
The Zombie Tarot (I do NOT like anything Zombie but the art on this one and its character won me over - amazing deck)