Earth decks, Air decks, Water decks and Fire decks

Carojulie

Hello,

There are of course numerous ways to classifie and differentiate tarot decks, but one that resonates with me is to tell wich element is the most present in a deck.

If I only can work with a few decks for a while (during a trip for example), I like to take with me a selection of decks in which all the element will be represented.
I feel like depending on my mood (or my querent's mood), picking a certain deck can help (a airy deck will cool down extreme tensions, a water deck will help words and emotions to flow, an earthy deck will give some balance and grounding, a fiery deck is good when I need a kick in the butt to shake me out of my lethargy etc)

The decks which, for me, have a strong elemental feeling to them are, for example :

EARTH

- the Druid craft tarot (I think because of the dominant green and brown colors, and the fact that the scenes are set in the forest for the most part)
- The Tarot of the Trees (my MOST earthy deck ! the one I use when I really need to feel more grounded)
- The Touchstone tarot (images are calm and quiet and it gives a somewhat static feeling, like they will not be affected by time... plus, the brown borders add to the earthy feeling for me)
- The Anna K tarot (because of the colors I believe, and also the sense of stability in many images)
- Wildwood (same style of colors and setting as the DruidCraft. I do not use this one a lot, I find it difficult to read. Added it to the list thanks to EmpyreanKnight who reminded me about it)
- The Mystic fairies tarot (for its dominant green palette of colors, and for the forest setting of most of the images - added as an afterthought thanks to EmpyreanKnight)

AiR

- The Fountain tarot (because of the colors used, and the etheral quality of the imagery)
- The Paulina Tarot (I do not use it much - difficult to read for me because the images are so busy)
- The Joie de Vivre tarot ( very light characters who often seem to dance in the air - Added it to this list thanks to EmpyreanKnight who reminded me about it)
- The Starchild tarot (I do not own this one, but it is very high on my wishlist, and I spend some time looking at it on the net... and it gives me a strong AIR feeling.)
- The Animal Wisdom tarot (each four elements are equaly well represented in the suits, but the constant presence of pale blues in each card adds an airy dominant, a very light airy feeling, in my opinion)
- the Spiral tarot (the way the images are drawn, you can SEE wind and draught !)


WATER

- The Mermaid tarot (the theme is obvious. RiverRunsDeep and I agree on this one :)
- Tarot Nautical 78 (for its theme and its profusion of sea creatures)
- The Chemoneitte tarot (due to its art style, presence of bubble like globes on many cards, and the fact that its made with a lot of watercolors)

FIRE

- The dark carnival tarot
- The sacred bridges tarot (Thosee two decks because of the style of the art and the colors used - the urban street art style here is very firy to me)
- the BoneFire tarot (the fire element is even in the title ! But I alsmot put this one in the Fire+Water section, because I find that water is still very present.... however, I feel that fire dominates, eventually)
- Tarot del Fuego (again the title says it all - but I do not use this one, I like the art but find it very difficult to read so far)
- The Rosetta (eventhough all the elements are represented in the suits, the element that readily jumps out at me when I handle this deck is FIRE !)

Some decks I feel have strong influences from two elements :

AIR and WATER

- The Distant Past tarot (all that ocean blue ! and also all that foliage, I feel that I can ear the wind rustle in the leaves)

EARTH and AIR

- The Wild Unknown - initially I felt it had more of airy feeling to me, because I find it to be such an intellectual deck. But I cannot dismiss how earthy it makes me feel also.
- The Hezicos tarot (images represent mostly earth scenes, but the pastel colors look like they have been softened by air draft, and it looks softly airy to me - Thank you EmpyreanKnight for reminding me of this one)

WATER and FIRE

- The Prisma Vision tarot (eventhough each suit is obviously devoted to its own element, the colors and style of painting remind me of fire like the Van Gogh fiery skies, and water like the Monet nympheas paintings)


EARTH and FIRE

- The tarot of the Sidhe (I had a hard time making up y mind with this one, it screams "elemental" at each card ! and some images are airy enough that I can feel the wind in them ! But in the end, I feel like the earth of grass and trees, and the fiery energy of the images, are stronger than the other two elements)


And finally, some decks I find very balanced, either because the four elements are equitably represented depending on the cards (the RWS, the Clover tarot, or the Japaridze tarot) or because I have been unable to point out which element was dominant (like in the Gorgon's tarot or the Sakki Sakki for example)

I would love to have other people's thoughts about that.
And, if you can point me to more watery or more airy decks, I would be grateful because I find these seem to be more scarse in my collection.

Have a good day everybody !
:)
 

EmpyreanKnight

The Wildwood Tarot and to an extent, the Chrysalis Tarot have a very earthy feel to them.

The Celestial Tarot is certainly an air/sky deck, and the way that even the earthbound figures are drawn makes them appear light and breezy.

Here's a treasure trove of water-themed decks. Unfortunately I own none of them:

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/ocean.shtml
 

RiverRunsDeep

I like your choices, Carojulie. Here are a few of mine:

EARTH:
Tarot of Trees, absolutely!
Tarot of the Hidden Realm (forest folk)
Badgers Forest ( lots of browns, trees, forest imagery)
Pagan Otherworlds

AIR:
Sirian Starseed
Nicoletta Ceccoli (images appear to be straight out of dreams and imagination)
Crow's Magick (images look as if they are suspended in outer space, plus has a cold and emotionless vibe to me)

FIRE:
Crystal Visions (colors)
Tarot of the Sweet Twilight (colors)

WATER:
Pearls of Wisdom (lots of blues, and the artist created it with the intent of emotional healing)
Undersea
Dame Darcy Mermaid
 

EmpyreanKnight

I wish to add the following:

AIR
Shadowscapes
Joie de Vivre

FIRE
Sacred Rose
Lover's Path Tarot
 

Carojulie

The Wildwood Tarot and to an extent, the Chrysalis Tarot have a very earthy feel to them.

The Celestial Tarot is certainly an air/sky deck, and the way that even the earthbound figures are drawn makes them appear light and breezy.

Here's a treasure trove of water-themed decks. Unfortunately I own none of them:

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/ocean.shtml


Thank you so much for the link to water theme decks !

I absolutely agree with the Wildwood being a EARTH deck. I do have it, but forgot to include it in my list because I do not use it often....
I also should have added the Tarot del Fuego in the FIRE list, but same thing, I do not use it often and forgot about it when I wrote my post (I have difficulties reading this one eventhough I like the art very much)
Thank you !
 

Carojulie

I like your choices, Carojulie. Here are a few of mine:

EARTH:
Tarot of Trees, absolutely!
Tarot of the Hidden Realm (forest folk)
Badgers Forest ( lots of browns, trees, forest imagery)
Pagan Otherworlds

AIR:
Sirian Starseed
Nicoletta Ceccoli (images appear to be straight out of dreams and imagination)
Crow's Magick (images look as if they are suspended in outer space, plus has a cold and emotionless vibe to me)

FIRE:
Crystal Visions (colors)
Tarot of the Sweet Twilight (colors)

WATER:
Pearls of Wisdom (lots of blues, and the artist created it with the intent of emotional healing)
Undersea
Dame Darcy Mermaid

Thank you for sharing your own list !
I agree with your classification. Many of the decks you mention I do not have, but from the images I have seen of them, they are good candidates for the element you paired them with.

And, OMG the Pearls of Wisdom ! I just checked images on Google, and fell in love. I can see the water in it, through the blues and the curved lines of the pictures. I also get the feel of fire from it, once again because of the colours of certain cards. It is a wonderful deck in any case.... and an instand addition to my wish list ! Thank you !


I wish to add the following:

AIR
Shadowscapes
Joie de Vivre

FIRE
Sacred Rose
Lover's Path Tarot

Of course, the Joie de Vivre, you are absolutely right ! I do have this one but have not used it in a while, and forgot how airy it feels. Thank you for reminding me ! I will edit my first post to add it to my list - but without you I would have forgot about it.

I also have the Paulina tarot from the same artist, and it is also airy.... but I seldom use it because the images are so busy that I find it difficult to use, unless in very simple spreads or single card draw (but so many other decks I have that I grab first, without thinking of this one)

I do not have the Shadowscape - from what I saw of the images it gave me that same impression of being overbusy, like the Paulina. But I hear so many people raving about it, that I hope one day I will be able to see it in the flesh - maybe I will change my mind then.

I did not know the Lover's Path, and like it very much from the search I just made on Google for sample images... Thank you !
 

EmpyreanKnight

Of course, the Joie de Vivre, you are absolutely right ! I do have this one but have not used it in a while, and forgot how airy it feels. Thank you for reminding me ! I will edit my first post to add it to my list - but without you I would have forgot about it.

I also have the Paulina tarot from the same artist, and it is also airy.... but I seldom use it because the images are so busy that I find it difficult to use, unless in very simple spreads or single card draw (but so many other decks I have that I grab first, without thinking of this one)

I do not have the Shadowscape - from what I saw of the images it gave me that same impression of being overbusy, like the Paulina. But I hear so many people raving about it, that I hope one day I will be able to see it in the flesh - maybe I will change my mind then.

I did not know the Lover's Path, and like it very much from the search I just made on Google for sample images... Thank you !

I was about to add more fairy-themed decks, but I think they'd be more accurately labeled as Air/Earth - lots of nature images in them.

And yes, the Lover's Path is something that has to be seen to be believed. Perfect for relationship readings, and Valentine's is coming up.
 

Carojulie

I was about to add more fairy-themed decks, but I think they'd be more accurately labeled as Air/Earth - lots of nature images in them.

You are absolutely right about the fact that a lot of fairy decks are Air + Earth.
It is certainly true for the Victorian Fairies tarot, and also for the Hezicos tarot (in the Hezicos, the imagery is quite earthy, but the colors are all pastel, transparent, and it adds a strong airy feel to it)

Though, I also have the Mystic Faery tarot, and I feel like this specific fairy deck is strongly earthy, maybe due to the green colors that dominate the palette.
And, I also have the Tarot of the Sidhe, and this one, to me, is fire fire FIRE ! Unexpected for a faery deck, but there is not denying the strong fiery feeling I get each time I look at it.
I will edit my first post to add these decks !
Thank you :)