After Tarot by Lo Scarabeo

nicky said:

The Waiting to Happen is the same dross. In my never humble opinion, tarot is a template - like astrology kabbalah etc etc. You may change the template 'just because you can' but you really should have something thought out that will improve your view of how it all works or ultimately you are just standing on air. If you believe, as I do, that these 78 pieces of cardboard represent specific energies which inform us - then changing the symbols on the card to represent the NEXT energy is ridiculous. What is happening NOW.


To answer your post - what is the point of reading the now when you have the next (possible) step already there -you have taken the whole power out of your sitters hands by showing them at the time of the question what the outcome is -and a static one as well.. when did the two of cups become necessarily romance ? Seriously the more I look at this the more irritated I become. The deck does nothing to add to anyones skill at reading cards and probably lessens it in fact.

nicky

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This.


Did I head a mic drop ?

nicky said:

To answer your post - what is the point of reading the now when you have the next (possible) step already there -you have taken the whole power out of your sitters hands by showing them at the time of the question what the outcome is -and a static one as well.. when did the two of cups become necessarily romance ? Seriously the more I look at this the more irritated I become. The deck does nothing to add to anyones skill at reading cards and probably lessens it in fact.

nicky

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Two cups never DID mean romance necessarily. I don't happen to think ANY one card means anything necessarily. But equally - who's to say that someone for whom you have drawn 5 pents is NECESSARILY going to see charity show up, either. The "energy" of the next card varies, too.

But except that you and SE say this deck is dross, I think we are off topic, so....

Whose mic ?

I still haven't worked out whether I want to get this deck and give it a try. I haven't bought it and something does still pull me back a little. But I do think that many people (I see this in the readings forum and on instagram draws) read in a sort of speculative way that doesn't quite reach the energy of the next card. I see so many readings which have a sort of "what's going to happen if...", " He looks like he might... " and "this could lead to..." based on what they see in a card image and this deck feeds into that style of reading. I don't think the deck is a triumph in any way, shape or form and I don't read in that way but I do see it echoed in certain reading styles.

I see it as more expanding on the moment rather than being prescriptive. It's like looking around from a moment in a narrative. I can see the point. I think the Fool card is a bit heavy-handed and there may be others equally heavy-handed, but I have seen some cards which work better.

When I first saw this deck in the catalog I thought how ridiculous. (I think it was the fool card I also saw). After (ha ha) seeing some of the other cards, at first confused me and I didn't know what to think. Now I'm kind of liking it. Maybe it's the name "After" that confused me at first. I think it should have been called something else. What I don't know. Maybe RWS. Revisited or something. Anything could happen after. It looks that maybe some of the cards could have a totally different meaning. And one more thing. I really love the RWS but sometimes I get bored with it. This might be what I need. I think if you look at it as a totally different deck, it might work. I mean The Lovers card takes on a whole other meaning. Who says you have to know the before to understand the after?

Moderator Note

Let's return this discussion to the After Tarot.

Le Fanu said:

I see it as more expanding on the moment rather than being prescriptive. It's like looking around from a moment in a narrative. I can see the point.

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Thanks Leffy - you said it better than I could have That's how I feel about it.

I guess I strongly look at this deck as a ‘tag line’ deck. The whole “You can’t take it with you” feel to the 4 of coins, the “Look for aid” in the 5 of pentacles and the embrace in the 2 of cups to me feel more like they took popular sayings about tarot cards and turned them into a deck. And I’m perfectly fine with that idea, but throwing in the artwork for a system that was well thought out and had purpose in both color, Androgyny of characters and the use of astrology is part of the enigma. Here all that goes out the window to me. I can get behind the whole ‘tell me story’ thing, but when the 2 of cups and 4 of coins placed side by side with the RWS would give two VERY different takes on things for me. I’d would really like to hear how a reading would go with this, knowing that what they depict is how they feel the original card would turn out. This feels like it just paints a reader into the corner if they speak of the imagery. All paths are valid but this is one path I will let others go down. I prefer TdMs so these cards give me hives with just how needlessly busy they are. Greg- if you are getting it post a reading you did with it and see how accurate it was, i’d be interested.

I am getting it - but not till I get back to the UK. But - we shall be into "define accuracy" - I don't do predictive as such. But - sure.

I don't have the cards (yet) so this is a very subjective opinion - I bought it thinking this could be a fun deck to experiment with. Will it become my main reading deck? No. Still I am looking forward getting it. It seems to me well thought out, pleasant artwork, etc. I guess one way to reading with it would be to use the basic meaning of RWS, and where the cards show a negative direction (the Fool) to read it as warning and those cards that show a positive development to read as enforcement to the original RWS meaning. Of course this way of reading is limiting (other cards could help clarify this: "this could happen if" ... see other cards).

As I am writing this post I realise I don't think I am going to use this deck for reading in a long run and that reading with it could be a challenge (that's OK) but it can also enrich one's experience with tarot. I get those people point of view who don't want this deck -so it's a controversial deck - which is much better than to fade in time unnoticed.

I'm excited about this deck. I have always thought about getting New Vision (and probably will now it's a companion to this) but the After deck has caught my interest and imagination. I buy fewer decks nowadays and the first question I ask is, "Will it offer me something new that I can't already find in my collection?" I can definitely answer in the affirmative here, I feel.

Also, I see it as expanding on beliefs that already exist around a cards meaning. Hasn't the Four of Pentacles always had an element of, "Can't take it with you?" We already disregard aspects of a card in a reading if we feel it's not relevant at the time so I can probably ignore Death ambling in. I really love the Nine of Swords too. I'm very prone to 3 a.m. worrying and although I know it's the nightmare card I like the imagery of taking a sword and slaying dragons. It adds an extra layer for me, a reminder that things may look very different at 7 o'clock after a cuppa!

Does anyone have the kit yet? If so, what do you think of the book? I'm having over buying the deck on Amazon but wonder if I should wait?