Beautiful but unsatisfying decks

Am I going to be attacked if I say the Victorian Romantic and Bohemian Gothic?

Love them to death. Thrilled to own them, and their gorgeous special editions. Couldn't recommend them highly enough for their immense beauty.

Don't really see myself reading with them in the future. They just don't seem to have the kind of meat that I find myself needing in a deck that I'm going to do a serious reading with.

Where's thorhammer....I'm sinking...<gurgle gurgle>...

Le Fanu said:

I´m not really one to judge decks which read superficially, as all decks read differently for different people.

OK, now I´ve got the politically correct response out of the way, here goes;

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Yes, I'll do the same. I accept that some people will find a great deal of substance in the decks I list. Also, I have to say, there is nothing wrong with having decks just because you like how beautiful they are. Not all decks need to be used to read with.

OK, so I'm starting to get quite a collection of decks with beautiful artwork that are not good for much other than admiring. My top contenders are:

Cosmic
Nigel Jackson Medieval Enchantment
Druidcraft
Celtic Wisdom

These four decks probably have my favourite artwork of any decks and yet for me personally I find that I can't read with them at all, at least not with any substance.

Other 'pretty but useless' decks for me are....

Zerner-Farber, 1001 Nights, Roots of Asia, Feng Shui, Tarot de Paris, Chinese, Rumi and although I've not tried to read with it yet I'm sure the Golden Botticelli will also be one of these.

zan_chan said:

Am I going to be attacked if I say the Victorian Romantic and Bohemian Gothic?

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Just to lend you some support, I'd probably have to agree. I didn't put them on my list because I don't have them and so can't really say how they read. But I don't have them BECAUSE I think they would be more style than substance. Beautiful though, which is a wonderful thing.

I have a bad feeling I'm going to regret ever posting in this thread

zan_chan said:

Am I going to be attacked if I say the Victorian Romantic and Bohemian Gothic?

Love them to death. Thrilled to own them, and their gorgeous special editions. Couldn't recommend them highly enough for their immense beauty.

Don't really see myself reading with them in the future. They just don't seem to have the kind of meat that I find myself needing in a deck that I'm going to do a serious reading with.

Where's thorhammer....I'm sinking...<gurgle gurgle>...

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Well, you're not gonna get attacked by me, because I have to agree with you on the Bohemian Gothic. (See, I knew there were some I forgot.)
Beautiful images, but after a few readings also ended up on the shelf, unused.
And I also don't see myself reading with it in the future.

Now for me, the Victorian Romantic is a favorite!

To each his own eh!?

Zerner Faber?! I LOVE my Zerner Faber!
There, there *pats Zerner-Faber* don't feel too badly...

I would have to also say Victoria Regina. Gorgeous deck with some of the loveliest Majors I've ever seen. But totally unreadable as a deck for me.

For me I would also include the Legacy of the Divine. Beautiful CG deck, I so wish it resonated more with me. It's just beautiful to look at and admire, but impossible to read with.

For some reason I'm having problems with the Mystic Dreamer. I don't know why; I love the images. But I find it difficult to read with and it kinda leaves me feeling "cold". I'm hoping to be able to bond with it at a later date.

I too love my Zerner-Farber & find it most incisive besides comforting - always giving me lots of new 'takes' on issues. It's often my go-to deck for deep questions.

However, although I really enjoy looking at my lovely Sweet Twilight, I find it quite unreadable.
Ditto my elegant Fenestra.
And my clever, accomplished Baroque Bohemian Cats.
And even my gorgeous, lush Tarot of Dreams.

All admirable & nice eye-candy, but hard to read with in much depth for me. I love looking at them though, & would never give them up!

Mythic Tarot (Burke) and Lovers Tarot (Waldherr) for me

Very easy to read and visually appealing, simple and fresh-faced and tied to storylines that scene-by-scene are fine themes that align with the appropriate cards. But I find them static for me. The murals or frescos on the wall that I admire, the storybook that sits warmly on the shelf and I know the meaning can be classically assigned with ease. But I do not find the scenes or stories relevant to me in the long run.

But there are decks may work for me eventually even though I have had them available and around me...for ten years or more? So they are good to have as references.

Best

Cerulean

This is so funny about the ZF. I don't find the pictures pretty at all, but the symbols speak to me and the books and DVD are great. I've been reading with this deck , because it is the easiest I have ever read with.

I love the rabbit tarot, but got tired of trying to read with it, using books and memorized meanings from other decks.

I'm cranky at the holidays. I needed to make things as easy as possible for me.

I have a migraine, had a day from hell, and still was able to do a ZF reading. Stuck pretty much to the canned meanings, but still was able to do one with intuition turned off. It calmed me a bit and reminded me of all the stuff I need to prioritize if I want to recover.

Now the Art Nouveau looks like a horror to read with.

Cerulean said:

Very easy to read and visually appealing, simple and fresh-faced and tied to storylines that scene-by-scene are fine themes that align with the appropriate cards. But I find them static for me. The murals or frescos on the wall that I admire, the storybook that sits warmly on the shelf and I know the meaning can be classically assigned with ease. But I do not find the scenes or stories relevant to me in the long run.

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I completely agree... I love the Mythic Tarot, love the book that comes with it, I'm glad I own it... but I can't read with it.