Deck Must-Haves

Deck Must-Haves???

Hello fellow tarot enthusiasts! I'm in the process of creating several tarot decks. One, will more than likely not go to publication as it is personal to me. However, I am creating a deck that contains within my personal take on Tarot after 23 years of research. Having said that, it will be hand drawn with an array of media and laden in symbolism along the lines of Thoth-style decks, except with My take vs. Crowley's. I do not have an official title as of yet. Working title might be...Tarot of "DS".

I digress..

So, I'm curious...What is it that YOU specifically look for in a deck.
For me it's beauty and quality of art, proper symbolism and "readability".

For YOU, Is it:

* Quality of art?
* Proper symbolism...please explain specifics
* Readability
* Borders, yes/no? Scrolled? Solid? Fancy? Thicknesses or Colours in borders? Does it matter?
* Pretty Backs, Reversable?
* Free-Hand vs. Digital Art / Collage...yeas or nays?

Really, I'm curious as to Details more than big things.
For instance:
I read in a review on here once that if the Majors didn't have at least 11 moons and Minors, 15 it was a huge con for this person.

These are the details that I'm truly curious about. The little ones that are important to You!

Any opinions you have, I'd love to hear them! Much appreciated!

My two cents:

- Avoid jamming too much crap into each card. Decks like Tarot of the Holy Light just have WAY too much stuff in them.
- I like borderless. In fact, everybody liked borderless.
- Avoid "the card that ruined the deck" - like in Liber T, where the donkey is having sex with a woman. Seriously - don't do that.
- Avoid muted, nasty, bland colors like the Liber T.
- Splurge and give me a box. I hate decks that have no box. In fact, everybody hates decks that have no box.
- Don't re-invent the whole deck, so that I need to read a book just to understand it. I have too many "new system decks". I won't remember your "new system", nor will many other people. It'll go "on the shelf" and not get used.
- Use card stock that I can shuffle. I don't want 78 pieces of plated steel that don't bend.

Lovely! Thank you for your two cents, Akirafist! Two pennies just stretched out immensely as These are exactly the specifications and preferences I was hoping to hear about by posing this question. Fantastic!

No beastiality...check. I hate that one freaky card that renders the deck unuseable.
Borderless...check,
Box, that is functional...yep, haven't gotten to that apex as of yet-fully agree, sturdiness is of the essence, pretty doesn't hurt too.


Agreed, regarding the new system. I hesitate to wonder if I appeared to be reinventing the wheel (of fortune). Granted, I am in in the midst of clarifying my take on the tarot, which may differ from RWS, yet it is similar to Thoth systems, however, I believe it works for readability beyond artistic license.

You're mention of cluttered symbolism, thank you for that point. I recognize that redundancy of astrological glyphs is irritating at best, I agree regarding "busyness" of the image is a fault. My aim is no not dumb down the image to the lowest common denominator, but rather enlighten with key archetypes. Admittedly, I must keep an eye out for that factor and keep the image aesthetically pleasing at the same time.

Card quality and durability...ease in handling/shuffling...check. Agreed.

akirafist said:

My two cents:

- Avoid jamming too much crap into each card. Decks like Tarot of the Holy Light just have WAY too much stuff in them.
- I like borderless. In fact, everybody liked borderless.
- Avoid "the card that ruined the deck" - like in Liber T, where the donkey is having sex with a woman. Seriously - don't do that.
- Avoid muted, nasty, bland colors like the Liber T.
- Splurge and give me a box. I hate decks that have no box. In fact, everybody hates decks that have no box.
- Don't re-invent the whole deck, so that I need to read a book just to understand it. I have too many "new system decks". I won't remember your "new system", nor will many other people. It'll go "on the shelf" and not get used.
- Use card stock that I can shuffle. I don't want 78 pieces of plated steel that don't bend.

Click to expand...

Agreed! Plus- I would go with good art rather than CGI. Most of the CGI decks out are just meh- good art trumps a lot of other wishes.

I have one thing that just came to my attention with a new deck I just got. Make sure that the minors names start with a different letters. For those of us who journal: 3oS = 3 of Swords, right? Not if you call your wands- staves.. I know it is a minor thing, but I probably will not buy another deck with Staves, or coins instead of pentacles.

Orginal art work, no cut and paste. I perfer free hand, unless you are really good at digital.

Don't change the name of the Majors, or at least not all of them.(other wise I will not buy it)

Serious material: Will not use a "cutesy deck" for a professional reading, nor do I own one.

Borders: have no preference... unless it makes the cards too small to read

symbols: keep them simple, minors I don't care if there is a picture on them or not.

Good luck to you, and thank you for asking.

akirafist said:

My two cents:

- Avoid jamming too much crap into each card. Decks like Tarot of the Holy Light just have WAY too much stuff in them.
- I like borderless. In fact, everybody liked borderless.
- Avoid "the card that ruined the deck" - like in Liber T, where the donkey is having sex with a woman. Seriously - don't do that.
- Avoid muted, nasty, bland colors like the Liber T.
- Splurge and give me a box. I hate decks that have no box. In fact, everybody hates decks that have no box.
- Don't re-invent the whole deck, so that I need to read a book just to understand it. I have too many "new system decks". I won't remember your "new system", nor will many other people. It'll go "on the shelf" and not get used.
- Use card stock that I can shuffle. I don't want 78 pieces of plated steel that don't bend.

Click to expand...

Penthasilia said:

Agreed! Plus- I would go with good art rather than CGI. Most of the CGI decks out are just meh- good art trumps a lot of other wishes.

Click to expand...

Completely agree with all of this.

As far as CGI decks, I don't mind them as long as they flow. ( Please don't take photographs of your friend's and family's faces and insert them into cards to the point that they resemble those wooden life-sized paintings at faires where we stick our heads in the open spaces where the faces are supposed to be.)

Cutesy = gross, as far as I'm concerned. Life isn't cutesy, nor will be this deck. My life is dark, however all of life is not. Thus, there is a darker element to this deck. Cut n paste bad art buddies in this deck it will not be. Rest assured.

This is great!

Please keep 'em coming!

First of all, congratulations on your deck creation projects! It's always great to make the deck YOU want and it makes every card so meaningful.

Just some overall things for your specific questions first:

I'm less impressed by "artistic quality" than by the meaning and intention behind the artwork. Besides, what's artistic quality? A classical oil painting? A delicate watercolor? A vivid computer collage? As long as the deck is consistent within itself, I am up for anything!

I like symbols that are easy to interpret but not whack-you-over-the-head obvious, if that makes any sense. And having too many per card or using very esoteric symbols can get in the way of the reading experience. I don't want to be referring to a thick book to find out that this kind of sparrow means X and this other kind of nearly identical sparrow means Y according to some ancient Egyptian magical scroll.

I love borderless cards but a narrow border is fine, as long as it's black or in a subtle color. Having a border can add some focus and clarity, but it shouldn't be an elaborate and separate work of art. Also, if you have a border, there's some leeway for the printing/cutting process; if it's off by a 16th of an inch you'll lose border instead of card art.

Backs: REVERSIBLE!!!! Knowing in advance that a card is upright or reversed can color the reading. As for the design...plain backs turn me off a deck, I like them to be at least somewhat decorative, but not so elaborate that they distract me when shuffling (I want to concentrate on the question, not a huge Celtic knot or an M. C. Escher staircase).

Any kind of art as long as it's consistent and well-done (but see "artistic quality," above). It doesn't have to be Michelangelo, but a sense of proportion and overall unity are important. I personally prefer hand-drawn/painted art; computer is okay if it's not too obviously, um, computery (pixelation = bad). Collages can be great if each item is perfectly trimmed and the size and position are carefully considered, but I think a good collage is probably harder than hand drawing! (Not to mention the copyright issues.)

Now, my random detail stuff....

Don't make anyone hideously ugly, except possibly the Devil. I'm not saying everyone should be young and beautiful; just that I don't want to pull a card and jump back going "UGH!" (I have one deck that I like overall but the Queen of Swords is so toad-like I can't stand to use it.)

I'm not against nudity where it's traditional or where it fits in the context of the card, but unless you're doing a specifically erotic deck, I don't want to be seeing nekkid people all over the place. I just think "Put some pants on!" or "Isn't she cold?" instead of concentrating on the meaning of the card.

If you're doing a RWS themed 9 of Pentacles, IT'S A HAWK. It's not a parrot or a peacock or a raven. It's a hawk, dangit. And it's hooded. (Apparently I feel very strongly about this.)

For theme decks I don't mind some renaming of majors, and I don't object to alternate names of suits if it makes immediate sense when I glance at a card, but any scheme that's too obscure or requires too much thought to figure out what card is what becomes annoying. ("Do Halberds count as Swords or Wands? Is 'Change' the Wheel of Fortune or Death?")

Tarot Orat said:

Don't make anyone hideously ugly, except possibly the Devil.

Click to expand...

Wait!Wait! Don't make the Devil ugly- make him HOT!

Don't make the Magician or the Hermit hideously ugly either You can make the Heirophant Ugly- I'm not sure I'm ever going to like him. I'm just teasing, make them how you want to- it's your deck...

I agree with Pamuya about the Minor suit names having different titles, but when I'm using one that has Coins instead of Pentacles, I'll still use P as my shortcut for the card, so the 3 Coins would still be written 3P.

I'm less concerned about the new system as, in the early 1900s, the Rider Waite was "a new system deck" and look where it is now.

Love borderless.

I'm in the minority, but I love symbolism rich decks if it's one I'm going to study. If it's one I just use for readings, the amount of symbolism on the card matters a lot less.

I prefer scenic Minors over illustrated/moody minors over plain pips.

I honestly don't care what format the art is in as long as the art speaks to me.

I don't used reversed cards, so it doesn't matter to me if the backs are reversible. I do like the back to feel like it belongs to the same deck as the fronts though.