modern tarot rant

I hear you Thinbuddha!

I have the *exact* same feelings.
How do you feel toward oracle decks? I have found authenticity in many of them, more than in most tarot decks out there (but I am also an old fashion traditionalist who beleives in fortune-telling, spirits & co).
I like the Mlle Lenormand deck (36 cards), I find it very traditional and authentic, I can really imagine her sitting in front of Joshephine, reading her fortune.
I also like Madame Endora's cards, for the same reasons.
Have you considered reading with plain playing cards? They don't do for me but for some, they make them relate to very old practices, possibly older than tarot cards...

F.

I have similiar feelings, though with exceptions. Tarot has an old world charm that is for me a huge part of its appeal. A deck that looks old, and aged is the best one to my mind, and that is reflected in the decks I read with. Although I do have some very modern decks and recently have even gotten a couple photo-collage type decks, which I previously would never have considered. However I got them as "tarot-art" more so than a working deck.

Just this weekend I got the Rohrig. A deck that I find really appealing, but a year ago would not have looked at twice. I'll no doubt go over its details for the next few weeks, and in the future read with it sometimes. Learning a little about a new deck is a lot of fun after all. But when I really want a reading done, I'll get out my trusty Thoth, or perhaps my "oh so beautiful looks like it is almost ancient" Golden Tarot and read with one of them. Though I'm not a Marseille reader, even my Marseille style decks get used more often than my attractive RWS/Thoth clones.

I think the real problem is a truly "authentic-mysterious-mystical-occult" deck takes a life time to design. Perhaps the one most suited to your taste will still be a few decades coming.

Another suggestion is to hunt down an old second hand deck in garage sales and the likes. You'll have a vintage treasure, both potentially old in age, and charged with all the magnetism from all its previous owners.

thinbuddha: See this soon to be published deck in Tarot Decks:

The Kingdom Highway Tarot by lampdownlow
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=57118

Ever tried reading with a regular deck of playing cards? Where the ancient art of fortune telling concerned, I see playing cards as perhaps the most succinct example & representative.

Isn't that sort of stereotyping Tarot like dressing up like a gypsy would be? I mean, Tarot is what it is, after all, and trying to find "a mysterious-looking deck like some old crone would pull out of a drawer" does seem stereotypical to me. Rider, Thoth, Golden Dawn and the Marseilles type decks are about as "old-crone-would-pull-out-of-a-drawer" as they get, I think. Maybe it's just me, but that's my two cents worth. Or maybe stereotypical isn't quite the word, but I think of it as that.

Have you looked at all the early decks? Not all old decks look like the marseille, have you thought about the visconti's? they are authentic and beautiful, mysterious and old. there is also the estensi, with the illustrated minors, if you don't want to read pips.Kat Black's golden tarot fills some of that old magic place for me...I love looking at those faces that lived all those hundreds of years ago. And some of the egyptian decks would fit right in-the Nefertari, for example. For a long time people believed tarot came from egypt, and the ancient egyptian style tarots are muy mysterioso.

If you find what you a looking for, I hope you will post and tell us---I'd like to find a deck with that special flavor, too.

Lyric - I agree with you - it not only sounds stereotypical but something out of pop culture theatre - romantic but no more or less of value than any other deck. Considering there are hundreds - thousands of decks around including reproductions of decks dating back to tarot origins, it simply a matter of finding one that clicks with the individual. Considering that we are now in the 21st century, I particularly enjoy seeing decks that reflect the culture, time and technology that we are currently living in, but that certainly doesn't mean I don't appreciate historical decks or any other style. I suspect all those art history and art theory classes I had to take are to blame, but it does give me a broader appreciation of the artistic styles.

The beauty of tarot is in its longevity and diversity, with the added bonus that if you don't like anything that you see, you are free to create your own.

Thinbuddha, MeeWah has given an excellent suggestion regarding the Kingdom Highway Tarot.

It illustrates perfectly that there are decks of substance being made even as we speak.

Here is one I made earlier.

I hear ya thinbuddha.

Where are the decks that have the same impact on the modern mind that, say, the Sola-Busca, the Etteilla, or the Marseille must have had the minds of people living in that era? I tend to agree the options are tragically lacking. We have the RWS and the Thoth which we inherited from early in the 20th century. I sort of like the Masonic Tarot, but while being rich in symbolism, it doesn't really resonate with me on a deep and profound level.

There are a couple of modern decks that affect me on all levels. One is the Lovecraft Tarot. It has a strange and powerful magnetism, especially if you have read some of his stories and are familiar with the symbology. I don't own a copy of this one yet. I'm holding out for a first edition.

The other is the El Gran Tarot Esoterico. I've heard this one compared with the Marseille. At fist glance it does sort of resemble a Marseille, but it's actually very different, and to my mind anyway, on a whole other level.

-fof

Why not have a look at the Marseille and some of its kin? I mean the older Marseille which have meen used in Europe for decades and are readily available over there.

The Morgan Greer is 1970's deck and that may even be "old" enough for you .

There are many European decks that would possibly meet your needs. A browse through the web sites of European publishers and retailers such as Alida Store might be worthwhile .