How do you choose a deck?

Grizabella said:

Due to financial issues, I don't buy many decks.

I love Lo Scarabeo decks, so if it's by Lo Scarabeo, chances are really good that I'm going to be at least putting it on my wishlist and yearning for it if I can't actually get the deck.

The Wild Spirit is a very magical deck for me personally, so I'm eagerly awaiting the new deck Poppy is coming out with in time. I'll definitely get that one if I can.

There's a mass market Bonefire coming out in November right around my birthday and I'm SOOOO hoping I can get a copy. I love that deck but my first edition is awkward to handle because I have arthritis in my hands.

Sometimes I'll choose a deck because the illustrations differ from RWS and I can get so many intuitive sparks off of the art work. Other times I'm just happy to get another RWS "clone" that sticks close to the traditional art work. When reading, I seem to alternate between the non-traditional and traditional by spells.

Size matters to me, because of my hands. If a deck is way big, then I can't really see getting it. There's something about shuffling that gets me into a sort of meditative state for reading, so if the deck is too big to overhand or riffle, then I'm most likely not going to try to get it and wouldn't use it so much if I did get it. I look at larger decks to see if they can be trimmed down somewhat to make them useful to me, though.

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Lo Scarabeo seems to make really interesting decks. I've put a whole bunch of their tarots on my wishlist.

I don't think I could ever trim a deck. I'd be too anxious about messing up with the scissors! But card size is obviously important...if the cards don't fit in your hands then they're not much use for readings, even if the art is beautiful.

I seem to be getting tugged away from the most traditional decks at the moment, though!

Siavahda said:

I AM PLEASED!

Less pleased that it's OOP, but oh well, can't have everything.

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Actually never published, as far as I know. I think for awhile it was being worked on, but then the website vanished into the mists of the interwebs.

First - have to like the theme, if there is one. I don't require one, but if it has one, it has to interest me in some way. Next, but most important is the art. Even if I like the theme, if I don't connect with the art, I won't buy it. The art doesn't have to be any certain way, although I only rarely connect with straight photography decks.

Really, that's about it. But it has to connect with me strongly to be one of my reading decks, and not just one for the collection.

It was definitely the ephemeral click for me. I've looked at dozens of decks and the ones I have resonated with me. Very few do. I've been working with The Goddess Tarot (Kris Waldherr) for years.

Siavahda said:

I'm new to tarot, and have gone on a bit of a spree and bought half a dozen beautiful decks. But I'm curious as to how more experienced tarot users pick their decks. I've been choosing based on the artwork and that ephemeral 'click!' feeling when you find something that meshes with you.

How is it for everyone else?

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How I choose:

1) The artwork has to be special (the one I like or the one that touches me in some way)
2) The pictures should be in tune with Rider Waite's meanings (or I will read it as an oracle).
3) The card stock should be thicker
4) The size should be smaller or not bigger that RWS
5) It should be discounted (so I would wait for a year or two until it gets cheaper and buy it)

I usually like multicultural, historical and RWS clones. I have about 100 decks at the moment and I bought them all in a period of 3 years only. Of course, I don't use all of them.
I would really love "the modern classics" like RWS, Aquarian, Morgan Greer, Thoth, Robin Wood, Hanson Roberts, Cosmic Tarot - just because they have a history! Many people know them, use them, talk about them. I love 70's, 80's, 90's art..
I wanted to have them all (and there are still 2 or 3 that I dream to buy), just for the sake of witnessing the history or something like that.

I also love decks that look more hand made, hand drawn or "antique", worn out or lack of that modern new technology feel...Like decks with rusted edges etc...
I also am crazy about multiculturalism. I would buy the deck that is in Spanish, French or German rather than English, because I think it's cooler. And if it's a language that I can't read - then the deck would be even more amazing.
I have Ukiyoe, Chinese, OshoZen, Sacred Indian, Indian tarot...I love nature in decks and realism like in Druidcraft..I love how much detail is in there. So it makes me "Lost" in the deck..

But sometimes I switch to a pictureless mood, where I want to read something like Marseille (because it makes me feel like I'm 500 years ago in ancient France or something), Visconti or Minchiate (I love the feel of church art and all that history). I like Kat Black's "Golden Tarot" too for that reason.

I love very thick decks. The perfect stock is the one of Original Rider Waite (thick matte one) and also Kat Black's glossy hard stock...I like Lo Scarabeo decks for their lightness (when I'm too tired to lift up Morgan Greer)...
I also like stock like Druid Crafts...I trimmed the cards and it got worn out so soon, looking like 20 year old deck after a few months of use...So it's nice too.

I also like art, but I like a super clear poster type of art (ink and watercolor + pencils?). I like the "blocky" art that looks like block prints, rather than "cursive", which I have no idea how else to explain. So I like the folk art in Tarot cards or something that reminds me of it, but then Druid Craft and Osho Zen or Thoth are pretty different.

I also prefer smaller cards, like Hanson Roberts, but I don't mind the big ones too, but shuffling is easier with the smaller ones.

*** When I shop I watch reviews on youtube, photos on google images, check out the card stock (reviewers tend to mention it), then find the best price and buy it.
I'm very "scared" of dark decks (they are thrilling to look at but not own - for me), also can live without animals, except the birds...

I was recently annoyed with some decks portraying people that looked like some ELLE magazine models. So they bring that pop culture into the decks and I feel it's rude! I mean I am not a model and models make me feel as if all the world is models (and you even have to be a model to grow spiritually)...But when I walk on the street, I see people that are of average height, with the pot bellies out...SO I thrive for something I can connect with (some decks put some nice healthy people in them and that's a relief). Likewise, most of the decks focus on European looking people, straight people etc..So maybe it would be more interesting if there was more improvement in that area...I keep waiting for those kinds of decks.

And after buying 100 decks I eventually understood that none of them can beat the Rider Smith deck which is just so strong and amazing when you start studying the symbolism. (I did that just now and thought :wow:!)

First the art. Then it ought to resonate as a potential reading deck.

Themes, not so much. Certain themes I will automatically investigate, but I'll be choosy about which decks I'll acquire, even if I like the theme. Sometimes I don't care for the particular treatment. On the other hand, there is at least one deck I bought with a theme I ordinarily pass up, but I knew the artist's work and wanted it for that reason alone, and it turned out to be a Wow of a deck on all levels.

There are some themes and some art styles, though, that I would be hard pressed to find something I'd enjoy in them. But it's not impossible.

It is all very subjective.

My decks have come to me in a variety of ways.
Some chose me and I chose some.

I usually go for the imagery. If the deck is pretty, I look more in depth with the images and ask myself, can I read with this art? Can I see myself using this deck in ten years? Does it speak to me on different levels? Is there more to it than being aesthetically pleasing?

I've also had decks that snuck their way into my cart without looking that I'd end up buying and those have all worked wonderfully for me. And then there are some that, despite my initial reaction of not being too enthused, I've bought regardless on a whim (sometimes almost in a trance tbh) and ended up enjoying them greatly (The silhouettes tarot by Masa September, for one).

I don't think there is any one way to picking a deck...it's just a matter of personal choice.

Artwork and diversity are the big things for me. The deck I currently use most often and feel most connected with was a random find on Amazon or eBay a few years ago. I honestly don't even know what it is - it's probably just a generic gift shop kind of thing - but there are humans of various cultures, ethnicities and ages represented, with some looking quite gender non-specific (yay!), the colours are super vibrant and rich, and I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. When I look through the major arcana I feel like it's a world I can dive into and become immersed in.

My Amazon shopping list is currently heaving with tarot decks that I've had an instant "Ooh, that's lovely!" feeling about but I can't afford all of them (unfortunately!) and am struggling to decide which deck to go for next. I'm planning to treat myself to a new deck for my birthday so at least I have a couple of months left to decide

Although I've almost given up searching for a deck better than my old tatty RWS . I do still search on occasions and can " stalk" a deck on the internet for months finding out all I can before not purchasing it. Currently I'm stalking the Deck of the Bastard but I know I won't buy it due to its card stock quality