What are they thinking?

I have a few:

Deviant Moon
Surreal art and me don't mix, every time I see this deck, I am convinced this deck was conceived whilst the deck maker was on something. Sorry Patrick!!

Tarot Illumanti
Too bright and it looks tacky. People adore it! I don't Sorry Kim and the Erik (I think he name is) chappy.

Anything by Chiro Marcetti (sorry if I spelt your surname wrong )
Computer generated art does not do anything for me.

Brain Froud's decks
Nah. They don't speak to me!

RWS decks
They want me to stay away!!! Morgan - Greer is fine instead.

Anything which has animals in clothes. It's not big and it is not clever. Or any pussy cat decks. I just want to run.

Wild Unknown
Can't connect with the artwork/

And finally ........

Anything by Doreen Sodden (not)Virtue
Tarot is NOT fluffy sweety, get it out your head it is scary, it isn't. It is in the deck you use, I was lucky in my learner deck that it had Transformation for death, although the story was about death, and the devil card was about being banished for having an ego.

Hi CelticTarot,

Who is Doreen Sodden? I haven't heard of any decks by her; or is that Doreen Virtue's real name? Just curious.

My name for her, LOL could be her maiden name for all we know.

Celtictarot said:

My name for her, LOL could be her maiden name for all we know.

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Just out of curiosity, have you actually used one of her decks?

I used to be just like you before I actually got a deck from her, now I have 4.

Before I got my first(angel therapy), I HATED the whole idea of it, fluffly, nothing negative, and tells you what you want to hear.

Once I actually tried it, it was a totally different story, they don't just tell you what you want to hear, they tell you bad stuff in a nice way, but they can still go very deep, I especially love my Goddess Guidance cards.


I would recommend trying a deck, and if you dont like it send it back. I am heavily opinionated like you, and I lean towards dark and disturbing, and have often looked down on people that "can't handle it." but don't knock something that helps alot of people until you try it, some people need something positive in their life.

BTW: Virtue is her REAL surname, as well as her son.

Heres the decks I don't like:

The Art Noveau Tarot by Matt Myers:
Thought I was going to really like it when I bought it, it was EXPENSIVE too. But once I tried it a few times, I just hated most of the faces, they looked like they were pasted on the heads.

I also HATE any decks that change all the male cards to all women, or make all the men cards evil looking. I was looking at one deck and was surprised to find they kept the emporer the same, but he had horns and looked like the devil. I'm for womens rights, but demonizing men, even men in authority, its just stoopid. Note: this would go vise versa, althought I've never seen a deck that was ALL men besides the gay tarot, and I think thats self explanatory.

The WORST deck I've EVER seen, and I have it so I would know, is the Destiny Tarot, the artwork is just shitty copies of the RW, the art is BAD, not even artistically bad, just BAD!

danielnogo said:

Just out of curiosity, have you actually used one of her decks?

BTW: Virtue is her REAL surname, as well as her son.

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Yes I have, I used to own some decks. I couldn't connect to them. I have also held some of her decks in my hands as well. I would suggest you read other threads on DV before claiming I have not tried her decks.

Also I live in the UK, and sodden is like use flipping.

danielnogo said:

I also HATE any decks that change all the male cards to all women, or make all the men cards evil looking. I was looking at one deck and was surprised to find they kept the emporer the same, but he had horns and looked like the devil. I'm for womens rights, but demonizing men, even men in authority, its just stoopid. Note: this would go vise versa, althought I've never seen a deck that was ALL men besides the gay tarot, and I think thats self explanatory.

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The Emperor is the card of Aries; when an Emperor has horns like a ram's, it is because he is of the sign of the ram.

Just as the Chariot is the card of the astrological sign of Cancer and can sometimes feature watery imagery even in a deck that isn't aquatic-themed, the Emperor card is often fiery and evokes its astrological correspondence.

I also identify as a feminist, do not hate men, and happen to love the Emperor card. It is my birth card and I am very attached to it, and I actually really love when he is horned Nothing to do with Satan at all, even if a deck has many women featured in it.

Also, I thought that the Gay Tarot featured a few women tangentially? I don't own this deck, but that is what I've heard.

Also--just to contribute to the broader conversation--I've never seen a deck I didn't like, but most cat decks are pretty obnoxious to me :x Sorry! The Pagan Cats one seems to be the most beautiful.

I detest the Decameron tarot. Women being violated and little girls being molested make me prone to violence.

On a more normal note, I don't like -

TOM - reminds me of playing cards and I just don't see what the hoopla is all about. Even got the book by Place and still, don't get it.

Silver Witchcraft - people standing around on podiums? Not really.

Druidcraft - I have a pagan leaning so I really wanted to like this deck but most of the people remind me of inbreeding in the backwoods. Maybe it's my southern roots but I know if they smile they won't have any teeth.

Wild Unknown - one doodle per card. It's simple on steroids. I just don't understand the excitement. (I'm sure much more effort went into the artwork but that's still what I think when I look at it).

Tarot of Vampyres - can anyone say bad acting? I want to scream "Cut!" and tell the actors this is not a high school play, wake the freak up and bring more life into the shoot.

That being said, other than the Decameron tarot, I give major props to the creativity, time, and energy that went into producing these decks. The vast majority of people love them and I can easily understand why. I just can't get over my sticking points.

cerenatee said:

Druidcraft - I have a pagan leaning so I really wanted to like this deck but most of the people remind me of inbreeding in the backwoods. Maybe it's my southern roots but I know if they smile they won't have any teeth.

Tarot of Vampyres - can anyone say bad acting? I want to scream "Cut!" and tell the actors this is not a high school play, wake the freak up and bring more life into the shoot.
.

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Ha! Although I don't agree, I love seeing tarot decks through someone else's eyes like this. Someone posted here that their partner who was unfamiliar with tarot described the Druidcraft as a deck "with a lot of hippy people on it" (can't remember who that was). It is just so interesting to see something familiar in a new way that I wouldn't have thought of.

cerenatee said:

Wild Unknown - one doodle per card. It's simple on steroids. I just don't understand the excitement. (I'm sure much more effort went into the artwork but that's still what I think when I look at it).

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Like a Jackson Pollock is a bunch of spitted paint on a canvas? (Obviously, I am not comparing Kim Krans with Pollock, that would be ludicrous )