Oh my goodness!!
I came back from work and this thread just grew and grew! Thank you all for your wonderful replies. I'll try to respond to everyone.
Grizabella - Pearls of Wisdom looks like such a fun deck! I haven't seen it in great detail before. It looks almost
too busy for me. Maybe in person it is less so because the cards are bigger?
Nevada - Tarot of Transformation is another one that's been on my radar. The borders look so big though! Do they detract from the images, I wonder?
Kissa - Hi Kissa. Another vote for the Songs I see. I already have the mini, which is so cute but almost too small to use as a regular deck. If I were to use it for my purposes, I would need to invest in the larger version for sure.
greycats - I had the Osho Zen and gave it away. Some of the cards felt like they were from an entirely different deck. But I had never heard of the oracle. I'll have to look it up. Thanks for clueing me in to a new deck!
weaver - The Vision Quest is officially on my wish list! I generally tend to steer clear of Native American theme decks for cultural reasons. I'm taking a Anthropology of Native North American class now (back in school - one of many exciting changes going on now!) and I keep reading about how Native American culture has been misinterpreted, misused, misunderstood. But I think this deck seems not to be so Native American based as nature-based, with mythlike people inhabiting it. And the booklet sounds like a good read as well.
bodhran - I gave the Fifth Tarot a look several months ago and didn't like it. Don't know why. Then I clicked the link you provided and -- wow! The minors! The majors! I think I might be in love! Surely the entire deck can't be so amazing. And -- a fifth suit. That would certainly be something different.
avalonian - I know almost nothing about the artists. I'll need to swing by their website soon before my wish list gets too much longer.
Le Fanu - Another deck I hadn't considered. I actually had never heard of it before. Some of the cards are lovely! I will have to keep my eye on that deck for sure.
thorhammer - I know what you mean about the Wheel of Change! Such a lovely, lovely, unexpected deck. I bought mine purely out of interest, and sometimes those cards still take my breath away. But -- I've worked with it extensively before. (Trimmed mine too. Horrid borders.) I think for my purposes I want to use a deck that feels as new as I feel right now. I'm not sure, though, because it is nearly perfect for my purposes.
Starshower - Hmmm...another vote for the Tarot of Transformation. I may have to give that deck another look. I had originaly discounted it because of the large borders. Hmmm. Will have to study it further.
Thank you all for your wonderful responses. I will need to think this over. I am sensing I may invest in a few decks and decide which ones to work with more exclusively after working with them for a little while. I will definatley let everyone know what I decide once I've decided.
Short list so far:
Vision Quest
Fifth Tarot
Songs for the Journey Home (if only I could find an affordable full sized deck/book set, this would be perfect!)
Circle of Life
More research before I can discount them: Tarot of Transformation, Ananda, Tao Oracle.
Ooooooh! Deck shopping! However will I cope?!