BoT Etteilla is a curious deck - I am digging it

Richard

Does anyone think that the images of the BoT Etteilla are sort of dull and oppressive? To me, the Grand Etteilla (Egyptian Gypsies Tarot) seems much more upbeat and evocative.

Maybe it is just a matter of personal taste.
 

Debra

Different tribes, is how I see those two decks. The BOT Etteilla seems steeped in original sin and the other aims to fly like the birds LOL
 

LindaMechele

Does anyone think that the images of the BoT Etteilla are sort of dull and oppressive? To me, the Grand Etteilla (Egyptian Gypsies Tarot) seems much more upbeat and evocative.
I think the BoT looks antique and I really like antique (hence my love of the Bastard decks). When I was looking for an Etteilla to buy, that's part of what drew me to it instead of the Egyptian Gypsies - that and the fact that it's easily available for twenty bucks while I'd drop quite a bit more than that for the Egyptian Gypsies, much less a Dusserre version.

Different tribes, is how I see those two decks. The BOT Etteilla seems steeped in original sin and the other aims to fly like the birds LOL
Yes! And I ain't no saintly kinda' girl. :joke:
 

cmarie

Does anyone think that the images of the BoT Etteilla are sort of dull and oppressive? To me, the Grand Etteilla (Egyptian Gypsies Tarot) seems much more upbeat and evocative.

Maybe it is just a matter of personal taste.

I kind of felt that way until I got the deck in hand. Like LindaMechele I chose it first because of the price - but actually I really love it. The artwork is evocative to me and I have found a lot of little mysteries that I am looking forward to figuring out when I get to really study it.

Different tribes, is how I see those two decks. The BOT Etteilla seems steeped in original sin and the other aims to fly like the birds LOL

What a great description! :D

I think the BoT looks antique and I really like antique (hence my love of the Bastard decks). When I was looking for an Etteilla to buy, that's part of what drew me to it instead of the Egyptian Gypsies - that and the fact that it's easily available for twenty bucks while I'd drop quite a bit more than that for the Egyptian Gypsies, much less a Dusserre version.

Yes! And I ain't no saintly kinda' girl. :joke:

tee hee!

I forgot to add this link for you, CMarie. It's a page where the author links the BoT Majors to their corresponding RWS Majors. I haven't studied it at all - just came across it today - but thought you might find it interesting. When I get time, I'll be looking closer at it as well.

Thank you! It does look very interesting. I will be reading up on it when I can really study the deck. Soon I hope!
 

cmarie

I am curious, do you consider the etteilla to be a tarot deck or would you consider it an oracle?

I am leaning more towards an oracle because the trumps are different and I don't think all of them correspond with the tarot trumps. But I really don't know and honestly at the end of the day it doesn't matter that much - just curious as to what others think.
 

dancing_moon

Definitely a Tarot deck. :) The Majors might be different, but Etteilla gives their traditional equivalents, stating that they became corrupted and misinterpreted throughout history, and that his Majors are the 'true' and original ones. :) The meanings of the Minors have also been heavily borrowed by Waite for his deck, so you'll see many 'familiar faces' when studying Etteilla deck. :)
 

LindaMechele

Yep, a tarot deck I think. It is very different from modern decks, but I think it's a tarot nonetheless. Put it this way: it is to modern decks what the Wright brothers' plane is to modern jumbo jets - the Wright brothers' plane is a LOT harder to fly and doesn't have as many bells and whistles to make it comfortable or accurate in it's flight path, but it's still an airplane.

There's just something about it, isn't there, CMarie? I don't much like unillustrated pips, but I still just love this deck.
 

Metafizzypop

I love the art on this deck. It's very decadent, dark, and mysterious. It's eerie and occult. It looks like something I'd find in a Ye Olde Cabinet of Curiosities.

I can't read with it for crap, but little by little I'm learning.