All Hallows Tarot: usage & reading thread

[Chiriku]

The other two big threads on this deck deal with the creation of the original deck and the subsequent production of the deck by Tarot Connections.

I would like this thread to focus on your impressions, a few years later, of using and reading with this deck.

I will start off with usage and post later about reading/content.

The major usage issues implicated here are the small size of the cards and the card stock. As to the former, I am surprisingly amenable to the deck despite my strong preference for large sized images. I think this is because the images take up so much of the card, with only a very narrow white border.

Second issue of card stock is not so favorable.

I saved the first time use of these for October and even in this lower-humidity (for where I live) season, it's hard not to notice the extreme softness of the cardstock. I've never felt cards like this before--matte, waxy, and very soft; no crispness, all "give." It's as if the air were filled with moisture and the cards had absorbed it just enough to lose any "snap" they may once have had (I suspect they never had it).

It's disconcerting and gives me pause in using them. I could quite easily damage these. Actually, one of the corners on a card is already peeling after one gentle shuffle and being ported about in the (very nice) drawstring bag that came with the deck.

Has anyone laminated these? I don't want to do so because I want cards in my hand, not plastic, if I can help it. But otherwise, I can't see these lasting without major damage for more than one October, much less season.

Back later to share my substantive impressions of the deck in readings.

 

[Chiriku]

I thought this deck was popular here; I always see it mentioned. Maybe people like the images but don't use it very much--perhaps because of the aforementioned card stock.

I just saw another card or two this morning with peeling corners. I'm very leery of using these... I'm eyeing my laminator.

 

[Chronata]

I actually only know of two people(maybe three) in the world who really read with this one, so I don't think it's actually all that popular!

But I can certainly comment, as this deck gets a lot of use from me!

The cardstock is actually really soft. I absolutely understand what you mean about that. I used them last year during a rain storm(although I was inside) and they just kind of curled from the humidity. (I put them under a brick, and then they were fine)

And the fronts look fine (I think, thanks to the border) but my backs are really showing the love. They are flecked in white from the wear.

I also riffle shuffle them, so that may have something to do with it! They are also really bowed.

I have never thought about laminating them. Maybe, if I manage to get another copy...I might try the softer cold lamination.

 

[Stormdancer]

I actually only know of two people(maybe three) in the world who really read with this one, so I don't think it's actually all that popular!
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Make that four...this is the deck I use most for readings. I riffle shuffle and have no problems with the cardstock. My hands are small and I like the size.

This is my favorite reading deck.

 

[Penthasilia]

I love this deck! I actually just brought it out for a reading. It has the voice of a very tough-speaking best friend- you know, the one who sits down and tells you all the crap you don't want to hear about yourself/relationships/etc- with a cup of coffee and a hug.

I riffle shuffle the heck out of all my decks- and this one has stood up well against it. Since I also bridge- there isn't a bow in them either. There are some flecks on the back edges- but that happens so often with my decks it doesn't really bother or surprise me. However- if you are noticing edges curl, etc- then I would laminate them. It doesn't take much for me to throw a deck through the laminator- or under the blade for a trim. Whatever works for you to allow you to work with the deck so that you are comfortable that it won't wear out on you.

So- make that 5 people at least.

 

[Chronata]

So- make that 5 people at least.

Chiriku, Stormy and Pen...you totally made my day!

I guess there's still hope for that book after all?

I have been meaning to publish it, but it just didn't seem worth the effort.
I think maybe I will seriously reconsider (though not for this Halloween! That's just way too soon to get it done)

 

[MoonGypsy]

Make that a very happy All Hallows Tarot SIX!!!! And i use it off and on all year long.

 

[Chiriku]

Friends, thank you for sharing your impressions and usage of this deck and thank you to Chronata for creating the deck and going to the trouble of getting it published and distributing it.

I have limited funds to purchase decks, particularly ones above mass market prices, and in general, I do not take to "whimsical" styles of artwork even when it is artistically adept, as with Ms. Tisch-Hollister's or Paulina Cassidy's work. However, I was compelled to own All Hallows because of my years-long need for an autumnal deck (and the Halloween Tarot I used in the 90s, while amusing, is too cutesy for my needs--plus, it does not have the all-important 'outdoor' essence of autumn, which All Hallows, with its autumn leaves and bare tree branches, has a bit of).

The use of shaved-head, pierced, 'alternative' contemporary characters or "Autumn People"-- by the way, Chronata, did you adapt that term from Ray Bradbury's "October People?"---was an added inducement in that it offered something genuinely different in a tarot deck.

I invite you all, if you have not, to listen to Chronata's interview on the podcast "Beyond Worlds." It was most interesting and illuminating.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/beyondworlds/2009/12/29/all-hallows-deck-creator-robyn-tisch-hollister

The cardstock is actually really soft. I absolutely understand what you mean about that. I used them last year during a rain storm(although I was inside) and they just kind of curled from the humidity. (I put them under a brick, and then they were fine)

And the fronts look fine (I think, thanks to the border) but my backs are really showing the love. They are flecked in white from the wear.

I also riffle shuffle them, so that may have something to do with it! They are also really bowed.

Thank you for sharing your experience of the cardstock. Good to know it's not "just me."

I would like to use this deck a lot during the autumn in particular; hence, my continual eyeing of the laminating machine. Seems a shame to kill the immediacy and tactile superiority of smooth paper, but otherwise I don't see myself using it with the frequency I might otherwise.

I love this deck! I actually just brought it out for a reading. It has the voice of a very tough-speaking best friend- you know, the one who sits down and tells you all the crap you don't want to hear about yourself/relationships/etc- with a cup of coffee and a hug.

Thank you for this characterization. I always find it interesting to read people's characterizations/anthropomorphizations of decks.

The first draw I did with this deck was two Pentacles court cards (despite drawing from two different well-shuffled and counted-out stacks of cards). The Queen of Pents here--a down-to-earth schoolteacher instructing students in ancient Egyptian civilization--is an example of how gratifying--and illuminating--it is when deck creators make their Court cards do things rather than just sit there holding the emblem of their suit.

Chronata, if I have time later, would you allow me to post scans of my 3-4 favorite cards from the deck?


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[Winterchild]

Bridging

I love this deck! I actually just brought it out for a reading. It has the voice of a very tough-speaking best friend- you know, the one who sits down and tells you all the crap you don't want to hear about yourself/relationships/etc- with a cup of coffee and a hug.

I riffle shuffle the heck out of all my decks- and this one has stood up well against it. Since I also bridge- there isn't a bow in them either. There are some flecks on the back edges- but that happens so often with my decks it doesn't really bother or surprise me. However- if you are noticing edges curl, etc- then I would laminate them. It doesn't take much for me to throw a deck through the laminator- or under the blade for a trim. Whatever works for you to allow you to work with the deck so that you are comfortable that it won't wear out on you.

So- make that 5 people at least.

I really want this deck.... oh I envy you bridgers... I can hardly do the riffle thing.... I do try, small hands or just lack of ability, but I have never been able to. My poor DM is currently under weight of being bowed from constant riffling and no bridging!!!
When you laminate decks is it with the clear plastic stuff? Quite heavy? Do the cards not stick to each other after?

 

[Penthasilia]

When you laminate decks is it with the clear plastic stuff? Quite heavy? Do the cards not stick to each other after?

There are a couple different ways to laminate decks- cold or hot. The cold lamination tends to have very thin sheets which produce a softer feel. The hot tend to be more whippy, but you can buy very thin sheets to make sure you don't end up with a brick.

I tend to use the hot setting more than the cold- to me, it lasts longer. But, if the original deck is pretty thick- you may want to go with the ultra-thin cold lamination.

So- I would say it depends on the deck. This one is thin enough, I think it could go either way. I have not had any of my laminated decks stick together.

Hope that helps.