Are some decks better than others?

[SunChariot]

And I think some of you would say yes, so I would like to know about your opinions. Is the fairy lights tarot deck worst than the Rws? I saw here people saying that there are decks.that doesnt have much from tarot. Are they worse than others? I think the fans of Thoth for example will say yes. Do the thoth or the Rws offer more insight or give better readings than the Mary-El or the Fairy Lights? Or just they give different readings, one is more erudite the other is more intuitive?
I would like to hear your opinions. I have been reading with the Fairy lights and the mary el with pretty decent results to be happy.
But I never tryed the Thoth even when I have a nice green box because I think I read more based on a Rws system and The Thoth will ask me for some study before using it.

Since decks read so differently for different people, and the best one for one person might be the worst for someone else....I would have to say no.

I don't think you could generalize and say that a deck is bad or good. It is either a good deck FOR YOU or a bad one. But it may be different for someone else.

Even though I tend to look at the ratings here on AT and follow them when choosing a deck. LOL

Babs

 

[Zephyros]

Better or not better, I can't define it but yes there are decks that are well thought out and ones that are rushed, empty and formulaic. But can a rushed, empty and formulaic deck give good readings? I guess it can. I'd rather use the best tools at my disposal. But that's just me.

I agree with your entire post but quoted only the last bit for brevity. You said it far better than I tried to. I might add that a Tarot deck is a unique artform with its own qualities, just like books have their's. Among other things, an exquisitely crafted deck isn't only because of the beauty of its pictures, but in how coherent those pictures are and how cohesive the overall theme and level of quality are. In essence, there is a level of "Tarot-ishness" to the best decks that the worst simply don't.

 

[nisaba]

And I think some of you would say yes, so I would like to know about your opinions.

Before I say yes, I need to know in what sense are you asking. Better how?

Give better readings?
Have better artwork?
Are more traditional?
Are more modern?
Have more complex symbolism?
Have easier-to-understand symbolism?
Have more attractive art?
Have deeper and less accessible art?

In my opinion, a deck can be better than a different deck in one way, and worse in another way.

To me, a deck with shallow symbolism and artwork designed to appeal to teenagers is a less interesting deck (I wouldn't necessarily say worse).

 

[ivanna]

I was asking better in order to get better readings, getting more insight, more accurate readings. This is what a querent I suppose wants more when he or she asks for a reading. Maybe you can get great readings using the litty tarot for example. But a more studied system like the thoth would be even more powerfull?
Is clear that a good driver will win the race driving a Panda or a Ferrari and a bad driver wont do anything driving a maseratti. Something similar can happen using tarot decks?
If you are good using the kitty, you may be better studing and reading with a more elaborated system?

 

[gregory]

I was asking better in order to get better readings, getting more insight, more accurate readings. This is what a querent I suppose wants more when he or she asks for a reading. Maybe you can get great readings using the litty tarot for example. But a more studied system like the thoth would be even more powerfull?
Is clear that a good driver will win the race driving a Panda or a Ferrari and a bad driver wont do anything driving a maseratti. Something similar can happen using tarot decks?
If you are good using the kitty, you may be better studing and reading with a more elaborated system?

I don't think it actually works like that, but others will disagree. Except for decks that just don't work at all for me, I seem to get similarly on (or off) readings with my preferred decks - some of which are "good" - I have used the Thoth, and the "real" Waite-Smith - and some are - certainly not.
Heroes - a truly VILE deck which I read with because I was asked to - recently delivered a reading to which my sitter said "OMG you really CAN read with anything". (The you was generic. I think.)

I don't think cars are a reasonable analogy.

 

[Nemia]

Nowadays, we're a bit afraid to talk about differences in quality. Everybody's a winner, everybody's beautiful, we all have different intelligences but they're all equal, everybody can do art and the main thing is intention. We're no longer supposed to say: that's good quality, that's bad quality.

But if we're honest, there ARE differences. There are sloppy decks just like there are charlatan artists, shoddy books and cheap music.

A good deck for me is a work of quality even if it's not my taste or won't read for me. A good tarot deck is based on thorough knowledge of what tarot is. The deck doesn't have to be filled with Hebrew letters, runes and esoteric symbols to show its foundation - sometimes these are merely exterior trappings that pretend erudition but are nothing but a facade. And a deck can be deceptively sparse in symbolism but allow us to find the symbolism in ourselves.

So there must be an understanding of the tarot, its structure, its history, its development.

And there has to be artistic knowledge. (Often, two people will work together or more - one brings with him the tarot expertise, the other a skilled hand and eye.) There are quality criteria in art, I won't go into that now... but if everybody was an artist, there'd be no need for art schools. No matter which technique an artist employs, he has to master it - water color or computer graphics. Art doesn't produce itself.

Within the magic triangle between tarot "as such" with its messages, structure, and archetypes - the artist/creator who translates tarot into his own visual language - and the reader who tries to read this language and connect it to his own life - within this triangle the messages have to run smoothly. A deck can be a great work of art but if it doesn't convey the idea of a card to the reader because it's symbolism is purely personal, it's not a good tarot deck.

From quality point of view, I think there is little doubt that Thoth is among the best there can be. It's based on a thorough understanding of a huge body of esoteric knowledge, and not only reproducing it but adding to it. The art is interesting, unique, well done (even though there are some technical problems with the human figure - the use of projective geometry and the quality of the color work are outstanding), and as complex as the visual language it - it IS readable.

For many people, not for all (there is a hilarious grumpy lady on Youtube claiming the Toth is "seriously fugly" and unreadable :-D), but for very many people the Thoth SPEAKS with its images. It conveys in abstract images, in form and color, feelings, associations, situations, moral dilemmas and evokes archetypes most strongly.

You can't do much better than that.

 

[gregory]

I'm sorry (well, no, I'm not actually !) but I think the reader is more important than the deck. A LOT more.

And you are talking reading, in your first question.

Do the thoth or the Rws offer more insight or give better readings than the Mary-El or the Fairy Lights? Or just they give different readings, one is more erudite the other is more intuitive?

Sure some decks - and I include the Thoth - are unquestionably more beautiful and complete, tarotically, than others - but that doesn't necessarily mean they deliver better readings.

I think it was nisaba herself who said a good reader can read with any deck. I agree.

 

[Kissa]

I'm sorry (well, no, I'm not actually !) but I think the reader is more important than the deck. A LOT more.
(..)
I think it was nisaba herself who said a good reader can read with any deck. I agree.

And Umbrae had a whole theory about reading with basically anything you can lay your hands on (does somebody remember some keywords for an efficient search on his posts about this subject?).

The reader is definitely more important than the deck, that's why I hid all my 72 decks in the attic last week and chose to stick with one deck only. Because I ain't getting any better at reading if I wait for the perfect deck to show up. Virtually, any deck can be perfect as long as I choose to make a commitment to becoming a better reader by practicing.

ETA: so to answer your initial question, ivana, there most certainly are decks better than others and you can list many criteria as for why they are better. Bottom line is, opinions will always vary, maybe your own opinions change with time and at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter whether a deck is better than one another.
Say we both need to go somewhere. You might have a Ferrari in your garage but if don't know how to drive, my lousy 12 yo Polo will appear as a better choice to drive to the meeting point. See what I mean?

Isn't it why professional readers offer a multiple choice to their client when it comes to decks: because the reader is more important than the deck?

 

[Luna-Ocean]

I think all types of decks will work for different people, i have had quite alot of my favorite decks for many years in my collection and there is still no best one that i think tops all the rest?

I also don't pay to much attention to the decks rating here on AT as i feel this is just a personal choice from Solandia's own opinion which often differ's from another persons perspective, from what i have seen with many of those ratings i would not rate many so highly has what was given to them?

 

[foolMoon]

I think Thoth deck is better for horoscope spread than some other decks, because it has celestial signs and well defined astrological meanings for each card. This feature could assist reader giving deeper and broader readings on issues?

Abstract images with rich colours on each card of Thoth deck mean, it might be better for more intuition driven readings?

But it will not suit everyone and every reading occasions, I am sure.